Beware the angry and imaginative Nigerian

Sometime last year I was in the brand new home of a certain former minister shortly before the minister moved in. I remember being impressed with the opulence of the place. It wasn't exactly over-the-top or anything but it was lavish enough to force me to quell rising feelings of hatred.

Yes I said hatred. 

I repented of it, but seeing the wealth in that house made me really upset considering how poorly better people, better Nigerians in fact, are living. I'm posting just one picture from those I took inside that house. It is the minister's master bedroom.

Maybe the same minister will read this one day. Maybe a friend of the minister will recognise the furniture and bring it to their attention. They need to know that the people of Nigeria do not love them. In fact most of us hate their guts for failing to improve things.

But that's a blog for another day. 

I was reading yesterday about some people who must have let their hatred for the Nigerian political elite combine with their desire for "quick" money. Some armed men went to University of Abuja and kidnapped the daughter of a member of the federal house of reps. 

Now that's new but not unexpected though.

I mean c'mon let's face it, it was bound to happen that someone would try the kidnapping stunt in Abuja - land of the rich and powerful. And since Hon Benewari represents Opobo/Nkoro/Andoni federal constituency of Rivers state, police are considering the possibility that the kidnappers travelled from there to carry out the act.

Seems plausible right?

But first, let me make it clear that I sympathize with the Benewaris. A kidnapping is a traumatic experience for all those involved. But again let our politicians be warned that our people no longer hold back their anger. They no longer nurse their wounds in silence. 

Nigerians have observed the politicians' Jeeps drive by them ferrying little ones to and from fast food outlets and cinemas and salons and expensive private schools. And they have seen enough action movies to copy and execute criminal acts seen there. 

I remember standing with a group of men on a small hill overlooking the home of the minister I mentioned earlier as they drove into their new home. As I listened to them discuss the spectacle before us I wondered what would happen if these Nigerians got angry and made a move against the ministers family.

I marvelled at how ill-prepared the minister's security was for an attack by say, a rocket fired into the compound or a grenade lobbed across the street and over the wall. I marvelled at how easy it would be for a small team of six of breach the compound to carry out whatever evil operation they had planned against the minister. 

And then I prayed no-one would ever bring the south south fight to Abuja.  

After what has befallen the Benewaris, it seems I prayed too late.

The sad truth is unless the ruling political elite change their ways and actively contribute to solving the problems of the nation, this ugly new trend may have come to stay.