My Name Is Rain – But Don’t Blame Me For Bad Roads!

Yes, I am Rain; and I am here. But I am very upset.

Everyone in Nigeria blames me for every bad thing that is happening to them.

When I fall, they blame me for falling when they should really be consoling me. Goodness, I am the one that is falling! When someone falls, courtesy and custom encourage us to feel pity for him and tell him ‘Pele’, ‘Sorry’, ‘Easy’, etc. However, when I fall, Nigerians shout ‘rain is falling’. Even before I fall, they start running helter skelter and tell each other ‘rain is about to fall’. If they know I am about to fall, why don’t they prepare?

But the blame game has gone too far!

When the roads are bad, they say it is Rain. They forget to ask what quality of materials was used to make or fix the road and when last the road was maintained and the potholes filled up.

When there is traffic, they say it is Rain. How? Did I cause the bad roads? Did I put the spirit of indiscipline in your hearts that makes you to drive against traffic and block on-coming vehicles?

When there is flood, they say it is Rain. So I am the one who blocked the drains or gutters with refuse and ‘pure water’ plastics and bags? When you all refuse to learn how to dispose of refuse thereby blocking the drains, canals and other waterways, I get to carry the can.

When your roofs get blown off, it is Rain. Come on! Am I the wind? He is not even my brother. We are not related in anyway. Even in the desert where I dare not show myself, the wind is blowing up all the sand and dust there. And why blame the wind anyway? His duty is to be windy and blow. You have a duty to provide a good roof over your head so use good rooting sheets, wood, iron, panels, nails or screws or whatever to ensure no wind power can blow it off. But you don’t!

Many accidents seem to happen when I am around. But am I the cause? Even the Road Safety people warn drivers to slow down when there is Rain. Vehicle owners are advised to buy good tyres, ensure their wipers are working well and maintain acceptable speed limits so they can control their vehicles and avoid slippery surfaces. Do they?

Children and even adults catch cold and sometimes pneumonia during my season. This is because they are not properly dressed or covered and expose themselves. What have I to do with that? Simple logic tells you that when there is Rain, the weather is likely to be cold, though not always. What is such a big deal in covering your chest, neck, feet, etc?

What about those who get beaten by me, Rain? You leave your house during my season without an umbrella and are surprised when I come. You blame me as if you are a baby and don’t know what to do.

When Rivers Niger and Benue and others overflow their banks, I get blamed for it too. Can you beat that? Did I prevent the rivers from having deep basins and troughs to absorb my downpour or from flowing quickly into the seas and oceans? How is that my fault?

Even for ordinary delays of flights due to Rain, it is my fault, they say. The birds are flying in the air. Animals are on the ground when I am pouring. The planes decide to both fly and move on the runways when they land. Everything, they claim, is computerised these days. What has rain got to do with it? After all, instruments land the planes. Or am I to provide the Instruments Landing Systems at the airports?

Do you know that I also get the blame for thunder and lightening? This is preposterous. I am a quiet operator. When I am falling, there is no noise. It is only when I hit the ground, roof or any other object that you hear a sound. It is not the sound of Rain.

Then when power goes off or cable tv, mobile telephony and internet start to buffer, it is the doing of Rain again. What don’t I get blamed for? You all provide excuses for poor performance by these providers and put the blame on me.

There are many other blames for which I am given responsibility wrongly. But the one that gets my goat is the blame for bad roads.

You all know that I, Rain, will come. But you do not prepare. The government; the people. The roads are not maintained. A little bump becomes a huge crater because we procrastinate. Some roads are built with no drains or sidewalk. Substandard materials are used to build or maintain the roads, if there is maintenance at all. You don’t even construct or maintain the roads during dry season. You wait till my season and start with some half-hearted preparations. Then when I arrive, you tell your people that you will continue during the dry season. Why did you not build during the dry season?

Now, ALL the roads are bad. There is traffic EVERYWHERE. Some workers get to work late and don’t return home till midnight.

And everyone blames RAIN! They are singing ‘Rain, Rain, go away’.

The irony is that when I decide to go away for a while and the land becomes dry and hot, they blame me, this time for staying away. Farmers pray for me to come and water the land for good harvest. Then when I come and provide them with good water, they say it is too much.

Poor me; poor Rain!