Kaduna – Abuja Road as a Metaphor -By Sesugh Akume

When the Abuja airport was temporarily closed for weeks for rehabilitated, with all flights, local and international, rerouted to Kaduna and helicopter pickup unreliable, the ‘humans’ in Nigerian, the ‘real’ Nigerians had no option but to travel by road, Kaduna to Abuja. Because the political elite were forced to travel this terrible road, they promptly fixed it. All bushes close to and in between the dual carriageway were cleared. Every few kilometers was a stationed police van with a detachment of police officers or an ambulance with health workers all through the stretch of the road. All the while we decried the state of that road nobody cared, until circumstances forced them to ply it.

Development experts, wanting to make a point about prioritising a functional society for all ask a simple question: ‘Would you rather be rich and bitten by a snake in a poor, disorganised country, or be poor bitten by a snake in the rich, organised country?’ In other words, ‘Which is better, between being rich in a poor, disorganised country, and being poor in a rich, organised country?’ The problem with poor, dysfunctional countries is, there wouldn’t be any anti-snake venom in their healthcare centres, corruption would’ve diverted them. There wouldn’t be healthcare centres anywhere close. If they are at all, they would most likely be decrepit. Or the workers wouldn’t be at work, as the many other manifestations of dysfunction would be at play. At this critical time, all the money in the world one has, as well as all their connections would be of no consequence. The poor person in a prosperous, organised country however, is likely to have prompt emergency healthcare response to the snake bite, even if the victim has no money or connections at all. To them, the mere fact that there was a snake bite will be embarrassing enough. Saving a life will become the top priority, irrespective of who the victim is. The essence of the exercise is to demonstrate that it is better to work towards a fair society that works for all, as a basic minimum, than a dysfunctional society that seems to work for a few rich, connected individuals, because certainly, someday, that dysfunction catches up with everybody.

After the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport came back alive, the Kaduna – Abuja road was abandoned, and allowed to revert to status quo. The road itself needs urgent rehabilitation. Kidnapping now rife along the road, greater than ever before, such military generals with their motorcades of gun-totting soldiers blaring sirens and intimidating everybody are afraid of plying it. They prefer boarding the train, even if it means standing for hours in transit, with their motorcades going by road to join them at the next train station. They sometimes have to stand because all the time the trains are fully booked, all seats usually taken, what is left is space for standing. When it comes to that, they usually prefer standing other than travelling by road, for any reason, their personal security detail notwithstanding.

The other day, a senior government official, one of the new ministers, used their connections to delay takeoff by 2 hours, the last train leaving Abuja for Kaduna. Where in the world do trains fail to take off as and when due because someone pressed buttons to have it so? Don’t people rather work round the schedule of the trains? Were it us, everyday Nigerians alone, using the train, this travesty would’ve continued, the way it is with air flights, but for this train service, if you are a minister delaying the train, there could be 3 others ministers on board being kept waiting. Everyone travels by train those days.

Normal countries, normal people everywhere simply create a system that works for everybody, it’s why these same so-called Nigerian VIPs use the train, go about without convoys and police escorts when abroad. Because others have organised their societies to function for all. There is equality of security and safety. Equally of opportunities and equality before the law. Every person is equally important, and guaranteed safety. In the end, it saves everybody. Life is dignified.

Abubakar Idris (@dadiyata on Twitter) has been abducted, missing for a month and 3 weeks now, with no word from the government. He has been a critic of bad governance, especially in Kano and Kaduna. From their antecedents, it’s not beyond Nasir el-Rufai, the Kaduna governor, in particular, (or anyone else in the government) to be behind his abduction. Imagine for a second that Yusuf Buhari was the one missing. Is this how life would’ve gone on normally as if nothing happened? But indeed, Nigeria doesn’t owe Yusuf any more than she owes Dadiyata. It’s the inequality in our system that makes Dadiyata seem dispensable, but the very same system would deploy it’s all to rescue Yusuf. The issue however is, Yusuf’s father won’t be president forever, but we never learn.

Again, in 2 weeks, 112 Chibok girls would be missing and in Boko Haram captivity for 2,000 days. Leah Sharibu was left behind even though all her colleagues were rescued. Were the Chibok girls or Leah Sharibu, Zahra Buhari or Kiki Osinbajo would they have been allowed to be in captivity for this long? Inequality.

The Kaduna – Abuja road exemplifies and typifies the dysfunction plaguing Nigeria, at the heart of which is inequality. The kidnappers themselves are victims of a society that has neglected and thinks nothing of them. When they have victims in custody, even the Who is Who beg them and pay to have their loved ones released. It makes them feel relevant, powerful, invincible with their guns. People usually seen as scum and irritants now have the lives of the rich and powerful at their mercy. It’s what dysfunction, injustice, unfairness creates. Even the security services seem overwhelmed because this is a systemic issue, not one to be fought with weapons and their usual lies. It’s not that the criminals themselves are doing well. They use most of the ransom money to procure more arms and ammunition, charms and drugs, as well as pay off the security operatives. So what’s the point, save a continuing in a cycle of dysfunction?

As long as we have a society where getting anything at all depends on whom you know, where there is inequality of opportunity, where the children of the rich and powerful get jobs as everyone else is mocked, asked to obtain forms, write exams and attend interviews for jobs already taken, we all remain unsafe and living in danger. We can’t have 13.2 million children on the streets out of school and think we can safe and secure.

‘No Nigerian is more Nigerian than any other Nigerian.’ Until and unless we make justice, equity, fairness as the basis of our existence, then it is only a matter of time, we all will be consumed like fools.