As we end year 2007, the question that should be permanently on every Nigerian's mind is, “What is the purpose of participatory democracy and how should it impact their lives?”  Nigerians need to evaluate the dividends of democracy from one administration to another in order to know what mistakes were made and how not to repeat them.  If we, the citizens, are not asking pertinent questions, democratic usurpers in and out of government will be better prepared to take over our inalienable rights.

These pretentious democrats fail to recognize that their power is derived from “we the people.”  This is borrowed power which is returned every four years.  So far, our leaders have shown a tendency to be unpatriotic, to be contemptuously abusing of power at all levels, and to never strive to positively change the direction of Nigeria.  They remain selfish in and out of office and lack the corporate dignity needed for universally accepted leadership.  They extend power beyond what the constitution gives because concerned citizens, rather than challenging them, stay on the fence waiting for God to do what they ought to do for themselves.  It is the intent of this article to ask questions and to point Nigerians in a positive direction toward rebuilding Nigeria’s democracy.

Democracy, in whatever form, has been sold to the world as the best governing instrument.  Democracy, with its imperfections, can only be the best form of government when placed in the hands of patriots and servants of the people but not in the hands of truants and egotistical maniacs.  A participatory democracy in which citizens can count on partial or total advocacy from their elected representatives and in which they are supported by the apostles of democracy in the already developed world can be a blessing to the world that is attempting to develop.  If a system of government is termed democracy it must have all the components of democracy, which are: checks and balances, credible opposition, ability to tell each other truth on what is wrong, and even, every now and then, washing our dirty linens in the open as long as such truths are not about our nation’s secrets (which we have absolutely none of).  A thief is a thief is a thief no matter how one says it. So what is wrong with exposing thieves that are causing untold hardship on fellow citizens and assuring that new thieves can be prevented from operating? 

Democracy must be both pragmatic, as well as take into consideration the environment it is operated in.  So when one asks Yar ‘Adua not to focus on distractors but work hard to move Nigeria forward, it is not implied that one is saying that the election tribunal should not complete its work. It is said, however, that our nation cannot wait until the result of the tribunal is presented.  With this definition of participatory democracy, where has our nation gone wrong in pursuit of democracy? How has our form of democracy emerged into one in which a few parasites take control of the lives of many citizens and willfully wreck havoc upon them?  Eight years of democratic nothingness has gone by so quickly and Nigeria is still not developed. Education is going down hill, our nation’s healthcare delivery system is worse than the days when we had dispensaries, roads are in disrepair, electricity is epileptic, and water pipes have dried up. 

As the dust and smoke of nothingness settle we are finding that Nigerians have been used as guinea pigs by selfish groups who understand that Nigerians are noise makers that lack the actions necessary to cause positive changes in Nigeria.  Since OBJ investigated real and perceived corrupt citizens, there is nothing wrong investigating him if a need for this method is ever demonstrated.  He has set a good precedent. 

The contract that Dr. Iyabo Obasanjo was awarded by the government which OBJ lead, in and of itself, is not criminal; however, using a pseudo name to get the contract is.  What does Iyabo know about energy and how was she supposed to execute a project she knew nothing about?  Was the contract executed, and if so, how much was it executed for and were there any deliverables?  Why is Nigeria still having epileptic energy with the amount of money pumped into the energy sector?  Eight years of chief Obasanjo has decimated the opposition parties that were left and made Afenifere a toothless bulldog.

Many politicians who participated and were sometimes arrow heads in the shameful display of one-party democracy are now blaming the quarterback (OBJ) after the facts for performing woefully.  Where were these critics during the past eight years when OBJ was exhibiting his maniac obsession for power?  Many saw OBJ, not as a perfect man, but as one, that after going through the valley of the shadow of death would turn around like the biblical Saul to change the nation with a readiness to lay his life down for a nation that had given him so many opportunities.  Why will Nigeria refuse to understand what went wrong between OBJ?

Not only, are OBJ, the quarterback, and his team mates to blame, but the Nigerians who continued to remain quiet in the face of evil are also at fault.

