Madam Nigeria and her own ‘issue of blood’ By Chibuzo Udolisa, Lagos.

SIR: Nigeria’s problems have remained
intractable and it is puzzling. Just when one is by
the door, another is on the window. It is either
fuel or water scarcity, and people are running
around cities with jerry cans and buckets like
men born before civilisation began. At another
time it is power shortage and the light goes off
leaving even supposed mega cities in darkness,
then noise of cheap, over worn generators take
over in spite of dangerous emission of killer
carbon.
Where life is cheap many could die unnoticed.
Once in the past a Minister of Power, a Professor
of Metallurgical Engineering, who has been a Vice
Chancellor of two different Federal Universities
and a senior clergyman in the Anglican Church,
said the Power sector problems were caused by
demons. Strange as it may sound especially
coming from that level, it becomes worthy of
consideration at least since everybody seems
interested in a solution to the problems.
And who are demons even? Demons in a context
are fallen angels. They are foul, unclean and evil
spirits. They are subject to exorcisms. They could
be dominated and stripped of authority to act and
to perform or to control affairs.
Some have blamed saboteurs and maybe they
were the ones that Minister referred to as
demons, at least some humans do have all the
characters of demons except none. The fact that
they are not invincible is clear. The fact they are
known is clear but the reason why they have
been untouched is not clear.
More like the biblical woman with an “issue of
blood”, it did stick with her for a long while and
she saw many doctors who could not fathom the
situation and how help could be rendered. But
she did get healed in the end though not without
making an effort and taking a high risk. And for
“Madam Nigeria” and her own “issue of blood”
her time to get healed ought to be now!
• Chibuzo Udolisa,
Lagos.