POLITICS IN NIGERIA
At the adoption of social contract in the prehistoric dates, humans had learnt to submit to constituted authority for peaceful coexistence. The pre-existed governance in a West African Region that later morphed into Nigeria society comprised of definite power structures that were devoid of unnecessary complexity as found in today’s politics. There existed various clans and groups that succeeded the established seats of authorities after the demise of the antecedents. Much credence was given to the voice of oracles like Ifa in Yoruba land, Ezenmuo in Igbo land, and other deities of similar esteem peculiar to myriads of cultural settings in Nigeria.
Time after time, the aftermath of colonialism and slave trade which plunged the country Nigeria into abysmal wantonness and dearth of trustworthy leadership, who would prioritize the welfare of the people as against the fiefdom and perpetual dictatorial tendency of the few ruling elites/regents, the game – politics had begun.
Nigeria has evolved out of series of chilling militarization through fledgling representative governance, all of which still have impacts on her democracy today. Since civility had made military rule a misfit in this dispensation; a league of erstwhile military figures have shown further interests in the affairs of our dear country as many of them are exhibiting even better political craftsmanship compared to ‘bloody civilians’ whose sole selling points are either their seeming technocracy or sheer charisma.
In all these episodes of analysis, politics cannot still be said to be a brainchild of Democracy; No. it will be narrow and callous to even cast Politics into lone confine of governance. Politics is a subtle human culture that has spread its tentacles into various human endeavors. Governance is just a cardinal part of such human endeavors in that it is the constituted authority that human has relinquished his self-governance for peaceful coexistence with his neighbors. In Nigeria, religions, NGOs and other civil society organizations have remarkable relationships with and input in the country’s politics.
Politics, which could be blandly defined as civil political scheming towards gaining political powers has become a monumental practice in Nigeria in that the players seem to get the most coveted positions in their various walks of life. Merit selection of candidates for certain posts requiring expertise and technocracy is hardly come by in Nigeria. And establishment of worthless MDAs for sole purpose of enriching lives of politicians has been the bane of the country. Stage management for political considerations has permeated the whole systems in Nigeria that even civil society groups, and religious societies are infested in this regards.
General elections, 2011, that gave the mandate to Ebele Azikiwe Goodluck Jonathan, after his two year power wrestle that completed his late ‘boss’s tenure, was a remarkable religion-politics marriage in Nigeria. The marriage has, over the year, become more robust than anyone could imagine, but with dismal wane in sanity and propriety.
That year, 2011, somewhere in a camp of some religious fellows, the General Overseer uplifted the hand of a presidential aspirant and said some prayers that confirmed the movement’s support for that purported ‘Christian Candidate’ in the presence of close to a million congregants; disseminated to the viewership of borderless Nigerians and international Christians and non-Christians. The message was analogous to Samuel’s presenting Saul to be King of Israel (1Samuel:11). And it was well understood by Nigerians. The effect was high turnout of people to vote for the said candidate. Since that time onward, our political parties have started inculcating religious bias in candidate selection.
The reason of the bend is not far-fetched; Christianity and Islam are major platforms where prospective voters, electorates are found. Religious leaders have assumed the post of vote mongers as they are being sought after and pampered for this reason. Little wonder, in spite of the extreme religiosity of the country, it still reeks of corruption that has besotted even the holy of holies.
A comity of pastors, numbering in hundreds, decided to shoulder themselves with the tasks of praying and working for an incumbent governor to realize his second term ambition in south south region of Nigeria. They succeeded. The story became sour later when the money for job well done was to be shared, which was hi jacked by the team’s leadership.
Two major Pentecostal movements pitched tents against each other over Goodluck Jonathan and Muhannadu Buhari in 2015 general election that brought the later in after four unsuccessful attempts. The G.O. and the Bishop, whose anointing we were taught not to criticize became louder in their political stances that period, to the extent that gate of hell was declared open for some disobedient children of…?
Christ the Jesus, the humblest brother of the biblical record, that is the crux and identity of Christianity word over, was almost enthroned and made a terrestrial king/ruler because of his philosophies and personality, but he rejected the offer and ran away (John 6:15). As this is not a didactic excerpt to dissuade every Christian or other religions adherents from being political or accepting or vying for political offices, the level playing ground should be based on definite philosophies in tandem with the esoteric principles of the Faith. There is greater need to delineate political boundaries from religious and social courts. This is because the word ‘politics’ has assumed a universal derogatory meaning as can be gleaned from its perception by pundits and its players.
