Website Palaver

There's a school of thought that firmly upholds the theory that the Nigerian state is a reflection of her civil service. The proponents of this theory believe most of our inept public officers were hitherto part of a system now renowned for mendacity, larceny and gross ineptitude. This system is our beloved civil service.

Before we proceed on this show of shame, the link below takes you to a video. This is a high ranking officer of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, one of the security parastatals saddled with securing the lives and property of Nigerians. Please listen carefully to the conversation on live television.

http://t.co/rtf1zDNEW1

For all we know, this man could be the spokesperson of the NSCDC. If this didn't surprise you then not many things in life will. For those who didn't quite pick the line of discourse, he was simply asked for the website of his organisation. That seemingly straight-forward question became a quagmire of epic proportion.

The NSCDC sent an adult man to address viewers in Nigeria and their representative did not have an idea what his organisation's website was. He tried so hard to whip up something in his head to say but the cerebral faculties just could not deliver. Remarkably, like a typical Nigerian, he tried to intimidate his interviewers like he had an idea what he wanted to say by telling them to 'wait now'. He also ensured he spoke in a confident loud voice with distracting gesticulations as part of his act. I pitied him at some point. The presenters should have figured it out immediately the stuttering started. The man simply did not know the website. Just let him be.

Another thing that got to me was the fact that he really couldn't come up with any 'phantom' website. I believe he could have spewed any website at all at that point just to save face. After all, it was not like any of the presenters was going to try to log on to the website immediately. Just say www.nscdc.com.ng or www.nscdc.org or www.nscdc.gov . Just say anything! What this tells me is that he is not a very intelligent man. He can't think on his feet and it disturbs me that he will sit on panels to interview Nigerian graduates who will apply to work for the NSCDC at different capacities. It disturbs me that such a man will one day, after rising to the highest level of service at the NSCDC, believe he is well equipped to lead and run for political office. The vicious cycle of madness and inanity will continue unabated. I find that very disturbing.

Again, many of us will laugh over this issue and forget the crux of the matter. We are in a dire state and I assure you that the folks at Nigerian Prisons, Nigerian Ports and Nigerian Immigration might not fare any better than our beloved NSCDC spokesman.

Interestingly, this man represents one of the organizations that we have entrusted with lives of Nigerians in the North and other parts of Nigeria. You then wonder how Boko Haram is winning the terror war when our troops are under the supervision of men like these. Ask an average Policeman what the Nigerian Police website is(if it's functional of course). You will be shocked. In this age of technology, where information dissemination goes faster than avian copulation, it is disheartening to think our security personnel are still this dull. In an age where the SSS, Nigerian Army, Police, NIA and others should have a central data bank where vital intelligence information can be shared?

Alas, that is the story of our country. In this man's village, he is probably a chief. After all the NSCDC thought him smart enough to represent the entire organization on national television. For this singular act, I would have him queried if I were the Director General of the NSCDC. There's a difference between forgetting momentarily and not knowing entirely. This man did not know that website, not that he forgot. When he managed to come up with anything, he simply said "www.nscdc..... " He doesn't even know there should be a suffix like .com or .org. We should even give him credit and thank God that he even knows websites begin with 'www'. He could have said '0-8-0'.

Finally, my brethren, we are in God's hands o! For those who still believe the government provides security, I wish them luck.

For me and my household "the Lord is my refuge and my fortress; In Him will I trust".