I was just going through my system and saw this essay i wrote in april last year. It was intended for my younger brother to enter an essay competition but as providence would have it, i got the submission deadline mixed up and realized about a week later i was too late. Anyway, without further ado, here is it.

THE NIGERIAN POLITICAL CLASS AND THE CITIZENS QUEST FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE
One of the most profound quotes I ever heard concerning governance was made not by a president, governor, statesman or politician. Rather it was made by the seemingly senile lead character from the 2005 movie ‘V for vendetta’. This man (strangely monikered V) said “People should not be afraid of their government; rather it is the government should be afraid of its people”. These words underline the power of the ruled over the ruler and should be the order in an ideal democratic society. If a government or a ruling cadre cannot be subject to either the dictates of decency or good conscience, the fear of repercussion from those they rule should at least whip them in line. This is hardly the case in our nation presently.
Without further ado, I shall attempt to define the Nigerian political class. Who is/are the Nigerian political class and who are the individuals populating their ranks? Simply put, they are the group of individuals responsible for running the government. The political class consists first and foremost of the persons occupying positions of public service in the federal, state, and local tiers of government like the president, governors, local government chairmen and ward councilors. Secondly, they consist of the executive and legislative branches of government (members of the senate, federal and state houses of representative). Lastly they comprise of members of political parties that present candidates to contest for political elections with the view of becoming the ruling party and in the event of defeat; serve as lively opposition to the ruling party.
The Nigerian political class has its origins in the nationalism movement during colonial times that fought initially for native participation in governance and then to dethrone British rule and ensure independence and self rule for Nigerian natives. At the vanguard of this movement were Nigerians educated in the Diaspora. Replete with knowledge garnered from the white man’s ivory towers and overcoming the almost god-like awe and semi worship their ignorant, non- educated countrymen showered on the white man and seeing through the veneer of colonialism as a tool for resource exploitation, these individuals set about to rally their countrymen to wrest power from the oppressive colonial masters. Chief among these individuals was Herbert Macauley; widely acclaimed as the father of Nigerian nationalism. On his return from the United Kingdom after training as an engineer, he worked in the colonial service as a land surveyor before resigning due to his distaste for colonialism. In the year 1923, emboldened by the Clifford constitution, he founded Nigeria’s first political party; the Nigerian national democratic party (N.N.D.P) that won all the seats in the elections of 1923, 1928, and 1933. This heralded local participation in the Nigerian political arena .They were usurped by the more radical Lagos youth movement (L.Y.M) founded by Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Kofo Abayomi, H. O Davies, Ernest Ikoli and J.C. Vaughan. Herbert Macauley would later in conjunction with Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe co-find the national council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (N.C.N.C) in the year 1944. This drive for independence was further accelerated by the end of the second world which saw the status of the British as prominent world powers diminish in favor of the United States and Soviet Union and an awakening political awareness of the Nigerian people. Also the successful struggle for independence in colonies such as India (previously touted as the “jewel of the crown”) affirmed that this struggle was not an exercise in futility; hence there was further strengthening in the resolve of Nigerians to gain independence. Now lending weight in support were Nigerian veterans of the Second World War, civil servants, traders and majority of the Nigerian populace.
However, it is pertinent to note that agitation for independence in the northern region did not begin until the 1940s due to the limited political interference with the conservative traditional institutions by the British because of the successful implementation of indirect rule. Hence, majority of the southern Nigerian political class originated from the highly educated, white collar stock while the northern Nigerian political class emanated mostly from the families of their traditional ruling class. Although the northern region was the least developed and politically aware, they were able to exert influence over the southern ruling class due to their vast population and greater internal unity. This has continued to be the status quo in Nigeria till date. Military intrusion into governance in later years after independence threatened to exterminate the Nigerian civilian ruling class until the year 1999, when the military handed over to a democratically-elected government, heralding the 4th republic.
