Nigerians and the ‘bones’ in their ‘throats’
By Busuyi Mekusi
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Nature is creatively superlative in the art of aesthetics and uncommon sceneries. These are almost inexhaustible, from the elements found on earth, and those that adorn the sky. Little wonder that the imaginative mind of a poet could allow him a trip to the orbits, before scientists ever launched a rocket. Oceans across the world do not just divide ‘fabricated’ nations, but also chart the course of events, voyages and relations. Some of these oceans are complicit in the ferrying of humans across the world, as slaves and indenture labourers. The Indian Ocean is particularly ’embattled’ when it comes to complicated relationships. Aquatic animals are representational of the rich kingdom of diversity that could be found among mammals and humans. While a nation like America and Australia seem to have succeeded in harnessing the advantages inherent in ethno-cultural diversity, a nation like Nigeria is heavily divided along tribal-religious lines.
Aquatic elements are either vertebrate or invertebrate in nature, with most of them endangered by the edibility conferred on them in nations like Nigeria. Some nations might be concerned about the depletion of aquatic deposits, just like the efforts made at the forestation of most depleted natural belts across the globe, and the replenishment of lakes such as Lake Chad, whose depletion has put pressure on people who relied on it for survival, thereby precipitating forced migrations, including those of herders who are now menacing nuisance and alleged marauders. Like the stubborn goat, we keep fouling our feeding troughs, contaminating our waters, and putting at risk unprotected mammals therein. In league with Nigerians’ unmitigated importation propensities, we import chemically denatured fishes, whereas artificiality defines our pounding and fish productions. We need not wish the ‘crude’ past into the trash bin, after all!
Eating vertebrate aquatic animals is satisfying, and medicinally titivating, particularly when served as ‘pepper soup’ menu, commonly found in popular ‘joints’ across Southern Nigeria. One dreadful thing about fish soups and stews is the bony investments that call for very great caution, when eaten. The bones that carry the bodily structures of vertebrate aquatic elements are a source of iron to human eaters, but pose a lot of threats to eaters as they could hang in the esophagus. A colleague of mine since called it quit with vertebrate aquatic materials because of his agonising experience with a bone in the pharynx as a lad. Predictably, the discomfort caused by a bone in the throat would make one to want to stop patronising bony fishes, while the stress lasts.
Getting rid of the unfriendly stranger in one’s throat is simple and complex, depending on the complicated structure the offending bone has. It is simply an attempt to cure madness with madness, which ranges from swallowing morsels that would produce forceful push; dry bread that could help incapacitate the bone’s territory; drinking water, which is described as ‘life’ – even though water scarcity is still popular in the face of unquenchable thirst in Nigeria. Better still, the bone would lose its grip naturally, after running its course in the throat, thereby cascading from the esophagus to the digestive track.
Insecurity remains ‘a poisonous bone’ in the ‘throats’ of Nigerians, as the entire security architecture seems to have collapsed and seized by criminal elements, who are so emboldened that national spaces have been turned to their theatres of operations, as Nigeria highways are turned to entrapping locations for imprisonment. People get hunted and trapped, like mouse, by ‘cannibals in rage’. Akungba-Akoko main road is rather angrily famished, and must be ‘cured’ once and for all. The vulnerable are both low and high on the social ladder, with a local government chairman in Taraba being the latest high-profiled kidnapped victim. The adoption of children and some caregivers in the Abuja orphanage would have been welcomed if not that that form of take-in is negatively reprehensible. We need to ‘adopt’ orphans for care, and not for ransom! Regrettably, the Fulanisation of criminality in Nigeria receives reinforcement by the day, with ethnic profiling remaining a misnomer, whereas their tribal obtrusive posturing is highly criminally suggestive and suspicious.
The criminal sticking-tag of Fulanis must be interrogated sustainably. However, the itinerant forceful and destructive behaviours of Fulani herders have left no one in doubt of the possibility of culpability. Igangan became the epicenter of violent kidnapping in the Southwest, condemnably accentuated by the killing of Dr. Fatai Aborode, the German returnee agriculturist, by suspected Fulani herders. Herders have been accused of impunity and brashness, leading to their violations of spaces, properties, etc., based on what people call the notion of spatial ownership. The occupations of forests across the country reminiscent that of a monstrous outcast in Yoruba mythology, fueled by the suspicion of the historical jihadist expansionist agenda of the minority group. PMB is not also trusted by the majority of Southerners, because of his complex body-language, burdensome identity and identification with the Fulani herders.
The recent larger-than-life displays of Sunday Igboho reminds us of the making of a hero, as the Yorubas believe that the ‘son of fire’ is the best messenger to be sent to ‘fire’. The kingdoms of God and man seem to valorise the violent relevance of thuggery. Gani Adams’ ascendancy clearly shows how that segment of the socio-political Nigeria formations complements the political, economic and traditional classes. A bad child is believed to have his/her own day, as an emancipator, as s/he squares up with the enemies at the gate. Igboho has demonstrated the place of traditionalism, and the mediation by Islam and Christianity, hoping to identify with one after his onerous liberating-agenda of the Yoruba race. Igboho must protect his Achilles’ Heel, as commissioned hatchet-jobs like Ojudu’s questionable exposé, meant to demystify Fayemi and entrench Tinubu’s overlord narrative, would be used to corrupt, de-market, and present him as a cash-and-carry untrustworthy malleable ‘substance of abuse’, to ensure he loses public trust. Desperate politicians would stop at nothing to either get him to their side, or taint him disgustingly. He must also be wary of enemies within, like Judas Iscariot. The arson on his house is a mere draft. He must note that heroes don’t reign forever!
Other ‘bones’ in Nigerians’ ‘throats’ are truck-induced accidents that have reduced Nigeria spaces to slaughtering slabs. Nigeria business owners run their empires on the blood of innocent people, with Dangote presiding over the kingdom of ‘killers’. Akungba-Akoko, the rustic overstretched university town, is in recent times made a slippery space and needless Golgotha, with the maiming and killings of 23rd January, 2021, as damning remarks on the disputations between the forces of evil. Lack of accountability on the part of drivers of articulated trucks and their owners engrave the culpability of governments that cannot build good roads for the safety of citizens. Just like bandits, truck drivers are evidently ‘terrorists’ on Nigeria roads! Life is very cheap in Nigeria, with governments’ talks often conciliatory and compromising, and not compensatory.
Amidst the dusts raised by the interface between Southwest Governors and representatives of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and the replacement of Service Chiefs by the ‘recalcitrant’ President, there is the urgent need to get the ‘bones’ out of the ‘throats’ of Nigerians, and it the new Service Chiefs should ensure it is no ‘business as usual’. Beyond the condemnation of the politics of ethnic profiling, political leaders must take responsibility and secure the people. Arákùnrin must not surrender to any politically-correct supervisor. Communities in Southwest must raise more Igbohos to defend themselves against attritions, if governments continue to fail. Illegal occupants of forests and other spaces must be evacuated, with modern herding embraced. The Fulanis must stop transgressing others’ spaces, all in the name of pursuing personal business. Truck drivers must be screened and held accountable, along with their employers. Governments in Nigeria must also note that good roads are possible on earth and not necessarily in heaven, where people are sent to prematurely.