At a recent open and free discussion with a group of educated, experienced and exposed Nigerians most of whom are in responsible positions in the civil/public service, the media and the industry, our deliberations quickly drifted to the current Nigerian political scene. To this end therefore, it became apparent that most of us were so disenchanted with the primaries by some of our politicians who are either looking for a second term, or aspiring for higher political offices. We further observed that some of the political office holders are busy holding meetings in one part of the country and another, thereby putting in oblivion their basic and constitutional responsibilities.
We further observed that in previous campaigns, there was a discernible lack of serious debates on national issues and objectives, instead there was plenty of personal mudslinging and the electorates were being compelled to vote for personalities rather than issues. Based on the versatility, training and background of my group of emergency elite friends at that discussion, most of us were at a loss on how to cast our votes in the forthcoming 2011 elections especially for some of them who have not achieved anything meaningful in their first tenure and are looking for a second term, higher political office or planting their cronies to continue and defend them and still make treasury available to them from where they will stop, come May 29, 2011.
For a genuine appraisal and recognition/appreciation of each elected office holder, there is need for our politicians at different levels to inform the electorate through the mass media (print and broadcast) of genuine programmes and projects they have so far executed by means of supplement for the print media and documentary for the broadcast.
In some of the states, there would have been urgent need for political power rotation and not the popular power shift to check nepotism, favouritism, tribalism, corruption among others. It is a truism to say that power rotation is becoming impossible due to malpractice in the primaries conducted in some of the states. These have led to series of protest and demonstration calling for urgent cancellation of such primaries.
It is flabbergasting that some governors make their Kinsmen to hold important and juicy portfolios like secretary to government, abuse seniority in the civil service and appoint their relation as Head of Civil Service, commissioners of finance, works, education, health, sensitive and lucrative board appointments without taking their background and training into consideration. The state affairs will now be run under kitchen cabinet and nothing tangible will be achieved. This is too appalling for state affairs to become family affairs, which in the final analysis will bring no progress.
The first Nigerian media mogul, the late Rt. Hon. Dr. Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe said in one of his soap box appearances that what is morally wrong cannot be politically right. He made the statement to sensitize and educate the electorates into casting their votes for candidates with impeccable integrity. In other words, there is need for us to avoid the election of ‘applicants’ and ‘baby’ politicians.
However, Nigeria appears to have gone to the dogs. Apart from the treasury looters, made up of some unscrupulous elements in government and mandarins who steal from contracts of corruption, there exist in the states and local governments, looters who corner every kobo that the government intends to spend for some little improvement in the miserable lives of the citizens in the rural areas.
Furthermore, there is need for the electorates to apply the 5Ws and the H in news element, which was popularized by Rudyard Kiplin (1865-1936), a Nobel Prize winner in literature in 1907 and well known British novelist and poet. Before casting their votes, Nigerians should be interested in knowing who the person is, what office he held previously, where, when he vacated the office, why and how he did vacate it.
United States first President, George Washington (1789-1797), a federalist, once said that, ‘‘with reputation you can do anything; without it one can do nothing’’. This suggests that our reputation is one of our most important qualities and ought to be guided jealously and rigorously too. There should be need for the Governors and the office of the Presidency to also consider the 5Ws and H as propounded by communication and management experts in forming their cabinets. It beats my imagination when officials who ruined some organizations are usually appointed into political offices. What does that signify? ‘‘kill or maim the more’’. Politicians and those elected into offices should take public opinion into consideration in forming their cabinets like Roger Haywood, a former President of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) said, ‘‘Public opinion on which reputation is built, can close a company, or remove a government, stop a war or build an international brand’’. Consequently, I think and believe it will not be appropriate to base political appointments on favouritism, nepotism, tribalism or any other unreasonable factor.
It was flabbergasting when it was reported prior to the 2007 elections, that a mechanized farm settlement across the Delta State that occupies strategic position in Nigeria have become haven for training willing youths in AK 47 guns and other sophisticated weaponry in modern warfare. Refer to the Midwest Herald newspaper report of Friday, August 18-August 24, 2006 p.9. The paper further reported ‘‘there are big farms especially in the Delta Central where they train these youths with guns for the 2007 elections. We pray we will not witness such in the 2011 elections. However, there is the need for the law enforcement agents to closely monitor politicians and their thugs to ensure a successful election in the April 2011 polls.
In the previous democratic dispensation, it was abundantly clear that many projects were not properly executed. Those at the helm of affairs of such projects enriched themselves. We were all aware of corrupt practices through substandard renovation works on public schools, ‘ghost’ teachers and pensioners, among others. The electorates are no fools. Each and everyone of us must purge himself or herself of corruption because as the celebrated English poet, John Donne said ‘‘Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for me and you’’.
President Olusegun Obasanjo at the inauguration of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) International branch in Rome, Italy in 2001 (during his first tenure), called the local government chairmen in Nigeria, ‘‘thieves’’, pointing out that they converted resource allocations meant for grassroots development to their personal use. Some other Nigerians had equally made similar allegations. Have we forgotten the owambe or akperio governors who were then looking for second term or higher political office.
I am always sad and I pity our dear country Nigeria when I see different political groups in different ‘executive’ names all under what I may describe as ‘special thugs’ praising some of our leaders especially Governors and some aspirants to high heavens. It is indeed ridiculous because of the bad behavior of some of these leaders. Most of our leaders pursue the goal of ‘maximum suffering for the largest number’’. If you are in doubt take a look around you, especially if you are not one of the ‘blind’ or demented praise singers. You can see among many Nigerians, misery, gloom, pluck and nervous fear, wrinkles and furrows on the faces of those around you signifying poor characteristics of some leaders.
A pertinent question has been aptly put by the wise novelist of Igbo extraction, Professor Chinua Achebe, thus: ‘‘where did the rain start beating us? A sufficient number of Nigerians, both professional and lay, have tried to diagnose the problem with Nigeria. The general consensus is that our problems stem principally from previous bad leadership. Even some of the leaders have admitted failure before fellow Nigerians. It is therefore abundantly clear that from a logical point of view, both leadership and followership from the extremes of a graduated continuum is such that the failure of leadership must somehow be the lengthened shadow of poor quality citizenship.
It is a truism to say that different people occupy different leadership positions from time to time, and they carry onto their new positions all the dispositions and character structures they had acquired earlier. In other words, if the person who eventually emerges president, governor, minister, local government chairman or whatever, has over the years been avaricious or a greedy scoundrel, that is precisely what he would manifest while in office.
We can see at the moment political gatherings in public places and even private homes are getting suffused with elements of intimidation, victimization and harassment. While the phenomenon is growing, those who are already in power and legitimately interested in renewing their mandate or ‘planting and watering’ their cronies to take over have equally began to organize openly, ‘executive’ thugs. The immutable truth still remains that another term for or higher political office or ‘planting’ cronies to continue from where they stopped by some of these failed politicians is baseless, ungodly, doom and continuous glorification of poverty in their respective states.
It seems to me that the list of our woes is endless. The events, which have unfolded during 1990 and 1991 in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, clearly show the heavy price nations pay when they build their future on wishful thinking. I hope we don’t have to wait the next one hundred (100) years before we learn the correct lesson.
Charles Ikedikwa Soeze fhnr, fcida,fcai,cpae,son,emba,
is a mass communication scholar and Chief officer (Administration) at the Human Resources Development Department (HRDD) of the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun,Delta State, Nigeria. (08036724193)
charlessoeze@yahoo.com
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