(eng) What Nigerians Missed – President Buhari’s Most Ground Breaking Decision Yet.

Why I root for the Buahri’s Magu’s Bakare’s, Adelaja’s, Ezekwesili’s, El-Rufai’s and co. Last week news came that Nigerians in South Africa were “ attacked.” Everyone talked about the xenophobic aspect. However, there is another aspect no one is talking about, even though we all know it “ what do some of these Nigerian guys do for a living?” The communities claimed it was a reaction to drugs and prostitution, with prostitutes as young as nine years old being rescued. Please stay with me to see how it connects to the topic. I do not condone xenophobia. I know it is a challenge in South Africa, I also know not all South Africans are xenophobic. I do not also condone jungle justice as a means to solve issues. But today am not talking about xenophobia. I am talking about the Nigerians. What do the people see? My people have a saying that says “when you scold the hawk that wants to snatch the chicken, you also have to scold the chicken that strays from its mum” There are many good Nigerians in South Africa. Unfortunately good news does not sell. But there are also quite a number of bad ones. In Johannesburg alone, there are at least ten to fifteen suburbs where every morning, fifty to hundred Nigerians converge and hang out there from morning to night selling drugs. They do nothing else. Just hag at the street corners, make lots of noise, dirty the streets and sell drugs. Nobody would view this and think it normal. Except the drug dealers. I have met drug dealers who introduced themselves to me as drug dealers! Can you beat that? Conscience is dead. They see nothing wrong with it. I have watched a documentary where a person goes underground to interview the drug kingpin. He actually comments as follows “ we are fighting, we know we are fighting, but we are fighting to win.” In addition to this, we have those doing what they call “throwing paper” this means 419 scams. South Africa is one of the headquarters for Nigerian scammers. Each time these guys are challenged, they scream xenophobia. It’s not a mistake. It’s a calculated way to get sane people to back off. It’s a strategy. Exploit the weak link in the society, use that as a cover for yourselves. Once the world rises to xenophobia, everyone has to back down, and business goes on. Unfortunately, many of the Nigerian organizations in South Africa are infested with Nigerians who are currently or former drug dealers and fraudsters. It is sad. The supposed representatives of the people are badly tainted. Just like we see in leadership back home. Former fraudsters become State Governors. And unfortunately in our culture, the end justifies the means. When I told my fellow Nigerian barber that drug dealing is bad, he said “ bros, you will not understand. These guys have to survive too.” What he was implying tis that I do not understand hardship. He was wrong. I too have known hardship. God helped me overcome. His grace prevented me from drug dealing. That grace is available to any who seeks. Only God can help us overcome hardship and temptation, but this does not call us to justify crime. A criminal should be finding ways to change and not seeking for cover to perpetuate evil. The Nigerian drug and fraud community has grown powerful in South Africa because no one is bold enough to rise up and say “hey, this is wrong.” “ Buhari said it. He said many Nigerians are doing bad things in South Africa. He also said many Nigerians around the world are doing bad things and making life difficult for other good Nigerians. Guess the reaction? The society was up in arms against him. They said he was tarnishing the Nigerian image. Can you imagine the warped thinking? The criminals are not tarnishing the image. The one who calls for criminals to stop is the one tarnishing the image! This is why I root for men like Buhari, Magu, Bakare, Adelaja and others. They are among the few Nigerians who are ready to take the bull by the horn and say it as it is. They are ready to confront evil even when it is unpopular. These are not brow beaten by the mob. You cannot shut them down. Oh I wish one of this men would relocate to South Africa and champion the voice of the good Nigerians. Those who are working to contribute to building Nigeria. Those who HATE what they see their brethren do every day. They wish they could rise up and paint a different picture of Nigerians in South Africa. But they are afraid. They are afraid for their lives because these drug dealers have formed powerful mafias. They kill. Those 116 Nigerians who died in the last two years in South Africa were not mostly killed by South Africans. Most were killed by their own kin; turf wars within their cartels, just like the Italian mafiaso stories we hear in America. I root for men like Buhari because they will say the truth regardless of whose ox is gored. I root for men like Buhari because in them we have leaders who cannot be brow beaten by the typical Nigerian shouting, screaming and tantrum throwing. They are men who will do what is right, face the pain and stay the course until the good times come.