Excruciating Hardship: Nigerians as the Proverbial Toad

By Chidiebere Nwobodo

There is this school of thought that suggests that the best way to kill a toad is to do it slowly, applying pain gradually until the animal becomes too weak to withstand it—and it dies. If you heat up, let say a bucket of water without a cover to boiling point, and throw a live toad into the hot water, the instinctive and survivalist reaction will be to immediately jump out of the bucket.

Do the experiment again with different approach. Now, don't bother to heat the water first. Throw the toad inside a bucket of cold water, while the toad is getting use to the new ecosystem, start applying heat under the bucket.

This time the toad won't jump out but will rather begin to adjust to the new temperature as it increases. The toad's survivalist strategy here is to keep absorbing the heat hoping that the temperature will suddenly subside. Unfortunately for the toad, the bucket will keep getting hotter to a boiling point where the toad can no longer take it again—it suffocates and dies, albeit quitely and agonisingly.

 The most astonishing aspect of this death process is that the toad will not protest or fight back because it erroneously assume that one way or the other, miracle will happen and it will outlast the hot temperature by absorbing it quitely. 

Unknowingly for the beleaguered toad, the heat keeps increasing because of the toad's inability to question the source of his pain and pressure—rather, it continues to rationalize the reason for the increasing temperature of the bucket hoping that this "new increase in temperature will favour it and its family". Did you get my drift now?

Yes! Majority of Nigerians are that proverbial toad. Events in the last few years have proved beyond doubt that majority of Nigerians share the idiosyncrasies of a toad. No apology. And our empathy bankrupt leaders understand this aspect of the masses and have been using it against us. 

In the last eight years, cost of living has skyrocketed astronomical to an alarming rate as a result of government cluelessness and inefficiency, without corresponding push back from the masses. It has degenerated from bad to worse in the past few months, yet the proverbial toad keeps taking in pressure at the breaking point of exhaustion. 

And this is what the ruling political class loves so much—an indolent, subservient and gullible masses. As a result, the masses, like the proverbial toad, have been reacting to every harsh government policy by simply adjusting to the new temperature of suffering and hardship. Government has resorted to solving every economic challenge by increasing the pain on the overburdened masses.

Subsidy on petrol was removed without corresponding palliatives to cushion the pain on the vulnerable poor. Naira depreciating at the speed of light. Prices of foodstuffs and basic commodities are going up on hourly bases, and Government is asking the hapless poor people to make sacrifices without leading by example.

The presidency still has about nine jets in the presidential fleet. Occupants of Aso Rock still travel abroad on medical tourism. Billions of naira are still being budgeted for foods and drinks consumed in the Villa. N500m approved for a committee to sit and discuss minimum wage. 

National Assembly members still collecting humongous salaries and allowances unbecoming of leaders of a nation whose economy is bleeding profusely. Nigerians, it is time to hit the street. It is either now or never.

It is either one dies by hunger or bullet—this is becoming the only two options left. It is either we collectively perish as heroes fighting for survival or die as conquered cowards as a result of unbearable hardship in the land. It is time to confront our oppressors.