Like James Onanefe Ibori, former Governor of Delta State, Yahaya Bello, or YB for short, was recently received by a tumultuous crowd of his people (in Okene, Kogi State) and supporters, who welcomed him home with dancing and singing after he was granted bail in his ongoing trial in the N110bn corruption case filed against him by the EFCC.
James Ibori was treated to the same spectacle by his people when he finished his money laundering jail term in London. Of course, this is not to forget the late former Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Solomon Peter “DSP” Alamieyeseigha, after he escaped from the law in London, dressed as a woman. They were all given tumultuous welcome and rousing receptions by their people who erroneously believed that the fate their sons suffered was pure persecution.
What a Nigerian mentality!
Though what is wrong has no other name. Evil has no middle name. Evil is evil. However, because of the nature of human beings, truth now has different shades and shapes. What is evil and abominable to some,.may be angelic to others. What is absurd and reprehensible to some may receive applause from others. That is the nature of man, especially in this age. Perception!
Maybe it would be apt toI recall here the story of two members of the National Assembly-one was a Senator and the other, a Rep. As told by a friend, both finished serving their four-year term and came back to the warm embrace of their people at home. But while the senator came back in a convoy of vehicles and material things, the other returned with the same car he went with and two other pouch vehicles.
While the senator’s home-coming was a festival of sort -grand, heralded with loud wild celebration by all sorts of groups-both sponsored and inspired, the member of the House of Representatives lacked the same pageantry. He was welcome by scanty people, so scanty he could count the number with his fingers. There were no drumming and blaring of horns. The reception was cold. He wasn’t seen as a “worthy son of the soil” because he didn’t return home with the loot befitting an all-conquering general. See my Naija people! Many in this clime expect you to steal and receive Chieftaincy titles. In fact, the bigger your loot, the longer the titles. Simplicita!
My Yoruba people would say, let’s join hands to discipline and errant child. For many people in this age, that principle is outdated. Archaic. Which brings to focus the issue of perception. Perception is everything. Yet, people underestimate the power of perception. The way in which something is regarded, understood or interpreted is peculiar to individuals.Two people, standing side by side, can experience exactly the same thing and yet have two completely opposite perceptions about what happened.
Regardless of what actually happens in life, how we perceive things becomes our reality. For example, when you receive any written message, your perception of the tone and what is meant by what is written impacts how you feel about it and how you respond. We choose our perception of life around us. The biggest lesson to be learnt around perception is the need for awareness of what mine is and an understanding that, that of Yahaya Bello’s people differs from mine and yours because he is their political father; supplying them with their needs because they are in the same party. We see things, not as they are, but as WE are.
This is often where the conflict lies. It lies in the thinking that other people have the same perception of life or experiences as us. But they are looking at it through a totally different angle and proximity; which could be either positive or negative. We all know those people who, regardless of what happens or their experiences, life is miserable and a follow-follow syndrome (apologies, Fela Kuti). What they will consume today is what concerns them most. Their perception of life or their experiences in it is consistently negative. There is nothing to be done to change these YB followers. They are a part of Nigeria’s political structure wherein they don’t care whether he is a thief or not. They are also referred to as hardliners.
It just is. The best way to check in with our perception is to learn how to see things as they truly are. No better. No worse. Taking stock of our experiences, being aware of what meaning we are giving to them, and learning to look at them through a middle-ground lens helps us with our reality check. See things as they truly are. No better (exaggeration) and no worse (catastrophe).
I will enjoin Nigerians from all walks of life, the youths especially, to improve on their attitudes and value systems in order to confront and conquer the cancer of corruption ravaging our country, destroying and demeaning us. Praise singing corrupt leaders is an anathema. It is indecent.
Youths, as leaders of tomorrow, and our hope for the future, must imbibe and espouse the right values. The youths, most of them in YB’s age group, even much younger, will be in charge of our tomorrow. Like YB, these youths are the people that will aspire to take over the governance of this country in no distant future.
Like Dimeji Bankole, erstwhile Speaker of the House of Representatives, who, while in power, thwarted the confidence reposed in him with his dismal performance, so it is with our youth of today who see power as opportunity not to be transparent once they are given the mantle of leadership. This is inexcusable. It must stop.
The worsening moral standards in the country is becoming as virulent as cancer. Moral decadence is at the root of every corrupt practice.
We must, therefore, imbibe the culture and orientation that emphasizes that you don’t have any business taking what does not belong to you. Taking what does not belong to you is exactly what corruption is all about. If we have this moral reorientation, it will go a long way in helping us to shun corrupt practices
You have to make a difference in your own time and space. Let’s feel the impact of reorienting people. Do your bit. Join others and let’s see how we can collaborate and make this country work for everybody.. We must all come to a table and agree as a people that corruption is wrong. It is evil. It is condemnable. If you take the issue of moral decadence from our society, you would have solved seventy percent of the corruption problem.