Kwarans Have A Defeated Mentality

According to a very reliable ex-worker in Atoto Press Ltd, it was gathered that, a Kwaran of very high repute, Major General Abdullahi Muhammed Adangba (RTD) in early 2000 unofficially renounced his Kwara citizenship. Adamgba, who is the owner of Atoto Press Ltd prefered to clinch unto his mothers home state, Plateau.

To back up his decision of renouncing Kwara, General Adangba decided to relocate to Jos, after closing down all his businesses in Kwara State, including the very much popular Atoto Press Ltd located at Oko-Erin area in Ilorin.

Why did he renounce his beloved home state? He was not proud of what was happening and it seems there is no way out. Many of those around seems to have been brainwashed and are not willing to embrace a genuine struggle for change hence, his decision to give up on Kwara.

It should be noted that, General Abdullahi Adamgba is not just any body, he his up till date, a respectable fellow, having served 3 former presidents of Nigeria as National Security Adviser and Chief of Staff respectively.

The lesson from the above narration is that, even the best of men could give up,if surrounded by crowds of men with ‘’defeated mentality’’. Please take note of this ‘’defeated mentality’’.

As we all know, hope is what kept life going. If we are in a bad situation today, the only means of survival is hoping in a better tomorrow. But if we have no hope in a better tomorrow, we give up on life. A defeated mentality is a life with no hope, a life which has accepted a bad situation.

Dear Kwarans, Let’s face fact, anyone who truly care for this 1967 created state would have no option than nod in affirmation that indeed, Kwarans have a defeated mentality. A kind of mentality which assumes that, the people are helpless to wrestle political and economic power from a bad leader that is inflicting unimaginable pain on them. It is also a mentality which assumes that, only one individual has the divine mandate to lead the state and only through him, could any other person attain leadership position.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying all Kwarans have a defeated mentality, I can’t say that because I know of many individuals who do not have such kind of disgusting mentality. Many Kwarans are sound in their political reasoning and ideology. They know what is right and are ready to stand by it,but to a large extent,majority of Kwarans have a defeated mentality. A mentality of being an inferior being who lack the required rights or capacity to reason and act like equal human as God made them.

These set of people are trying very hard to defeat God’s purpose in their own life and in the life of other people in the state of harmony. They deny themselves a right God freely gave them to live a fulfilled life. Yet, they hang their inability to act right and firmly on the shoulder of the almighty Allah who gave them the same right of equality.

We must then ask, what can heaven do for those who failed to help themselves? Absolutely nothing.

People would only seek help if they believe they need one, but here, those who need help do not believe they do, they rather look at those who can help them in the face and declare, it is you that needs help.

These set of people do all they can to convince you that indeed, you need to be like them and accept the fact that this beautiful state has to be doomed forever. In their reasoning, everyone must succumb to being being inferior to an individual and help him retain is grip on the state. They even justify such reasoning by citing some examples of people, who hardly thought they could attain leadership position and finally do so through the favor of the so called godfather. Just like during the slave trade era, where some slaves would collide with their slave masters to further enslave their people. While the slave helping the slave master also needs help to be free, he doesn’t believe he does needs freedom due to his defeated mentality. Over the years as a result of excessive oppression and helplessness, he had lost his sense of quality reasoning and accepted the imaginary faith of being destined to be slave forever.

Until slavery was abolished, many slaves never believed they deserve to be free. Some even cried when they are being released by their en-slavers, they wished slavery never ended, they were born to be slaves to serve the masters, they cried.

The replica of such situation is what is happening in Kwara state,where majority of the people have accepted an imaginary faith of being permanently inferior to one individual forever.

Sometimes, when youths feel otherwise and decided to challenge the status quo, some parents disown their children for going against the status quo. The inferiority ideal is enforced through variety of institutions which include religious, traditional, family, government and other institutions. In the just concluded governorship poll, a father some where in Alanamu area of Ilorin west local Government reportedly fought his son publicly for refusing to follow this negative reasoning. In the past, we have heard of a father, a traditional chief who shot his son for going against a political candidate.

