By Eze Jude .O
The term vicious circle can be defined as a situation in which the solution to one problem creates a chain of problems, each making it more difficult to solve the original one. In the art of philosophy and logic, it is also a fallacy in which the premise is used to prove a conclusion which is then used to prove the premise.
In all, it implicates a situation in social justice in which the evil that men do lives after them. One reaps what one sows. The good or the evil one do, awaits one at one's doorstep. Ndigbo have a nugget that "Onye na-aga n' uzo nyuchie nsi uzo, O lotawa O zute ijiji." (One can run from the consequences of one's misdeeds, but one can't hide). Scholars of Igbo cosmology call it "Ometara buru" philosophy.
How this affects us as country will be the centrepoint of our discourse in today's edition of our regular Tuesday digest - The Concourse.
On Friday, September 13, 2013 former governor of Ondo state, Olusegun Kukumo Agagu died. And three weeks later, while his corpse was being flown to his hometown, from Lagos, for internment, the plane crashed, killing his relatives accompanying the corpse on board.
So many negative reactions trailed the incident. Among those who reacted to it was one Fadeshola Grace Adewole, who wrote this on her Facebook timeline: "Before he became a governor, Agagu was the aviation minister under olusegun obasanjo. Under his watch, aviation sector in Nigeria became a death trap and a nightmare for many travellers. Mr Agagu did nothing to revive or help the sector, but he helped his pocket. His dead body has just "re-died" alongside his many other family members, a day before his internment.
This reminds me of Abdukarim Adisa as minister of works. Although he was from Ilorin, Adisa refused to fix the Ibadan-Ilorin road. Few years later he died in an accident on the same road. I hope all the other politicians ruling Nigeria know that life and death can also be a metaphor.
Corruption has a way of fighting back, when you least expect. Fix nigeria!!! You will not only invariably fix your family in the process, but your future and your resting place. The law of karma is palpably real."
Her reaction summed the reqiuem. The lesson is left for us.
Sometime on July 30, 2012, pictures of David Cameron (UK prime minister at the time) boarding public train made the rounds. It attracted admiration from Nigerians especially the commoners, because this doesn't happen in Blackman's country, by the simple fact that we don't represent the ideals of humanity. In Europe and American, and greater parts of Asia, governments build strong institutions, in Africa we build strong men.
Two weeks ago, Pope Francis was seen boarding Air Italia flight back to Rome after his landmark Iraqi trip, carrying his own bag. Many in our clime marvelled that a global leader of a sort like the Pope could carry his own luggage and board a passenger airline. It makes news in this part of the world, where police orderly of a minister is turned into an errand boy of his wife and luggage carrier for the master. Many compete to win the job of carrying luggage for our VIPs, and satiate their 'eye-service' urges.
Meanwhile, the pain in the current dispensation is that the strong men are no longer built by barefaced corruption, but by irreparable loans. The current data from Debt Management Office (DMO) shows that our foreign debt has risen to well over $84 billion. Loans are borrowed to service private pockets and nepotistic lust. The nations future is mortgaged to Peoples Republic of China on loans, and our children's future/welfare are halfspent on loan servicing.
Yet, currently, National Bureau of statistics (NBS) released one of the most shocking data of the century last Tuesday. It revealed that our unemployment rate hit all time high of 33%. You'll marvel the more when you realize that this data covers only the formal sector. Imagine if the non-formal sectors are captured.
About a month ago, Minister of transport, Hon. Rotimi Amechi was interviewed in a radio station on the state of rail transport in Nigeria. He felt so uneasy and apparently raged at each question prodding to know why the sub-sector is in mess. The anchor of the program then added the last straw when he asked: "why is it that there is always a report of train breakdown and engine malfunction at almost every trip."
He was deliriously livid, and ruffled. Then he raised his voice again and answered: "even human being do have breakdown in health, how much more a train." He spent over $10 million on the project, and he expects Nigerians to understand with him when it often breaks down on transit.
Make a flashback to 9th October 2017. It was the day, our First Lady, Aisha Buahri, seeing how billions mapped out annually for Aso Villa Clinics were being embezzled with impunity, protested (if not revolted) against the state of affairs at the clinic. She would later that evening take her daughter to a private clinic in Abuja for diagnosis and treatment.
She was maligned by her husband's cronies who she had earlier tagged "cabals." She was hushed down and jettisoned off the media limelight. Three years later, one of those President's henchmen, Mallam Abba Kyari got ill, and could not be managed by the ill-equipped State House medical center. He would later die from the complications elsewhere.
Vicious circle principle is not domiciled with political leaders. The lecturer in medical school who aid and abate exam malpractice never prays to be a patient in the hands of his former students. And so our political leaders knew that after they had messed up the Augean stable, in the country, they run abroad at the slightest symptom of headache, where honest and patriotic men had paid the price to emthrone a good system for their health and economic welfare.
But at the heat of Covid, we were all stalked here. And we reaped what we sowed. Our leaders got choked by the odouriferous fume of their own flatulence.
That was why my hat dropped for President John Magufuli of Tanzania who died honorably in his home country under the care of his own indigenous health-care professionals. In fact his score card as President was filled with positive grades.
At this point permit me to digress a little to pay tribute to this great fallen African leader. He came from the same country where Julius Nyerere (whose cause to sainthood had begun in earnest) ruled.
He made Tanzania a Middle Income country; rejected a $10 billion loan from China and didn't go on state trips outside Africa. He reduced the cabinet's size from 30 to 19 while banning Government officials from foreign trips and abolishing their tax exemptions.
Magufuli accused UK company, Acacia Mining of illegal mining and ordered them to pay $193 billion for undervaluing Tanzania's gold exports. Over 250 containers of theirs were seized at Dar es Salaam port. They paid $300 million and gave Tanzania 16% ownership in three mines.
Magufuli introduced free education in government schools in 2016. He acquired 6 Air Tanzania planes, expanded Terminal III of Julius Nyerere International Airport.
He built Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway, Mfugale Flyover, Julius Nyerere Hydropower Station, Ubungo Interchange.
Dr. Magufuli built Selander Bridge, Kigongo-Busisi Bridge, Huduma Bora Za afya, Vituo Bora Za Afya, expanded Port of Dar es Salaam, Dodoma Bus Terminal, an LNG plant, a water project, a wind farm project, Uhuru Hospital project, a gold refinery plant, and Magufuli Bus Terminal.
Late President Magufuli excelled in infrastructure and financial affairs. He faced numerous accusations of human rights abuses and was accused of repressing the opposition. He also banned explicit images or videos online.
He wasn't a saint, but was a true son of Africa. He was another Nelson Mandela.
Other African leaders have the option of adjusting their belts, extinguishing the flame of their greed, and quenching their insatiable appetite for corruption to fit into Magufuli's worldview or forever rue the woes of the continent.
May daylight spare us!
...Eze Jude .O, is a Laboratory Scientist and Public Affairs Analyst.
