Title: Do not die in their war: A treatise on Nigeria's contemporary political trajectories

Author: Dele Farotimi

Read date: 02-November-2020

Rating: 9

Readability: 6

Published: 7 June 2019

Pages: 346

Tags: Nigeria

Short summary:

This book debunks the idea of democracy in Nigeria. Nigeria is a state and not a nation. A nation is an entity that exists for the thriving of its citizens. Nigeria is anything but that. It is a membership, either you are in the ruling class or not.

Motivations to read:

If you want to understand Nigeria, it's history and it's callous leaders and their blatant disregard for the lives of citizens, you should read this book.

3 reasons to read:

1. You want to understand Nigeria and it's political landscape.
2. You want to become learned about the leaders of Nigeria and the so called "democracy" that is practiced.
3. You want to understand the past of this country and how we can move forward because if you are blessed to see a problem, it is because you either are the solution, or a part of the solution.

Notable quotes:

The problem of Nigeria begins and ends with the crises of citizenship.

The PDP is the APC, and the APC is the PDP.

What happened after the coup was that, the federal structure was broken up and Nigeria became a unitary state, bearing federal only in name. That is the fraud.

When the overarching intention of the state is not the common good, all kinds of madness become normalized. It becomes completely normal for madness to thrive. That is why we are where we are in Nigeria.

Anger is not a governing system. Bellyaching also changes nothing. But if we can articulate an alternative vision behind which we can galvanize the people, the existing reality will change.

I believe that the key to a route to nationhood lies in the proposed restructuring and the change in governance system.

Ours is a democracy that is not anchored on the expressed wish of the citizens.

Vision constrains leaders. When leadership is unrestrained by vision, resources are wasted, and purpose is corrupted.

The State (Nigeria) and the underworld have meshed, and now the State has become a criminal entity.

The APC broom has become an Ijabe, just as useless as the tattered umbrella of the PDP.

The reality is, you can change Nigerian rulers for all you care, but until you change the mindset of the people themselves, you will find no difference in the outcome.

Rationality ends where hunger begins.

Power corrupts... Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

If a man can speak to you at an intellectual level, chances are that he will not resort to physical expression of his frustration.

Violence is a creation of injustice.

The Nigerian State is designed without any intention of allowing the Law to rule.

The Nigerian system is incapable of delivering justice. It was never designed to produce justice.

Understand clearly that the system is never ever interested in truly delivering justice because justice - as interpreted by the system - is only for the poor and those who have run afoul of the system.

In order to maintain an oppressive hold on a people, the first thing to do is deny them access to knowledge because knowledge is power.

Stomach infrastructure can only thrive in an atmosphere of ignorance and poverty.

Poverty is weaponized the moment avenues for the creation of values are closed up to those who are not part and parcel of a system.

Accordingly, if a man is capable of weaponizing poverty, weaponizing ignorance; the truth may also be weaponized.

The single reason for out national malaise is visionlessness. "The eyes are useless, when the mind is blind".