By Donu Kogbara
MANY of you will be aware that Prince William, son of the late Princess Diana and grandson of the British Queen, Elizabeth, got married last Friday…to Kate Middleton, a girl from a fairly ordinary background whom he met at the university.

This wedding attracted a worldwide audience of two billion people. Some flocked to London on holiday, just so they could stand on the streets leading to the church, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace…to cheer the Prince and his beautiful bride as they passed. Others who weren’t able to invest time and money in travelling to London settled for watching William get hitched on TV.

I was glued to my TV in Abuja from dawn till dusk and was hugely impressed by the pomp and pageantry on display. Everything was handled so efficiently and stylishly. NOBODY else handles major occasions as well as the British do.
Later, I called an English girlfriend to discuss the pleasure I had derived from the event.

This lady and I had been classmates at an English boarding school and she was completely puzzled by my enthusiastic outpourings about William’s nuptials because she clearly remembered me grumbling when I was forced to participate in Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977.

My friend reminded me a) that I had said, in l977, that I didn’t see why the school authorities should compel non-British pupils like myself to get involved in royal fanfares and b) that I’d expressed the view that I shouldn’t be expected to glorify a British crown that had presided over the colonisation of my country.

“You were SUCH an anti-British-establishment African nationalist radical in those days! So how come you’ve suddenly changed your tune?,” asked my friend.

I had to sheepishly agree that my mindset has indeed been totally transformed. And I told my friend that my volte face was not a “suddenly” overnight matter…and that it has been a gradual evolution that has crept up on me.

I grew up in the UK and worked there for many years but decided, for various reasons, to move to my motherland a decade ago. And I must tell you, dear Vanguard readers, that I have been completely shocked and traumatised by the experiences I’ve had here…and by the terrible things I have seen and heard.

Nigeria is not a place for idealists who do not regard wealth and power as the end-all-and-be-all. Nigeria is not a place for people who are real patriots (as opposed to cheap fake jingoists). Nigeria is not for anyone who values quality, morals and genuine achievements. Nigeria is a big bloody evil mess. And the more I know about Nigeria, the more I respect and love the Britain I once disparaged.

Despite being entitled to a British passport since I was a child, I never bothered to apply for one because I wanted to be Nigerian and nothing else. But I recently concluded that I’ve been a fat fool. And I am applying for one now.

Beating the system

MOST of the Nigerians I know fervently believe that The System is so invincible that anyone who dares to challenge it is doomed to fail or be killed. And I can sympathise with this opinion because members of the Nigerian ruling class often get away with murder, rape, intimidation, fraud, rigging and injustice in general.

But while I don’t expect everyone to be a hero who unblinkingly takes on The System, I would like to urge those who are hovering uncertainly in the twilight zone between abject cowardice and superhuman courage to seriously consider the possibility of fighting back…on the grounds that since there are exceptions to every rule, anyone who has guts can jettison victimhood and become a victor.

In 2007, my Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, fought back against the formidable  forces that were ranged against him – these included the EFCC, the PDP, the Rivers State Government and INEC. I berated him at the time because I didn’t think he could win and felt that he was elevating stubbornness and arrogance above realism and peace-of-mind. But guess what? Amaechi proved me wrong and won!

I was similarly sceptical and irritated when my pal, Kayode Fayemi, was battling to become Governor of Ekiti State. I wondered why Kayode, who is accomplished enough to get great jobs in the United Nations or wherever, should subject himself to endless stress, quarrels and dangers because of a Naija job he wouldn’t gain much from because he is not a thief. But Kayode told me that it was a matter of principle, not a matter of ego or cash. And he eventually won.

I heartily salute Kayode and Amaechi for refusing to be discouraged by faint-hearted sceptics like me…and for refusing to be bullied, cheated and silenced.

And I have now joined these inspirational men in believing that the status quo is not a sacred cow and that anything is possible, even in a profoundly poisoned society like this. And I’m assuming that Amaechi will never forget his past and  will never dream of turning traitor and sabotaging any small “David” who is being aggressively shortchanged by the mighty “Goliath” that is The System.

In a nutshell, I expect Amaechi to react appropriately if he is provided with concrete evidence that someone who now stands where he once stood is being messed up by the very same System that once tried to mess him up.

There is a very pressing case to answer regarding the National Assembly election in my senatorial district. And I will be extremely disappointed if Amaechi, who was shunned and insulted by the PDP establishment not too long ago, tries to gloss over obvious irregularities on behalf of the PDP candidate.

Shameless politician!

UCHE OKWUKWU was the Rivers State Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, until a few days ago. But he jumped ship the day before the gubernatorial election and started to urge his supporters to vote PDP.

I am utterly flabbergasted because I recently received a written complaint that was signed by him and distributed to several journalists. The complaint was about the conduct and results of the National Assembly election of April 9. And it contained myriad allegations of PDP-driven electoral malpractices.

I am no fan of the ACN. But words cannot express my dislike  for Okwukwu’s behviour. Imagine abandoning your comrades on the eve of a poll. Imagine accusing the PDP of all manner of criminal acts and then becoming a PDP advocate. Okwukwu is not a man. And it is individuals like him who have made me despair of Nigeria.