No one conversant with Nigeria's democracy and the cloud in it will gain say the fact that democracy is indeed a fiasco to Nigeria, with scrutiny to the lack of common social amenities failed to be structured in place for the well being of the electorates in both urban and rural settlements. Democracy as defined by thesaurus.com is a government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system or a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges. But completely mismatched in Nigeria, it's a system where supreme power is vested only to some few selected individuals in the government imposed to the people against their wishes, and continuously being neglected by those in power.
You'll accede with me that since 1999, when democracy was given a chance into leading this country. Nothing good in fact have been recorded in terms of dividends and a free and fair election was never trailblazed. Those in leadership were forcefully selected (not elected) against the peoples choices by their predecessors and imposed them to govern the masses, a system which may be allocated to Godfather ism. Those involve in decision making and the day to day affairs of the nation where equally selected in-line with the Godfather's choice as a sign of loyalty or compensation as i called it and never on merits. The cabinet members also supersede the process in appointing their aids and technical teams, so the tally keeps on riding down to the grass root. This factor emanate to all the leadership quandary Nigeria is facing today.
I strongly vouched to the statement made by Bishop Hassan Kukah that all Nigeria's Presidents came by accident, non among them has any definite plan of aspiring for the presidency five years before time. You will be convince to think, how a person who never set a target could have plan for it? In other words, you wouldn't mind to think of resolution to any worriment facing a habitat well knowing you don't aspire to be heading any delegation in solving that pickle. This i think is a major contributing factor affecting the nation's leadership. Another mess is the multiplying attitude of politicians to get rich, seeing public service as an avenue to invest and harvest profitably not the institution of serving people. Politicians enrich their selves as soon as they were giving any mandate to serve the nation using the nation's wealth and a practice that's becoming a culture in any angle of the economy. Others view government treasury as their father's business.
Nigeria under democratic rule continuously to be declining in all aspect of social endevour.
One can't divulge any encompassment Nigeria has attained under democracy apart from sufferings added to the common man's life. In all sections of the economy, corruption has taken over the sanity and our cultural behaviors replacing our cardinal objectives. You must concur with the palpability that no Nigerian can brag about his country, is't the corruption running Nigeria dry or the leaders embezzling our public funds? Is't the under performing educational system or the hospitals that lacks
common syringes? not to talk of X-ray machines. Is't the dilapidated roads or the extinct Nigerian Airways? Is't the insecurity claiming the populace lives day after day or the fear of kidnappers on a daily basis? I don't know of any single progress that will deserve credit to Nigeria's leadership. Nigerians have since adrift confidence and bouyancy in their country, there rosiness crippled, there dreams shattered and there lives devastated.
Our so-called politicians in their quest for leadership, can do anything to hold onto power at the expense of what ever it may be. They came up with a strategy i called divide and conquer by gaining and maintaining power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into chunks that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy. The concept refers to a strategy that breaks up existing power structures and prevents smaller power groups from linking up. They schlepped religion as a determining factor in choosing political representatives, this doesn't only maraud our polity but bisect the unity of the nation as in the case of today, the amalgamated nation has since segregated. Our so-called religious leaders are well behind many atrocities in this act, they got hired and paid to preach lies to the their followers and turn them around in exercising their constitutional obligations. The worst moment was the 2011 general election, where many worshipers were forced to vote for a chosen candidates by their religious leaders, preaching all sort of rascalities in Mosques and churches all across the nation. An act we must never repeat in 2015 election. We should look in a candidate, his credibility and records of performance not ethnicity neither religion, i don't care if you worship mosquitoes as far as you can deliver good governance, i will go for you.
I felt melancholy anytime i saw people receiving money from politicians before voting mostly in the rural areas as compensation for their votes, they must first be paid before voting quite knowing they will never have a chance of interaction or even a glance from the politician once elected, this practice politicians called investment. You will encounter a politician aspiring for a political office spreading huge sum of cash on air for the masses to pick and called him the messiah. Once their goals are consummated, they dipped there entire selves directly into public funds to retrieve back the money they invested before been elected, a praxis mostly attributed to poverty, illiteracy and lack of proper orientation from both parties which is very tough-and-go and must be put to a letup. A mistake we must avoid in 2015. Leaders should be voted based on credibility and records not for dashing out money stole from the government. I think relevant security agencies should bar and apprehend all involved in such process of abusing money to buy vote, simply using money to pay for public office, this is a serious criminal offence and should be put to a halt.
