The Armed Forces Pigeon Mentality

 

I was thinking this morning..... Last Friday, during the Armed Forces Remembrance Day ceremony at the National Arcade, Abuja, the doves, otherwise known as white pigeons, released by President Muhammadu Buhari, refused to fly despite multiple attempts by the President. The President had opened the birdcage, picked up one of the doves, and thrown it into the air but the bird landed atop the cage and refused to fly.

Buhari, who was eager to let the white pigeons fly, opened the roof of the cage in a bid to send them all out but the birds remained adamant and decided to sit on top of the cage’s roof. The President, who appeared tired of trying, soon left the birds and returned to his seat. Do you blame the poor pigeons? They have been deprived for so long until recently when they had to prepare them for the Armed Forces Remembrance Day. Suddenly, they cared for them, fed them like never before. Now you want them to just fly away and miss out on all the enjoyment abi? 'We go nowhere. We die here,' I can imagine the birds saying.

But isn't that the mentality of a typical Nigerian politician? An unknown Nigerian with no pedigree having been beaten and battered joins politics and was lucky after so many years to become a senator or Minister. Suddenly, Nigerians say he has failed woefully and brought embarrassment to the government. 'Resign and fly,' we say. Resign ke? Usai! Like the Armed Forces Remembrance Day pigeons, they will say 'I go nowhere. I die here.'

This mentality seems to have infected the civil servants working with politicians. I heard of a Nigerian Head of Department (HOD) that has been on the same job for several years without promotion. One day, a new minister was appointed and saw the challenge of this HOD and decided to promote him to become a Permanent Secretary (PS). A great opportunity for the man to fly. Instead, to the chagrin of the Minister, the HOD declined the promotion. Investigation revealed that the benefits from backhand deals being enjoyed as HOD will be lost when he becomes PS. Therefore he behaved like the pigeons saying 'I go nowhere. I die here.'

I worry not whether those that trouble us refuse to move or fly away for us to have peace, one day they will fly away by force. Psalms 104:7 says 'At Your rebuke they fled, At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away.'

Happy Sunday.

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey