Journey with Lisabi to the National Conference

Travelling is something I love doing, the prospect of seeing new places always tickles my fancy leaving me salivating like a dog that sees a juicy bone. Unfortunately I haven’t been to that many places. For starters, I have never been out of Nigeria; the closest I have ever been to a border is Badagry. To my credit, I have been to 10 states in Nigeria including our federal capital and I have passed through about 7 others on my travels. I could claim being a medical student as an excuse or the bad roads; I could even pass the buck to Shekau and his cohorts for making the Northeast a hotbed of violence, the Fulani nomads and their adversaries, in the Jos plateau, I won’t spare from my blame game also. The truth is, the buck I’ve been passing around is actually a boomerang which will always find its way back to me because if I really mean to travel, these issues will become challenges to be overcome.

Like the patriot I claim to be, I always try to find ways to support Nigeria to the best of my knowledge and abilities; I even try to watch Nollywood in spite of the little boy inside me screaming H**L NO! in keeping with my patriotic zeal, I spent a good deal of a Sunday afternoon watching a Yoruba movie about a legendary Egba warrior, Lisabi. He accomplished great feats like defeating the army of the great Oyo Empire, inventing the use of explosives in Yoruba warfare (according to the movie). His own form of explosive needed no timer or detonator; all he had to do was pour a special powder on the target, chant some incantations and BOOM! So, the little boy inside of me took control when that scene was shown and I suggested that all the metaphysical phenomena that pervades our culture and society probably had some form of scientific basis even though the human knowledge base of today is yet unable to fully explain or comprehend it; except the select few who know how to harness it. Among the disconcerting responses I got was from a colleague who equated my suggestion that spirituality/ metaphysics/ whatever name it’s also called is akin to me declaring disbelief in God.  If a 10^th century man finds himself in our time, magic would probably be the only way he can explain how we talk to each other over thousands of kilometers or how we can send objects weighing several tons up into the air. Rest my case.

Right now, about 500 delegates are in the Federal Capital, discussing Nigeria’s future. ‘Disbursing Nigeria’s future’ is probably a more appropriate description. At the risk of being labeled a cynic, i will declare that the conference is not going to yield meaningful results with reasons. A look at the delegate list should already make any concerned Nigerian even more concerned. A conference, where the delegates are people who have, or are currently benefiting from the status quo, is unlikely to make any meaningful change. The fact that whatever comes out of the conference must still pass through the National assembly before it can assume any form of meaning. This may explain why some delegates are just there to fill the attendance log without being in attendance. I don’t blame them! I may do the same too; if I know what I am doing is unlikely to count for anything but I am getting paid anyways, I may simply go there and enjoy the ride. If you’re still not convinced, I have 3 pictures that will definitely convince you.

One might ask; what is the connection between travel, patriotism, Lisabi, metaphysics and national conference. Answer is quite straightforward: despite the fact that I wanna travel, I still manage to give excuses for my inertia. The average Nigerian, even kids, knows what our problems are but always find excuses for not doing something to correct them (the government is to blame!) and harms Nigeria even more by his actions. Patriotism from every Nigerian may be the answer to solving our problems. According to some accounts, Lisabi was murdered by Egba high chiefs because he became so popular he was well positioned to become King in his own right. We should not always expect roses and appreciation from fellow Nigerians even when we have done the country a great service. Some may even attempt to harm you for that. Our collective religiosity in Nigeria may be a hindrance because we keep ‘praying without working,’ we expect heaven’s help without trying to help ourselves.  This national conference is another showpiece of our political system where our ‘leaders’ create diversions to take our collective eyes off the real important issues and focus on mundane things hence, perpetuating themselves in power.

Who will be our Lisabi? If you are scared of being murdered like Lisabi was, don’t worry; some accounts say he lived long and died at old age, others claim he was swallowed by the earth like other men in Yoruba legends who become ‘orisa’. Who knows if in a few centuries, Nigeria will be celebrating you just like the Egba celebrate Lisabi.