News

The Sweep with Hassan Hassan: The Clouded Change Allergies

September 18, 2017

1494

Last week we buttressed the institution and permeation of individualism; the destructions of institutions and devaluation of society as impetus to the reasons things are the way. This week, we can only see more reasons to the dimensions issues are taking a level of war and death and that Nigeria must break instead of make its change under PMB a reality.
IPOB’s rebellion, its dimensions and threat of war; the strikes by unions in the education and health sectors and the impending strikes from other unions watching the attitude of government are all fingers of the very hidden hand behind the anti-change, corruption-fight-backs and pathological hatred of PMB, his like-minds, committed staff and supporters. They are reasons for the success of this Government and all it stands for.
But do not worry in the face of danger. The unfortunate in the form of what is happening is nerve wrecking. But keep calm. To take solace, look at the President and see in him the lies that are there about the sad tests to the peace and unity of country. They are all lie. As we said a number of times, they are episodes of the old, deep-seated political economic determinism that teleguided lives many of us have not, and do not, want to leave, ignore or avoid, because they hate change.
These crises are not really about breaking the country. They are meant to just shake, interrupt and arrest the confidence, the calmness and the progress of this President and his Government. They are about forcing the President to respond and in the process make serious, reckless or critical statements that can give them easy, cool reasons to brandish as weaknesses of his leadership and heap on him more blame. The President understands this much and that is a prayer answered again.
They are meant to provoke the Government to react with force against the culprits so they can count it to their piles of human rights abuses against the Government and make an international outcry to cloud their true ulterior, treasonable felony. Government will act. Government is acting appropriately in its own wisdom and in the style form of its formidable leadership such that smoke of progress will now suffocate the anti-progress the more.
Government action must not be in the manner they dream. I am not speaking for the Government. But my knowledge and understanding of PMB tells me Government would not show a case of war when there is no war, at least not a real or actual one. When one key northern elite complained yesterday over a foreign radio station that PMB is not handling IPOB’s threat rightly and concluded with his lack of confidence in the leadership, I chuckled.
I chuckled because my assertions are confirmed. In almost every way of action or inaction, the Government is making the wailers angry and the more they get angry, the more fingers of their hidden hands we see in some form that surprises the shallow-mind or the damned corrupt citizen. The old ways of playing cards of ignorance, deception and misleads are still selling to member of the old, former club.
The antics are persons who were all over in the past, plucking the fruits of a one Nigeria but who are now crying foul about Ibo’s disrespect and lashes of the north. His remarks were in themselves flames meant to ignite the war they so much wanted against the revolution PMB is making that is opening their shame, dirt, theft, deception and ineptitude of the past which are the very reason for the Ibos’ perceived disrespect of the north or the elites of the north; northern politicians or leaders.
Yes. Ibos disrespect the north because they know how the northern elites and politicians heartlessness overwhelmed the leadership of the country for most of the years to no avail; how they abused power in the most impossible ways and pulled down their integrity in the eyes of southerners and the northern image plummeted along.
The Ibos or southerners were not better. They may be worst for following and playing along in different capacities while northern elements abused power. But today the north is bearing the offence because they Ibos are smarter for being this good and quick to hold us by the past of our unfortunate chaps.
But then this Ibo movement is fake in a way. It is hard to think that boy is doing all this on his own for his own goal. Yes. Individualism may have its toll on us but it has not reached a level that one person can say/do anything about Hausa Fulani and northerners, hold all of us to ransom and no one elite in the entire north addresses him or the politicians and leaders of the East?
What do we see? We see the elite watch the fight from the gallery, between one boy pinched against the President – the leader of the north. They or the circumstances have equated this naughty little boy to the President of the largest black democracy in the world, a former General and a man of outstanding repute, and we all watch in ecstasy because we hate humanity to an unruly level. We have glorified a little Ibo boy against the President to do our selfish dirty work so we think we can avoid shame and continue to spill blood.
Why is no one among the sons of the north complaining when the person, name and image of PMB is touched in the name of politics? Why are they silent on the attitude of the NASS and role of individuals against the fight against corruption? Why are they silent when judges openly undermine efforts of Government in the fight? Why were they silent when Magu’s authority in the fight was hijacked? Thank God the ordinary true northerners know the reasons for all those questions and that, too, is a point of their anger.

