Aminu’s Failed Social Experiment Over Emperor’s New “Look”
In what is like a tragic experience, Aminu’s fate is scrambling over circumstantial uncertainty. With a case before the court, he is likely not going to meet up with his exams timeline.
But then, even if he smells the air of freedom, it would be difficult for him to weather through this traumatic experience and unfailingly pass exams. Therefore, intuitively speaking, Aminu will have an extra year.
Yes, Nigeria happens to this young man. And, absolutely, nothing could be done against this unfortunate incidence. It’s what it’s!
Aminu’s story reminds me one of the famous story of Hans Christian Anderson I read while growing up: The Emperor’s New Clothes. Where the emperor was cloaked in nothing, but his sycophantic courtiers could not tell him so.
Many years ago, there was an Emperor so exceedingly fond of new clothes that he spent all his money on being well dressed.
He cared nothing about reviewing his soldiers, going to the theatre, or going for a ride in his carriage, except to show off his new clothes.
The Emperor had a coat for every hour of the day, and instead of saying, as one might, about any other ruler, “The King’s in council,” here they always said. “The Emperor’s in his dressing room.”
“Those would be just the clothes for me,” thought the Emperor. “If I wore them I would be able to discover which men in my empire are unfit for their posts. And I could tell the wise men from the fools.
Yes, I certainly must get some of the stuff woven for me right away.” He paid the two swindlers a large sum of money to start work at once.
The Bengali poet Nirendranath Chakraborty in his poem Ulanga Raja (The King Is Naked), said only one small innocent little boy in the entire kingdom had the courage to stand up and ask the naked Emperor, “Hey King, where are your clothes?”
The use of the story’s Emperor’s New Clothes refers to something widely accepted as true or professed as being praiseworthy, due to an unwillingness of the general population to criticize it or be seen as going against popular opinion.
It is like an expression used to describe a situation in which people are afraid to criticize something because everyone else seems to think it is good or important. Aminu is like that small boy, hence an outlier of millions of us.
Today’s Nigeria, sadly, is like that of the Emperor’s. No one gets to say the truth or publicly criticizes those in power without being unconstitutionally harassed or tortured.
For Aminu and the Emperor, no matter the trials, one thing is certain: in the words of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, I see sorrow, tears and blood ahead, I am however comforted that despotism has an expiry.
The clock ticks.
Aisha Buhari Before And After With Aminu Muhammed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfNWn4df_Eg
