Nigeria: A Nation Of Moral Disorder By Bayo Oluwasanmi

As one who loves Nigeria, the steepening decay of morals in Nigeria that obstructs our forming a decent and civilized society keeps me awake at night. In English literature, I read of Greek tragedy. The idea that life is never fair. That for no just reason, bad things happen to good people. In many cases, life’s choices are mostly between bad and the worse.

What we’re witnessing today in Nigeria, is Nigeria tragedy – a nation of moral disorder where victims are collectively paralyzed. Where evil triumphs over good. Where good people are the enemies and suffer the most. Where bad people gets ahead. Where criminals are in charge of administering justice. Where thieves are let go and innocents are incarcerated. Where poor laborers are denied their peanut wages and do nothing senators take home millions. In Nigeria, it isn’t just that so many wrong things are being done. It is an equal problem so many right things are not being done. A nation without the rule of law.

Those ruling us rule like the old barbarians who had no use for any rules that got in their way. They have tossed the rule of law aside and install corruption, stealing, brutality, plunder, and tyranny. No wonder, Nigeria is a defective society. A nation full of hypocrisy, lies, deceit, hatred, cruelty, and wickedness. The ruling class by their utterances, actions, and behaviors, has erased all our traditional morals and values. They see their leadership position as an opportunity to steal, amass wealth, and inflict maximum suffering on the poor.

Only in a country of moral disorder could you find a stinkingly corrupt ex-president with a large following of supporters, defenders, and admirers. Only in Nigeria could you find a sitting senate president facing a litany of criminal cases, presiding over the highest law making body of the land. It’s only in Nigeria that lawmakers, governors, and other elected officials perpetrate a level of evil and sadistic brutality once unthinkable in our country. Yes, it’s in Nigeria that the ruling class behaves with an unconstrained sense of immorality without any sort of systemic reasoning. Bank CEO’s collude with corrupt politicians to rob the treasury in addition to embezzled billions of depositor’s money.

Where else in the world can you find billions of money stashed away in the cemetery, warehouse, store, caves, wells, toilets, and buried? A nation where citizens live on $1 a day, while the state governors own personal jets and fleet of cars. In fact, the Kogi Senator Dino Melaye known for his incurable addiction for a stockpile of different automobiles has plate numbers named after him like his children – Dino Jr. 1, Dino Jr. 2, Dino Jr. 3, … and Dino Jr.40 when his constituents are dying of poverty, hunger, and disease. The political class is a parasite on our society. They take everything and gives nothing back. They aren’t used to hard work, self-denial, and deferred satisfaction. Rather, they eat, drink, and merry!

Nigeria is devoid of fiber. Each man is on his own. The character and outlook of our politicians deprived our nation years of peace and plenty. They proudly display moral recklessness in positions of trust and authority. They routinely violate our common sense, decency, and common values.

Nigerians in droves run to churches while the churches turn to worldliness. Indulgences in laxity, pleasure, bribery, corruption, greed, and selfishness are the spiritual bane of our churches. We’re a nation where churches have become haven of immorality. In our churches, men pray while women are being preyed upon. Catechism of corruption, criminality, sexual immorality, injustices, etc., is their new beatitudes. There are no moral truths because there is no longer a religious basis for morality.

We’re a nation that celebrates the Iboris, the Mesujamba Sarakis, the Melayes, the Okes, the Dasukis, the Fayoses, the FFKs, the Ekweremadus, the David Marks, and other notoriously flawed personalities. We approve and applaud legislators who violate the Constitution, who steal private and public lands, and public money. We give awards to governors who are barely three months old on the job for being the “best performing governor of the year.” Parents have long abandoned their duty of given moral guidance to their children. Children, elderly, and handicapped are exploited and abused. A nation that sacrifices its poor citizens. A nation where majority can’t agree on the definition of a thief. A nation where you pay for electricity that was never supplied. A nation where the oppressed fiercely and foolishly defends their oppressors because they come from their clan or ethnic group.

We’re a nation led by immoral people who believe the end justifies the means – deceit, exploitation, oppression, stealing, wickedness – as acceptable means by which they achieve that end. We’re in the twilight of Nigerian culture, values, and morals and civilization. We’re on the road to cultural, and moral values disaster. Our culture, morals, values, are on the edge of extinction. We have very little time to secure them.

There is weeping in the land. The living weeps for the dead. The dead weeps for the living. Uncontrollable sobs echo all over the land with ceaseless reverberations for the living decaying in the reservation dust of poverty, pain, and problems. Nigeria is in a delicate time. A nation of moral disorder. It’s never closer to its apocalyptic end than now!

bjoluwasanmi@gmail.com