Monday 14 January 2013

Charles Dickson: Sad Ke? Nigerians Are Very Happy Joor!

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Last week Forbes Magazine, listed Nigeria as number 20 in countries with some of the world’s saddest people, as usual the reasons were not farfetched, poor leadership, corruption, inability to do this and that…
Very quickly commentators were quick to mourn and moan; how did we decline so fast, from the once happiest, to now amongst the saddest. Is it Jonathan and the sea of clueless from North to South, or are the ‘subsidians’ responsible, is it corruption unlimited, or the fact that farmers may start using blackberry phones to ping prices of commodity.
Why are we suddenly a sad nation, judging by the fact that when we were the happiest, we also were amongst the most corrupt. So my fellow Nigerians I seek to know how this ‘Forbes people’ do this their thing on global development index.
Only last year our beloved nation was adjudged worst place to be born. We also moved significantly up according to some African Insurance forum in ‘Kidnap for ransom arrangement’. We are never far away from all these very ‘negative awards’, now we have entered the list of sad people.
Before I conclude on our sad status, I first sought out the meaning of ‘Sad’ or what ‘Sadness’ meant. Sad: Causing sorrow or gloom; depressing: a sad movie; sad news. Deplorable; sorry: a sad state of affairs; a sad excuse. It is a Feeling or showing sorrow; unhappy. Causing or characterized by sorrow or regret; unfortunate and regrettable
Sadness itself is emotional pain associated with, or characterized by feelings of disadvantage, loss, despair, helplessness and sorrow. These feelings of certain things are usually negative. When one is sad, people often become less outspoken, less energetic, and emotional. Crying is often, but not necessarily, an indication of sadness.
Sadness can be viewed as a temporary lowering of mood, whereas depression is more chronic. Sadness is one of Paul Ekman’s “six basic emotions“happy, sad, angry, surprised, afraid, and disgusted”.
With the above, I will just make a few comments, admonishing us to reflect on our nation. In the Forbes list, it was an index of nation’s with sad people, that included countries like Chad, a nation we even given aid to, it included Afghanistan, a per minute bomb nation. How can and how did they compare us to Togo, Central African Republic or Republic of Congo or is it Zimbabweans, I did not know Angolans were sad, off course citizens of Iraq, Yemen and Sudan cannot be too happy and except for cricket how can Pakistanis be happy.
My verdict is simple. Nigerians are happy, we are still high up there in the index of happy people, very and I add very happy people.  A people kidnapped, robbed, bombed, week in, week out. And yet thanksgiving services with dances of all types and executions follow suit.  We are happy jare…
We remain a proud people, joyous in nature, never put down by ‘little’ setbacks. Visit a state where workers were owed seven months salaries on a Saturday, you see women and girls adorned in expensive glittering ‘aso-ebis’. Thousands spent on event planners/transport/comperes and more.
We are happy people, we love to party and forget that ‘Forbes list’: it’s false, this is 2013, we have continued in our happy nature unabated. We provide all kinds of shoes for those who need it, and give another term to those who fail, besides, what has the opposition got to offer, than plenty noise.
We attend ‘suna’ (naming ceremonies) and’ igba nkwo’ (traditional wedding) and ‘oku’ (funeral party) of the same leaders we accuse of looting us dry.
We are happy people, the only people who after being used, abused, misused are tortured with the flamboyance, and ostentatious living and all we do is admire them and cling to hope—after all, ‘my turn will soon come’.
Happy people: very few countries can live the way we do, weeks without light because power transformer is bad, yet you pay bills. Fuel stations have no commodity yet opposite those stations, young men sell same fuel at hyper-black prices.
We are sad people, when the thief who is looting is from the otherside, but when it’s from our town, we use the phrase “he is helping our people”. And because the stealing is everywhere, we all, are happy.
‘Forbes list ko, Forbes list ni’ tell that to the birds–we bribe the police and accuse them of taking bribes. We don’t really pay electricity tariffs yet we say ‘there’s no light’, when actually it’s a case of Aso Rock owe PHCN, PHCN owes gas company, that one owes staffs, the staff is in debt of school fees, rent and utility. We are happy people jare.
Maybe if Forbes had said we top the ‘grumblers’ list, no arguments. Maybe we complain most, that’s true, yes maybe amongst nations with most problems. But that Nigerians are sad…that I disagree totally.
People who pay in recruitment scams in the police, immigration, army, civil service et al cannot be sad.
A nation that has bribes for admission scams, or money for marks in schools scams. Rent without house agent frauds. Pension fraud, electoral fraud, where girls date six guys simultaneously and men date five women including their secretary, wife’s best friend and driver’s wife and nothing happens…cannot be an unhappy nation.
How many suicides can be traced to spirited men that were tired of the system and called it quits–fact is we kill to be happy because in Nigeria happiness is it. We steal to be happy because that’s the real deal. We want to be happy not because we are sad but because we want a status quo.
We want change, but don’t want to change, and are weary of change. Common, a Nigerian adage says an erect penis has no conscience. Nigerians are not sad, if almost 2billion can disappear from the Minting and Security Company, no single arrest, no outrage, we are happy, if we really are sad, it is not the Forbes list that will tell…only time will tell.
NB:
Ke and joor are expressions used for emphasis in local parlance.
DailyPost

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