Back to Basics
This November America went back to the basics. When their nation became engulfed in two wars, is suffering from a battered image in front of its allies and enemies alike as the architect of neo-terrorism and is suffering from the worst economic crises since the great depression, its time- tested machinery for regeneration, transition and change came to its rescue. November 4, 2008 was the day America re-engineered itself to continue playing its leadership role in a world that is changing at the speed of light. November 4 was the day America voted in Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America.
America was founded by men of intellectual sagacity, depth of character and a strong will to bring to fruition of their belief that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. America was kept together by men who believe so much in the American dream and it’s ideals that they profess words from deep conviction which resonates centuries after they were uttered that “Democracy is the government of the people, for the people and by the people” . America was guided by men who were not afraid to lay down their lives to defend the interest of the honest, hardworking and simple average American, despite the presence of enemies, both within and without, one of who said at the height of tension in the nation that “ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country”.
But the last eight years has been downhill for America. It started with rejection of men with great intellect, reason and education and the profligration of the idea that even an Average Joe can do the job of steering of a nation towards greatness i.e. a widespread belief that “omo wa ni eje ose(he’s our son whatever he does is okay)”. Second came the hijack of that sacred tool of good, able and responsible democratic governance, the ballot box, in 2000 when some abracadabra magic was done in Florida, where one of the contestant’s brother was the Governor. The final straw was the very controversial judgement by the Supreme Court that halted the recount of the infamous Florida ballot thus ushering into the saddle an irresponsible, aggressive and vain government that has shocked and awed the whole world with its uncanny thirst for war and financial recklessness.
So America went back to the basics. They went back to the drawing board and decided to change. They went to the last vestige of the masses, the ballot box, to usher in a change we all can believe in. The election of Barack Obama as the President of America was the first step that America has learnt it’s lesson, the hard way, that governance must be entrusted in the hands of the capable, in minds of the intellectual and the crown adorn the head of the popular. Barack Obama has shown all the qualities of, and espoused by, America great men of yore. He has shown his capacity to tackle the financial crises of the country that is threatening to take the whole world down with it, maintaining a level-headed decisiveness about his plan to extricate the economy from the fingers of Bushonomics. He has shown his appeal to friend and foe of the United States, eliciting unprecedented support for his leadership of the country and the world de facto from far flung places as Spain, Russia and Iran. He has also shown his intellectual prowess and clear articulation of thoughts by his numerous speeches that has evoked emotions that will make Martin Luther King Jnr green with envy, from that fire-starting speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004 to his victory speech after the elections where he proclaimed “And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand…. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope. For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.”
Nigerians, yours truly inclusive, followed the United States Presidential Election right from the fight for the nomination tickets of the two major parties to the final lap on the night of November 4 when we breathed a sigh of relief that America voted for capacity and not for colour. But after the euphoric exhilaration, self-congratulation and backslapping that has greeted Obama’s emergence, the poignant question is being asked, what lesson can Nigeria learn from the United States and can an Obamania happen in Nigeria? As usual a lot of suggestions has expounded by our venerated political leaders, newspaper columnists and religious leaders and I would like to add mine.
The most important lesson Nigeria can learn is that of the sanctity of the ballot box. The Americans hold their electoral system sacrosanct because they know that their fate lies in this institution’s chastity and any contamination, factual or perceived, would render the process flawed, thus handing the reins of rulership and keys of the treasury to usurpers and men of low moral fibre. The case of electoral fraud did not come up in this election because everyone, both victor and vanquished, trust implicitly and inherently that their compatriots would rather die than compromise an institution built through sweat, tears and blood of their ancestors. The incumbent, who came in through a flawed process, knew that Americans were ready to repeat history and die rather than have their will overturned again so he stayed at the oval office and kept quiet. The sanctity of their ballot is a do or die affair! Here in Nigeria, until we build our electoral system up to a stage where men with nuclear arsenal cannot hijack the electoral process, we will continue to practise civil rule and not democracy that will create a change we can believe in.
A second lesson we can tap from America is the recognition that leadership is best given to the most qualified. America has gone from coping and enduring simpletons in corridors of power to electing men of capacity, no matter their ethnicity, colour or race. Blacks in America constitute less than 13% of the population with the whites having a population of about 69%, yet they rose in unison in their hour of need and let reason preside, electing a man with enough pedigree to steer the nation to a safe berth. How many of our politicians will allow someone whose parents are not from their state, but who was born, bred, went to primary, secondary and tertiary school at the state’s expense and wants to repay the faith showed him be the Governor of the state? Instead of rallying round and giving him support to lift their state to enviable height, they will bring one usurper with little education and foist him on the populace, smiling, singing and saying “omo wa ni eje ose(he’s our son whatever he does is okay)” instead of supporting ideas that will outlive generations yet unborn. They will gang-up against a candidate from a minority group in their state even though he may be the most qualified for job. Can the Hausa/Fulani, Ibo, and Yorùbá ever allow a Kanuri, Ijaw or Ibibio man smell Aso Rock? Your guess is as good as mine. With our political parties harping on rotational political ascendancy, we are reduced to choosing amongst people that may not necessarily possess the qualities needed to steer us away from the quagmire and dire straits we find ourselves. People who would best serve the nation, the people and themselves best in a supportive position are now pushed to the limelight where they wobble and fumble, making Nigeria look like a nation of befuddled idiots. We as Nigerians should disabuse from our minds that the emergence of someone from our ethnic stock would increase the level of the national cake that’s gets to us as this inherently implies that we expect everyone in the position of power to be nepotistic. We must let ability, capacity and capability prevail as the glory of this nation will be shared by all and sundry, likewise the pain and the shame of failing as a nation.
Furthermore, public institutions that perform crucial supportive role to the electoral system in particular and democracy in general should be further strengthened and made autonomous so as to make them truly professional and effective. God forbid it was the Nigeria Police that is policing America as the Nazi skin-heads that had already bought guns and bombs to kill Barack Obama and others would never have been nabbed or if caught would easily bribe their way out. Barack Obama will not have smiled into the camera and said that he’s being protected by the best guys if those guys where the SSS as they presently function. These organizations, alongside institutions like the Judiciary and INEC must be made truly independent so that the long term health, wealth and interests of the country will always be protected against the short term hot-headedness and tension that from time to time threaten to consume us and reduce us to barbarism.
Finally,” let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other…. Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long…. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours: "We are not enemies, but friends… though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection…to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the Nigerian Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can"
(quotations from Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, John F Kennedy and Barack Obama freely used)