Right off the ingenious song of the musical maestro and Afro-beat legend; Fela Anikulapo Kuti. This satire reeks of pure ingenuity infused with the harmonious symphony of chords, strings and words that spring forth as arrows of undeniable truth. The ironic phrase speaks to enlightenment; it speaks to the exercise of wisdom to reject the binds of folly and mischief. But then who is the teacher and who am I to stand in defiance and declare with passion “Teacher don’t teach me nonsense”. For if my supposed teacher must have realized that this is the beginning of a revolution or simply a rebellious intent waiting to dislodge the idea of peace or the mirage of sanctity that precludes his existence. Who am I? A tyrant or simply a voice crying out in desperation or in attention and who is the teacher that I stand opposed to.
Every man is a political animal of sorts. The ingenious declaration of a philosopher who understood the primal nature of men; that all men seek power for the preservation of self. That in all things the identity of self precludes all things and all men strive for meaning either to understand or to be understood. Be it in the confines of social struggle or competitive intent, Politics is always at the centre of human interaction playing out. But like all social constructs abuse is inevitable and so Political discourse becomes the victim of human ambition as men push the boundaries of competition into the fields of winning at all cost.
If you are familiar with African politics particularly the Nigerian politics, you would understand it’s not a question of who has a better manifesto or plan but simply who has the force of will to exercise thuggery in the most efficient manner. “Results at all cost” is simply the tune and it must be achieved by any means necessary if need be even at the cost of human life. But hey it ain’t personal; it’s simply politics-the dumbfounding logic of the average campaigner vying for political office. So you discover that the political atmosphere is a tussle between the ideal reasoning and the absence of logic in decision making. And as you spur through this cabal of incessant decadence you realize the deadening effect of the emergence of this weak leadership and its ripple effect likened to a child with kwashiorkor -a political theatrical of sorts as men with fat bellies feed off the ignorance of others.
The critical issue thus remains, how men of absent thought can lead a people well entrenched in the dictates of governance. How men can be so naïve as to put faith in men without substance, lacking the potency of character and entrenched in tainted integrity? In the famous cliché, all men want to be deceived one way or another. Hence, the reality we see; men casting their shadow of doubt into the dark alley of ignorance with great expectation. One might wonder what they expect to find.
Who is the mysterious teacher? What does he represent? The teacher depicts the iconic image of authority guiding, dictating and enforcing reason. He represents the ivory tower of knowledge and wisdom cherished and looked up to by all learners and his responsibility is to guide all. But entangled with this responsibility is expectation; expectations drowned in the feelings of hope as men define expectation as the reality untold. And as men look to the stars in search of mysteries so do people stand looking to the teacher for answers; answers that come in shades of empty promises. But soon weariness sets in and men can no longer indulge the teacher as their expectations are lost to the optimism of life.
Words, words and words. That is what the ingenious teacher hurls at the learners who plunder the depths of knowledge in search of truth or simply as the mindless obscurity of men lacking understanding or the foresight to perceive reality as shades of truth shifting through the path of illusions. But as men swim in the depths of deception their curiosity deepens and soon they reach the banks of defiance and chorus, “Teacher don’t teach men nonsense”.
Men remain the idea of the illustrious; victims or simply fools willing to be deceived by the masked deceptive intent fired at them. But then there is a tipping point where everything crumbles and down goes the deception as men realize they have been suffering and smiling in the midst of plenty; suffering and smiling.
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