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21.09.2014 Feature Article

Nigeria: When A People Suffer Primary Dementia

Nigeria: When A People Suffer Primary Dementia
21.09.2014 LISTEN

“The name of the author is the first to go, followed obediently by the title, the plot, the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel which suddenly becomes one you have never read, never even heard of, as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain, to a little fishing village where there are no phones.” ― Billy Collins

It was one horrid week for me I was down with the flu...don't ask me which flu, but certainly not bird flu and nowhere near Ebola...My nostril-licked water like there was no tomorrow, I was sure that all the fluid in me was draining away. I was asked to take "Actifed" and some cough syrup with a long name that I cannot remember anymore.

Now my admonition to my beloved Nigerians this week is not about me or the fact that I had the combined ill honors of cold, catarrh and cough, but guess what I am as a fit as fiddle that I have almost forgotten the torture of the few days, and off course the fact that there has ben no power supply for over a week now.

But my experience with the flu got me thinking about Nigerians, we all get the flu of bad governance, maladministration, corruption whether different from theft or stealing, we experience the flu that causes strikes, the flu from poor healthcare, sports flu, flu that has caused educational rot. However we soon forget.

As a nation we suffer Dementia, intact let me take us on a quasi-medical journey.

Many older people worry about becoming more forgetful. They think forgetfulness is the first sign of Alzheimer's disease. In the past, memory loss and confusion were considered a normal part of aging. However, scientists now know that most people remain both alert and able as they age, although it may take them longer to remember things.

However everyone in Nigeria suffers stylish dementia, forgetting almost everything and choosing what we remember and how we remember.

A lot of people experience memory lapses. Some memory problems are serious and others are not. In our beloved nation we make a lot of noise about an issue and after a while everyone forgets.

Like who remembers those "guys" that looted the fuel subsidy monies and the drama that followed with some dude that put a few notes into his "agabada". Trust me its a case closed, we have forgotten.

The term dementia describes a group of symptoms that are caused by changes in brain function. Dementia symptoms may include asking the same questions repeatedly; becoming lost in familiar places; being unable to follow directions; getting disoriented about time, people, and places; and neglecting personal safety, hygiene, and nutrition. People with dementia lose their abilities at different rates. Dementia is caused by many conditions. Some conditions that cause dementia can be reversed, and others cannot.

The above really sums up who we are as a people. We agree as politicians on zoning, append our signatures to documents and soon in public we forget the date, time and venue of the gentleman's agreement. It is same case with ASUU and government, one of either party is often on the side of dementia regarding what was said and agreed upon.

We have forgotten the young lads that were killed in Alu, that murder at dawn of young school boys that gripped the nation--What happened at last, who was responsible, was anyone sentenced, really how did it end?

We cannot recollect exactly how my friend Yerima of Zamfara ended the "she should be in school not a wife" campaign, but I recollect that after all the noise, debate and a doze of abuse across the Niger by groups on child marriage, life has continued!

I have been privileged to visit a couple of Universities since the last ASUU, and I am trying to remember what was the reason again for the several months long strike.

We have forgotten about Stella Oduah and the bulletproof monk...I mean bulletproof cars.

We have all forgotten the promises of when Boko Haram will end, or electricity would stabilize.

We only remember when we want to fight--

Where did I last lay down my car keys? What did I need at the grocery store, now that I'm standing in its aisles? What day is that important meeting scheduled? What did I need to bring to it? Did I remember to switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer before they got moldy? Did I pick up new printer cartridges, or did I just think about getting them?

Abnormal forgetfulness isn't only about failing to remember. It's more complex than that. Be concerned when you see a pattern of deteriorating functioning, not just correctable incidents of forgetting. Loss of previous abilities or negative changes in long-established, characteristic behavior and personality patterns indicates a need to seek help.

Like a flu, events in our national history just comes and goes, we forget our heroes past and present, we don't care, and so too the millions of dollars in a private jet will be forgotten. What do we remember, what do we want to remember, at what point do we want to snap out of our current state of dementia—Only time will tell.

Yours In High Regards
Prince Charles Dickson
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