[dropcap]O[/dropcap]ne cannot say for sure who originated the hashtag #WeDieHere aimed at boosting the morale of the Super Eagles to defeat Argentina in the ongoing World Cup holding in Russia. However, what can be readily deduced from the defeat and ouster of the Super Eagles by her long time rival, Argentina, is that neither fancy or fiery hashtags nor sanctimonious prayers translate to excellence performance in the game of football as with life itself without strategic action. The of rave hashtags, the chants of courage, the hope of believers have never translated and will never translate to the proficiency of skills needed to marshal out an impressive sporting outcome without strategic and relevant action. If we must pick a lesson from our failed Russian foray, that is it.
In addition, it is about time the generality of our population rises to a greater call to responsibility by taking action aimed at creating intended and desirable outcomes in our political cum social lives than abdicating that responsibility to faith, which itself only creates the fate concomitant with the character of value invested in it.
The holy book says faith without works is dead. As such, faith without the corresponding and necessary action aimed at creating desirable outcomes will result in a hopeless fate.
Is it any wonder, therefore, that Nigeria is the way it is in spite of the gamut of sanctimonious sanctitude, religious piety and hopeful hopelessness unsustained by strategic action aimed at creating desirable outcomes?
Isn’t it amazing that we wanted to win the World Cup by the grace of God and not dint of hard work just as we had wished to make Nigeria an El Dorado in the year 2000 as was the case in the 80s? Although we have since shifted that to the year 2020 and believing that the desire alone suffices for strategic action, isn’t it worrisome that it’s 2 years to go already and that with what we are hearing and reading in the news of our being the new world Capital of Poverty, it is self evident that our graduation in national delusion through the years, which has now assumed a feverish pitch and frightening dimension, is our greatest undoing? Yet it is still not dawn?
We die here indeed as cows and citizens collide daily for rights of passage and control of our common patrimony. We die here in Nigeria for failing to place premium on values and merit and shamefully, if not shamelessly, making our national discourse about cows and fools rather than of advancement in tech and tact. We die here!
Why won’t we die? Have we not subjected the best of ourselves to be superintended by the very worst of our pack? Do we truly expect the sufficiency of divine grace to sanction the unction of plain clothed buffoonery and daylight foolery? For real?
Have we not by our reluctance to rise to the call of citizenship, to defend rights and promote values ultimately endorsed the deaths of several thousands of ourselves and still counting? Why won’t we die here? Have we made our nation a place for life to thrive? How?
Won’t there be another strike by Fulani herdsmen again? Haven’t we seen enough already? Is the excused Boko Haram not inflicting enough damage already? Aren’t we divided enough for caution? Do we really think we are unbreakable? Isn’t that the mentality that fosters the unending bloodletting? For real, what sort of queer breed of people are we?
Do we think our convenient resort to blaming others other than ourselves based on our failure to take responsibility for determining the outcomes of our life as a nation is truly the route to El Dorado? For real?
So we have not had enough? Issorait.
Oraye St. Franklyn is a barrister-at-law. He is senior special assistant to Governor Nyesom Wike on Social Media. He is a strategic communicator and good governance advocate, writes from Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He tweets from @RealOraye. He is also on Facebook.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