Machiavellian’s view that ‘politics have no relations to morals’ is apt for Nigerian parlance of politics. Nigerian politics is shrouded in mists of cabalism as pontificated by the retired generals in Agbada, subliminal theocracy led by our Daddy G.Os whose dogmas are held sacrosanct by a high number of Nigerians. This is where the sanity and propriety of civility suffer stunted growth. Our religious mindset is that which frowns at constructive criticisms of evolving questionable doctrines that only build on the hegemonies of various Pentecostal movements in their crowd sourcing stratagems. Political schemers have found our various worship centers virile grounds to propagate their political inclinations by partnering with the GOs whose political leanings cannot, yet, be queried by their sheepish followers. Some even get so extreme in their defenses of their GOs beyond the “touch not my anointed” cliche into physical expressions such as fights, isolating themselves from people with dissentient religious views and all that…which has culminated into infantile disposition of adults to the management of our dear country, thus puerile biases have eroded our sanity in deeming rightly, politically.
Chronicling PDP’s sixteen year tenure plus the grimy hope of change propounded by APC have quenched the hope of ever realizing the finesse of Democracy we were promised would materialize since its inception in 1999. Rather than developing concrete ideologues and standard for civil governance, political parties in Nigeria are volatile and cheap. A multi-party democracy with over fifty registered parties only has at it fore APC, PDP, and a dwindling APGA. The avalanche of mushroom parties become sellable during electioneering, as the few ones with national purview, strongest economic clout absorb them for their selfish political gains. The implication of this is that grass root politics / governance are eroded as the people cannot determine their representatives, who most times are handed down for them from the top. The elected representatives are there just to build on the hegemonies of the political parties without any recourse to the people. This is the lone reason why political manifestoes lack manifestations at the grass roots.
Albeit, the electorates have become aware that politicians cannot be held by their word, thus the herald of a new era of vote commercialization. Money, bag of rice, shirts, Ankara, and other petty stuffs have formed the main manifestoes that electorates in Nigeria understand. This in turn has nudges office holders to scoop extra benefits they can be magnanimous with during their second race.
The man behind the wheel of affairs does not know the destination, but being given directives by faceless cabals, whose vested interests dominate promulgations and enforcements of laws.
THE UNDOABLES IN NIGERIA
Recalling an elected politician by the electorate is impossible in Nigeria. Cases of elected governors and representatives that proved abortive nails the fact that Nigeria’s Democracy is for the politicians. The mechanisms that could have served as means of checkmating unpopular government have all been frustrated without any hope of resurrecting them in the nearest future. The only franchise electorates have in Nigeria is to elect, and not to recall; the main reason politicians turn defiant and become disinterested in peoples well-being
Floating a party without having rotten outcasts from other parties who carry same aura of corruption is a culture in Nigeria. In fact, the word cross-carpeting is peculiar to Nigeria’s politics. The politics is permeated with schemers who are always foraging for virile virgin platforms that are popular with majority to continue their business. This is the raison d’etre for incursion of our holy of holies – churches and mosques by these seeming magnanimous wealthy politicians, who buy votes through donations, givings, and other enlightened self-interests gestures to curry the supports of unsuspecting Nigerians.
Nigeria could seem to be plunging further into the ditch of hopelessness as the promised change has turned sour, and dividends of democracy into mirage. The course to chat out of the quandary is that which should be led by incorrigible youths, who can be voted for without being hoodwinked into popular corrupt parties. The implication of this is to encourage the mass media to propagate critical thinking on Nigerian politics to instill sanity into the system. There is need to shift our mentality from expensive politics that embellish extravagant governance.
We can longer afford to hide under the disguise of religions and let mediocrity linger on in our society. The religions handed down to us have been hijacked by who worship their bellies. Their goal is to maximize profit and gratify themselves without recourse to the creed of the holy writs, which preach selflessness, sound mind, and love. No religion is mutually exclusive, religions are meant to ossify our sanity, relationship with our neighbors while ascribing doing such to doing it to God.
