Who is here?
Adeiza asked as he is approaching the frontage of John's apartment. John lives in a single room apartment in a house of about 12 rooms sharing toilet and bathroom with many others. He is a humble boy in his late twenties who is facing the common challenge of finding his feet after leaving polytechnic. Mama tried her best to see him through his education till the present point.
He left the village to the city immediately he graduated from his institution for getting to about three years. He had promised Mama to go to the city, get a job and come back to take care of her. All these remained in the realm of wish for the past three years as his efforts to get a job haven't seen the light of the day.
He was in a state of deep thoughts when Adeiza entered his room without him noticing. It took a tap on the shoulder by Adeiza for John to realise that someone is around.
Why are you in such a moody state to the extent of not hearing my earlier question of who is here and my subsequent entering to your room?Adeiza asked.
Mama called me this morning to come and celebrate the forthcoming Christmas with her. Though, I promised her on phone that I will be with her, right now my mind is divided. John responded.
I guess Mama is missing you. Try and see mama.
How will I be confident to go and see Mama? I promised her to come to the city to make a living and take care of her. Here I am without a job. How will I save from this menial job I do to survive. I am depressed.
Don't be depressed. The unemployment rate in the country is frightening. When I was small, we were told to face our studies so that we can be a better person in future. We were even called future leaders. To my dismay, the future remain a mirage. The politicians holding on to power while we were growing up are still the ones that we are hearing their names at helm of political affairs today. The one that retires handles the mantle to his children. The country is deteriorating rather than progressing. Let's be hopeful. I believe if there is change in power, things will become better. Even if it is only your transport fare that you can afford, just go and see Mama. Things shall get better.
Adeiza took his time to lament at the situation and at the same time console his friend.
The politicians that you mentioned are the worst contributor to our predicaments. I was coming from site yesterday and I met one campaign where the candidate was spraying money, sharing bags of rice and wrappers to the people. This is the dividend of democracy that they will be getting for the next four years. I don't blame the politicians but the people that collect those things from them to vote them while our roads remain death traps, no hospitals, unemployment and high rate of crimes in the society. Can't they reject such items for once and vote base on candidate's credibility and track records? John continued.
Responding, Adeiza explained what could have prompted such action.
What are you saying?. If you are hungry with nothing to eat, you will most probably collect food or money from such politician instead of starving to death. They keep the people in abject poverty for reasons like this. It's a complex case. Let's keep playing out part with the expectation that things will change someday.
Adeiza spent some times before departing John's house to go and prepare his lesson plans for the following week. He teaches in a private secondary school where he barely pay his bills from his earnings.
John reflected on everything and decided to visit his mother few weeks later.
He boarded a vehicle very early in the morning heading to Okene, a neighboring city from which he will take a motorcycle popularly known as Okada to his hometown.
At the point of taking Okada, he saw the convoy of a Gubernatorial candidate heading towards his village. This delayed him for a while before his Motorcycle could take off.
John was full of reflection on the kind of leadership being offered at all the tiers of government in the country. This is a road that successive politicians had used to campaign for votes with the promise of fixing it when voted to power. Unfortunately, the road remained the same for as long as John has been existing. More disappointing that the road is motorable to politicians for campaigns but they find it not motorable enough to visit and deliver dividend of democracy.
What are these politicians using for my people? How can someone come to give you noodles, rice, clothes and cash to buy your votes while you remain in underdevelopment for another four years. People are dying of malaria because there are no drugs in the hospitals. A very few number of towns have access to the hospital talk more of accessing available services. Here I am unemployed for years. Despite all these, my people can't summon the courage to reject the peanuts given by politicians. Should this really be the case of survival at all cost as posited by Adeiza? Is hunger enough reason for people to be so docile? When are my people going to realise this? Who will salvage the situation?
The questions of when, who and what keeps ruminating in John's mind as his rider faces the job of dodging potholes along the bad road made worse by dust everywhere.
His motorcycle barely stepped its tyres in the village when he saw people dancing in welcoming the gubernatorial candidate who he saw his convoy earlier. Many political support groups were singing different solidarity and praising songs to the visiting Messiah. He is a serving parliamentarian who rarely visit his people but no one is ready to ask questions about his stewardship in his present office. Instead, they want to get there share of what could quench their hunger in the immediate.
He spotted his lovely mother among the crowd and immediately asked the Okada rider to stop. He went to his mum and after greetings, they headed home.
This is now the case of what you don't want to witness in your vicinity now happening in your home. He was disappointed in his mother's attendance at the campaign rally.
John took his time to enlighten Mama on how such actions had kept the people in perpetual underdevelopment.
The mother asked a question that brought out tears from John's eyes.
I went their to get what I will eat. For the past few days, I manage to eat once a day. I don't have energy like I used to have. What should I have done?
It's okay Mama, I pray to get a job soon and take care of you. I will keep on trying and I pray that you will be alive and healthy to witness and enjoy my breakthrough.
To John, this is a battle requiring systematic approach. The economy is in bad shape. There is hunger in the land. People need to survive but then faced with the temptation of collecting money from politicians to vote them.
The advocacy shall continue. We need to change as a people, he concluded.
