Browsing: Abimbola Adelakun

At a recent function in Abuja, Vice President Kashim Shettima expressed his disappointment that some Nigerians would rather be amused by the free fall of Naira value than pour ashes on their heads. According to him, “It is not only disheartening and disenchanting but also heartbreaking that yesterday when the Naira culminated to ₦1,500 to the dollar, instead of us to coagulate into a single force and salvage our nation economy, sadly, some clowns are celebrating on Twitter of an impending implosion of the Nigerian economy.” Look, if any clown here badly needs help recognising what he truly is, it is Shettima himself.

My first encounter with a critique of charity was Chinua Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah. I was maybe 15 or 16 then, but his take—speaking through his character—was indelibly etched in my mind. In the light of a fresh national development, I cannot but recall his denunciation of charity as the “opium…of the privileged.” Now, you must have read the horrifying report that Nigerian security forces “accidentally” bombed—again! — some civilians in Tudun Biri, Kaduna State. Following the airstrikes, about 120 people reportedly died, while another 60 sustained injuries. You must have also read that the senators, all 109 of them, are contributing N1m each from their respective December salaries for the victims.