To the Nigerian almost hopelessly resigned to the notion that ours is a irretrievably corrupt country, the news that a 72 year old man in India (Anna Hazare) has choosen the odd method of a hunger strike is, to say the least, baffling.
The destructive effects of corruption, particularly on the most vulnerable sections of society has been documented yet how does it get resolved by going on a hunder strike? But let us give some context here...Mr. Hazare's grudge is that the Indian Parliament is not interested in enacting a tougher version of anti-corruption law which he favours. To force their hand therefore, he proceeds on a hunger strike. Aside from the fact that his opposition instigated massive street protests by ordinary Indians disgrunted at the corruption of their leaders...eventually, the Indian government and Parliament gave in and agreed to enact the controversial law.
But what is it with a hunger strike? A Nigerian will wonder how a refusal to eat can be a form of protest. My view is that Mr. Hazare's symbolic protest taps into and challenges a moral reservoir within Indian society. Let us recall that Indian independence was coloured by the moral compass defined by Mahatma Gandhi and hunger strikes as a symbolic means of protest were pioneered by him. A nearly saintly figure for many, nobody wanted to be the cause of a simple old's man death. To situate it better, imagine Nelson Mandela protesting against a policy of the South African government by going on hunger strike. Given his eminent moral stature, that policy is likely to be immediately reversed!
To be sure, in a society without a moral reservoir like Nigeria...Mr. Hazare's (or an imaginary Mandela) hunger strike would amount to nothing. In a country decidedly without a moral figure or compass, corruption rages on relentlessly. There is a sense of moral outrage by the Indian public against corruption which Mr. Hazare could count on...where is ours in Nigeria?
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
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