Welcome to Banana Republic...!

Banana Republic is a political science term for a politically unstable country, whose economy is largely dependent on exporting a limited-resource product, e.g. bananas. It typically has stratified social classes, including a large, impoverished working class and a ruling plutocracy of business, political, and military elites. This politico-economic oligarchy controls the primary-sector productions to exploit the country's economy.
In economics, a banana republic is a country operated as a commercial enterprise for private profit, effected by a collusion between the State and favoured monopolies, in which the profit derived from the private exploitation of public lands is private property, while the debts incurred thereby are a public responsibility. Such an imbalanced economy remains limited by the uneven economic development of town and country, and tends to cause the national currency to become devalued paper-money, rendering the country ineligible for international-development credit. Such government by thieves is a kleptocracy; such a kleptocratic government is manipulated by foreign (corporate) interests, and functions mostly as ceremonial government that is unaccountable to its nation. The national legislature is, in effect, for sale, influential government employees illegitimately exploit their posts for personal gain (by embezzlement, fraud, bribery, and so on), and the resulting government budget deficit is repaid by the country's working people who earn wages rather than making profits.  Source: Wikipedia.
The phrase Banana Republic was coined by American writer O. Henry (William Sydney Porter 1862–1910).

So far, the definition in every way clearly shows that Nigeria may be the Banana Republic of our time and one would think O.Henry's fictional Republic of Anchuria has come to life in the epic tale of Nigeria today. Many people still live with the unconscious awareness of their surrounding and what impact it has on their day to day living. 
Some of us think the crisis in the North East  is no problem of ours and we think because we can afford to still go about paying our bills and make some spending monies that we are covered. Heck! we even have monies in fixed deposits we are sure will see us through 3 lifetimes and so we are least concerned about the degradation of the collective resources of the people. We never really wait to ask questions of our leaders about the processes applied in disbursing the people's wealth. We think the Elites must remain with the sole power to do as they please because of their elitist status forgetting that it is the presence of the ordinary man that they are called the Elites and not the presence of other elites.

Well, if this is a Banana Republic and when you look closely, you will see the Monkey reigning supreme as king and he is unchallenged because the republic is gone bananas and whether you are a Lion, Leopard, Giraffe, Elephant, Squirrel, Ant, Goat, Fish, Crocodile or even Human, you must eat Banana or starve. *Take banana u go yo*

On the pages of newspapers, my TV set I paid so much money to own in my home and on the streets, I see faces of criminally insane persons who are supposed to hang while the crows feed on their brains parading themselves as leaders while justifying criminality simply because they can get away with anything. People who ordinarily should be behind bars and serving serious jail time heading LGAs, MDAs, States etc are now being revered like saints and they are with these acts turning our country to a banana republic and we still live as though it is normal and business as usual and I sometimes wish we are living in the mythical era of Westeros and not a fictional Anchuria. 

Banana republic is run by a Kleptocratic government and the Monkey is King.  You are  No one has the power to do anything or challenge his authority because he has been able to continually feed the people with Bananas and more so importantly his allies are greedy foreigners who take shares of the Sovereign Wealth of that Republic. 
The lawmaker and supposed public office holders are equally criminal and insane because their role as lawmakers are ceremonial and of no importance to the development of the republic and they in effect, are for sale, and as influential government employees, they illegitimately exploit their posts for personal gain (by embezzlement, fraud, bribery, and so on), and the resulting government budget deficit is repaid by the country's ordinary and common citizens who earn wages rather than making profits. There are also close friend of the Monkey king who also are awarded the most juicy parts of the republic from where they hold sway and make the state their own personal pantry.

The national cake is not for the people and sharing is at the discretion of the King.

In Banana Republic, you will be arrested, branded a traitor or enemy of the government or even killed for saying the truth. You will never be seen as a team player because you have refused to eat banana and is asking to take part in the sharing of the national cake.

