Introduction
Karl Maier, a renowned journalist, published a book on Nigeria in the year 2000 in which he critically reviewed the many failures and contradictions that make peace and prosperity a tall dream for our country. He gave the book the curious title: "This House Has Fallen" (Penguin Books, 2000). I read through the book with a sense of shame and embarrassment, for in the event of this house really falling apart, I do not carry another country's passport. I have no other place to call home, yet I cannot fail to agree with him that as presently configured and with the conduct of our leaders, this political entity is only a pack of cards.
It was Charles de Gaulle who said that politics is too serious a business to be left for politicians alone. The project of the structuring of society, the distribution of resources, the maintenance of law and order, the protection of lives and property, the provision of social, economic, agricultural, industrial and health infrastructures, and the protection of the citizens of a country from external attack, which make up what we call governance, cannot, and must not, be left entirely in the hands of those we call professional politicians in Nigeria. Many of these professional politicians have often demonstrated over the years that they are not genuine democrats or true patriots, but neo-feudalists, contract chasers, callous mercenaries and prostitutes of power, who are out only to steal, to cheat and to destroy. We cannot leave our fate and fortune in the hands of such people. That is why all hands must be on deck and all serious-minded groups and individuals of talent and vision must be passionately engaged in the project of national reconstruction which in my view demands first of all an ethical revolution or a process of moral regeneration.
Nigeria's Flirtation with Absurdity
Nigeria has had a long romance with values and practices that are antithetical to democracy. Though there is no perfect model of democracy to be found anywhere in the world, our own variant of democracy bears the marks of deliberate manipulations and imperfections. Democracy is on trial in Nigeria, not just on account of our leaders who constantly seek to domesticate the globally recognised principles of this modern system of governance for private political and economic advantage, but also on account of the generality of the people who are largely ignorant, apathetic and despondent, and who do not seem to be in a hurry to escape from the hangover of military rule. In the collision and confusion of our individual and group perceptions of governance, the true meaning of democracy is lost, and that is why peace and progress remain in flight from our country.
The game of politics in today's Nigeria can be rightly described as a free-for-all. After the nightmare of military rule Nigerian politicians are once again showing political delinquency. They are once again approaching politics with an incredible measure of indiscipline and reckless abandon as of yore. They have forgotten so soon the political bondage we were all in and the imperative for us to reject the resurrection of politics with bitterness. We must not run away from the truth: acrimonious politics has been the bane of Nigerian politics from way back in our history. This ugly situation is played out everywhere right across the country as people jostle for political space. But political acrimony may be assuming unprecedented dimensions and intensity now more than ever before, and sadly, this political canvas is leaving in its wake more blood and tears for a people that have been stretched to breaking point by illiteracy, poverty and widespread unemployment.
It is said that the chain of society is as good as its weakest link. But the way we have been operating and interpreting our new-found democracy in Nigeria leaves much to be desired. We have been pursing the business of governance with a killer's torch, using all manner of unsavoury maneuvres to gore at political adversaries. And as the year 2003 elections draw near, our politicians appear set inexorably on a deadly trail. Just take a look at the conduct of the National Assembly among themselves, and their relationship with the Presidency. See the endless war in Enugu and Anambra States. How do you place the acrimony and rancour that we witness within each political party and between the parties?
True, Nigerians are back in the business of the politics of confusion and one would query the underlying motives of many a Nigerian politician. For some the game is politics of convenience. For some more it is politics of the belly. For many more, it is politics for survival, and a do or die affair. That is to say people are in it for want of anything else meaningful to do for sustenance, and they would kill and main to retain their meal ticket. In this deadly enterprise, survival strategies often attract the rules of unfair competition. We must recognise in the atmosphere of political confusion currently holding sway in the land, the seeds of discord in our polity and remove them with dispatch. If we fail to do so, we run the risk of harvesting political conflicts by the bushel, come year 2003.
Perhaps inadvertently by choice, our political development is still at the elementary level. Our politics of convenience can be forgiven if only we do not mix it with so much bitterness and rancour. Our politics of the belly can be forgiven if only we do not recruit armies of youths and turn them into political pallbearers. Quite often our youths are instigated and drafted into political battle, fighting, killing and dying for their mentors. It is not far fetched that from their ranks emerge political assassins, ready to do the bidding of the master. Not caring what political weapons and strategies to choose and deploy, some politicians emerge bloodied from the war, some suffer self-immolation and end up committing political hara-kiri. The acrimony thus generated from political violence runs deep, as political professionals will attest. Sadly, elements of this scenario can be found in the North and the South and in the East and West.
Nigerian politicians appear ill-equipped and unprepared to outgrow political immaturity. Why are we not disposed to respect constitutional processes for democratic political change? Why are our politicians so intent on fighting to the death and foisting their selfish political agenda on the people? If not propelled by greed and greed alone, why are our politicians so bitterly locked in inter-party and intra-party disagreement and bitterness? Why are they so deeply immersed in the politics of personalities and not issues, if not to assuage their greed and count the political returns? It must be remembered that genuine hunger can be managed in many ways, but there is no way of managing greed, for while the world can sustain the needs of millions of its people, it cannot slake the thirst of one greedy person in power.
The Meaning of Democracy
Democracy is, and means much more than the holding of elections. The classical definition of democracy is that of Abraham Lincoln in his Gettisburg address of 1863. He said inter alia that democracy is the "government of the people by the people and for the people." Democracy is not an open license to executive lawlessness or legislative recklessness. Democracy is not a free ticket for deadly political brinkmanship. Democracy is not a game of conquest. It is not the crushing of opposing views or the scalping of opponents. It is not the ascendancy of greed and the unrestrained gathering of the spoils of war by a few smart thugs. Instead, democracy is a game of compromise. It is the meeting point of disparate opinions. It is about respect for the rights and opinions of others. Democracy is about free association and the making of free choices in an environment devoid of fear and intimidation. It is about the establishment of societal order, the protection of civil rights and the acceptance of civic responsibility. It is about the promotion of the common good or the welfare of everyone in the society.
