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The story goes that in 1881 the American inventor, Hiram Maxim, visited the Paris Electrical Exhibition. While he was at the exhibition he met a man who told him: "If you wanted to make a lot of money, invent something that will enable these Europeans to cut each other's throats with greater facility." By 1885 Maxim demonstrated the world's first automatic portable machine-gun to the British Army. Having the firepower of a hundred rifles, Maxim used the energy of the recoil force to produce a belt firing automatic gun. (See: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWmaximgun.htm)

It is sad that even though it served the purpose of enabling Europeans cut their throats more effectively, it was in cutting the throats of pre-colonial Africans that it ultimately gained its most notorious acclaim. No doubt it killed its share of Europeans, but the Africans who came into contact with it, are still bearing the marks of the devastation wrought on their sensibilities and the transformation forced upon their societies, till this day. The supreme lethality of the Maxim gun is unmistakable.

Hilaire Belloc's words speak for themselves. He was referring to the technological superiority of European Imperialism over any sense of African Moralism, which made the entrenchment of colonialism a foregone issue, and affirmed the hegemonic notion that might is right. The words came in 1898, in the aftermath of Lord Horatio Kitchener's destruction of the Mahdi's tomb at Omdurman in Sudan, which punctuated the Anglo-Egyptian Army expedition to crush the Mahdist's war of liberation from foreign occupation. His forces subsequently occupied Khartoum signaling the death-knell of the al-Mahdi rebellion.

Frederick Dealtry Lugard was merely echoing that sentiment when he made the statement credited to him (in scoffing at the Sokoto motto "Victory is with God Alone"), by saying that he gained victory over the Caliphate by "combining God with the Maxim gun". (See: http://www.buhari2003.org/nowa_NigerianArmyMotto.htm). These remarks underscore the utter helplessness of African peoples in the face of encroaching and eventually unbridled European colonial ferocity, backed up with the power of the Maxim gun.

All the preceding references to violence and the rule of the gun, as the underlying maxim (pun intended) of the politics of empire and survival, and even basic human interactions, emphasize an immemorial recognition of the fact that bullets speak loudly, a lot louder than indignant self-righteousness or moral outrage. That the British, in all their majestic splendor, prevailed over my ancestors with the overwhelming help of the Maxim gun, is an essential truism that is underscored by the fact that since it first saw action during the colonial conquest of African nations, up to the Russo-Japanese war and beyond, the Maxim gun (and variations of it) is reputed to be the single most devastating weapon ever used, having caused 90% of bullet-related casualties in the First World War. (See: http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Maxim-machine-gun)

In a further reiteration of the importance of the gun, any gun for that matter, in the affairs of men, there is even an Old West saying that "God may have created all men, but it was Sam Colt who made them equal". This aphorism was in direct reference to the somewhat "equalized" terrain of the Wild West in the US, where each man was armed, and reserved the right to defend himself by any means necessary, including the trusty gun-play of a six-shooter Colt pistol. (See: http://www.amconmag.com/02_10_03/buchanan.html)

In the same article referenced in the immediately preceding paragraph, Pat Buchanan, a leading American conservative intellectual and former presidential candidate, also opined that "the knowledge that an enemy can kill you induces a certain maturity of judgment and suspension of bellicosity". Perhaps in facing the neo-colonialists of our era, our efforts must employ the services of a counterbalancing force, a message conveyed to the enemy that we could kill too, as a means of challenging their assumed authority and presumed bellicosity. The decision regarding the pertinent weapon of choice has to be made such that its lethality steps up to a significantly higher level than its contemporaries. A geometric progression in the level of devastation wrought in the interests of a society which we hold very dear. In the context of today's environment, I am searching for my era's "Maxim gun", to have and to hold, to cherish and uphold, to love and bestow, until death do us part.

