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Encoded in the definition of democracy is the that few
reasonable, financially sound from real work, logically grounded, and patriotic
citizens, call them “godfather,” not the types of Adedibu and the Ubas, must be
the custodian of Nigeria and given the ability to stirs the nation in the right
direction during the nation’s social, cultural, religious, political troubles
and who maintain defiant stance during challenging times. These are the
fathers of the nation not the opportunists we’ve been referring to as
leaders. Defining democracy as government of the people, by the people
and for the people engenders that these people, the “godfathers” at any time
determine with pure mind and without any hidden agenda, will be able to
guarantee that our democracy will always fit our cultural, our societal and
national interest and reflect government of the people, for the people and by
the people.
Now, what do I mean by this. If we look at the
American democracy, the answer will jump out. The 2000 US election is
pertinent to making my point here. While, the world was second guessing
itself on how America should resolve its election stalemate, these invisible
hands, call them “godfathers” knew precisely who would be the president without
any ifs and buts about it. This group of patriotic but unidentified
Americans is responsible for making the system work seamlessly, presenting a
unifying front for the world to see and they make sure that the union maintains
its stability when perturbed within and without. For example, the chaos
of 2000 US election, if it took place in Nigeria, would have caused a break
down in law and order with ignorant citizens instead of dealing with the issues
at hand would have burnt down our fragile, unmaintained infrastructure which
are likely never be replaced. Nigerians are the architects of their lives
and the enemies of their destiny.
While no one will disagree with
the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs.
Farida Waziri on the need to conduct psychiatric tests on all aspiring public
office holders, the problem of Nigeria is much deeper than this. No
Nigerian ever bordered to ask the pertinent question, “what does democracy mean
to Nigerians with respect to her socio-cultural and religions?” In
yester-year Africa kingdoms, the people governed and the kings were as powerful
as “we the people” allowed them. Kings were more or less figure heads who
could be removed, “opening the calabash for the king” by the wish of the
majority of subjects. In the present form, democracy means power
grabbing, resource hoarding and selfishness exhibited leadership that often
show financial hubris that freely flaunt money obtained from no feasible means
but looting. It is often less understood what democracy mean, when as
soon as any Nigeria president takes office, his children and wife travel all
over the world selling, collecting and hiding money made from unaccounted crude
oil sales. Definitely, there is something wrong with the governed who
allow politicians to abuse them and think they have no ability to change the
system which these leaders operate.
Nigeria needs to be reconstituted
in so many ways. How can workers’ salaries be held at ransom to the
extent that workers commit suicide because they are not able to take care of
their families? Where is the labor union? Has the voice of the
labor union leaders silenced with Ghana-Must-Go bags? What type of
leadership do we force on ourselves? Where is President Musa Yar ‘Adua
when the nation is burning? I thought we were informed that he is a
graduate? What is happening under MYA does not exhibit sign of a graduate
or is it that he has finally joined the rank and file of those that get to
power and does not care once he has been taking care of? This is where
Mr. Graduate needs to show his gravitas and his genuine concerns for average
Nigerians. It, therefore, seem to me that Nigerians are just consciously
wicked and generally masochistic because money controls all human temporal
relationship and functions.
Nigerians are said to be
anecdotally the happiest people in the world. Perhaps, it is time for an
average Nigerian to ask about who conducted the survey and on what basis was
Nigerian claimed to be happiest in the world in the midst of penury,
extra-judicial killing, ritual killings, and insecurity of lives and
properties, death trapped roads, hospitals where citizens enter to die than to
survive. We must all be smoking something other than cigarette. For
one thing, Nigerians score very low in a participatory democracy. Their
contribution to policy development is zero and they never ask their
representatives to give them a report of what has been achieved on their
behalf. Nigerians in their lackadaisical attitude, leave every decision
to their unpatriotic leaders who make themselves priority in almost all their
political decisions. For instance, our politicians’ first decision in
office is to review their salaries upward while citizens have no jobs to go
to. We can count on the fingers of the hand how many laws the house
members have enacted since getting into office.
In a recent report, many Nigerians
are being executed all over the world for crimes committed against the nations
concern. It is surprising that the leaders of our pseudo happy people are
never concerned about these executions because they are busy building empires
of thieves. These leaders are incapable of asking pertinent questions
necessary to deduce effective ways of reducing crimes leading to the execution
of their fellow citizens such as how to create meaningful jobs at home to
minimize brain drain; how to initiate critical national projects for rebuilding
at least Federal roads so that jobless but happy Nigerians can participate; and
how to understudy why some Nigerians go out of their ways to commit crimes.
Surely, it is not that criminality
is in the DNA of Nigerians but conducive conditions precedent to committing
crimes are ever present. Often too often, good Nigerians go into politics
to find themselves in a physical presence of where massive sins are committed
and instead of complaining, they simply join. Such precedent conditions
are: lack of fundamental economy; joblessness; insecurity of lives and properties;
perceived poverty among the middle class; behavior of classmates that have no
notable source of incomes but drive best cars, own lavishly designed and
furnished homes because they know someone in government and for that reason,
they become untouchable when these connected people commit crimes against the
nation. Few of our politicians think of developing policies that are
capable of creating good jobs, improve infrastructures, improve our educational
system or stabilize our energy infrastructure beyond making Nigeria electric
generator and pollution capital of the world.
For our democracy to be a
participatory democracy, it is important that we come up with a political
strategy where those I referred to above as real “godfathers,” patriotic
citizens young and old who love Nigeria more than anything else and are always
willing to move Nigeria in the right direction any time a leader is going in
the wrong direction and citizens are unable to and are too timid to
respectfully challenge the leaders. It is time that, those leaders, the
godfathers help the nation define, though following the tenets of the
constitution, a uniform code of political, legal, and constitutional conduct
and grandfather such strategy on African continent. It is when these types
of godfathers are ready to accept their nation’s call that the president of
Nigeria will lead Africa and our nation to her redemption.
Our lackadaisical attitude towards
governance has collateral damage component to: a) The way our country is
governed; b) Why our economy swings towards collapse and not diversified; c)
Why our healthcare system is dangerously under-developed; d) Why our education
is more of cultic institution; e) Why we love and trust ourselves less than we
did in the sixties and seventies; d) Why we are more religious and less
spiritual; and e) Why we worship those that are taking us slaves in our land of
the free, Nigeria. Are we children of a less gods?
I had high hope in the president
but the way he is going in slow manner might not be compatible with our present
critical need to reform our governance strategy. I am still wishing that
the President will wake up from his slumber and begin building his legacy
towards a better Nigeria. In this time when the world is moving away from
fossil fuel, we need a president that will also challenge Nigerian scientists
to come up with alternate energy. There is a need for the real, patriotic
and creative “godfathers” not necessarily based on age but on our shared human
experience, to help solve our economic, cultural, religious problems and relate
our common experience to the global technological issues that beset
humanity. If we the people do not change our politics, good people will
go into politics in its present form and come out contaminated as fathers and
mothers with wayward children. We cannot afford to continue this way.
Today is the time to start reconstructing our nation we cannot continue with
all the avarice, fraud and criminality that have brought our nation’s economy
to its knees, our citizens to disrepute and indirectly threaten a global
implosion.
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Posted by Robot| 11.07.2008 22:32