The Satanic Appearance And Nigerian Experience

When the idea of Nigeria was conceived by a sweeping and crushing martyrdom of some brilliantly coordinated nationalist efforts. The early marshals had at the back of their minds an overwhelming evidence of a heroic possibility for greatness and protection of a dignified inheritance. Spirits were high, the clouds were filled with manifest hopes, opportunities and unified potentials; there was high sense of belonging and purpose, a nationalist consciousness emerged, sterling qualities of leadership were extolled -a true nation was born and independence day was a true opening for better fortunes in future. Then the brutal jolting by a set of 'revolutionary majors' of January 1966 inadvertently evacuated the normative order and
underwriting a threatening distortion with the counter-coup of July 1966 offering temporary solutions to anguish and anger of national disagreements. Since these pop ups, a precise formula for anarchy was capitulated, inducing a permanent feeling of sheer destabilising tempest along tribal fault-lines.
Military regimes came and went, manipulating the lever of sensitivities along varying dictatorial grips. Nigeria became holed up in a resonating apotheosis of some privileged clan with igniting institutional collapse and progressive diminution. The narrative of the nation's ordeal reappeared in bold and harsh relief in 1999 when an election was held with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a military general, once Head of State-turned-politician assuming the mantle of leadership. Drawing sustenance from the bitter national contention and ethnic animosities, the situation degenerated into a notorious tragic zone.

Democracy and democratic values were systematically taken to the graveyard amidst begging expectations of
the citizenry.

The nation is roiling in democratic fiasco and political frenzies as eminent of a conventional authoritarian rule, with the consequence of introducing a brutal and unjust society subdued physically, mentally, socially, politically and even
psychologically through a conquering mission. The tired but untiring military despots have staged a new comeback without apologizing for their cruel past undoing. The new circumstances offered a new dimension into democratic blitzkrieg of military latent where old war machine used by former enforcers to discredit the nation is successfully been transplanted in their new postings. The major culprit has co-opted one of the culprits to secure power under a politically challenged contentions and a raw deal conscripted to later help himself back to power with clear tendency of a severe lurking brutalization at the corner. This, no doubt, is a breath-taking skewed arrangement of refined violence and ingenuity in the devastation of national institutions aided by the resilience of the Nigerian populated poor and traditional politicians muscled out by sheer military might, the coast is set for intended sense of rampage closely supervised under brigandage of an unparallel demonic torso and evil-spirited selfishness. The prayerful segmented few have been swallowed in a mooted paradoxical possibilities tendered by vast ungodly practices being consciously adopted as a statecraft. Everybody is right, nobody is wrong, yet there is a big problem not ready to be attended to by a compromised belligerence of the ruling class and the tolerant molto-imbecilities of its beleaguered citizenry. Nigeria is the world's sixth largest producer of oil, whose riches is supplemented by exploits in non-oil sector like Agro-allied, solid minerals, etc. yet its citizenry are one of the most poverty stricken in the globe. The educational structures have falling apart into rumbles of epochal dimensions.

Corruption and corrupt tendencies have been perfected into an envious passion. There is nowhere corrupt officers go without a standing ovation. Killing and killers have secured an environmentally friendly abode for settlement and re-settlement.

The citizenry are factionalised in an excruciating torment with clear frustrations wincing over their faces. It is no more news that people hang themselves due to joblessness and want. Roads are tearing apart, calling for attention, hospitals lack drugs, qualified personnel and basic facilities, electricity is always disappearing, water has become an essential commodity
but nowhere to be found, bombs detonate at the slightest provocations, vandals have secured new postings in the pipelines and electrical installations, pensioners are dying every day in form of bloated carcasses, a machine gun has been converted into a rigging machine during elections, nepotism has taken a centre stage in national affairs, political opponents are threatened and killed, yet our leaders say the nation is progressing. To them once their selfish and mundane purview of power game is protected with all the privileges of looting of our collective inheritance, it is a good omen.

Agreeable that Africans had bad leaderships but Nigeria's case is the worst. No nation had demonstrated these guile and sophistication in battering its citizenry in such a successive order like Nigeria, with each succession manifest into an
elevated classic-hell. No nation can tolerate this recycling of a spectrum of unrepentant tormentors in such a guardedly romancing manner to dictate or guide its course of economic and political transformations.

No nation condones this malignant scavengery of its collective will through harsh poverty and deprivation brought about by rude assault of reality that Nigeria is reach in both human and natural resources but made poor through the bilious confront on the psyche of its hardworking and industrious citizenry. No serious nation can mistaken irresponsibility of its leadership
to mean responsibility of enforcing democratisation procedures and development plans of prodigious capacity for sustenance in a country inflict by past misdeeds. Democracy is too serious a business to be devastated in such a rogued contraption masked with apocalyptical embitterment of apostolic proportions as experience during our democratization experiment. There's no way an unremorseful autocrat can pretend to usher in a spirit of democratic ideals without the
contentious issue of infringements and the emasculation of people's rights and privileges as being subverted to satisfy his massaging egos. War titans transmute into political reformists while changing hands during a crossover event and make
discipline an essential requirement for democratic independence in developed countries; the reverse is the case in the present experiences in Nigeria where dictatorship subdued the cherished matter for democratic growth. 'Veterans of war' became conquerors of people's consciousness and political struggle offering a military offensive, thereby making the most
vicious marksman the most acceptable amongst the people.

