A REVIEW OF CHINUA ACHEBE’S THE TROUBLE WITH NIGERIA

By Atolagbe Tawakalitu Abisola

A REVIEW OF CHINUA ACHEBE’S THE TROUBLE WITH NIGERIA

The Trouble With Nigeria  is a socio-political piece written by Chinua Achebe in 1983. The book presents the political climate of Nigeria. Achebe fearlessly lambasts the leaders as he talks about the ills of Nigerian government. He directs his angst at the bad leadership pattern of the country and states it as the major reason why the country is stagnant even after  over twenty years of  independence from the colonial masters. Divided into ten chapters, the author categorically treats each problem Nigeria is facing and even proffers solutions to them.

From the very beginning of the work, the author points out where the problem really lies in the case of Nigeria which is in its leadership pattern. Nigeria is cursed with bad leaders. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character but the inability of the leaders to attain a certain level of responsibility is what causes the problems. Nigeria is plagued with selfish people in leadership positions and irresponsible individuals at the helm of affairs. Even when Nigerians meet, the topic of discourse is usually the problems Nigeria is facing but this does not change the state of things as it worsens by the day.

Nigerian leadership banks on two concepts; Unity and Faith. Unity is a reverse ideology because neither the citizens nor leaders are united in any way. Faith is an even more inappropriate idea. It is to be believed that everybody has faith in God. Nigerian leaders use this to their advantage. They abuse the name of God and even mention his name in their wrongdoings. They have no respect for the name. It is very common to hear Nigerian leaders say “by the grace of God” even when the plan is to order an attack on a hundred innocent people the very next day. They are hypocrites who deal with talismans and fetish in hiding but come out in public to proclaim the goodness of God in their lives. Therefore, the terms “unity and faith” which is the slogan on the Nigerian coat of arms are not absolute because they only favour some particular set of privileged individuals.

Nigerian leaders are also a very unprofessional set of people who are fond of projecting a false image of the country. They paint Nigeria as what it is not and even make proclamations that they cannot fulfill on the country. This is one of the major reasons for the setbacks of the country. Nigeria, even though it is termed as one of the developing countries of the world, remains largely under-developed  because the leaders and even the citizens live in a make-believe world of unrealistic expectations. The leaders paint the country as a great nation to outsiders whereas Nigeria is one of the most disorderly, dirty, noisy, vulgar and unpleasant places to live on the surface of earth. Nigerians live in self- delusion.

Achebe also presents tribalism as one of the problems of Nigeria. Nigeria is a country beguiled with troubles of tribe and tribalism. Somebody from one tribe favours his kinsman and sees people from other tribes as his enemies. A student seeking for admission into the university cannot comfortably do so without the fear of not being admitted even with good grades because he/ she does not come from the state where such school is located. Every official document in the country requires an individual to input his state of origin and even local government area which sounds less hypocritical than asking of his tribe.

The author also touches on the issue of social justice in Nigeria. He declares that the nation is the greatest victim when social injustice takes place. This is because the nation has to accommodate the aggrieved, the favored and the declining moral standards caused by a gradually rotting society. Nigeria is described as a country where it will be very difficult or almost impossible to find a person who is in a particular position because he/she is best for the job. What you would rather find are people who are there because of their tribe or other connections but definitely not pertaining to their qualifications. This is why the country is stagnant. It is never about merit but about mediocrity.  Infact, robbery has been institutionalized by public servants in the country. The gap between the highest paid and lowest paid public servants in Nigeria is one of the widest in the world. The highly paid public servants or leaders engage in all sorts of illegal trading, falsities and frivolities and push it under their foot because they are government officials and can do no wrong in the eyes of the Nigerian law. They steal from the poor, trample on their rights and become richer while the poor gets poorer. The poor, being the real victims of the callous Nigerian system are invisible and they continue to suffer in all kinds of preventable ways because the rich do not have an ounce of humanity in them.

Achebe describes a patriot as someone who loves his  country and not someone who says he loves his country. A patriot will not be afraid of condemnation and will only accept nothing less than the best for his country and from his people. However, this is not the case in Nigeria. Being a badly run country, patriotism cannot be easily achieved. The self-acclaimed patriots are nothing but hypocrites. They are extremely vocal about their love for their country and even term those who oppose or seek to contradict them as rebels or terrorists but the works of their hands states otherwise. They engage in all sorts of shady businesses and activities. Achebe opines that true patriotism will only happen when the ruler and the ruled are genuine to themselves and promote equality in the society. He also states that the national pledge or other pious admonitions by the ruling class are not the true hallmarks of patriotism. Infact, if proper care is not taken, they may serve as bases for rebellion among the citizens.

Indiscipline is part and parcel of the Nigerian society. You can find indiscipline at its peak on Nigerian roads and amongst the drivers especially those driving public buses at rush hours. Nigerians are always in haste! They are quick to jump the traffic just to get to their destination. It is so bad in Nigeria that there are no traffic police nor traffic regulations. Infact, there is no speed limit. Do most of the drivers even understand the traffic signs? The roads are bad, filled with gaping potholes and are left unattended to by the government. 

The height of indiscipline is among Nigerian leaders. Because leaders are meant to be model people for their followers to emulate, the origin of indiscipline among Nigerian drivers is not far-fetched. In other developed countries like Britain and America, the siren is used for solemn purposes and emergencies such as announcing the coming of an ambulance. Reverse is the case in Nigeria as sirens are used for the wrong purposes here. Nigerian leaders use the sirens to announce their arrival or transition on a public road. They seem to forget that they can easily be assassinated because of their announcements.

The author also bluntly opposes Shehu Shagari’s notion that corruption in Nigeria is not as bad as it is said to be. According to him, corruption in Nigeria had passed the alarming stage and entered the fatal stage. Nigerians are corrupt because the system gives room for it. Corruption is similar to a profitable business in Nigeria. Achebe does not believe that the average Nigerian is corrupt because the word “corruption” goes in line with the word “power” which the average Nigerian does not possess. 

Therefore, only the rich and elite who are powerful can be corrupt. Corruption is in every sector of the economy, even the private sector. The bad news is, these corrupt people keep getting away with it. They never account nor pay the price for being corrupt.

Achebe projects that Nigeria is not beyond redemption. If the leaders can re-orientate their thinking and direct their energy into serving the people they way they are supposed to, then things will come around. The hallmarks of true and just leadership is what is needed in Nigeria. 

The author also advices that Nigerian leaders should emulate the actions of a political icon like Mahatma Gandhi and a religious leader like Mallam Aminu Kano whose deeds will forever be remembered by their people because they worked for humanity. If someone like Aminu Kano is from Nigeria, it means that there is nothing wrong with the country. Nigerian leaders just have to learn to become more responsible and focused on the wellbeing of their citizens and country.

                                                                                  

Atolagbe Tawakalitu Abisola is a student of English and Literary studies at the University of Ilorin. She is a budding content writer and poet. She is passionate about  reading novels, writing and research.