Promise Adiele
Once in a while, different types of sociolinguistic paradigms infiltrate social spaces. They subliminally become an immediate arsenal for the people, most of them casualties of misgovernance, to wage an onslaught against subsisting power structures of the day. Simply put, sociolinguistics is the totality of how diverse cultural, religious, economic, and political developments in a society affect the use of language. It primarily deals with how social factors influence linguistic expressions. To a large extent, one can conclude that the mysterious expression ‘no gree for anybody’, without any definite source or origin, is a child of all the socio-political and economic unease in Nigeria. These developments have become intractable due to the unfortunate, deformed political evolution in the country that has led to excursions and misadventures by touring wayfarers who like to be called leaders.
What is the origin of the ‘no gree for anybody’ expression? We may not know. But somehow, as Nigerians were celebrating the entrance of 2024, the phrase, couched in a combination of standard and corrupted English language, crept into Nigeria’s linguistic armoury. Since then, it has distilled into a formidable mantra that unsettles feral power outposts in the country. In this case, the Nigerian Police Force is the first victim. But the Nigerian Army think otherwise. They support and encourage the use of the expression. Nigerians are thus caught in a quandary – between the police and army, who should Nigerians obey? Why is the Nigerian Police Force worried about the expression? What is it about the expression that grates on the heart of the Nigerian Police Force?
More directly, ‘no gree for anybody’,as far as Nigerians are concerned, is a revolutionary slogan which means many things to many people. Of course, it is apparent to mortar and pestle that Nigeria needs a revolution but for some inexplicable reasons, the revolutionary wheel has slumbered and staggered in no uncertain terms waiting for a slight precipitator, a catalyst to quicken the process. Every revolution starts with a slogan. The revolution that led to the disbandment of SARS, that notorious arm of the Nigerian Police Force, started with a mere slogan ‘ENDSARS’. Perhaps, that is why the Police, sensing the possibility of an uprising through the continual avowal of the ‘no gree for anybody’ slogan, immediately issued a statement warning people to desist from using the expression.
The Police floundered on that score because it is practically impossible to establish how that expression constitutes a threat to the Nigerian state. For some Nigerians, ‘no gree for anybody’ is a harmless expression used to suggest an uncompromising stance towards all forms of negative tendencies which undermine the human condition. And there are many of them in the country. Again, it is difficult to interpret ‘no gree for anybody’ in certain terms. Jacques Derrida’s Deconstruction can help us in the matter. ‘No gree for anybody’ means nothing on the one hand and everything on the other hand. Although it defies a stable meaning, it can accommodate various interpretive kernels. It all depends on the user.
‘No gree for anybody’ reminds me of Old Major, the pig character in George Orwell’s Animal Farm. The cunning pig summoned all the animals in Mr Jones’s Manor Farm and instilled the ‘no gree for anybody’ revolutionary slogan in them. In the text, the animals’ version of ‘no gree for anybody’ is the principle of animalism summed up in the refrain “four legs good, two legs bad”, that is, anything that has two legs is an enemy, anything that has four legs or flies, is a friend. In a rare display of oratorial prowess, Old Major convinced the animals that the main threat to their continued existence was man. Old Major died shortly after his ‘no gree for anybody’ revolutionary speech but he had told the animals enough to revolt against Mr. Jones. The animals eventually revolted and chased Mr. Jones out of Manor Farm and renamed it Animal Farm. Orwell is a genius.
It is easy for those deficient in comprehending the written word to misconstrue these ramblings and jejunely conclude that I am insidiously suggesting a revolution. I surely understand the type of linguistic nuances that can provoke a revolution in Nigeria but for now, I will sheath my sword and focus on my New Year resolution which is to ensure that I don’t stay awake beyond midnight every day. It is 2 am as I write this piece. Enough for New Year’s resolution. So, help me God!!! (I cannot come and kill myself…hehehe)
‘No gree for anybody’ is real and alive. For some reason, I think the slogan is still in its embryonic stage and will gradually approach maturity, gathering momentum as the days roll by in so far as conditions in Nigeria gravitate towards unbearable dimensions. I weep for Nigeria because the conditions that elicit the weeping are not relenting. It has become a case of One Week One Trouble, the title of Anezi Okoro’s children’s literature text. Sadly, Nigeria’s newsreel is daily inundated with negative reports across the land. Killings, insecurity, bandits on the prowl, economic hardship, and all manner of social dislocations are all in good company with our mental state. For now, let us return to the ‘no gree for anybody’ slogan.
‘No gree for anybody’ as revolutionary machinery can operate and be understood from two different standpoints. The first standpoint is the organized, sensible, uncompromising but reasonable deployment of the slogan. The second standpoint is the foolish, defiant, obdurate, and infantile interpretation of the slogan. From the first standpoint, the slogan should be understood as rejecting and opposing all forms of criminality in power corridors no matter who perpetrates it. Ethnic jingoists should pay attention. ‘No gree for anybody’ means resisting all efforts by anybody who tells you that the Hausa/Fulani man is your enemy, the Igbo man is your enemy, the Urhobo man is your enemy, the Yoruba man is your enemy, the Christian is your enemy, the Muslim is your enemy. Ethnic and religious divisions are proven weapons in the hands of the ruling class to keep the people apart and circumscribe their potential for a united front to challenge the obnoxious hierarchy of savage power. Ethnic and religious arguments are the lowest form of enlightened engagement. Avoid them.
‘No gree for anybody’ when the government decides to use lies, propaganda and all forms of misleading narratives to conceal the true nature of events in the country. How many billions have been stolen or mismanaged by government officials? We deserve to know. These days, they do not steal in millions anymore, they steal in billions. How many people have died or are in captivity in the hands of bandits and kidnappers across the country recently?We deserve to know. How much is Nigeria owing through mindless borrowing? What is the country’s debt profile? We all deserve to know. Why is the government gradually relocating CBN to Lagos, perhaps close to Bourdellion in Ikoyi? We deserve to know.
Nigerians can become more affirmative with ‘no gree for anybody’ if the prices of basic goods and services continue to hit the roof without any corresponding increment in earnings.‘No gree for anybody’ must assume a life of its own as a resistant metaphor against any attempt to increase the price of petroleum products. The slogan must be put into practice. It must spur the people to reject all forms of docility and lethargy which has characterized the country’s democratic dispensation since 1999. The Nigerian timorous acceptance of all forms of misrule is not a way to protect democracy but to entrench perfidy in the corridors of power. With ‘no gree for anybody, the edifice of military rule was effectively dislodged in the country. The slogan must not be in vain this time. Having become turgid, it must penetrate the Nigerian social space with vigour and produce results. Its seed must germinate, it must be fruitful. It must not withdraw and become flaccid.
The ‘no gree for anybody’ expression must be sustained to become a rallying slogan that connotes the rejection of all forms of oppressive conditions in private establishments, public establishments and the government. No gree for anybody to cheat you, no gree for anybody to undermine your person, no gree for anybody to exploit you, no gree for the government to become irresponsible, no gree for criminals to embezzle our patrimony, no gree o, no gree o, make you no gree. In your zeal to pursue the ‘no gree for anybody’ slogan, do not be stupid. Do not embrace untimely death to your grave. Never mind all the pretence, police and army officers in the country are angry. Do not argue with any of them that has a gun. Remember, he is angry and can shoot. Do not argue with your boss, there are no jobs in Nigeria. Do not travel by road along lonely parts, kidnappers are on the prowl and there is no security in Nigeria. The slogan must be pursued and adhered to with reason and equitable conscience.
Perhaps ‘no gree for anybody’ is the antidote Nigeria needs to recover their country from the hands of misdirected, decadent opportunists who like to drive their chariots on the graves of the masses. Will the slogan achieve any purpose or will it die a natural death? Time will tell. For now, let people use the slogan and interpret it in multiple ways as they deem fit. Remember, the Holy Book encourages us to “resist the devil and he will flee from you”. If ‘no gree for anybody’ is a timely call to resist all forms of evil in our land, so be it. I stand with the Holy Book.
*Promise Adiele PhD
Mountain Top University
promee01@yahoo.com
X: @drpee4