Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Babatunde Fashola, Diezani Alison-Madueke and Aminu Tambuwal belong to one religion, whether we see it so or not doesn’t change the fact that it is true. Law Mefor often ascribes the generality of the Nigerian conundrum to the attitude of the political elite, and rightly so. This demographic, the political elite, make up 100% of the members of the religion of The Haves. Their god is very different from the one that governs the rest of us and he is more benevolent. Suspending and enacting laws of the land at whim, encouraging corrupt individuals and leaving them to God whenever they wish to, as was the case between the Nigerian Senate and Abdulrasheed Maina.
The Haves are not affected by fuel scarcity, economic downturn, unemployment, and so on. Their “faith” has completely warded them off limits from such incursions. It is strange to see their children in these ASUU-infested universities and they cannot attend the same failing educational institutions the rest of us attend.
Their worship places are state houses and legislative chambers where the decision to pass laws accruing millions of naira as wages and pensions for themselves occurs in record breaking time and every other law that benefits the Have-nots takes at least 365 days. Yet, the latest statistics by the religious council AKA the World Bank puts the ratio of Haves to Have-nots in Nigeria as 20:80.
As a rule, the Haves must treat the Have-nots condescendingly 90% of the time. The Have-nots treated as such must also receive such inglorious handling with delight. How else do you think a General in the army can order the torture of an innocent civilian and the civilian will thank God in church the next Sunday for being alive without any lawyer getting paid.
Rules are rules until a Have breaks it. They have all sorts of technicalities that form the core of every victory at election tribunals. They are not arrested for crimes of defalcation or theft no matter the magnitude, a simple plea bargain will suffice, yet the Have-nots have been handed down harsh sentences for petty theft of mobile phones. A case of sentencing to death for a similar offence was even reported three years ago.
The Have-nots are not entirely devoid of blame. They are lazy and see the Haves as gods in themselves. The Have-nots often worship the Haves when their paths cross, be it in Christian, Muslim or traditional worship centers. They sing ballads in which the Haves are depicted as “Herculean descendants” and the entire community saved by the magnanimity of their huge pockets. The source of such pocket protuberance is inconsequential. The Have can be in charge of the pension of a Have-not and the Have-not will extend profound thanks to the Have if and when such a pension is received regardless of countless months spent in the rain, not to mention over three decades spent serving the nation.
In fact, even when a Have-not has been blessed with an oil well or juicy contract or political appointment to help swell his/her pockets which is the main road to salvation in the Have faith, such a former Have-not is most likely to frown upon his former flock. New Haves are sometimes worse, days spent in the sweltering desert of not having tends to tamper with their mental capabilities. They seem to have this compelling need to cover up on years of unruly behavior they missed while yet “sinners”.
It is truly a sad time to live in Nigeria and, although things are picking up, the middle class growing (those attending catechism classes pending when they will be accepted into the fold of the Haves), the gap between the rich and the poor will continue to rise if all things remain as ‘equal’ as they are (pun intended).
My dear brothers and sisters, we have been deceived for quite a long time. Our political elite do not wish us to know they are united in greed. When they gather and share our collective common wealth amongst a few, dishing out over priced contracts and ministerial appointments to undeserving citizens they do not do so based on Christianity or Islam, it is based on Have and Have-not. While the Have-nots are busy divided on virtual fault lines of religion, killing one another, the Haves are united in greed to rid our nation of its breath.
I doubt if any other religious divide is as capable of splitting the Nigerian nation as much as the rift between the Haves and the Have-nots although the rift is currently non-existent. It is my earnest prayer that more will be baptized into the Haves faith and they will hold better opinions towards the Have-nots, before Nigeria descends into the “Black-Spring”, from which recovery is as tough as ascending the Everest. If in doubt see Libya, Egypt and Syria.
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