In the heart of West Africa lies a vast experiment in human
endurance. To observe the Nigerian citizen is to observe a life lived entirely
in the "buffer" of existence. While other nations build on the solid
state of history and the "hard drives" of long-term policy, Nigeria
has become a nation functioning in Volatile Memory. The Nigerian exists
in a state of RAM (Random Access Memory), a fast, frantic, and
temporary space where data is held only as long as the power stays on. The
moment the sun sets, or the "system" flickers, the memory is wiped
clean. Tomorrow is not a continuation of today; it is a terrifying
"Reboot."
The Theology of the "Daily"
The average Nigerian lives by a literal, desperate
interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread.”
For most, the prayer ends there. There is no request for a weekly grain reserve
or a yearly pension plan. The economic environment has conditioned the
citizenry to stop at the 24-hour mark. This is not due to a lack of ambition,
but a survival mechanism. When the state provides no security, the future
becomes an expensive luxury that no one can afford. We have become a nation of
the "Now," because the "Later" is a ghost that rarely
manifests.
The RAM State: A Life Without Persistence
In computing, RAM is where the work happens, but it is volatile.
It lacks "persistence." This is the tragedy of the Nigerian
experience. We are a people of high activity but zero retention.
- The
"Kobonaire" Phenomenon: Consider the wealthy elite or the budding middle class.
They go to bed counting their millions and wake up as
"Kobonaires." Overnight, a "central bank realignment"
or a sudden currency float devalues their life’s work. The "power"
was cut, and their economic data was wiped.
- The
Dispossessed Landowner: A citizen invests their life savings into a piece of
earth, only to wake up to a government brandishing the Constitution as a
tool for "land-grabbing." Under the guise of the Land Use Act,
the state erases the individual’s history with a single stroke of a pen,
reclaiming the site for the benefit of the well-connected.
- The
Farmer’s Erasure: In the middle belt and beyond, a farmer spends months tending to
green hopes. He sleeps, and in the dark of night, the RAM is cleared. He
wakes to empty fields and trampled stalks; his livelihood processed into
dung by roaming cattle that enjoy more protection from the state than he
does.
The Great Institutional Reboot
This volatility is not an accident; it is a systemic failure
that has become an "Evil Mechanization."
We see it in our Electoral Authorities. A political
party is registered today, only to be de-registered tomorrow by a technicality.
A voter goes to bed a citizen and wakes up disenfranchised, told at the
eleventh hour that their identity must be "re-validated." It is a
digital slaughter of the democratic will.
We see it in our Urban Centres. A trader builds a
shop, pays his taxes, and fuels the local economy. He wakes up to find his shop
has been pulled down. The government wants the site back. No compensation, no
transition, just a "system reset" that leaves the individual back at
zero.
The Rise of the Zombie and the Mule
What happens to a people who are constantly wiped? They lose
their "vigour." They become Mules, carrying heavy burdens of
state failure without the strength to protest; or Zombies, moving
through the streets with glazed eyes, lacking the knowledge or the will to
demand better.
Neither "brittle nor bit", neither the threat of
law nor the promise of technology seems to reinvigorate them anymore. The
trauma is too deep. When you are constantly being reset, you stop trying to
save your progress.
The Triple Threat: Terror, Hunger, and Brutality
While the people are trapped in this volatile cycle, external
viruses are eating the motherboard.
1.
Terrorism
is breeding in the gaps of our "wiped" security memory, attacking
from all angles.
2.
Hunger
is stripping the population bare, a visceral consequence of the empty fields
and the "Kobonaire" economy.
3.
Police
Brutality has become an epidemic, a glitch in the system where the
"Protectors" become the "Erasers," traumatizing the youth
and killing the very innovation that could save the nation.
Going, Going, GONE!
A computer that cannot save data is eventually discarded. A
nation that exists only in RAM, without the "Hard Drive" of justice,
security, or consistency, is a nation on the brink of total system failure.
We are watching the auction of a country. The gavel is
mid-air. The instability has reached a terminal velocity. If we do not find a
way to create "Persistence", to ensure that a man’s work today
survives until tomorrow; then the verdict is inevitable.
Nigeria is Going – 1!
Nigeria is Going – 2!
Nigeria will soon be GONE!
Comments