Defeated mentality is a situation in which someone feels that there is no other way than to accept a bad faith. They teach their offspring this pseud reasoning and over time, the entire society seems to be falling in line.

It is a situation in which a person or group of persons think that, even if they try to seek for alternative,they are bound to fail and therefore resort to stay put in their present bad condition. Or better still, they believe if they try to find alternative and some how succeeded which is very unlikely, they fear that the new condition may be worse, relying on a popular proverb which states that, ‘’the evil we know, is better than an angel we don’t know’’.

Therefore, they prefer to live their entire life with the current evil (bad state) without further expectations. They fight so hard against their own will and others from defeating the status quo, hoping that some how at the mercy of the commander of the present state, they may be favored.

It is more like a person's particular way of thinking that only through a bad situation could he be favored. Though, they sometimes wish things were not like it is,but since it is,it shouldn’t be opposed by them or anyone. Here, they have a spirit of defeatism or a defeatist mentality.

This kind of mentality has not only killed intellectualism among Kwarans especially the youths, it has equally ensured that, intellectuals have to relegate their creative intellectualism to accommodate mediocritical reasoning. Basically, this kind of reasoning is more like what can be defined as an extreme realism.

Talking about realism, Realism is the practice of accepting a situation as it is, and being prepared to deal with it accordingly. It is also a behavior or thought based on a conception of things as they are, regardless of how one wants them to be. Such kind of believe is contrary to Idealism, which is a behavior or thought based on a conception of things as they should be, or as one would wish them to be, with a tendency to be visionary.

With idealism, you're wishing and imagining something as being better than it is, while with realism, you just accept whatever it is and move on. Idealism is when you envision or see things in an ideal or perfect manner. Realism, on the other hand, tends toward actual view of a situation. Idealism focuses on what could be, and realism focusing on what actually is.

In essence, this kind of extreme realism can be described as a situation in which people care less about vision and change. They prefer what is known but fear the unknown.

From an ordinary perspective, such philosophy may not be necessarily harmful if the situation is good, but when it is obviously bad and counter productive to the general interest of the public,it becomes bad. But extreme realist are not open to change no matter the bad situation,they insist on preserving the status quo with blind loyalty.

It becomes even more complicated when these extreme realists meet others, especially idea-realists who are working for change from the status quo. When they meet other people who talk about the equality in rights and dignity, the right to equitable distribution of state resources and opportunities, the right to appropriate distribution of developmental projects and others, they accuse them of hating on those they refereed to as divinely mandated to lead. In their shallow reasoning, any one opposed to this order is a hater.

In addition, for over 40years, the state has remained under the leadership of one family and it is likely to remain so for many more years to come.

Since 1979, the late Saraki controlled everything about Kwara, politically and economically. The legion of people with defeated mentality helped him defeat every progressive step including that championed in 2003 by the late former Governor, Admiral Muhammed Alabi Lawal (May his soul rest in peace).

Towards the last days of Dr. Olusola Saraki, many presume that, as soon as the old man dies, Kwarans would be free from this defeatist mentality, but little did they know that people with defeated mentality hardly wakes up. It’s a bond that is hard to break.

However, should this mentality be sustained, I fear Kwara may remain a laughing stock throughout Nigeria. It could remain a state whose people may hardly be proud to say they come from Kwara. This is the reality.

Just like General Adangba who now claim to be from Jos as information has it, many Kwarans outside the state are silently renouncing Kwara, they only associate with the state after realizing the person next to them is also from the same place.

In conclusion, let me note that, you may be rich and successful in your career or business, but that doesn’t take away the shame of coming from a state where only one individual dictate the pace since 40years ago and whose son may even continue for another 50years.

Democracy in Kwara is more like a dream, rather than a reality.

Finally, now that the 2015 election has come and gone, what next?

Should Kwarans go back to bed and wait till maybe the next 30-40years after Bukola Saraki also dies? And even if he dies then, who will take over? Won’t Kwara continue with this defeated mentality?

A word is enough for the wise.
With me, Kwara Must Change
Abdulrazaq O Hamzat (Mr.Rights)
FOR: KWARA MUST CHANGE
[email protected]

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Articles by Abdulrazaq Oyeabnji Hamzat