Democracy is the rule of law. It is about the equality of all persons under the law. It is about keeping faith with a people's constitution, giving voice to the minority and providing for the weakest members of the society. Democracy is about the sanctity of the institutions that superintend the social contract between the leaders and the rest of society. It is about submission to the independent judicial arbitration of the courts. It is about the upholding of high ethical standards for aspirants to public office. The democratic culture is characterised by checks and balances. It involves the process of feedback and recall, which together guarantee accountability. It is averse to dictatorship, autocracy and authoritarianism. Democracy negates self-perpetuation in power against the self-expression of the people It is averse to the transformation of leaders into philosopher kings. A situation whereby elected representatives habitually foist their "wisdom" on the people is antithetical to democracy. Leaders in a democratic setting understand that the power of the opinion of the people is a price they must bear for democratic leadership. Why, for example would our present leaders reject the strident call for some form of national forum or conference to deal with grave and fundamental issues of our corporate existence? When will our leaders concede that there are times when national dialogue or referendum becomes imperative?
Observers of our politics are discomfited by the quality of our political discourse and the sources and causes of our political cleavages. Modern democratic political practice is about informed debate, differences of opinion and approach and the forging of compromise on issues of governance. But here, we are consumed by mutual hatred induced by the perceived loss of political opportunities and the inordinate impatience to await our turn next time around. There is demonstrable lack of ideological content in our political disagreements. We are hardly ever engaged in the conflict of ideas on substantive issues of development. For if the welfare of the people were the cause of the conflicts on the ground, it would be understood. If differences in opinion regarding the provision of qualitative education, employment generation, social and health infrastructure were the cause of the conflicts, it would have been understood. Yes, indeed if these kind of issues were the principal raison d'etre for our political cleavages, carpet-crossings and conflicts, our politics would not have been laced with so much rancour. But we all know that the ulterior motive behind much of our political acrimony is how to align behind power bases and how to access resources in the service of self. But the generality of Nigerians must begin to discriminate between the desire for genuine political service on the one hand and insatiable greed, political ambition and opportunism on the other.
The Challenge before Political Aspirants and Citizens
There are numerous challenges ahead for all who desire leadership positions in the coming dispensation: Our national economy is in pretty bad shape. Economic development goes begging in a land harbouring natural and human resources of tremendous value. The few non-oil sector industries we have are operating by far below installed capacity. The internal security of this country is in a precarious state. Our urban streets are teeming with hundreds of thousands of youths and children hawking, extorting, begging or simply loitering all day. Many unemployed youths have taken to armed robbery, hooliganism and banditry. Others have become totally disoriented, and in need of rehabilitation. Our elderly who toiled so hard to bring up the younger generation of Nigerians lack social security in their old age and are pleading for attention. On the whole, the masses who eke out a living in a land as naturally blessed as ours and who are the pawns in the hands of politicians, need attending to.
As another round of elections approaches, this is the time for Nigerians to ask the questions: Who are the aspirants to political office this time around? What are their antecedents? What kind of people were they in private life or public office? How have they performed in the various positions of responsibility they have held in the past? What measure of patriotism and sense of service have they demonstrated in their previous outings? What is their understanding of the common good? How do they hope to meet the challenge of national reconciliation and economic rejuvenation?
After suffering for so long at the hands of callous scarvengers who camouflaged as politicians in our land, Nigerians should start recognising the immense power in their votes and resolutely reject those neo-feudalists in our midst who have no qualms of conscience living in affluence and conspicuous consumption, while the rest of the people whom they claim to represent wallow in acrimonious poverty. After years of national desolation at the hands of mercenaries who claimed to be leaders, Nigerians should start learning to reject with their voting power those nonentities who in the past preyed on the gullibility of the ignorant poor and the apathy and despondency of the educated few. True, the mass of Nigerians must make the connection between their destitution today and the debauchery of their successive rulers, and show some measure of discernment regarding those who offer themselves for political office. We must all together brace up for action, and not only guard our freedom jealously, but also watch those who offer to serve in government carefully, constantly dragging their feet as close as possible to the fire of democracy.
True, the few level-headed men and women left in this country to summon the courage to be torch bearers of a new Nigeria, when we finally put to rest the lost generation of neo-feudalists, ethnic war-lords, chronic klemptomaniacs and callous plunderers. Let them rise up with determination and tell our professional politicians and trouble-makers that the greatest threat to human fulfilment and societal prosperity is not some external enemy, but (as St. Augustine puts it) "the want of order in the soul."
Conclusion
The torch bearers of a new Nigeria, as champions of truth must tell the men and women of our country that truth and justice are the pathways to peace, security and social wellbeing, and so every time truth is violated, the seed of violence and disorder is sown. Let all those who are disenchanted with the present circumstances and who are praying for the emergence of a new Nigeria constantly drum it to the ears of our country men and women that lies, falsehood and half-truths have never and will never nurture a people. Let the faithful remnant of Nigeria who are repulsed by the current triumph of mediocrity speak the truth loudly and forcefully that whenever lawlessness becomes the norm and illegality becomes the rule in any society, the superstructure soon comes crashing down. Yes, let the torch bearers of a new Nigeria, who hold the hope of a new dawn, rise up with determination, and demonstrate, not only with their lips, but also with the conduct of their public and private lives, that corruption is a cancer that eats its own host to death, but that righteousness exalts a nation.
August 2002