The routine of recruiting youths by politicians to partake in promoting violent activities during political campaigns while their families were there flexing on the streets in Paris or United State is another vexatious habitude, where youths are giving arms to confront the opposition or as a form of frightening them (the opposition) to weakened their capabilities is totally a taboo. Those in government having control over the executive arm used the nation's constituted authorities in same pattern as the thugs are used in an absolutely barbaric trick. Bloodshed has became part of Nigeria's democracy, high killers are hired to assassinate the opposition while the common masses are vulnerable to attacks from thugs once you don't have choice in voting their sponsors. I stupor how these class of politicians can yield anything good in governance? Nigerians must take in choosing leaders, behavioral characteristics and our youths should abstain from participating in such irritating fashion.
Parents should set focus on their wards and report to appropriate securities once their children are subjected to any political barbarism by politicians, they should follow up the matter until justice is deliver in their response. A child is a precious gift from God not a tool for attacking opposition, the act where politicians subjected our children to all forms of violence is a violation of the right of the child and should be restricted. Those perceptions communicated to our youths by the present day leadership saying old people should pave way for younger generation to govern our country is just a tactics of flimflam. what have they showcased that can overshadow the achievements of our yesterday's men? According to the saying of an older statesman Yusuf Maitama Sule and i quote: " new breed without the old breed will breed greed, we need the experience and physical exuberance of the old to make things go." a warning to the fools of today.
Politicians on their own interest, should circumvent all act of violence and deceiving our rural populace in soliciting for votes. It's not a do or die affair, they shouldn't do things beyond their duties in holding on to power. They should knuckle the rules of engagement, they should be adequately screened base on characters and integrity. People willing to contribute to the development of Nigeria, who have demonstrated it before or are willing to demonstrate should be giving the mandate to deliver not ex-convicts with an open eyes gawking for immunity to cover up their criminal activities. In some instances, i extol psychological analysis be perform to some candidates before upholding their candidature giving them all clear to contest, vouching to the fact that many of our politicians are ex-military men because as a result of combat exposure, war fighters may return home with certain psychological health challenges. Someone must summit to me, never a sound and a mentally fit human can shoplift his nation's funds as most of Nigeria's leaders does, something mentally must be wrong to anyone public servant to keep N2b in his wardrobe. So, psychological examination is required in screening contestants.
Political rivalry is another practice preciding to fissure our nation apart, politicians should attribute their failures on theirselves not those contesting with them. It takes a lifetime to rip the good work and gestures performed to any locality, you can't sow and rip the same day. The custom of rivalry in politics force leaders to unfocused on their primary responsibilities anpotend to focuses on their rivals as the case now in Nigeria, this manner yield nothing beneficial to the electorates. Just imagine the current situation between Nigeria's President and some Governors which has totally began to crippled the economic growth of those states their Governors are not in the same fashion with Mr. President. It's completely uncivilized and unwise for any President to rage political war on his Governors. Remember what the vocalist said: "when two elephants are fighting, only the grasses suffers." this shouldn't be heard as just a proverb, it has a silent message saying: when two leaders are fighting, only the masses suffers. Oppositions should be considered as elements gingering you up to provide good leadership not as enemies, and they shouldn't be attacked.
Nigerians must not welcome any trick of manipulation in 2015 general elections, any move toward sabotaging the foundation lay by our founding fathers should be castigated. Nigerians must well be prepared for upcoming challenges, we all must sacrifice our lives, our comfort to get Nigeria out of this whole mess, our votes should be counted base on free and fair electoral system or else, hmmm!!!. We must defend our votes, guard our votes and escort the ballot box to where ever it final destination may be. We must stand firm to save our country from destruction, our fundamental rights must be respected. Nigerians must be ready to demand accountability and the triumph of the rule of law over impunity. We must say No to election rigging, No to political violence, No to political thuggery, No to political assassination, No to selling our votes, No to promulgation, No to religion or ethnic sentiments. We must not repeat this mistake in 2015 but if we do, cry not for Nigeria, for she will never get a befitting burial.
1 comment:
Yeah,lets not sale our dreams...
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