Our Mumu Must Not Push Nigeria Off The Cliff

By Ahmed Oluwasanjo

Last year, in one of his articles titled, “A sickening country of conscienceless people”, Tunde Fagbenle, a veteran journalist, did a critical analysis of Nigeria, bitterly lamenting the different challenges confronting her.

Frustrated by what the parasitic political class has turned Nigeria into, Fagbenle charged Nigerians to wake up.

“… Sectional or ethnic frustrations were largely merely cries against what each considered situation(s) of unfair treatment or uneven access to the “national cake”, be it share of national income, federal appointments, or blatant ethnic (political) discrimination. None, I daresay, had been on account of disaffection with the pathetic underdevelopment of the country or its continuing lack of direction.

“We cannot put it all to the leadership. No, we the people are ourselves mumus. And there must be a time when we all must rise up and say: our mumu don do!”, he wrote.

Of course, ‘mumu’ is a common derogatory word in our local parlance. A mumu is a brainless fellow who lacks the ability to think and act wisely even when circumstances demands that he acts. A mumu never learns from experience and could be easily manipulated and exploited.

So, beyond literaliness, Fagbenle’s piece only a charge to Nigerians to forsake our mumu ways, and act smartly to break free from the unending manipulation and exploitation of a few political oligarchs, by taking advantage of our political power as citizens.

But the hard question is, how can we break free from our “mumu culture” when we fail to realise that once we crawl into our different regional, religious and ethnic enclaves, we vacate our powerful office, subjecting ourselves to becoming citizens powerless against the endless exploitation of our parasitic political class?

To be specific, the way and manner some of us are drumming for war, spreading hate on social media, tinkering with issues that could trigger fatal inter-regional skirmishes and possibly disintegrate Nigeria, without seeing through the wicked politics behind it, suggests that the mumus amongst us outnumber the wise.

Otherwise, Nigerians who are suffering the grave consequences of bad leadership would not yield themselves as willing tools in the hands of some greedy elites, scheming hard to cause crisis to further their selfish political interests.

Only a country of mumus will fail to learn from their past experiences. Had we learnt from the first civil war experience, we will cherish the relative peace in Nigeria today and not be willing to trade it for anarchy.

Crises in Nigeria has always been a blessing to our predatory political elites. From the civil war of 1967 to 1970, the Kaduna religious crisis in 2000, Niger Delta crisis and the subsiding Boko Haram insurgency, ordinary Nigerians are the ones suffering the devastation and agonies of crisis, not the political elites and their families.

As such, it is common sense to understand that should Nigeria implode today, we the masses are the ones to suffer, not the political elites. That the Sambo Dasukis and David Lawal Babachirs of this world allegedly diverted funds meant to fight against Boko Haram or care for Internally Displaced Persons, should teach us that the elites only care about themselves.

As it is presently, rising divisive tensions help some politicians to further their interest in their demand for their share of “national cake”, while citizens are pre-occupied with the fear of looming violence and are distracted from raising queries on issues that the present administration are not getting right.

In fact, to the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party, how the situation is managed is a campaign point, while to the governing party, All Progressives Congress, managing the situation and not allowing it snowball into crisis, is also a campaign point.

So, it is in our best interest to sue for peace and not depend on politicians or God to help us do this. We need a peaceful Nigeria more than they do. Because, while it is mere politics for them to cause crisis to further their self-serving interests, we have no other place to run to should any crisis erupt.

Dear Nigerians, before we share sensitive and provocative pictures, videos, fake inciting news and comments on social media, let’s ponder on the possible crisis it could trigger somewhere else. Before we foolishly play into hands of our scavenging political elites who have always benefited a great deal from our miseries. Let us consider the dire consequences of our actions on us.

Our mumu has done us great harm to us in the past. Now, it is gradually tilting our dear country, Nigeria, in a dangerous trajectory towards anarchy. But, we can change the tide. Our mumu must not push Nigeria off the cliff.

Ahmed Oluwasanjo writes from Abuja.