If-there-will-be-credible-elections-in-nigeria-the-need-for-thoughtfulness-in-picking-credible-political-leaders
September 7, 2020 | News
IF THERE WILL BE CREDIBLE ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA – THE NEED FOR THOUGHTFULNESS IN PICKING CREDIBLE POLITICAL LEADERS
It is often said that one’s future is in one’s hands. That is, people are mostly responsible for the outcome of their life and how it turns out at the end. As it is with an individual, so it is with a community, a region and a nation. Agreed that there might be other ‘external factors’ that could contribute to one’s experiences and status, be it pleasant or unpleasant, but the chunk of what becomes the outcome of one’s life; is one’s hands. In other words, to put it bluntly, whatever level of underdevelopment and whatever we see ‘wrong’ today in Nigeria, we are the ones responsible for it. Though, our political leaders at the Federal, State and Local Government levels, as the custodians of the nation’s wealth and resources, are the ones to take the chunk of the blame for Nigeria’s present deplorable situation, but it is us – the people that have put them there or allowed them to occupy that public space. In other words, we are where we are today as a people because every past and present decision/indecision and action/inaction we have taken or not taken in all our different strata of life and government levels across the entire nation.
In a recent well-thought-out piece by a public affairs analyst, Mr. Smart Ofugara, he gave a vivid summary of the foundation of what has given rise to who are, and from which every action emanates from, and the need for all us to be mindful of those whom we allow to be in political authorities as the election year draws near.
According to Ofugara: “The moral upbringing of individuals starts from the home front. Indisputably, when that foundation becomes solid before mixing with the second levels of upbringing which is considered as school, our morals expands with our learning. It is at this stage that stability, conflicts, questioning, challenging, coping, and influencing of the individual gradually gets enhanced. This stage which is often times referred to as the formative years can be very complicated as the shadows of parenting is not always present and even when present, the child or children could become vulgar, dramatic, restraint, modest or pretentious. The molding process comes with the knowledge of being good, respectful, helpful, reliable, well behaved and well mannered. Similarly, refusal to follow the norms of good conduct often times results in being impolite or rude, sometimes erratic, unreliable, and above all undependable.
“The jostling for political or elective office is once again in the air. The tortuous and expensive process for winning or losing an election is one area that the citizens have often ignored to their own peril. I say this because we are all involved either as participants, observers, voters, accomplices, or willfully uninterested in the whole process. According to Professor Obaro Ikime, he said "so many mistakes will be made in the nation-building process." We attained fifty-eight years just recently, as an independent nation. As always, we celebrated our unity in diversity. We rejoiced and thanked God almighty that in spite of the civil war, coup de tat, misgovernment, misappropriation of resources, stolen election results, burning of opponents’ homes and killings, we still find solace in God almighty for keeping us together.
“Besides, Honorable John Nwodo recently addressed the Senate on the dire needs facing our nation and her structure, and the urgent economic and political needs in addressing our collective unity as a nation. He mentioned the changing world where in a few years, electric cars will overtake fuel driven vehicles and plants not relying on gas or fuel to power their engines. He dared to ask; what are our plans to face these brazen challenges facing us as a nation? He enunciated how he won the students Union President of University of Ibadan in his days as a student over a native Yoruba son simply because issues, policies, and solutions were well articulated and of importance over narrow-mindedness or prejudice. Finally, Nwodo mentioned how an Hausa man was the mayor of Enugu before the civil war through universal adult suffrage. Today, this act is an illusion irrespective of the cohabitation that has taken place through settlement, marriage or services.
“In the present quagmire that we have found ourselves in as a nation, have we started asking those salient questions that are dear to our hearts; have we started sieving these candidates parading themselves before us and the airwaves? Are we willing as a people to shut our eyes and say nothing thinking that manna will fall upon us just like that? Are we going to remain peddlers of hearsay and do nothing to better our voices and representation? The polity is heating up with May 29, 2019 anticipated date for a new government. The social media is also replete with sensational videos, commentaries, information of every kind, dramas of political actors, dullness by leaders, craftiness by office holders, sycophancy by citizens, ineptness of civil servants, kidnapping of individuals with no solution in sight, heightened level of insecurity, increased numbers of able-bodied beggars for no fault of theirs and high expectations for a better and sustainable environment. Physical and psychological poverty is everywhere, ingenuity is hardly encouraged as mediocrity takes precedence in lopsided appointments.