I figure that since frauds have taken over my society by force, in the middle of the night, with a range of guns and PMDs (Policies of Mass Destruction) at their disposal, under shady pretexts; then I have to retaliate as soon as possible. Perhaps at a later date, after I have prepared myself for the ensuing confrontation, backed up by my very own "Maxim gun", I will revenge the affronts and right the wrongs. Since these assailants have molested my sensibilities "till further notice" and continue to persecute my common decency on the basis of "I-Too-Know" and unbridled gangsterism, pursued simply for the benefit of a few crumbs of the national cake, I will bide my time and bite my tongue. I will tolerate them for now, since I am immobilized. But in due time, all debts will be paid in full, and all messages will be returned to sender. I will pay back the gesture in kind, only this time; I will blow them up into bits, in their own beds, on their own home soil, in the sanctity of their most cherished security.

Extreme words you might say. But I beg to differ. These days, one can never be too extreme, given that extremists have decided to think for one second, that they and they alone (maybe with the exception of their allies), have a monopoly on violence and extremism. Maybe we need to remind them that monopolies can and have been broken up, throughout the expansive breadth of history. Even empires have at various times overstretched and imploded, hounded no doubt by the blowback from exacting imperial ambitions.

But that's just the suspended revolutionary in me talking. Ignore him for now; don't think for one second that I really mean to blow people up or mow them down with a Maxim gun. Please, I don't want Ashcroft or (Gen. Gusau for that matter) coming after me. I'm not a terrorist. I only mean to metaphorically capture the do-or-die nature of our struggle with those who have arrogated to themselves, the privilege of lording over us and knowing it all. Those extreme provocateurs, who insist upon dictating to us all, despite the fact that they have usurped our rights, mindless of the fact that they operate on borrowed time and on hallowed ground. And even with the ominous threat of societal collapse looming ahead like an iceberg, in the path of our societal ship of kismet.

However, what they (the extremists) have failed to note, what they have lost sight of, is that just like America is breeding the future grounds for unintended consequences by its present day unilateralism and extreme cowboy diplomacy, so they too will reap the rewards of a continuously unabashed commitment to injustice and ethnic cannibalism, within greater African society. As an interesting aside, in describing this phenomenon of American hegemonic aspirations vis-�-vis Iraq etc. etc., one author (Larry Everest) offered that the gun-boat diplomacy of the British Imperial dominance, has given way to the "globalization at gun-point" arrogance of the preeminent American order. (See: http://rwor.org/a/1242/larryeverest_iraq_global%20ambitions.htm)

The emphasis on the gun as the symbol of power and preeminence in any realm is lent further philosophical strength, by the much bandied about statement attributed to Chairman Mao, which asserts that "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun". The more lethal the gun, the greater the power, the direct proportionality is unmistakable. The Maxim gun was supremely lethal compared to its contemporaries. No self-respecting Army or Fighting Force of the late nineteenth to first quarter of the twentieth century did not deploy it (or is its derivatives) overwhelming or at least in adequate numbers on the battlefields where empires were won and lost. It is after all, the gun that established European Imperialism and stamped her authority unto the history books, and into the hearts and minds of conquered peoples, whether they liked it or not.

Looking forward, it does seem that a Maxim gun in the hands of a revolutionary has the propensity to do a lot of damage in defense of that which ironically, it played a preeminent role in conquering years ago. Beyond giving Lugard and Belloc (and even Sam Colt) a heart-attack like none other, the sight of Maxim-wielding and Colt-totting Africans, as equally well-armed as the colonial hordes were, and determined to wrest control away from the invading imperialists, would have been a magnificent sight to behold. But given that that era is gone, perhaps we can relive it if each of us picks up our "Maxim gun" today, and embarks upon a mission to seize control of our disillusioned society, and take it in the direction that we all dream that it could go.

But enough of that for one minute. Let me return to earth for a bit, lest I be tried and convicted in absentia for inciting lawlessness and as punishment, a State of Emergency is declared on my village a la Dariye. In analyzing the Maxim gun in the context of our struggle for societal rejuvenation, I can't help but wonder at the possibilities of adapting strategies that like the Maxim gun in its heyday, lay waste to the enemies of our societal progress. In that sense, the "Maxim gun" simply becomes a euphemism for the strategic weapons one must begin to leverage in furtherance of our cause. It becomes a metaphor that describes the form of comprehensive strategies and lines of advance, developed to preempt the big bang that Nigeria seems to be headed for.

