Nagaland, a place we call Home. Tucked away in the Far East, where the sun always shines on the beautiful hills and its diversified tribes. Once dominated by its rich cultures, traditions, pride of one’s tribe is now enslaved by monopolistic policies devised by Bureaucrats, Businessmen, Contractors, Politicians and Rebels for greed, power and status quo. Public jobs’ have become hierarchal where family with the most influence triumphant, robbing 1st generation educated family of their hard work. Money, power, influence has consumed our society. Perseverance, grit is lost among the millennial and centennial.
Rich in natural resources with abundant of flowing natural spring water, fertile land, minerals, and still majority of the semi-urban area of the Capital suffers from scarcity of water every year. Most of our physiological needs are imported from the neighboring states/country. It’s not that our Sate is incompetent of producing. We are flooded with funds every year for development, to build infrastructure. Lack of fair distribution of funds, lack of accountability for crooked leaders, lack of transparency of Government affairs and failing to raise our voice together as citizens against the governmenthas been our greatest downfall.
Election of our Leaders’ and Representative by law has always been enigmatic to the citizens’ of the State, deceived by money and blundered assurance of work. The first General Election of Nagaland was held with voters’ at gun-point by the Indian army. Ourfirst Nagaleaders (AZ Phizo and others) betrayed by our own for money, power has forced Nagas’ to be where we are now. Corrupted to its core with no integrity, noethical and moral values to be found anywhere in our Leaders’.The seed of greed which was implanted, since then has grown bearing its fruits of the 7 Sins which the Leaders’, Representatives’ and the Citizens’ reap. The aftermathof this betrayal, which has twisted “Election” to be perceive as an investment game of greed for the people in power, where the right investment guarantees favors and wealth for the investors (Bureaucrats, businessmen etc…) in the coming years.
We are now a State of Banana Republic, a benefactor of the Central Government, a paradigm of capitalism at its worst. Public funds meant for public welfare are siphoned for personal benefits. Those that reached the common people leaked out of the State. We consume without producing any output. The bubble we are in is getting bigger and thinner. Tiny population that benefits from this thinning bubble turns a blind eye while majority of us literate/illiterate are exploited of our ignorance, our rights and lack of awareness through manipulated and deceitful policies.
Our labor force, infrastructure, business partners, blue-collar jobs are owned and built on the back of people who we socially prejudiced and immigrants who we publicly abnegate. It’s evident that we are no longer in control of our own state, while we Nagas’ were busy chasing after a delusional life to sit in an armchair and pass orders, the foundation of our State functionality were built on account of others’ and prospering only the elite of the society. Failing to come together as one to resolve the barrier of segregation concocted by different traditions (Tribe) and indulging in our pride has been pivotal to our society inabilities to move forward as one.
The Crème de la Crème of Nagas’, the Doctors’ and Engineers’. A societal branding influencedby the perspective of the society and a rigged education system that categorize intelligence, success based on an education course,making the system toxic for innovation and creativity to flourish. The cream layer supposedly to be the brightest mind of the State are misguided by their societal branding, blinded by their intellectual arrogance which make them incompetent to bring about change. Confined to their specific professions’ that benefits no one but themselves. They formed a fragmented part of an intricate system of puppetry control by obsolete old men and undeserving public servants.
Religious leaders’ of different dominations are now involved in politics, eachcampaigning with the agenda topopularize their church, to gain church followers’ which have become ameasurement of quality and validation of a belief. Stature of a religious domination is now measured by the sublime infrastructure of the church rather than its teachings. The true essence of religion which was to bring people together, to unify humanity and instill among us love, forgiveness, compassion and peace has long been lost since. Various domination of religion, in fact have segregated our society on a larger scale,in addition to the segregation concocted by tribes which have persisted in our society long before religionwas introduced to the citizens’,tempering the harmony we yearn. Religious leaders’ and its followers, we all have lost our way consumed by hatred, vanity, sloth, envy and lust.
Am I a pessimist? No, I’m a bitter, angryyoung man tired of the system we have built in our society, a system that respect the rich and condemns the poor. A system that perceives a person worthy of respect by the amount of money one has, the attire he/she wears, and the car he/she drives is degrading and shallow. The needto be ‘Dandy’ in our society and around our peers to feel accepted have degraded our self-esteem as an individual. The ‘Status quo’ existing among our society have dismantled our culture and tradition, our trait to be entrepreneurs and pioneers’. The older generation (Late Gen X and early Millennial) of Nagas’ were driven by power, greed and money while the newer generation (Late Millennial and Centennial) are driven by a life seen through a screen of fame, debauchery and extravagancies which is a result of the reticence wealth of the older gen.
To the current Leaders’ of our society ‘when will it be enough?’ To the citizens’ who have lost our voice, when will we answer‘Enough is enough’? We need change in our society, to all the citizens’ sharing a common view as me, let’s be the change and not a victim of change.
Kikrusetuo John Pienyu
