Movies are sometimes a reflection of our reality and at other times, they are simply a representation of man's ability to think out of the box and explore his creative genius without any prescribed limits in sight. Instructional as they may be in their use, some of them are simply vehicles of sensual entertainment. Someone like me does not qualify to be called the average movie freak anyway, having just seen the nineties classic movie, Titanic some weeks ago. Anyway, we have learnt from movies that vampires are sub-human creatures that like to feed on blood and cannot stay under the direct heat of the sun's rays. How true this is is only an excursion into the minds of the perceptive and adventurous.
For the most part, some who watch movies find it very difficult to draw the line between reality and fiction. What is certainly not fiction in modern day Nigeria is that the vampires have come to stay and they are among us or how else do you explain the fact that lawmakers in Nigeria get more pay than the President of the United States of America whose democracy we claim to ape does. I really do not want to bore you with the actual figures, as they are at best sickening and unconscionable and come under various appellations. This is a country where 100 million other Nigerians live on less than one dollar a day. Only God knows when those in power will listen to the voice of reasoning that says the cost of maintaining this executive apparatus called government is on the high side to the detriment of the person on the street. These are the same legislators who surely must have what it takes to win us some much-needed gold medals in boxing at the next Olympics going by their not so honourable display in the recent past at a time they were supposed to be making laws on our behalf. This is a classic example of vampires on rampage!
For a situation in which federal ministers, whose innumerable personal assistants and special advisers have their own assistants and advisers either assisting or advising, is that not an over bloated form of government. The question that we should all be asking is what the results that the average person on the streets can point to are. The way forward is that the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) should rework all salaries of government officials and public office holders with a view to probably cut them by about 70%. If we are able to pull this off, the resources there from can then be expended for the general good. Just before you cry yourselves hoarse, even the blind man can see that we are in dire need of drastic measures and critical situations require the bravest of men and women.
Bus drivers and their conductors find it convenient to hike fares even up to about 200% when the heavens release their pent up fury blaming it on traffic jams and fuel. This they do with all glee informing all those who cannot pay to take a hike and allow those who can afford it to board. The next time you are at a bus stop waiting for a bus with many other people, you just might have a taste of this unpalatable offering of theirs. That is the vampire in them coming to the fore.
The electoral reforms we earnestly desire are still a dream as stories abound of votes not being the deciding factor as to who is returned as the winner in an election. The direct beneficiaries of this unusual state are the vampires who will stop at nothing to make sure the situation remains unchanged. Positive electoral reforms are the ammunition we need to kill the electoral vampires among us and we all are the warriors that must don the garb of war and make sure our votes count come the 2011 elections.
Governors are not in any way left out, as all that the observant mind needs to do is assess overall performance in their states and see those who are not performing, as they should. They prefer to fly out of the country to spend our money on wanton pleasures under the guise of seeking foreign investors. Undoubtedly, whether or not those trips have borne fruit remains a matter requiring urgent attention. For a good number of them, success in government equates to spending two terms in office whether deserved or undeserved. Talk of vampires dressed in civilian attires!
As the independence celebrations draw near the vampires in us must spend billions of naira to celebrate when there are schoolchildren who still receive lessons under trees perhaps in a bid to be closer to nature and there are undergraduates in our tertiary institutions who still endure the worst of the pillow fights between the government and their teachers. They must celebrate when there are still millions of people with no access to adequate health care, there is the monstrous beast of erratic power supply to contend with, and there is the unmistakeable stench of corruption in every facet of the Nigerian life. Those are the vampires at work.
Unfortunately, the movies do not prescribe a lasting solution to the proliferation of vampires so we must all look in our realities and work to make sure we build the Nigeria of our dreams. One sure way to start is if we can all learn to be empathetic in all situations. If our leaders were not so far removed from the harsh realities of our everyday lives then we would probably have better governance at the federal, state and local government levels and thus rid ourselves of titular vampires. If we the people all learnt to put ourselves in the shoes of the other person whom we refer to as our neighbour, we would most likely have a better place to live in. The only option open to us is to join hands and sound the death knell to all the vampires among us.
Good one bro! And I like the font, it makes the article very readable.
ReplyDeleteThanks man!
ReplyDeleteYou know how we do it! :-)