We have just started upon the four years of President Yar ‘Adua. It is slowly becoming evident to the world that we, Nigerians, have not learned our lessons from the mistakes of the last administration.  Some are still defending the thieves amongst us.  Mr. President must prove to Nigeria and the world that his promise to deal a death blow to corruption is not a shallow one.  Changing Malam Nuhu Ribadu as the Czar of EFCC may not be bad if policies and system for pursuit of corrupt citizens are in place.  Nigerians must express their gratitude to Malam Ribadu for the herculean task he did for the nation so that the next chairman of EFCC would know that, at last, Nigerians appreciate hard work and seriousness of purpose.

First, let’s ask where OBJ’s team mates were when he was running roughshod over the nation.  Were they just tolerating him (OBJ) and ditching the nation or were they just cowards that could not tell the emperor that he was dancing naked because of their own selfish interests?  What is the purpose of a government, ministers, and special advisers that gulped up 92% of total revenue largely on salaries and comforts of government functionaries?  The dividend of democracy was never delivered to Nigerian people not even in terms of services such as in healthcare, education, good roads, etc., yet citizens just sit on the fence waiting for God to deliver them.  Whatever the citizens’ and OBJ’s team mates reasons were for treating the nation with disdain, it is too late to be crying over spilled milk. Instead, it must be recognized that the change of baton is God’s helping hand we have been continually praying for.

During OBJ’s eight year tenure, checks and balances in government did not see the light of day.  Some justified OBJ’s totalitarian actions as the necessary bitter pill needed to move the nation forward.  I disagreed with this assertion then as much as I do now.  Some of these people that are crying today were part and parcel of OBJ’s administration and some were members of the judiciary, Senate, and legislators that helped craft Third Term fiasco which would have lead Nigeria to life-presidency and one-party state pseudo democracy.

The fact now is that most talking heads, members of OBJ’s cabinet, and the majority of Nigerians who are now whining about the eight years of OBJ, were all participants of the human capital rudderlessness that took place.  By not complaining, maybe out of fear, or because we were at a disadvantage in acquiescing to the banditry that took place, we agreed to everything that OBJ did on our behalf.  By not making our views known to our leaders, we signified that we agreed to what was done on our behalf.

The year 2007 is getting close to the end and we are still talking and strategizing the way we have always been by wishing the military to take over. This definitely cannot be the best option because our military still has as many selfish, power crabbers as it did in the days of BB and Abacha. If this were to happen, we would be condemned forever as a nation.  Instead of looking to the military for a solution, “we the people” have the right to change Nigeria the way we want it and let the other governing instruments, the politicians, and the military follow.  If the older generation failed to move the nation forward, what are the young Nigerians doing, waiting to commit suicide?  Let us make sure that 2008 is a year for the beginning of nation building.  Why do Nigerians hero-worship unpatriotic leaders, who just like Benazir Bhutto, cannot take risks for their nation.  She knew that her life was in danger, but she was ready to give her life up for Pakistan.  On the other hand, leaders in Nigeria loot our treasury, but when it is time to face the people, they run like chickens, seeking solace from the very people they destroyed.

Our irony as Nigerians is that we believe that we are the best brains, supposedly the most useful segments of our nation and indeed of Africa, but when we need to constructively challenge our leaders, we voluntarily turn ourselves into useful tools in the hands of power usurpers.  Instead of challenging leaders, we become politically analytical.  No wonder some of our fellow Nigerians preach that we not wash our dirty linens in public after they have enabled thieves to rob us dry.  If we fail to start developing Nigeria from 2008 upward, we have ourselves to blame for the plight of future generations. 

"The glory of Nigeria connotes the glory of her citizens: the well-being, prosperity and happiness of Nigerians... my sole and ardent aspiration is to see the advent of that glory, at the same time, if it pleases God, to be an active participant in bringing about that glory" – Chief Obafemi Awolowo (1909 – 1987).  It is only when we truly answer the above nagging questions, “what democracy mean to our nation?,” respond to our internal stimuli, and disengage the enemies of Nigeria from their counter productive engagements that we can move Nigeria forward.

Happy, prosperous and productive 2008 from my family to yours.

Robot  # 1 | 27.12.2007 19:14

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