“The need for thoughtfulness in picking leaders and rejecting the sheep in wolf skin is at hand. Common sense should please prevail over sentiment. As I alluded to in my opening, we have witnessed those who are morally upright and those that are amoral. We have a choice to make and defend for posterity.”
However, there is also need to look at things from a different angle. In any normal situation in a country that practices democracy, it is the people that decides who their political leaders should be. That is the "voting power", hence democracy is defined as the Government of the people, by the people and for the people. But in the Nigerian situation, it is the politicians and their patrons that impose the political leaders on the people, and the people are often left with no other choice but to accept these political leaders whether they are liars, thieves, cowards or fools. It is only in the Black African countries that we see such anomaly being portrayed as normal. The Black African countries are like 'abnormal countries' where things that work in Europe, America, and Asia, do not work here. And this is as a result of many factors. Some of which include the many tribes, languages, religions, and of course the issues of nepotism, favouritism, corruption, greed for power, poverty, etc. If the political leaders were working, the entire Niger Delta region for instance, would have been turned into the Dubai of Africa. What are they doing with the 13% Derivation money? What are they doing with the NDDC and the Federal Ministry of the Niger Delta with their huge budgets?
Should we say that Nigeria is a confused and complicated country or what? And this situation is not peculiar to Nigeria alone, it is prevalent in other African continent. Prof. Patrick Lumumba of Kenya once said that he held 250 town hall sessions/meetings in his own constituency where he delivered articulate ideas and policies that would bring about transformation, but his opponent did not do any campaign at all but only showed up and distributed money, and he eventually won the election. Lumumba then concluded that Africans are not moved by ideas but it is their stomachs that leads them. The abject poverty in the land has blinded the people, and has made them not to have the strength and courage to choose the political leaders that will effect the change needed for all-round development to thrive. And the politicians will continue to do everything within their power to sustain this statuesque that is in their favour, full stop!
There is no better way to put the Nigerian dilemma other than this. But what becomes of the immediate and far future of this nation still lies squarely in our hands. So, let us not allow sentiments, political affiliations, religious fanaticism, nepotism, godfatherism, political apathy, and even our stomach to blind us, dictate to us, influence and persuade us from ‘doing the right thing’ in electing those that will be the next batch of custodians of our collective wealth in the coming general elections. A word, they say, is enough for the wise.
Zik Gbemre, JP.
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
It is often said that one’s future is in one’s hands. That is, people are mostly responsible for the outcome of their life and how it turns out at the end. As it is with an individual, so it is with a community, a region and a nation. Agreed that there might be other ‘external factors’ that could contribute to one’s experiences and status, be it pleasant or unpleasant, but the chunk of what becomes the outcome of one’s life; is one’s hands. In other words, to put it bluntly, whatever level of underdevelopment and whatever we see ‘wrong’ today in Nigeria, we are the ones responsible for it. Though, our political leaders at the Federal, State and Local Government levels, as the custodians of the nation’s wealth and resources, are the ones to take the chunk of the blame for Nigeria’s present deplorable situation, but it is us – the people that have put them there or allowed them to occupy that public space. In other words, we are where we are today as a people because every past and present decision/indecision and action/inaction we have taken or not taken in all our different strata of life and government levels across the entire nation.
In a recent well-thought-out piece by a public affairs analyst, Mr. Smart Ofugara, he gave a vivid summary of the foundation of what has given rise to who are, and from which every action emanates from, and the need for all us to be mindful of those whom we allow to be in political authorities as the election year draws near.
According to Ofugara: “The moral upbringing of individuals starts from the home front. Indisputably, when that foundation becomes solid before mixing with the second levels of upbringing which is considered as school, our morals expands with our learning. It is at this stage that stability, conflicts, questioning, challenging, coping, and influencing of the individual gradually gets enhanced. This stage which is often times referred to as the formative years can be very complicated as the shadows of parenting is not always present and even when present, the child or children could become vulgar, dramatic, restraint, modest or pretentious. The molding process comes with the knowledge of being good, respectful, helpful, reliable, well behaved and well mannered. Similarly, refusal to follow the norms of good conduct often times results in being impolite or rude, sometimes erratic, unreliable, and above all undependable.
