By Rev Fr Gerald Nwafor
By simple dilation and dismemberment of the word disorder, it is a mathematical arrangement of two words that came together, to sum up as one (dis + order). So, in the actual usage, you can always do subtraction to land the positive equation of removing (dis) and dealing with the sobriquet which is order.
The choice lies with the person who chooses to combine the two always and complain. The choice also is in the hands of the fellow who has decided to separate the two whenever society presents it. If you listen to the disorderly sounds of drum, gong, flute, guitar, and saxophone you can choose to get out of it the orderliness of musical symphony or the discordant sounds of multiple noises.
The government of Nigeria today is in disorder one would say but, in that disorder, no president would stay more than 8 years, and no governor would stay more than 8 years. Maybe by chance or luck, the proverbial Daniel would come to judgment. I look at the countries where the president has been in power for 42 years, and I ask myself if we have this kind of president that is sitting at the helm of affairs now in Nigeria for 42 years, what would become of the fate of the population? This democratic dispensation marred with disorderliness has some elements of order in it.
I watched how the politicians struggle to rig elections now. If you remember before now, someone could sit in the comfort of his living room and write the results of an election that never took place, and the INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) would announce it in boldface. I remember when they announced that my village voted for a particular candidate and recorded 2 million votes.
Meanwhile, all the human beings plus all goats and chickens in my village are not up to 500,000 (five hundred thousand). When the voter’s register of my village was presented to the court it was only 10,000 registered voters. It was in this disorder that the politicians discovered that there should be some sanity in their impunity. I do not condone rigging, but the politicians should not be raping democracy on the village square (In the public of igwe-mmadu).
Nobody would pee on your back now and tell you it is raining. Thanks to the madness of social media that circulates the disorderly conduct of the people in power and some elites too.
The fact that we are in disorder now is a call to look closely and discover the order in this disorder. It is time to limit wastage in our use of money and products. It is bad that the government of Nigeria is not caring for its citizens, it would be double jeopardy if the citizens do not care for themselves. Those drinking two cartons of beer in one sitting, it is time to drink only one, and give those overworked kidneys some break.
Those who consume three plates of john-white (Akpu) can cut down to two plates and cut some slack to the liver. It is a time for introspection, not a time of complaints and infighting. It is okay that we are not okay for now, because we do not want to exacerbate the situation by combining ‘DIS and ORDER.’ The rough is very rough now, but I just want to get home so that I can be alive to tell the story.
I do not want the people who brought this disorderliness to tell my story for me, because according to Chinua Achebe, until the lion can write his own story the book will always be about the bravery of the hunter and the smartness of the storyteller. I used to fill my gas tank with 20,000 Naira but now a hundred thousand (100,000) cannot fill the tank.
I have come to know how much I spend on gas monthly. Now I boil and filter my water. I drink with my cup the way my parents used to do. I do not go for bottled water because I cannot afford it. As for pure water (sachet water) if you can afford it good luck to you.While growing up our parish was very far away from the house, but we walked to the church.
Now the church is very close, and I always drive to the church on Sundays. With the new disorder in the fuel prices, I have decided to walk to church on Sundays, not only that I save some gas for other things with my car, but I also burn some unwanted calories in my system (good exercise) on Sundays. Some days I would even take a longer route. I put on the generator to watch the EPL (English Premier League). Here it would be very dicey because the EPL followers would like to know which time I would turn the generator on to watch.
Your guess is as good as mine. I watch the teams I like especially, when Nigeria is playing the nation-cup qualifiers.Finally, things are not standing well (ife amaro wekwulu). But look at it this way, things are still standing but the only problem is that it is not standing well. So, do not allow the thing to fall flat because that will be a bigger problem.
Nobody will lie to you at this point in our history, but I am telling you what the mother bed bug to her kids, she said, “Whatever is hot will get cold” (Ife di oku ga aju oyi). We were there before they came so we will be here after they are gone.
We are the Iroko, and the hurricane has just arrived we will take a bow not out of fear or trembling but in wisdom and knowledge that it will soon pass and we will recline and stand again with majesty and glory. There is too much disorder now.
Night movement has become a dangerous adventure. Try your best to fix your appointments early and try to be at home before 6 PM. A stitch in time saves nine (eme ngwa emeghara odachi). May we be wise like the tortoise at this time because a person surrounded by an enemy (within and without) should be careful about his life (Onye ndi ilo gbara gbulu gbulu na eche ndu ya nche mgbe dum). May we always find the order in disorder.
