| Politicians, lifestyle and the Nigerian condition |
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| Written by Pat Utomi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wednesday, 07 February 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Politicians, lifestyle and the Nigerian condition THE simple life, as a preferred way, received my embrace a very long time ago. Evidence afterward justified why my preference for this way was truly inspired. My decade old book of autobiographical reflection: To Serve is to Live, draws from encounters with Ajie Ukpabi Asika to illustrate the profundity of the idea of the simple life. But it was not until Botswana's President came as guest of the Nigerian Economic Summit two years ago that the full weight of the thought came down to me. Said he of the trouble with Nigeria - it is the making of the lifestyle of Nigerian politicians. If 2007 is to be meaningful we must debate the issues that paralyse the Nigerian promise and leave the country prostrate and the lifestyle of politicians is a major issue. Discussing the issues is already enough trouble in a political culture more focused on power than purpose. Even when they feel the pressure to make some noises about issues they barely manage some words about power, petrol and privatisation. Unlikely to find a place in how many of our potential men of power evaluate our troubles, is the very heart of the matter - the crisis of values that denote the Nigerian condition. Of these crises, the big man syndrome as part of a problematic lifestyle that has come to symbolise the Nigerian way is a major challenge to progress. On the road, as a presidential candidate, I have come to realise how remarkably accurate the president of Botswana was in identifying the lifestyle of our men of power as being at the core of Nigeria's challenge. Even the victims of this awful lust for the conspicuous consumption and the trappings of what is fitting for the big man, the poor citizens, have come to expect that you have to conduct yourself in a certain "oga" manner if you are in public life. I have therefore found my attempt to be with the people, embedded in them to ferret out where they hurt so we can jointly evaluate options that best solve problems, considered a little peculiar, even among some of the people, not to talk of those who think the arena of contestation is their mansion or government house. I am still amazed at why people see it as inappropriate for me to stand on a queue, buy my own ticket at the airport or walk down the hallway all by my self. My recent experience suggests the disconnect between state and society, a deep chasm between the leaders and those they lead is sadly the reason for failure to take ownership of the much touted reforms and the source of most policy failures. I have also found that the big man syndrome is a major driver of corruption. The big man's measure of his networth very often projects the culture of "possessing" even humans. These usually come in the form of companions of the opposite sex. Invariably a high price comes to be placed on those relationships. To give each of many wives and concubines comparable good life, as comparing relative well-offness of each by the prize trophies, is part of those arrangements, one's budget balloons faster than that of the country that has just had income from mineral discoveries spike its budget. More children than normally disciplined life allows, usually from 12 - 40 children, at schools where upper middle class Europeans and Americans have to struggle to keep their two children, inevitably point to plunder of the treasury and the commonwealth until the conscience is so seared it does not recognise that millions are dying from the games played to ensure rent-income from the system. In the country of the big man, only a strong personal commitment to the simple life can save a person from a feeling that something is wrong with them if they do not live the norms of their status. It is presumed among my peers, for example that a home abroad is signal that you are with it. I have friends who "donate" money in first class ticket terms to British Airways because they feel the need to spend a few days in their London home that has been without an occupant for some months. Net-net, the drain on this economy is probably responsible for much unemployment and miscreants terrorizing us all in Nigeria. I have never felt shame as some of my friends feel about not having a house abroad. Instead, I consider it a thing of pride that when I lived abroad, I got mortgage for a flat and sold it as soon as I returned to Nigeria. The nature of our money politics is also driven by the idea of a big man who knows not what to do with money, so all who come their way are geared to find schemes through which they can relieve them of some of the loot. The shortsightedness of the player prevents the scheming small guy from realising that the big man will steal more to his detriment for the little pound of flesh he extracted. The lifestyle of the Nigerian politician indeed creates a mental disposition which translates into a total disregard for the rule of law. How could a man in a motorcade of SUVs respect the right of the small guy or the authority of a little policeman. Yet if we look closely one of the reasons wise investors worry about Nigeria is the consequence of the absence of the rule of law for the sanctity of contracts. Many times I wonder why General Obasanjo as Military Head of State introduced the low profile campaign and reduced the state limousines to the Peugeot 504. I wonder if it is not because superior thinking held sway in those times. For leaders to routinely chase their people off the roads so they can pass, shut down airspaces so the big man can fly feeling safe even if lives of many others flying at the time is put in jeopardy and millions lost to the economy as people wait for the airspace to reopen, is to me evidence of both a failure to understand what drives human progress and a crisis of values that erode the dignity of the human person. It is therefore not by accident that one of the issues I am placing in the public domain for discussion and the debate between myself and the other presidential candidates is the lifestyle of the Nigerian Politician. It is the reason I have declared my willingness, if necessary to sell off the presidential fleet of an aircraft to fund the education budget.
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Posted by Robot| 07.02.2007 00:02