Somehow Nigerian politicians never fail to disappoint us. They derive their power from our votes, but when they get into office they become a totally different kettle of fish. Can we really blame them? We the people that vote of them in do so mostly on the back of baseless sentiments and material gratification.
Over the weekend a video of a state governor went viral over the way he addressed some so called university students and their union leaders. The school has been closed for about eight months over what appears to be unpaid salaries. From the video, it would appear that the governor took offence at the manner he was being spoken to by the students. It seems he was bent on dealing with the students based on their “disrespect”.
One of the basic principles of leadership is to understand that positions are temporary and that we are all human beings. Barack Obama understood this, and this is what will make him one of the greatest president’s in world history and not just America alone.
In Nigeria, political leadership is seen as an avenue to make money and wield power in an exclusive manner. Depending on what part of the country you come from, you will hear crazy stories about how our politicians misuse the power, money and influence that they derive from the people.
There are two key problems here; first, there is too much money attached to holding political office in Nigeria. Secondly, there are no mechanisms in place to make sure that these people can relate to the sufferings of ordinary Nigerians. This is why it feels like when someone wins an election, they have just won the jackpot and they can start planning for a life of relative affluence.
If the governors daughter were in that school, I am sure her father would be worried about an eight month delay in her education. Besides problems with planning for the future, there is also the risk of negative activities as a result of idleness.
With all due respect, I think it is embarrassing that this matter has escalated to this level. Instead of screaming respect for constituted authority, the governor should be handing in his resignation for such a failure.
As I said earlier, these political leaders are not totally to blame; the fault is also ours. We have allowed political office holders to become some sort of pseudo-deities that must be worshipped and obeyed without challenge. We have allowed for laws that give them room to distance themselves from the rest of us and not share our concerns.
A lot of this is because of useless material gratification that a lot of us have gained from them. We have lost the moral and legal right to challenge their wrong doing and ineptitude. To the average Nigerian, the problems of the masses do not matter as long as “my side is settled”. When you allow miscreants to run riot in your neighbourhood because you are not affected, one day they will come to your house.
I recall when I was in my early days in the University. The Students Union body was a force to be reckoned with. Despite all the incessant fights and demonstrations, union leaders were taken a lot more seriously than they are now. What changed? Union leaders started collecting money from the people who they were supposed to be engaging with. Trading the fortunes of the masses for temporary luxury and lifestlyes inconsistent with the level of effort they have put in.
This is a truly Nigerian problem. Our society barely rewards or recognizes hardwork. We recognize money and power and irrespective of how these things are obtained, we line up to kiss their collective backsides. We trade our collective rights for temporary satisfaction.
The way out of this problem is not easy. It requires fundamental changes to our laws that the mafia-like political system will wage war against. It is not impossible that we one day get to a point where we have politicians with altruistic motives. Who will not be gobbled up by the status quo.
Maybe one day we will have children of political office holders forced to attend school and receive medical care in the areas they oversee. Wishful thinking I know, but hope is the only thing that keeps most of us going.
Happy New Year Folks!
The force be with you