Nigeria today is not far from being tagged a Banana Republic because the insensitivity of the government stinks to the lowest pits and no matter how hard the people talk, they are never taken serious and when they do intend to get serious with the quest to reclaim their rights, the government uses the Police and Army to subdue the people. 
National Security is a laugh and thieves have become more powerful and intelligent than the Military and they the military can foolishly come out to say that they have no weapons compared to that of these criminals. We have had more than 3 bomb blast within the last 22 days and there had not been an interception of these plots and we still say we have the military to defend the Nation. But then, we are enjoined to be very afraid of the the security agencies like the Police and the Army. The latter you need to be careful because with them, there are no processes and procedures to follow, they can lay allegations on you and even shoot you for not parting with N20 at the check points while the former have a right to flog you with their koboko if they think you are out of line and can even ask you no matter what you think you are to take a bath in the mud. 
It is over 2 months since one of the most dreaded sect in the history of Nigeria (I am believing we will never be cursed by nature to witness any as brutal as Boko Haram) kidnapped over 200 school girls and killed countless number of men, boys, women and children. That sect recently just some days ago kidnapped 60 girls and killed 30 boys and the bomb blast which constantly claims the lives of innocent "ordinary and common" Nigerians goes on daily and unchallenged. 

The looting and stealing of public funds still goes on unchecked, in fact, it is a sin for a serving Minister, Governor, Senator etc not to steal because he will be tagged "incompetent" by his peers and the people who he is supposed to use such monies for. 
The people have become so deprived and manipulated that they have resorted to taking whatever comes and for them, the banana is just good enough for anytime of the day. You will often hear a Nigerian tell you "if na u dey there u no go collect ur share?", "If na me I go chop and clean my mouth o", "Abeg make una leave Gudluck, na him be d first person to steal government money?", "make the governor chop as him like, wen i reach there too i go chop my own" etc etc.
The banana eating mentality has gone too deep into the minds of the supposed normal Nigerian that he has practically gone bananas and trying to get a sane person will be like you trying to get a monkey to agree that honey taste better than banana.

The Nigerian economy is largely dependent on Oil and according to research and findings, these Oils do run dry too and when it does, Nigeria may become a nation that once had Oil but with nothing to show. We survive also on the importation of everything from Toothpicks to building materials. We have refineries that have been pronounced dead and for some reasons, the government is just taking her time to make sure we never refine Oil in Nigeria again. There is still the case of the missing $20billion as was reported by the then CBN governor(though some say he as confused, I will have to agree with him even in that confusion) and till date, nothing has been said about that money and we are up and doing with our daily living.
Does the government ever think of harnessing the potentials within the illegal refining of petroleum products? I know it is illegal but when these talents acquired not in the school walls are harnessed do you think the possibilities for greatness can be limited? Remember, all great invention started by mistake and even the persons credited for these will tell you they never set out to make what they made because they knew what they were doing but that they just kept on trying.

We have power stations that hold nothing to a Marapco, Jubaili or CAT dealership where there are various kinds of Generating sets "specially designed for the Nigerian environment". Meanwhile, the country lost Billions of Dollar to power sector reforms and through these reforms, many superstars emerged and have continued to emerge; As at 2007, a probe was on for the misappropriation of $16 billion and the head of the committee was complacent in a reported stolen N5.4billion meant for the Rural Electricity Agency and today, that same man is still a "lawmaker".    

We have lands uncultivated with nobody wanting to put their lives on the field anymore because the government will rather import tomato paste from overseas than encourage the local tomato farmer to get better. If its not imported, then it is not a good Rice or Sugar, if it not imported we will not take the Chicken seriously because it does not carry the label of a foreign manufacturer. 

We have educational structures that still carry their glory days with constant plague of incompetence and neglect by the government and people have now resorted to acquiring education overseas and these moves have not been really favorable for most Nigerians as some have been killed, imprisoned and even never return back to Nigeria, and some even after graduation with good grades, find it hard to get jobs. 
The education minister was sacked (she was a teacher or lecturer if you may and she returned to the classrooms) and replaced with a Lawyer notorious for political thuggery in his hay days and in the present and what do we get?, continuous closure of institutions of higher learning, hike in fees and every other thing wrong with education today. 

Criminals are pardoned on regular basis and not just the handset or N50k criminal but those who are creative enough to steal Billions of Naira; Common, what do you expect in a banana republic? Anything will go and no matter what the people think or say or plan to do, their taxes will be used to flog them instead of their taxes protecting them from insurgency and attacks, it opens the gate for them to be wiped out.

I love Nigeria and I will bleed for Nigeria(not the kind that will be inflicted by Boko Haram's sword or bomb) but I cannot be asked to lay down my life because we have become too "satisfied and discontented" with being humans that I will want to become a monkey and crave bananas.