“There is one thing the Nigerian elites forget so soon, this is how slavery started until it became the black man’s burden that even those who initiated it could not bear the weight of guilt and shame anymore”
By Njoku SaintJerry A.
In the early days of slavery, it was the captives of war that were subjected to slavery. Africans had too many inter-tribal and ethnic wars first among themselves then against the invaders searching for where to rob for food and environmental safety.
Thereafter follows the local Chiefs and family heads selling dissidents, enemies and family members considered deviants.
While we were growing up as kids in the villages it was a common threat, grannies will shout at you for every misbehaviors ‘Had it been in the olden days, I would have sold you off, stupid boy!’
Slaves were booties of raids of savages; victims of unjust desires of man quest for supremacy, slaves were stripped off of every humanity and subjected to the place of soulless beasts of burden and humiliation.
Growing up as a teenager, I found the time to ask questions about slavery, I watched movies and read books on African slaves; it was such a pathetic and painful memory, sometimes I had to cry and ask why humans were subjected to such misery and vanity until I came across a brave character named Nat Turner nicknamed ‘Ol’ Prophet Nat’ and his courage to reject slavery and led an insurrection that remained indelible in the history of brave men that stood up against their captors and oppressors.
Nat Turner did not turn against his captors alone, he picked up their accomplices including black African slaves whom has adopted the status of turncoats, a group the great Pan Africanist leader Malcom X referred to as ‘the House Negroes’ those whose deceit of self comfort did not permit to unravel the misery of their slavery status until they were all profiled and annihilated.
“Those House Negro slaves, hooded as lawyers, aides and praise singers of the Chiefs turned politicians in Nigeria today may not notice the difference, One Nigerian down, all is down, whether you are a minister or appointee of any illegitimate enterprise or persons pushed to political relevance by the crook, no Nigerian is free “
In my long search of what led to the business of slavery and why it lasted so long, I remembered the story my grannies told me and the ones I confirmed from the books about the Chiefs selling their subjects, families selling deviants, neighbours selling friends, greed and ignorance, the only guiding principle and how it relates to the present realities unfolding in Nigeria, home to the largest number of fortunate Africans and their ancestors that escaped the voyage to the Americas as condemned slaves.
Today, descendants of those Chiefs has metamorphosed into the present day politicians, the neigbours selling friends has grown into the present day accomplices of the Chiefs turned politicians, even in the absence of any rival wars or internal conflict, the Chiefs and his accomplices created one and till date another brand of slavery has gripped the home of largest number of black Africans, Nigeria.
Tell me, what have the ordinary people done to the Nigerian political elites to be subjected to the level of misery and frustration unleashed upon the innocent citizens under the leadership of their political rulers. At present about 63% of persons living within Nigeria (133 million people) are multi-dimensionaly poor with some states recording up to 90% poverty rate. This is happening despite the super oil and resource rich Nigerian land mass and vibrant society of active young people, then an opportunity came for the young people to break away from the chokehold, elect the right leaders and put things in proper perspectives, the House slaves in cahoots with the oppressors chose to rise against the suffering Nigerians even as the recent concluded Nigeria Presidential Election Petition Tribunals (PEPT) unveils.
The Judges, ‘compromised’, the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) acquiesced, the politicians and all their beneficiaries, have broken all known rules of engagement including trashing the sacred book, the Nigeria constitution, to pave way for merchants of fraud and lawlessness to continue to oppress, hold sway and keep the citizenry in perpetual servitude for the interest of the few, whose sense of supremacy and relevance is highlighted in crass greed and ignorance.
However, there is one thing these Nigerian elites forget so soon, this is how slavery started until it became the black man’s burden that even those who initiated it could not bear the weight of guilt and shame anymore.
Prior to the elections, a certain Festus Okoye, INEC commissioner on voter’s education was all over the media space shouting ‘the use of BVACs remain sacrosanct, it has come to stay. The people believed him and his INEC and chose to vote by the BVACs only for the lawyers to rise up in judgment overnight and condemn entire exercise quoting INEC’s discretionary rights to do as it pleases; perhaps somebody has greased their palms. This was how slavery started.
Election did happened, the people chose their right leader, the Judges turned volte face in defense of the fraud INEC committed in selecting whom perhaps has greased their palm, despite glaring evidences of outright disregard to the Nigerian electoral constitution as amended, despite all evidence of criminal antecedents and records of their chosen Chief. This was exactly how slavery started in motherland Africa until entire black race was subjected to the worst form of humiliation and deprivation so much that anywhere you go in the world, you’re looked down upon and treated with disdain, worse off, if you’re a Nigerian.
Those House Negro slaves, hooded as lawyers, aides and praise singers of the Chiefs turned politicians in Nigeria today may not notice the difference, One Nigerian down, all is down, whether you are a minister or appointee of any illegitimate enterprise or persons pushed to political relevance by the crook, no Nigerian is free as long as we all acquiesce to this treachery, disregard to the Nigeria constitution and electoral laws as amended.
As a careless photograph of the Nigeria President taken by, perhaps an insider reveals, at the ongoing G-20 meeting in India, the president was standing there, all alone by himself in the midst of other world leaders exchanging pleasantries presumably abandoned to himself and looking forlorn.
More so, as shame and humiliation characterizes the story of slavery at every time it is told anywhere in the world, so will the image of Nigeria strikes shame and humiliation until the Nigerian people chose to rise up and defend justice even as Ol’ Prophet Nat.