It is very saddening to note that through the years, instead of casting itself as a model of selfless, credible and citizen-oriented leadership, the Nigerian political class has grown into a cadre of vice-infected individuals with a maniacal lust for power at all cost. This power when accrued is then utilized for the dual purpose of illegal enrichment of self and cronies and oppression of their proletarian countrymen even beyond that of our erstwhile colonial masters. The impoverished masses are only remembered during election period when they are bribed with petty gifts of cash and kind not only to sell their votes to the highest bidder, but also enact acts of intimidation, violence and hooliganism against political opponents. They are a brood of vipers continually spreading the venom of ethnic, religious and political discrimination whenever it suits their interests instead of attempting to foster peace in a highly diverse nation. The antics enacted by members of the Nigerian political class have led to the common saying in Nigeria “politics is a dirty game”. The Nigerian political class has solely succeeded in the task of entrenching corruption as a way of life in Nigeria. The entire nation now reeks of the putridity of this vile character. Findings from various panels and tribunals continuously fingered top political figures as culprits in issues relating to corrupt practices. From the pre-independence Foster-Sutton tribunal of inquiry investigating Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe, the Coker commission of inquiry of 1962 investigating Awolowo to the oil subsidy investigation of 2012 and the recent ‘Oduah-gate’ scandal, it is crystal clear that several generations of the political class have succeeded in nearly bleeding the national coffers dry. Failure of the available legal institutions to fully prosecute the responsible parties and retrieve stolen monies have bred a spirit of impunity and brazenness among the individuals in power and made a farce out of the rule of law
The present crop of the Nigerian political class is a class bereft of sound (if any) political ideologies. This is made evident in the structuring of political parties. Instead of providing a stronghold of positive national ideals and diverse innovative ideas for the progression of our nation, they have become power grabbing and power hording centers. Since there is no sound ideal serving as the core of the party and bond among members, loyalty is an extinct quality in such gatherings. Hence mass decamping and carpet crossing is the order when there is either a loss in elections or altercation among party members; the former being evident after the last elections of March 2015. This attitude has transformed the Nigerian political arena to a quasi-battlefield where members of the opposition are viewed as sworn enemies to be totally and continually sabotaged and annihilated and party members are viewed as infallible and incapable of wrongdoing. What is mind-boggling is that at the event of a decampment, there is an ‘amnesic’ transubstantiation in which the former ‘saintly’ party members are suddenly portrayed as villains of the worst sort and vice versa. This has eroded the spirit of dignified statesmanship and sportsmanship that should ideally be part and parcel of politics.
The most damning legacy that every generation of the Nigerian political class has left so far is the inability to provide solutions to basic problems bedeviling our nation. A situation where the economy of a nation blessed with numerous natural resources relies chiefly on one (crude oil) is more than baffling. What is confounding is that since the discovery of crude oil in the 1950s, little tangible results are evident. Basic social amenities, chiefly constant electricity, water supply, affordable healthcare e.t.c (long resolved issues in most developed and developing countries) remain inaccessible to the Nigerian populace. These amenities have been promised by successive governments who without expressing any modicum of shame reel out these promises as the selling points of their manifestos during election campaigns. Is it not shameful that a nation with our population (the highest in Africa) still rely heavily on importing goods we should be mobilizing our vast population to produce for us to consume and even export?
The acts of the political class have had a negative domino effect on the citizenry at large. An opportunity to serve in a position of power has now been dubbed “being invited to come and chop”. Holding a political office or appointment has become a sure avenue for rapid self enrichment. Knowing someone in power is the surest way to beat due process and subvert protocols. To obtain almost any service, you must ‘know somebody up there’. Bail is free but you must pay the police some money. If you are stopped for a ‘routine check’, you have to part with ‘something’ before you are flagged on. Those who can afford it depart to other nations thereby causing brain drain that lost us bright minds like Chimamanda Adichie, Philip Emeagwale, Chinua Achebe to mention a few. However amidst all this, there is a deep thirst for good governance. It is this quest that led several Nigerians to endure scorching heat and deluging rain to vote for “change”. It is this quest for quality leadership that has left us waiting anxiously with crossed fingers and bated breaths for the 29th of may 2015, when retired General Buhari is sworn in as president of the federal republic of Nigeria. We sincerely hope that his tenure is the metaphoric first step to begin the thousand mile journey our nation must make on the path to recovery. In spite of everything around us, we do not despair. We believe that one day, be we alive or not, a Nigeria where graft and corrupt practices are reduced to the barest minimum, a Nigeria where the quiet and fresh air associated with the night is not jettisoned by the noise and carbon monoxide fumes of generating sets because there would be constant electricity, roads bereft of potholes and deathtraps, a Nigeria where petrol scarcity is unheard of because we have functional local refineries and we do not import petrol, where unemployment is drastically reduced, where the standard of living is high, where there is efficient distribution of resources among the people. For this Nigeria to be a realty, I would willingly offer my tears, sweat and yes even my blood.