Why are we so tame?

A few days ago, the President of my country took the liberty of going to a religious convention where almost a million Nigerians were gathered. In full view of the public and watching cameras, the President was called out to the podium after asking the gathered crowd to pray for him, he knelt down before the leader of the church for prayers. The congregation was impressed, and most with whom I have interacted afterwards are singing high praises of the President and his 'humility'.

Remember the outcry that greeted Barack Obama when he bowed to the Emperor of Japan?

What my countrymen have failed to realise are two things: the current occupier of the office has actually devalued the office of President, Federal Republic of Nigeria (again refer to Obama's experience), and he has just pulled of a cynical political stunt which had achieved its aim of hoodwinking people into believing that he is a very pious man (remember that Obasanjo when he was looking for votes went to this same place). At the same time, the President has pushed out of the window, the lesson that can be learned from Matthew 6:5 which for the records states, “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full."

The meaning of that verse is as unambiguous as the statement, "the sky is blue".

As if to prove me right in saying that his actions at the Redeemed Camp last Friday were a cynical political stunt, Goodluck Jonathan and his convoy of bumbling idiots last night caused what can only be described as traffic hell. They closed down the 3rd Mainland Bridge. All because a book of the President's Facebook quotes was being launched.

The President's Facebook quotes!

I don't want to go into the argument about the value of a compilation of Facebook quotes, but I must ask what they will add to the body of knowledge, and why the launch of such a book should attract such a humongous event?

For the records, 3rd Mainland Bridge at 12km is the longest bridge on the continent. Because of the number of areas in Lagos that can be accessed through that bridge, it services over a million people each day. The traffic on that bridge has actually gone up slightly since the road-works at the Orile axis began. Driving at a constant 100km/h on that bridge will take you across it in 12 minutes. Now imagine the hell that people went through yesterday simply because of a political gimmick?

My anger however is not directed at Goodluck Jonathan. In my view, this event shows that he is absolutely no different from the politicians around him, and the vast majority of those who came before him. My anger is directed at Nigerians.

Why are we so tame?

When I complained about this incident on the internet, a friend of mine admonished me that since he is President it is his right to close down traffic. That did I not grow up in Nigeria? Which leader has not done this before? Good question. My reply to that friend would be, the fact that previous Nigerian leaders (most of them military dictators) did it, does not make it right. Why do we as a people have this really annoying tendency of defending what is wrong simply because other people are doing it or have done it before?

Being that this friend of mine lived in the UK for some years, I would point him to the outcry that followed Tony Blair. When returning from a trip to the US in 2006, Mr. Blair's driver decided to avoid traffic by driving on a bus lane! People screamed, Mr. Blair paid the fine and it did not happen again. That my people is a leader who (at least on the surface), panders to the wishes of the electorate who voted him in.

Again, why are we so tame?