It is cheers to 64 years of independent governance amid the murky waters of socioeconomic instability that we swim in. Gaining independence for self rule is no small feat worthy of celebration going by the horrible experience of our unpalatable colonial past. However, the pertinent question is: “Has the end justified the means sixty four years after?”
One of the main issues about governance in post colonial Nigeria is the use and misuse of official power. For the military era, it is a question of unbridled ego while in the democratic dispensation, we see the evident difference between being in office and being in power. This is a major reason for the socioeconomic realities faced by the masses. Our State Houses have never been empty, but the people on the streets do not reckon with whoever occupies those seats.
Democracy as we were told is supposed to give power to the people. In our own case, power has been surreptitiously hijacked and shared between the constituted authorities and other different sociopolitical interest groups, with the government merely coordinating the use of power. A case of someone being in charge and another being in control.
We do not lack the vision and spirit of nation building. Rather, we lack the zeal to invest our latent patriotic energy for the realization our national dreams partly due to the suppression of our interest by the deliberate abuse of electoral tickets that open the doors of public offices.
Due to what the system is based on, the experiences of each dispensation leave the citizens with praises for the past one even as they acknowledge the excruciating experiences of the past. A local parlance goes: “When you start growing thin, you ought to know what work is draining your energy”. For Nigerians, we keep getting told to endure the heart wrenching pains of today for the gains of an elusive tomorrow. The masses have been subjected to the individual state governance pattern instead of the constitutional principles of putting the people first. For our leaders, empathy is subjective and discretionary. Leadership should as they say, be by example. In our own situation, it’s a different ball game.
A political party in Ireland is named People Before Profit for obvious reasons. The masses are the pivot of government and the determinant of its continuity, and as such, they ought to be given topmost priority. Because the government is busy with its own skewed business plan which has overtime yielded little benefits for the masses, the masses also engage in their own personal and group economic pursuits which in turn portrays a bad national image.
Of course, the government embarks on and implements numerous lofty initiatives aimed at easing the pains and elevating the economic statuses of the people, the initiatives gets bedevilled with the redirection of purpose which those saddled with the implementation engage in. The nation now effectively runs a Middleman Economy where those in power redirects the actions of those in office. A case in hand is the petroleum and electricity sector where pricing, supply and sustainability are being evidently compromised by the conflicting interests of the sector players.
We are constrained to ask why democracy has not worked well as it does in some other climes, both far and near. At least, government under whatever system should be able to guarantee basic human needs for the enhancement of their living standards. In such a situation, the push factors of a better life abroad will not entice and lure them out, and in turn, they will be passionate about their national progress.
As we debate and advocate for a return to regionalism, we ought to bear in mind that a good idea can be easily compromised. The nation was still at infancy when regions were in charge of their resources. Now, people have become more exposed to the temptations of power and how to abuse it. The very excuse which calls for secession was based are still plausible under a regional system when power is misused.
How then do we put the blame on leadership without addressing the basis from where leadership arises? Since our leaders come from within our communities, we are as culpable as those we blame. This is a prime reason why protests don’t bring desired results. Our situation is largely that of a gold digger working in a Turn By Turn Business Venture. Making corrections should therefore start from within. Self reformation is the moral burden which cannot be delayed if we truly desire a brighter future.