Political offices are official, electorates are the employers; it's high time we stopped getting drown in sugarcoated manifestoes, we need to examine the credentials of the applicants-politicians, outline their track records in relation to what they are vying for. Expired military men cannot be the best to be the flag bearers of our seeming popular parties. Selfless and hardworking technocrats can be wooed from our various industries to serve the larger system called Nigeria. It would be wise to have the bigger picture in view, than satisfying the immediate needs.
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| Bukola Fakeye, Prof. S. Olagoke |
Time after time, the aftermath of colonialism and slave trade which plunged the country Nigeria into abysmal wantonness and dearth of trustworthy leadership, who would prioritize the welfare of the people as against the fiefdom and perpetual dictatorial tendency of the few ruling elites/regents, the game – politics had begun.
Nigeria has evolved out of series of chilling militarization through fledgling representative governance, all of which still have impacts on her democracy today. Since civility had made military rule a misfit in this dispensation; a league of erstwhile military figures have shown further interests in the affairs of our dear country as many of them are exhibiting even better political craftsmanship compared to ‘bloody civilians’ whose sole selling points are either their seeming technocracy or sheer charisma.
In all these episodes of analysis, politics cannot still be said to be a brainchild of Democracy; No. it will be narrow and callous to even cast Politics into lone confine of governance. Politics is a subtle human culture that has spread its tentacles into various human endeavors. Governance is just a cardinal part of such human endeavors in that it is the constituted authority that human has relinquished his self-governance for peaceful coexistence with his neighbors. In Nigeria, religions, NGOs and other civil society organizations have remarkable relationships with and input in the country’s politics.
Politics, which could be blandly defined as civil political scheming towards gaining political powers has become a monumental practice in Nigeria in that the players seem to get the most coveted positions in their various walks of life. Merit selection of candidates for certain posts requiring expertise and technocracy is hardly come by in Nigeria. And establishment of worthless MDAs for sole purpose of enriching lives of politicians has been the bane of the country. Stage management for political considerations has permeated the whole systems in Nigeria that even civil society groups, and religious societies are infested in this regards.
General elections, 2011, that gave the mandate to Ebele Azikiwe Goodluck Jonathan, after his two year power wrestle that completed his late ‘boss’s tenure, was a remarkable religion-politics marriage in Nigeria. The marriage has, over the year, become more robust than anyone could imagine, but with dismal wane in sanity and propriety.
That year, 2011, somewhere in a camp of some religious fellows, the General Overseer uplifted the hand of a presidential aspirant and said some prayers that confirmed the movement’s support for that purported ‘Christian Candidate’ in the presence of close to a million congregants; disseminated to the viewership of borderless Nigerians and international Christians and non-Christians. The message was analogous to Samuel’s presenting Saul to be King of Israel (1Samuel:11). And it was well understood by Nigerians. The effect was high turnout of people to vote for the said candidate. Since that time onward, our political parties have started inculcating religious bias in candidate selection.
The reason of the bend is not far-fetched; Christianity and Islam are major platforms where prospective voters, electorates are found. Religious leaders have assumed the post of vote mongers as they are being sought after and pampered for this reason. Little wonder, in spite of the extreme religiosity of the country, it still reeks of corruption that has besotted even the holy of holies.
A comity of pastors, numbering in hundreds, decided to shoulder themselves with the tasks of praying and working for an incumbent governor to realize his second term ambition in south south region of Nigeria. They succeeded. The story became sour later when the money for job well done was to be shared, which was hi jacked by the team’s leadership.
Two major Pentecostal movements pitched tents against each other over Goodluck Jonathan and Muhannadu Buhari in 2015 general election that brought the later in after four unsuccessful attempts. The G.O. and the Bishop, whose anointing we were taught not to criticize became louder in their political stances that period, to the extent that gate of hell was declared open for some disobedient children of…?
Christ the Jesus, the humblest brother of the biblical record, that is the crux and identity of Christianity word over, was almost enthroned and made a terrestrial king/ruler because of his philosophies and personality, but he rejected the offer and ran away (John 6:15). As this is not a didactic excerpt to dissuade every Christian or other religions adherents from being political or accepting or vying for political offices, the level playing ground should be based on definite philosophies in tandem with the esoteric principles of the Faith. There is greater need to delineate political boundaries from religious and social courts. This is because the word ‘politics’ has assumed a universal derogatory meaning as can be gleaned from its perception by pundits and its players.
