Aluu is not an exception in Nigeria, it is the norm. To act like Aluu is something out of the blue is to deny the very nature of “justice” in our society.

There are predominantly two types of Nigerians, those who believe there is light at the end of Nigeria’s much convoluted tunnel and those who think darkness will always be the mainstay of its existence. There are those who shift from one end of the divide to another, based on new realities.

When you look at the realities of where we are today, you’d be forgiven to think the end is nigh. “Nigeria will go down” they say and it takes a lot of faith and the ability to see the same picture in a different way to counter this pessimism. We remember the Aluu and Mubi killings and the fact that we unarguably have our most uninspiring president ever amongst other bad news, and we are quick to jump at conclusions that pass the never do well judgment on this country. I see things differently and this is why I do.

Aluu is not an exception in Nigeria, it is the norm. To act like Aluu is something out of the blue is to deny the very nature of “justice” in our society. Even a writer who tried to explain why Aluu could be expected was mobbed on social media, with death threats to boot. We are intolerant of other people and Aluu is just another expression of that. The major thing that sets the Aluu killings apart is the fact that Social Media has thrown the savage act into our phones, our tablets, personal computers, our homes, our toilets, our lives…more than ever before, today’s technologies are helping to amplify all that is bad about us as a people and about our office holders as a group. President Jonathan may deserve most of the criticism he is getting today but we must realize that social media has helped to amplify his legendary incompetence. Unlike times past, there is indeed no hiding place for anyone let alone a golden fish.

We now have a people more conscious than ever, more knowledgeable than ever and far more enlightened than ever. It used to be a big deal to be able to analyze American politics but today that doesn’t make you sound like an “expert” as in times past because we all know what the “experts” know. Nigerians now know performance as a public office holder is not about constructing bore holes and commissioning tractors, the expectations of this generation are far higher. Governance failed in times past not only because we had mostly rogues and thieves in office but even more crucially because we had a people with almost no expectation from their rulers. The times have changed. Today, public office holders are hounded for their cluelessness. It used to be much more comfortable to steal public money, but it is not as such today. You become a celebrity in an instant. These may all sound normal but they are not. There will be no change in any society if the people do not have expectations for same and repeatedly demand same. Yes, we are still living through a time in our history where every problem gets a committee that gets billions of naira thrown at it to throw solutions at problems. We will get better leaders tomorrow mostly because we will have better followers, people who will be leaders in their own right. Followers who will know that flooding is a challenge that does not need a presidential national broadcast to emphasize its seriousness but a holistic national plan to avoid same and also cater for those affected. I don’t care if there is light at the end of Nigeria’s tunnel but I am certain that when this generation is ready to have light, it will make a constellation.

Nigerians are getting increasingly impatient with executive nonsense and it’d take far more than the dourness they are being offered to be assuaged. We are obviously going through a long decomposition process that will birth a new reality. Two things are possible after this decomposition, the system either dies entirely or it starts a new life. Whatever happens, death to the old before the new gets its life. The new will not be given its chance, it has to take it!

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.