Onwuasoanya FCC Jones
Nigerians are ordinarily the most patriotic set of people any country can boast of. You can hardly find a Nigerian who doesn’t genuinely love Nigeria and who wouldn’t want to remain a Nigerian. But, at every turn, their hearts are broken by those who have the responsibility to make them love the country more; the politicians.
As at the last count, about five Nigerians have been confirmed dead from the tension they experienced during the Super Eagles match with the Bafana Bafana yesterday. These people died because of their love for their nation and the disappointment from a possible defeat in an “ordinary” soccer match.
One thing that is significant about the deaths of three of the people I have read about is that three of them slumped exactly the same time; when Victor Osimhen’s second goal was cancelled and a penalty awarded against the Super Eagles instead. I felt the tension of that moment myself and had to leave where I was watching the match and returned when they scored the goal. I couldn’t sit at a place to watch the penalty shootout and I celebrated like I had won a lottery when Iheanacho scored that decisive kick.
There could be many others whose death might not make it to the news and many others who sacrificed different things in order to show their support for the Super Eagles. At the hotel where I am lodged, the management relaxed their rules to allow people move seats from the pool bar to the open bar where they have a larger TV screen. And I know how many offers of free drinks I turned down from people who just wanted to celebrate our Super Eagles. I know a friend who even though he has a big TV set in his house had to come out to join me in my hotel to watch the match. There are families that would throw their gates open so that people could join them in watching Nigeria play.
Many of those who threw caution to the winds in celebration of Nigeria’s victory over South Africa are people who might not have any food in their house, and would sleep on empty stomach. Many of them have a lot of pending bills to pay and there are others, like those who sadly lost their lives, who are suffering from one ailment or the other, but because of their love for the country, they risked watching the team play and unfortunately, some of them lost their lives.
I tell people anytime the topic comes up that Nigerians are actually the easiest people to rule, because they demand very little from the government. We tolerate a lot from our public officials. It is not that Nigerians are too sycophantic as many might assume, but we are just not too interested in how these politicians go about their lives, even when it is very glaring that a lot of them abuse their powers and offices, we still respect them, not really out of fear, but because many of us are conscious not to allow anything to disrupt the little stability we are enjoying in our country.
It is only in Nigeria that people would be passing through the difficult times we are currently going through and we would still come out in our numbers, some flying to Bouake and others incurring expenses they are not comfortable with just to support our national football team. No one, except eediots, is talking about the tribe or religion of the various players. All the players are celebrated or criticized equally, without consideration to where they are coming from.
The leadership class, especially, the politicians must allow themselves to be taught vital lessons by what is happening in the country at the moment. They should understand that no section of this country genuinely wish to secede from this country and no Nigerian really hates Nigeria. When you hear people curse or cry about Nigeria, it is more as a result of their frustration with the leadership rather than with the country.
I am sure that Nnamdi Kanu watched the Super Eagles match yesterday and would watch them every time they play and he has access to the television. I am sure he would shout and celebrate when Nigeria scores and feel sad when we lose or concede a goal. The same with Sunday Igboho and all the other acclaimed secessionists. The truth is that none of them really believe that breaking Nigeria apart is a solution, but they are either genuinely frustrated like everyone else with how the country has been mismanaged by successive leaders or they are merely exploiting the frustration of ordinary Nigerians for their personal gains.
Nigerians do not demand too much from our leaders. Just give us the little we can survive with. There are very few overtly ambitious people in Nigeria, and I am sure that if the leadership is deliberate about putting the right conditions in place, Nigerians will drive growth in this country, the way no country has ever done, because the talents abound and the passion is enormous.
I was happy to see vice-president Kashim Shettima at Bouake yesterday and I know he is a very intelligent man who observed that the players were not to excited to see him, because, apparently, most of them are aware of the displeasure of ordinary Nigerians towards our political class. As an incurable optimist, I am hopeful that President Tinubu is desirous of making lasting changes that will place Nigeria on a good stead for sustainable progress and prosperity, but I also know that Nigerians have been patient enough and some quick actions need to be taken by the administration to douse the tension in the country. It will be disastrous if the same passion exhibited by Nigerians in supporting the Super Eagles is eventually converted to anger against the system.
MAY NIGERIA PREVAIL!