“The jostling for political or elective office is once again in the air. The tortuous and expensive process for winning or losing an election is one area that the citizens have often ignored to their own peril. I say this because we are all involved either as participants, observers, voters, accomplices, or willfully uninterested in the whole process. According to Professor Obaro Ikime, he said "so many mistakes will be made in the nation-building process." We attained fifty-eight years just recently, as an independent nation. As always, we celebrated our unity in diversity. We rejoiced and thanked God almighty that in spite of the civil war, coup de tat, misgovernment, misappropriation of resources, stolen election results, burning of opponents’ homes and killings, we still find solace in God almighty for keeping us together.
“Besides, Honorable John Nwodo recently addressed the Senate on the dire needs facing our nation and her structure, and the urgent economic and political needs in addressing our collective unity as a nation. He mentioned the changing world where in a few years, electric cars will overtake fuel driven vehicles and plants not relying on gas or fuel to power their engines. He dared to ask; what are our plans to face these brazen challenges facing us as a nation? He enunciated how he won the students Union President of University of Ibadan in his days as a student over a native Yoruba son simply because issues, policies, and solutions were well articulated and of importance over narrow-mindedness or prejudice. Finally, Nwodo mentioned how an Hausa man was the mayor of Enugu before the civil war through universal adult suffrage. Today, this act is an illusion irrespective of the cohabitation that has taken place through settlement, marriage or services.
“In the present quagmire that we have found ourselves in as a nation, have we started asking those salient questions that are dear to our hearts; have we started sieving these candidates parading themselves before us and the airwaves? Are we willing as a people to shut our eyes and say nothing thinking that manna will fall upon us just like that? Are we going to remain peddlers of hearsay and do nothing to better our voices and representation? The polity is heating up with May 29, 2019 anticipated date for a new government. The social media is also replete with sensational videos, commentaries, information of every kind, dramas of political actors, dullness by leaders, craftiness by office holders, sycophancy by citizens, ineptness of civil servants, kidnapping of individuals with no solution in sight, heightened level of insecurity, increased numbers of able-bodied beggars for no fault of theirs and high expectations for a better and sustainable environment. Physical and psychological poverty is everywhere, ingenuity is hardly encouraged as mediocrity takes precedence in lopsided appointments.
“The need for thoughtfulness in picking leaders and rejecting the sheep in wolf skin is at hand. Common sense should please prevail over sentiment. As I alluded to in my opening, we have witnessed those who are morally upright and those that are amoral. We have a choice to make and defend for posterity.”
However, there is also need to look at things from a different angle. In any normal situation in a country that practices democracy, it is the people that decides who their political leaders should be. That is the "voting power", hence democracy is defined as the Government of the people, by the people and for the people. But in the Nigerian situation, it is the politicians and their patrons that impose the political leaders on the people, and the people are often left with no other choice but to accept these political leaders whether they are liars, thieves, cowards or fools. It is only in the Black African countries that we see such anomaly being portrayed as normal. The Black African countries are like 'abnormal countries' where things that work in Europe, America, and Asia, do not work here. And this is as a result of many factors. Some of which include the many tribes, languages, religions, and of course the issues of nepotism, favouritism, corruption, greed for power, poverty, etc. If the political leaders were working, the entire Niger Delta region for instance, would have been turned into the Dubai of Africa. What are they doing with the 13% Derivation money? What are they doing with the NDDC and the Federal Ministry of the Niger Delta with their huge budgets?
Should we say that Nigeria is a confused and complicated country or what? And this situation is not peculiar to Nigeria alone, it is prevalent in other African continent. Prof. Patrick Lumumba of Kenya once said that he held 250 town hall sessions/meetings in his own constituency where he delivered articulate ideas and policies that would bring about transformation, but his opponent did not do any campaign at all but only showed up and distributed money, and he eventually won the election. Lumumba then concluded that Africans are not moved by ideas but it is their stomachs that leads them. The abject poverty in the land has blinded the people, and has made them not to have the strength and courage to choose the political leaders that will effect the change needed for all-round development to thrive. And the politicians will continue to do everything within their power to sustain this statuesque that is in their favour, full stop!
There is no better way to put the Nigerian dilemma other than this. But what becomes of the immediate and far future of this nation still lies squarely in our hands. So, let us not allow sentiments, political affiliations, religious fanaticism, nepotism, godfatherism, political apathy, and even our stomach to blind us, dictate to us, influence and persuade us from ‘doing the right thing’ in electing those that will be the next batch of custodians of our collective wealth in the coming general elections. A word, they say, is enough for the wise.
Zik Gbemre, JP.
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes