Atiku Abubakar is no small name, needing no introduction. In addition to his being the longest serving democratically elected vice president ever in Nigeria’s history, his outspokenness has constantly put him in the polity. It is safe to say he is the most vocal individual asking for a change in the country’s present system of governance. As expected, his position has attracted different reactions from people from all walks of life especially other politicians, some for and others against.
As a response to some of the reactions to Atiku’s stance, I wrote an article published in some national dailies including the Tribune of 11th August, 2017 under the headline “Pondering Over what Atiku Abubakar is Saying” and there was a barrage of responses. They all could be broadly divided into three categories: those who do not agree with him, those who agreed with him and those who agreed with him but thought he is not good enough to say it or act what he is saying. In the last group, one of the responses that caught my attention the most and has inspired this follow up article, is one from a female responder with the comparison of the “container and the content”. She specifically mentioned that the content (ideas) was wonderful but doubted the container (person).
If what Atiku Abubakar is saying is the content as elaborated in my earlier article and agreed to by readers, then what is the container? The idea of the container will mean the personality of the person and, once again, as it has been with some other responses to Atiku’s position, his person was being called to question by some persons. Here, she buys the content but doubts the container. I have therefore decided that we take some look at the relationship between the container and its content in a figurative way.
A container as defined by the Learners Cambridge Dictionary is a hollow object such as a box or a bottle that can be used for holding something especially to carry or store it. On the other hand, the “content” has one of its definitions by same dictionary as everything that is contained within something. Simply put, the content is the contained.
The relationship between the two from the above definition is quite clear and there is no gainsaying that a container should be suited for its content. Containers are made and tailored for their content.
It emphasizes the idea of round pegs in round holes. For a content that is malleable as is with an idea, it is important to note that the content can be reorganized in accordance with the container. If the content eventually takes the shape of an inappropriate container, it will invariably become a different content. If Atiku Abubakar’s ideas are the content Nigeria needs to chart a new progressive path, can he also be the container? If he has the contained, can’t he be the container?
A workman they say is as good as his tools. The best of the workmen will be most ineffective in the absence of appropriate tools, so also is an idea as good as its bearer. A good idea left to the wrong person for implementation most likely will come out adulterated. If truly an idea is the purveyor’s creation, then the one to best implement such idea is the purveyor, bearing in mind that an idea is as good as how it is implemented.
In deciding in what container content should be contained, a number of factors would be considered. For example, we will be thinking about the shape, the size, the form and maybe the state i.e. gas, fluid or solid. The type of container required for a liquid content will not be same with the container requirement for gas content.
Now in real time application, the problems we face today as a nation must determine the solutions we seek for. Consequently the solution we seek for will again determine who we choose to lead us. No matter how broad base a government is, even in democracy, the policy direction will invariably be determined by the leader of the government who also is the country’s leader.
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