The Big Brother Nigeria

By Fortune Archibong

Nigerians are miffed of the recent discovery of the donation of 1.4 million dollars to Niger Republic, a neighbouringAfrican country by the Federal Government. The consternation of Nigerians of the whopping gesture to Niger Republic may not be unconnected to the sufferings of Nigerians in a government which most Nigerians held in high esteem upon inauguration in May 2015 and the realities of the movement.

In a swift response to the presidential kind gesture of 1.4 million dollars to Niger Republic, the custodian of Nigerian treasury and minister of finance, Hajija Zainab Ahmed,confirmed that the money was approved for the purchase and donation of vehicles to neighbouring Niger Republic. She noted that such donations by Nigeria (the latest Big Brother to Africa) to its neighbours were common, that it is the President’s prerogative to take such decisions after a careful assessment of the situation; that Nigeria has had to support its neighbouts, especially the immediate neighbours, to enhance their capacity to secure their countries as it relates to us. She recalled that Nigeria has resisted Niger Republic, Cameroon or Chad, amongst others.

The nature of Nigeria’s help to its neighbours is the court of this piece, especially the excruciating poverty of Nigeria and Nigerians in the face of philanthropic acts of Nigerian leaders. As Nigeria is known at the moment to wallow in abject poverty owing to accumulated teeming foreign youths, high energy cost and unmitigated socio-economic and political apprehensions; Nigerian benevolence may be considered out of place and shouted with viewed intentions. A case in point is the railway project from Nigeria to Niger Republic with borrowed funds from China and the resultant high percentage of national debt servicing which at the moment is palling Nigeria’s capital budget into insignificance.

The philanthropy of some Nigeria leaders appears as indirect measures to service their notes according to some revelations which have traced some northern Nigerian leaders to the neighbouring countries of Chad, Niger and Cameroon. For a northern class system where the poor remains poor, royalties, princes in royal perpetuity, there are more to desire from maintaining traditional heredities of some northern Nigerian leaders than the loyalty to the Nigerian state. This may have explained the reason for the ever porous boundaries in most parts of the North bordered by other African countries who move freely into Nigeria to participate in local traditional festivals, inter-marriage and move in during elections to vote their kith and kin, in addition to holding dual passports.

The Big Brother Nigeria disposition has appeared more destructive than beneficial to Nigeria and Nigerians. Nigeria had invested and supported the South Africans during the apartheid struggle and the only appreciation of South African people to Nigerians is the xenophobic law and practices which have killed several legitimate Nigerians living and doing business in South Africa. Most of the Boko Haram insurgents are traced to the neighbouring country of Chad, especially the Lake Chad area, which has provided serious shade and bulwark to the continued onslaught attacks on Nigerian territory of Borno State and its environs. Some years ago, Nigeria was the saving grace of Ghana where their nationals were engaged in several offices in Nigeria, especially teaching and apprenticeship. Today, the Ghanaian government has rolled out several anti-economic, unbearable tax regimes to scuttle Nigerian business and business men operating in Ghana. For Cameroon, the story of their inhuman gendarmes are commonplace as they daily harass Nigerians on the high seas, gag those living in their country with needless paper to authenticate their stay in Cameroon.

Nigeria is about the only country on the continent to come in and do business unmolested. We keep donating from our poverty to countries we consider poorer and who would later turn to hurt Nigerians. South Africa bandits killed their hero and music sensation, the late Lucky Dube thinking to have killed a Nigerian. Irrespective of who had brought the banditsand other agents of death to Nigeria, these agents or sons of Lucifer should be mindful of the role of Nigeria in Africa, especially their home countries who may have enjoyed several benefits or support from Nigeria and refrain from nefariousacts against it, which is the hen that lays the African golden egg. 

For a Nigeria ruled by leaders with questionable or dual ancestry, development may continue to be elusive as they would not mind to mismanage Nigeria and later resort to their kith and kin for safety and survival. This gives birth to unpatriotic and disloyal leaders who see Nigeria as a means to their end, not the end itself. Only leaders who would say in truth and deed that they do not have another home nor nation than Nigeria would refuse to collaborate with their evil brethren and sons of Satan to destroy Nigeria. Until Nigeria reviews some aspects of African relations, the nation willcontinue to wallow in security breaches as leaders with questionable ancestry do not have the heart, will nor affront to deal with their unruly compatriots. Nigeria of the moment isyearning for a truly patriotic leader to balance the concerns of African neighbours and the frustrations of the citizens as the former should not have precedence over the latter. At the inauguration of every Nigerian leader, they are made to swear that they would protect and uphold the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians, anything contrary to this sacred pledge should be impeachable. With dislocations in global prices and other economic downtrend, Nigeria does not need a Big Brother again, but a patriotic brother who would love and preserve Nigeria before others. Nigerian leaders must refuse to invest borrowed funds into senseless and so-called pan-African projects when such projects do not have any bearing on the circumstances of Nigerians. While I may not hate Niger Republic and her citizens, the railway project to Niger may not really benefit the totality of Nigerians but a business plan of some wicked and selfish Nigerian burgeons to further a refinery project when four Nigerian refineries are decrepit to deceive us into false subsidy and eternally impoverish the Nigerian state with fictitious petroleum prices and policies.

Archibong is of the Nigerian Guild of Editors.