Femi Fani-Kayode
Femi
Fani-Kayode, a prominent thought leader in Nigeria, writes on the
propensity to think and speak like slaves by historically oppressed
groups in the West African country.
The most
difficult challenge that Nigerians face is not the hegemony of the Hausa
Fulani ruling class but the ignorance and slavish mentality of some of
those from the Middle Belt and the south that they have conquered.
Ignorance, cowardice, and delusion is
the language and practice of slaves. And it is typical of a slave to
despise and hate those that seek to liberate him from his slave masters
and his chronic bondage.
This is because the liberator or, if you
like, the deliverer, reminds them of their slavish and pitiful
condition and continuously urges them to try and break out of it and
rise up.
The slave either accepts, rises up and
follows this counsel with joy, pride and hope believing that God has
finally answered his prayer and made a way for him and his loved ones or
he violently rejects it and pours venom and contempt upon the one who
offers it.
The question the latter asks in their hearts is “who made you our deliverer?”
Or “are you any better than we are?”
Or “we know you very well and you are not fit to be our deliverer or to liberate us”.
They cap it all by saying, “who the hell do you think you are anyway?”
They forget that the Holy Bible says “God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wisdom of the wise”.
God always uses those that humans view as the most unworthy as his weapon and tool for deliverance.
The Bible is replete with such examples from Jephtha and Samson to Paul and Jehu.
If the Lord chooses to so do He can use a
madman, a village idiot, a comedian or even a monkey or a donkey to
liberate His people.
The vessel or individual He chooses to
use, no matter how unfit that person may appear to be to the human mind,
is His choice and He alone knows why He made that choice.
Maybe He did so because He alone sees
the heart of that person as was the case with David, who was an
adulterer and a murderer or Moses, who was a killer and fugitive.
They both committed the most heinous
crimes yet the Lord, who is perfect in all His ways, still chose and
used them to deliver His people.
That is God’s way and it is marvellous in our sight.
They say that the most difficult slave
to liberate is the one that has been so stripped of his dignity and
sense of self-worth and that has been so subjugated and broken that he
does not even know that he is a slave anymore.
Instead he erroneously and honestly
believes that his pitiful condition is somehow deserved and that it is
his lot and due in life.
He has been subjected to the most
damaging and destructive form of mind-control and consequently he
virtually lives for, and ONLY for, his master and to serve that master’s
interest and do his bidding.
Such people are suffering from a broken spirit. They have lost their souls and have been blinded by their ignorance.
This is tragic but sadly it is the
bitter truth. These are the type of people that would willingly fight
and die for their slave masters in a war of liberation rather than to
fight for their own freedom or on the side of those that are trying to
liberate and free them.
They are the type of people that would
support and vote for those who seek to continue to enslave them in an
election rather than for those who seek to deliver and free them from
bondage.
And sadly a few Nigerians from the south and Middle Belt suffer from that terrible mindset and affliction.
The greatest source of opposition that
the liberator and deliverer gets is not from the Hausa Fulani slave
masters of the core north but from such people.
I have never heard of a core northerner
who has fought for or sided with a southerner that wishes to dominate
and enslave him and his people but I know many southerners and Middle
Belters that have supported, voted and fought for core northerners who
seek to enslave them and their people and keep them in bondage forever.
It is a pitiful thing: a great evil
under the sun and it is left to the rest of us to try and open their
eyes and enlighten them. Freedom is not a curse: it is a precious gift
from God. And ALL of God’s children are worthy of it.
May the Lord help us.
Femi
Fani-Kayode is a lawyer, a Nigerian politician, an evangelical
christian, an essayist, a poet and he was the Special Assistant (Public
Affairs) to President Olusegun Obasanjo from July 2003 until June 2006.
He was the minister of culture and tourism of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria from June 22nd to Nov 7th 2006 and as the minister of Aviation
from Nov 7th 2006 to May 29th 2007. He tweets from@realFFK.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
0 comments:
Post a Comment