This time I
have decided to write something different - this is about something that has
been on my mind. It has to do with not matters of the heart but something that
I wanted to write for some time now. So, I guess it does matter.
I want to
talk about Mr Shem Obafaiye - the Lagos state commandant of the Nigeria
Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) who has been the butt of jokes
recently by a wide section of Nigerians owing to his inability to correctly
mention his organization's web address. Yes, the man goofed on Television and
trust Nigerians, he has to pay.
So, here's
my two cents on the entire episode... I hope it makes for a good read.
When one certain Mr Shem Obafaiye goofed on a Channels
Television breakfast programme – Sunrise Daily – by confidently expressing
ignorance of the web address of the organization he represents, the Nigeria
Security Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) of which he is a commandant there and made
reference to ‘my oga at the top,’ a phrase which has now become an instant hit,
nobody in their wildest imagination could have believed such an innocuous
mistake will bring smiles to the face of many. But it did.
I had a jolly good laugh. I shared a YouTube link
to the video on my girlfriend’s wall on Facebook and as intended, she quickly
caught the ‘oga at the top’ bug. But that was how far I went. How far did you
go? And no, this is not a judgement call but how many of us have not made an
honest mistake before?
I feared for Mr Shem Obafaiye on two grounds –
his psyche and his job. In other climes, assuming he is a ‘white man’ no pun
intended, he would have committed suicide! There’s no two ways about it. His
job already is on shaky grounds if media speculation is to be believed – that
he has been suspended by his ‘oga at the top’.
Wow! Not like I am surprised but such is the
power of social media – a virtual yet very powerfully effective tool if and
when deployed. Little wonder the oppressors of the Nigerian people are jittery
and whenever they have the opportunity never cease to call for its censorship.
While I support responsible and conscious use of social media tools, I do not
support its outright censorship! I digress.
While the ‘oga at the top’ joke was going round,
I could not help but notice two salient points: that while Mr Shem Obafaiye was
the butt of all the jokes, no one cared to know his ethnicity or religion. And
when calls were made to desist from doing further damage, no one used either
religion or ethnicity as an excuse. For once in a very long time, these two key
ingredients which have always been our focal points in an argument or counter
argument, was conspicuously missing. How did we achieve that feat?
Which brings me to a somewhat inconclusive end –
it is either we are smart by half or simply foolish! Where we need to discuss
the real issues devoid of religious and ethnic sentiments, that is where we
display our ignorance and where it is not really required, we play intelligent.
Who are we deceiving? Those who were so quick to print the ‘oga at the top’
t-shirts, make video and audio remixes of the phrase and so on thereby cashing
in on the unfortunate mistakes of one man, I ask, where was your thinking cap when
the National Council of States headed by President Goodluck Jonathan granted
DSP Alamieyeseigha a fraudulent state pardon?
This saga once again reveals the thinking of the
average Nigerian man – kill the fly with a sledge hammer but decorate the path
of the poisonous snake with sweet scented flowers. It is that same attitude in
us that will make a mob kill four young men in their prime over a false
allegation but praise the likes of Peter Odili to high heavens for being a
smart thief. It is that same spirit that will not let us constructively dissect
issues of national importance from a nationalist and unbiased point of view but
will allow us do same when matters of less national importance are brought up.
Are we alright? If left unabated, this ‘oga at the top’ joke will last longer
in national discourse than the pardon granted Alams and the everyday brazen
pilfering of our commonwealth by our ogas at the top who are by the way having
a field day while we concentrate all our energy on the mundane.
The same passion, zeal, forthrightness and
thoughtfulness with which we attacked the ‘oga at the top’ phenomenon, can we
at least translate same into our everyday lives?
The moment we realise that every mobile phone,
personal computer, tablet, or device that grants us access to the internet is a
very powerful tool that we can use in causing a change, positive change, that
is the moment we begin to reclaim our country back from those who have made it
their birth right by virtue of luck, appointment or by our own ignorance.
The moment we realise that there are bigger
fishes to fry than gathering around the fingerlings just to satisfy our
transient pleasures and fantasies that is the moment we begin to indicate our
seriousness to challenge the status quo and keep our ogas at the top on their
toes.
Now, may I seize this opportunity to join those
who have called for an end to this rude joke? Enough said, because if I may
recall correctly, no one, maybe with the exception of President Jonathan
though, has been at the receiving end of Nigerians use of social media like Mr
Shem Obafaiye. The poor man has suffered enough and deserves our collective
pardon.
After all, DSP Alams, a convicted felon who
still has cases pending in the UK and maybe U.S., was recently granted pardon
by the state – what more could be worse? Who else could be less deserving of
our forgiveness and mercy?
Follow on Twitter @ayoadaniel
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