AUGUST 13, 2014 BY ADEYEMI
ADETUNJI

It has become the norm, never to expect
military intervention in Nigeria again.
Thankfully, therefore, politics and
politicians become serious issues for all
to ponder over. What exactly does
politics mean? More narrowly, it refers
to achieving and exercising positions of
governance — organised control over a
human community, particularly a state.
Furthermore, politics is the study or
practice of the distribution of power and
resources within a given community (a
hierarchically organised population) as
well as the interrelationship(s) between
communities. (Source, Wikipedia).
The phrase, “politics is too serious to be
left to politicians” comes to play,
(Charles De Gaulle, Dwight Eisenhower
at different times uttered these words).
However, can this phrase be true in
Nigeria? Can Nigeria be an exception to
this oft-quoted and proven phrase?
We, citizens of this great land, cannot all
be politicians. Since pre-independence
days, a class of people…politicians have
emerged. Unfortunately, their
development, in terms of maturity,
knowhow, rigour of thought, has for
reasons of our collective history been
truncated several times.
The longest period of civilian rule is
what we are experiencing presently.
1999 to date; 15 years and counting. To
several democracies, this is a child’s
play, to us in Nigeria, it’s phenomenal.
Thus, it is time to examine the political
class and see if they are going to take us
to the Promised Land. This Promised
Land scenario being where Nigeria
ought to be. The challenge? For as many
Nigerians as there are, this concept of
Promised Land is as many and varied.
Maybe, all politicians should sign up to a
common idea of the Promised Land,
routes to it would differ based on
political persuasions, but we would all
know where we are heading for.
Unfortunately, it seems this concept of
the Promised Land is what is missing in
our political journey. What do we, as
Nigerians want? A few examples that
have been a cause for discourse in the
recent past would be used. Free
education? Certainly not, as many
Nigerians do not think this is necessary.
Freedom of association? This certainly
seems to be one point that we all agree
with. Freedom of religion? This we do
not seem to agree with, though we pay
lip service to it. Evidence? Several of us,
would not countenance the existence of
a place of worship of another religion/
faith in our communities and or towns.
That we have not thought about it this
way, shows our disdain for facts.
Electricity, we do not all consider this to
be a required tool for existence in the
21st century. Evidence? We have put up
with lack of, absence of and inability to
provide electric power to all, that it
would seem to be a favour when
electricity is available.
Nigerians to reside anywhere they wish
to within Nigeria. It would seem that
this concept is alien to us. Evidence?
The news is replete with stories of
certain citizens, maybe based on
religion or origins (within Nigeria,
unfortunately) being asked to leave
where they are domicilled for “home”
wherever that is!
Health, we do not all believe access to
health is a necessity for all Nigerians.
Evidence? Lack of health care facilities
in every nook and cranny of this land.
Access to nutritious food year round, we
pay lip service to this, or else, why do
we perennially have absence of staple
food at certain times during the year?
This shows up in our lack of food
security, a prime concern to this writer.
Respect for the Nigerian citizen? This, is
the most important and on which the
challenges of lack of development to
date hinge. Evidence? A concept rightly
or wrongly of a master servant
relationship between office holders and
the governed.
Indeed, in the view of this writer, the
major challenge of Nigeria and
democracy is the view of the office
holders being BOSSES, and the ruled
being EMPLOYEES! I refrain from using
MASTER and SERVANT because of a
few office holders who are truly humble,
but, by and large most, office holders
regard themselves as RULERS.
Is it the existence of royalty in Nigeria
that has given rise to this? Or, the long
incursion of the military in our
leadership positions?
An Indian friend tells this writer, that
right after independence in 1947 in
India, it was decided to do away with
the Raj system. Raj system is equivalent
to our royalty – Obas, Obis,
Amanyenabos and Emirs. All positions of
rulership in India have since been by
election, not birthright. Should the
office holder who is not by birthright,
royalty, emulate royalty?
Will we ever see in Nigeria a
phenomenon like in the USA, where the
President addresses citizens as Sir/Ma?
Will we ever see in Nigeria where law
enforcement agents address citizens as
Sir/Ma?
Respect is one item we do not earn as
Nigerians from our government officials.
Instead, it is an attitude of lords and
serfs that we have as the governed from
the office holders. Is it then time for an
attitudinal change? Might this affect all
forms of governance in Nigeria? Would
it usher in peace and plenty or chaos
and want?
Do we have the courage to try? What
would be the benefit to us as a people
for this paradigm shift? It is this writer’s
contention that the reason for our lack
of development, when considered
against where Nigeria ought to be,
given our God given resources- human
and non human, is the lack of respect for
the Nigerian citizen by political office
holders and seekers. It is when we the
people insist that both office holders and
seekers realise they are not, and can
never be royalty that the required
paradigm shift to make respect for the
citizens front and centre of all office
holders/seekers thoughts and actions
that positive change will happen.
Disdain for the citizen results in the lack
of provision of amenities- social,
education, health and other life
enhancing ones. This also permits (in
the 21st century ) use of anomalies of
tribe, state of origin etc. to obstruct
collective efforts in improving the lot of
the Nigerian citizen. Or, how do we
position the origin and not the capability
of an office holder/seeker as the prime
determinant of if s/he can even offer to
serve?
Once respect for the citizen is enshrined
in both our conscious and unconscious
thoughts and actions, a wholesome
approach to making Nigeria a better
place to live in becomes the norm. Can
we trust our political class to appreciate
this? Is indeed politics too serious a
business to leave to politicians?
The answer from this writer’s
perspective is no, if in this day and age,
after 100 years of the formation of
Nigeria, we are still saddled with
“teething problems of nationhood”. If we
are still grappling with mundane issues
of religious plurality, tribal persuasions,
settler/indigene issues, entry into
institutions of learning on basis of origin
and not merit, still looking at options of
making life more abundant for the
citizens from the perspective of poverty
alleviation, and not wealth creation. If
the foreigner in Nigeria still has ‘more
rights than the citizen.’


www.punchng.com/opinion/random-thoughts-on-nigeria-and-our-politicians/