In a funny way, this impending showdown is surreal. It reminds me of one of those B movies that I used to watch a while back. You know, those movies where you know what is going to happen, they were so predictable and "action-packed", the testosterone was nauseating. One of those movies that have such pedestrian names, names which are meant to instill some kind of suspense or dramatic apprehension, but fall well short, but are still hilarious nonetheless. And you just know that somewhere in the film, one of the main characters is going to use the movie title as the do-or-die line in the penultimate scene, that final showdown before the antagonist is slain or overwhelmed and the final credits roll.

The one movie of that genre that immediately comes to mind is the one entitled; "When the Bullet Hits the Bone�" And then follows the theatrical subtitle which tries to be even more ominous; "Everything Shatters". The artificial drama is what kills me with laughter each time I come across such movies. To me, they are more caricature than movie, more absurd comedy than action. And even though this issue of a struggle for our society and a showdown for control is a serious thing, I just can't get the other famous one out of my head; "Big Showdown in Little Tokyo". As if there were different kinds of Tokyo.

Leaving behind my childhood action movies for one second though, the symbolism of the Maxim gun should not be lost on all children of history and military affairs. To us it is the single most poignant instrument of conquest that personified European imperial subjugation in the era of gunboat diplomacy no doubt. But beyond that, it is a representation of the all-powerful, ever-present, and super-lethal killing machine of its era, combining the magnitude, velocity, and accuracy of its bullet delivery, with the calculating and manipulative strategy of its custodians, to constitute almost impregnable invincibility on the battlefield. Provided of course that its victims didn't have any of their own, to defend themselves with or to inflict any significant casualties on their assailants.

The Maxim gun of our time might not have .303 lead bullets, or an automatic firing system shooting at 500 rounds per minute, or the muzzle velocity, or the accuracy, or effective killing range of its predecessor. However, it must still combine the all-powerful, ever-present, and super-lethal effects that can be brought to bear on our adversaries, those extremists who refuse to see reason. Those desired effects could be put to good use, and must be combined of course with the calculating, manipulative, and dynamically mutating qualities of a mentally alert and impregnable vanguard, applied judiciously to our strategy for attack.

In that sense, blowing up adversaries and detonating heavy payloads at the sanctuaries of our adversaries, become more of an abstract description of a plan to destroy the temperament in our society that ties itself to hedonistic logic and subterranean rhetoric. By mentally purging ourselves and socially and morally cleansing our society of its ills, perhaps we can begin to exercise an independence of thought and action that eluded our forefathers when they came up against the lethality of the Maxim gun. Perhaps we can begin to see clearly the role of our "Maxim gun" in the battle that we must join to pursue our self-determination. For the task of building a nation out of many nationalities, lies at the feet of all those who have glimpsed at the possibility of a New Nigeria, washed and reborn in the wake of the bloods of patriots before us. Reawakened and given a breath of life by the air that we breathe between us. It lies at the feet of those who have dreamed in incredulity, the opportunities that abound in a realization of a synergetic Nigeria.

But hey, maybe I am just rambling along and not making much sense. Perhaps, when you have analyzed and reanalyzed an issue that drives as much of a stake through you heart as a rabidly determined vampire slayer would. Only then can you understand my passion and situate my analysis within the right parameters of a roundabout manner of rational reasoning. Yes I agree; my passion often clouds my way of thinking. I apologize for that, but I will not and should not and cannot, apologize for the can of whop-ass that I hope will be opened up soon on these characters that claim that they are our "leaders". The extremists amongst us, those diehard supporters of the present order better beware. For we (the children of the renaissance) will be coming with the sentiments so cold-heartedly expressed by Johnny Cash, when he sang that he "�shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die".