Way back at my Primary School days, our Arabic teacher gave a graphic picture and fullest exploits of the Satan. According to him, Satan is the most vilified figure and undisputable standard-bearer of miserable outing of perfidies and anguish with resounding certification of such thwarting plagues from religious values but whenever it's exuberant tempting glitters, a throwing reception meets its embroidered appearance. To illustrate his point, Malam Yakubu - the teacher -
said the Satan is the Master of Ceremony where maladroit music and dances are displayed, when illicit conducts of abyss are guaranteeing. He is the head of a man-slaughter houses of horrible spectacles distinguished for sinful luxuries and demonic elixir and the leader of the fortress of evil machinations, yet whenever the Satan flashes on the cusp of this
combative authority, the crowd is a mammoth one and the ovation subliminally thunderous.  The Satan - the Master of all evils - hold sway his captives and hostages with napping grip towards a control from other side of world with the ultimate aim of attracting large followership through blissful equivoque, sometimes competing with God - the Most Highest!. In all these, the Satan has his 'disciples' as the executioners, foot soldiers and forbearers with a conquering mission. Societies that are Satanic are socially distressed, morally diminutive with leprous economic base and political inclinations. For that
long, since these revealing days I have watched a Satanic manifestations in the nation's dispensing affairs. The exhausted prostrate confirmed its truly terrifying picture and the avenging, blood thirsty and suffocating hear-hug reinforcing its whimsically crumbling shrine, giving it a potent mix of hidden strength and sonorous transcend of pinning abode.

The narrative of Nigerian experience is profoundly destabilizing evidence against great involvement and famous exploits of the nation's potentials. An excruciating torment mounted by the leadership's disloyalty to the cause of progress, unity and
prosperity and supported by the citizenship's national betrayals, desertion and moral shackles. Virtually, everybody is implicated; only few Nigerians are not as guilty as charged. The nation had consistently maintain a lead amongst the league of the most corrupt nations, its citizens are among the poorest in the world and its leaders are standard bearers in the
empire of deepening economic miseries, yet the citizens still maintain a feel - good factor at the depraved situation offered and encouraging even the antiquated most corrupt to summon a courage to make a stage-back and the embarrassing conquerors bristle at the notion of past indictment and attitude of remorseful reforms by enforcing a superior power of
perpetuation and ceaseless self-justification. There is no inveigling in these contrasts except that mnemonic evidences are thrown away in the winds and desultory details butchered into dustbin of historical aqualung instilling fresh efforts to fraudulent rationalizations.

The few that are re-inventive were snubbed and dispatched as popularly pernicious. Drum bands hail the victors of malevolent acts and despise the victims of trampling officialdom. Many prayer centers were constructed but surrounded by more crime centers. Despite being labeled as unsafe, poverty - stricken of epochal dimensions and the most discredited by the International communities, it is claimed Nigerians enjoy all the negative life style accorded to them thereby returned as the most happiest people in the world. The spirit of brotherhood, which the originators advocated were extinguished, and people see themselves as nationals cajoled into a forceful marriage of nation building due to the irresponsibility of its leadership.  The livings openly abuse the dead and disown whatever relationship, favour or personal help tendered by a
terminally expired leader so that new turn of events will be rewarding. As other nations march in the direction of heroic exploits, Nigeria is yet to find a basis for the existence of its corporateness. When aspiring nations invest and offer great contributions into scientific and technological sector through sound and qualitative education, Nigeria regard education as
an antidote to nation's democratic ideal whose capacity for mob rule is second to none in the world.

For behind every power in Nigeria today, is a chaperon of cultists, treasury - looters and sycophants with the power behind the throne showing sticking capitulation. When democracies contend that transparency is their watchword, the nation's
democracy has formalized corruption at a level of State - craft as its catchword.

A corruption - compliant nation like Nigeria with a long time history of the political tragedy of human enslavement and tragic reputation for chaos of ethos must be psychologically subdued and physically over-powered by Satanic influences. Influences that is anti - thetical to our religious beliefs and against an awakening spirit of national survival in an increasingly challenging world order.

With its glaring vast human and natural resources at the disposal of the nation's vaults and titillating a liberalist tendency towards an unswerving qualitative leadership model through genuine value - worships and fear of God - the Alpha and the Omega - the nation may crawl out of the current cage of massive unleashing of havoc and mayhem on the country by self - appeasing emperors. To contemplate otherwise is to remain perpetually under Satanic domains where there is motion without movement, when it is a crime to render selfless service to humanity and glorifying those who indulge into a slave - holding hostage. If not for the earlier foundations and sacrifices offered by the nation's founding fathers that were God-fearing the possibility of the Nigerian nation would have since met its waterloo. No fragile political base or social
fault-lines can withstand this systematic brutalization of a society with such formidable assurances. The obvious imperfections coupled with obtuse rationalization of interventionary measures are not the stuff for weak national architecture. But definitely the nation's elastic limits of tolerance and compelling distraught had assumed a tragic zone.

- Mamza writes from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.