Machiavellian’s view that ‘politics have no relations to morals’ is apt for Nigerian parlance of politics. Nigerian politics is shrouded in mists of cabalism as pontificated by the retired generals in Agbada, subliminal theocracy led by our Daddy G.Os whose dogmas are held sacrosanct by a high number of Nigerians. This is where the sanity and propriety of civility suffer stunted growth. Our religious mindset is that which frowns at constructive criticisms of evolving questionable doctrines that only build on the hegemonies of various Pentecostal movements in their crowd sourcing stratagems. Political schemers have found our various worship centers virile grounds to propagate their political inclinations by partnering with the GOs whose political leanings cannot, yet, be queried by their sheepish followers. Some even get so extreme in their defenses of their GOs beyond the “touch not my anointed” cliche into physical expressions such as fights, isolating themselves from people with dissentient religious views and all that…which has culminated into infantile disposition of adults to the management of our dear country, thus puerile biases have eroded our sanity in deeming rightly, politically.
Chronicling PDP’s sixteen year tenure plus the grimy hope of change propounded by APC have quenched the hope of ever realizing the finesse of Democracy we were promised would materialize since its inception in 1999. Rather than developing concrete ideologues and standard for civil governance, political parties in Nigeria are volatile and cheap. A multi-party democracy with over fifty registered parties only has at it fore APC, PDP, and a dwindling APGA. The avalanche of mushroom parties become sellable during electioneering, as the few ones with national purview, strongest economic clout absorb them for their selfish political gains. The implication of this is that grass root politics / governance are eroded as the people cannot determine their representatives, who most times are handed down for them from the top. The elected representatives are there just to build on the hegemonies of the political parties without any recourse to the people. This is the lone reason why political manifestoes lack manifestations at the grass roots.
Albeit, the electorates have become aware that politicians cannot be held by their word, thus the herald of a new era of vote commercialization. Money, bag of rice, shirts, Ankara, and other petty stuffs have formed the main manifestoes that electorates in Nigeria understand. This in turn has nudges office holders to scoop extra benefits they can be magnanimous with during their second race.
The man behind the wheel of affairs does not know the destination, but being given directives by faceless cabals, whose vested interests dominate promulgations and enforcements of laws.
THE UNDOABLES IN NIGERIA
Recalling an elected politician by the electorate is impossible in Nigeria. Cases of elected governors and representatives that proved abortive nails the fact that Nigeria’s Democracy is for the politicians. The mechanisms that could have served as means of checkmating unpopular government have all been frustrated without any hope of resurrecting them in the nearest future. The only franchise electorates have in Nigeria is to elect, and not to recall; the main reason politicians turn defiant and become disinterested in peoples well-being
Floating a party without having rotten outcasts from other parties who carry same aura of corruption is a culture in Nigeria. In fact, the word cross-carpeting is peculiar to Nigeria’s politics. The politics is permeated with schemers who are always foraging for virile virgin platforms that are popular with majority to continue their business. This is the raison d’etre for incursion of our holy of holies – churches and mosques by these seeming magnanimous wealthy politicians, who buy votes through donations, givings, and other enlightened self-interests gestures to curry the supports of unsuspecting Nigerians.
Nigeria could seem to be plunging further into the ditch of hopelessness as the promised change has turned sour, and dividends of democracy into mirage. The course to chat out of the quandary is that which should be led by incorrigible youths, who can be voted for without being hoodwinked into popular corrupt parties. The implication of this is to encourage the mass media to propagate critical thinking on Nigerian politics to instill sanity into the system. There is need to shift our mentality from expensive politics that embellish extravagant governance.
We can longer afford to hide under the disguise of religions and let mediocrity linger on in our society. The religions handed down to us have been hijacked by who worship their bellies. Their goal is to maximize profit and gratify themselves without recourse to the creed of the holy writs, which preach selflessness, sound mind, and love. No religion is mutually exclusive, religions are meant to ossify our sanity, relationship with our neighbors while ascribing doing such to doing it to God.
Political offices are official, electorates are the employers; it's high time we stopped getting drown in sugarcoated manifestoes, we need to examine the credentials of the applicants-politicians, outline their track records in relation to what they are vying for. Expired military men cannot be the best to be the flag bearers of our seeming popular parties. Selfless and hardworking technocrats can be wooed from our various industries to serve the larger system called Nigeria. It would be wise to have the bigger picture in view, than satisfying the immediate needs.
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