People in government should work just like other people in the economy. Take someone who was Owa Obokun of Ijesaland in the 14th century for instance. That individual, many of them were women, had the toughest job in the Ijesa country, with hundreds of Lojas reporting to the council headed by him or her. Lojas were market controllers who take the government's share from anything been traded and pay to the capital. There were Onibodes who were immigration and customs agents. There were olopas who were police and there were Ologuns who were soldiers. The whole country that must have been of over 500 towns was held together by the authourity of the Owa in council. That council or board was saddled with the responsibility of maintaining diplomatic relationship with neighbouring countries through marriages, agreements and other means including hostilities. The Benin was to the East, the Nupe and Oyo were to the North. The Ijebu to the South and etc. There was no United Nations to guarantee sovereignty or recognise national borders. Thus, the governing board had their work cut out for them which was more than the work of modern nations nowadays who can afford to sit down even like fools since the United Nations is on the watch for them. Back then, sovereignty or territorial integrity was not guaranteed, you had to be a good manager to keep what you have. Yet many people including many women did very well as Owa Obokun Ile Ijesa and their exploits are remembered. Atakunmosa, Yegunrogbo, Yewaji etc.


No elections on Ijesa land. People in government worked under close supervision just like other people including slaves. Keeping the 'ile' or land together and under one authourity was the hardest and most important job on the 'ile' or land. An Oba with an excellent character rubs it off on the land. A weak one does thesame. The Oba and infact everybody on the land are under the supervision of the Ogboni but the Oba who is place holder for God is more closely supervised by the Ogboni. No chance of a Yoruba Oba becoming despotic because the residual power lies with the Ogboni. The residual blame or glory for failure or success also lies with the Ogboni. Hence the saying 'Agba kii wa loja ki ori omo tuntun wo'. 'A new born infant's head will not be disfigured when there are elders around in the market place'. I believe it means they will reshape the head since it will be fragile then.


People in government worked under a much closer supervision than other workers. If I were a slave, I would be accountable to my master but an Oba would be accountable to and was watched closely by an Ogboni council whose only rule is 'Do not do ika or evil to others'. They were a supreme court over governments in Yoruba land. No government was complete at any level without the supervising Ogboni council who were the watchers.


In today's world, Russia, China, North Korea, Cuba, Singapore are the main countries run without the opposition party system and of them, Singapore is the most successful per capita, though the smallest. Others are also successful in their own way, even Cuba that is socialist are world leaders in certain sectors and are doing very well for a debt free nation at over
USD 10,000 pa GDP per capita.


Take a football club like Arsenal FC England for instance, they have had Arsene Wenger as manager for over a decade and the success or failure of the club are credited to him but we all know the board of Arsenal FC carries the residual blame for the fortunes or misfortunes of the club because they reserve the right to remove the manager without much ceremony at any point in time, even in the middle of a match. This is how governments should work across the globe. No need for the comic relief, even tomfoolery of elections.


The USA need to lead the way in doing this. At least 700 people in a council should be totally privy to whatever the President is doing at any time and those people should be publicly known by all. Whatever lot falls on the nation should be credited to them even more than it is credited to the President because the President is afterall only one person. There can
be such councils for all levels of governmental administration and these councils should liaise with each other seamlessly. In a nation like the USA, there may be millions of people, unremunerated, who are members of such councils across the nation from LGs to states and the Federal. If you are a government, you must be totally under a council of people whose income and activities can be monitored by all.


I hope the USA will lead the world once again by choosing efficiency over waste, seriousness over drama and statesmen over politicians. It is a way to bring everybody under one umbrella.


The CIA is already in place, they can appoint someone, say a statesman like Governor Jeb Bush who has nothing to hide, as place holder for God. Anybody with empathy can be place holder for God. We all already are at our different stations.