What is more disrespectful to the north more than the northerners disrespect to a Northern President and their hatred for northerners? What can be more disrespectful than Northern elites’ cruel critic of the President and the Government’s inaction over an errand of orchestrated most cowardice brandish? What is more disrespectful than denying anything good about, and never for once lauding, a government as popular, even if by mere fake showcase to tell the other halves of Nigeria that the North is strong?
They will never tell what good government is doing right. Government is talking by doing. It is building institutions which are doing their normal work. That God there was already a military plan against insurgency on ground. And it will naturally deploy to apply the rule of law to no one’s expected applause. The next unfortunate thing is the joint statement issued after meeting between Governor of Abia and traditional rulers in the State, advising – instead of shouting/taming – IPOB to send grievances to the NASS and the Council of State.
And so we must come to the point that a Government that works to unite the nation will not listen to any individual or group claims in divisive language of tribe or religion – Ibo, Hausa, and North. It is acting, showing Nigeria indivisiness in everything – clear signs that the myth that is the north and south will soon be extinct. I hear someone say it is impossible. Believers take God’s ability to do just that for granted. But the antics hate this much so you reay for more counters to this noble, great value with more incites of the old same mean tune of yesteryears.
And look at the University lecturers association, ASUU, declaring strike and demanding government to address or fulfil obligations to years’ accumulation of problems in the education system. Right, understood there are problems which must be addressed. But why are they asking now. They should understand the economy and how it is picking more than anyone. Government is dedicated to making the conditions to a wealthy nation that can solve all problems in the sectors.
As scholars, we expected them to reason and delay their demands until a time a head. It is surprising they also joined the bandwagon of the pressure mount against the Government and showcasing their resistant to change. Does it mean that scholars do not appreciate the transparency of this Government, its disciplined way of building up the foreign reserve, injecting money in agric and infrastructure? Are they also asking government to share money in the reckless manner of funding institutions for no commensurate results?
That is stark resistant to change. And if scholars do not appreciate and respect change in the context we need to in Nigeria, then we do not even need the universities anymore. It is the highest point of society’s fear of total collapse/ and it is here that we can now see how ASUU shares the objective of undermining government efforts to deliver on the economy. Sad.

Reasons: ASUU overlooked internal social, ethnic, religious and political and even tribal problems bedevilling the process and relations of teaching and research among lecturers and students. They ignored the internal systems problems affecting releases and funding processes and focuses and how that affects the system’s overall productivity and result. They ignore the bad eggs among them who are reasons for most or all of the misperceptions and allegation society holds against the system.
Those are direct change issues. And we expected ASUU to work to rid the universities from the identified problems so that by the time funds come, they will make more impact. Instead they are rushing the ministry of education through the madness of doing things the usual ways. Where does their loyalty lie? To the system, to the nation or to the red tapes of the FME that have hijacked Malam Adamu Adamu’s every noble idea to facilitate things?
How can we now disbelieve that it is the lecturers that author write-ups using quotes of a former columnist about ASUU who s now in charge and is ‘doing nothing’ about the strike. Little did it matter to them that Malam Adamu was actually shocked that they lacked courtesy this bad that they cannot give PMB and him time. I wonder what it was in Malam Adamu’s humble habit or courteous words that angered them to drop the white board markers. Sad.
We will forever charge scholars for fair judgment and fair comment. If all of society’s hearts died, we expect the teachers to have some few hearts pumping against the odds. They are thinkers for all of society. We expect decency first and last from them. So it is good to cleanse their hearts and minds from the dirts of corrupt life.
It is a direct case against their profession, in good belief that there is no excuse for moral shortchanges. And it is on this note that we charge them to bring out a position blueprint about this Government and the leadership and tell us, in honest terms, what is good and bad about what it is doing. And they must not lie in so doing because they can pull themselves down to the feet before the world.
They must do so without recourse to the ideas of an Ibo called Nwachukwu, the economic lecturer from UNN, Nsukka – a fine gentle man who traced the good in the new Nigeria and used his ideas to convince many across the world for Nigeria’s change. He is neither of IPOB nor ASUU’s brands. We owe him a debt of gratitude. Shame on the north of Nigeria.