The Emrys Ijaola Commentaries

My 4-month blogging silence was deliberate. I was involved in mobilizing voters to participate in the recently concluded rounds of general elections in Nigeria. Followers on Twitter and friends on Facebook are aware of this. However, I refused to become partisan on this medium, as this would defeat its original purpose of encouraging and propagating thought-provoking discussions, good citizenship, and progressive participation in governance by all. This commentary post is all-inclusive, not partisan or divisive.

I stood back from the successful mobilisation drive of concerned Nigerians, and wondered how we ended up in this mess we call Democracy. Before you chorus: "Colonial masters gave it to us", my summation is that the former colonial lords do not practise it as we do. Democracy is premised on the decision of majority to appoint representatives, who, in turn, must be responsible to them. If excellent performance and accountability are what we want at all levels of government, then our system is deficient in delivering. The reasons for this deficiency are simple to deduce:

1. The party systems in Nigeria have ensured that those with the money, connections, or thuggery can muzzle their way through Primary elections to become Party candidates. At this point, the only choice open to the electorate is either vote for them or ignore them. Where you know such candidate does not mean well, it becomes a sin to the nation that you simply ignore, rather than vote against him. But, what happens where the selection systems of each Party leaves the electorate with a bunch of under-achievers and rogues? One of them is voted into “power”.

2. This leads to the next problem: The elected officers see themselves as “voted into power”. In that phrase lies our national woes that differentiate our practice of Democracy from the Europeans’ or Americans’. We need to begin to understand that elective positions are not created to foster nobility, or a privileged cult. There is no “power” except that given by the people’s consent. Therefore, it is not “power” to criminalise public offices, but power to act according to the will of the people, and deliver on all standards of governance. It is not “power” to trample on the masses’ rights and privileges, but power to uphold those rights, and improve upon the privileges.

3. An understanding of the notion of “servant leader” is utterly lacking. In reality, elective positions provide one with countless benefits. This is ALWAYS the focus of politicians, to the doom of the nation. There is no institution that teaches the leadership minds that benefits are provided to guarantee them relative comfort, while they work on nation-building. Their focus SHOULD be on nation-building, rather than the benefits.

4. Most of the political class belongs to the “anything goes” school of thought (or more appropriately – school of thoughtlessness!) that believes that the shapes of pegs and holes are only geometric theories. Anyone can be a leader! Anyone can administer in the political terrain! The rougher you are, the better your chances of getting into “power”! This thought pattern ensures that those who lack the requisite abilities to govern do not invest in learning to be better, while those who have these abilities are cowed and relegated into submissive shadowy nothingness. The result is that our society breeds and promotes generations of rulers and followers, who lack the rigour of thought, or ability to think through challenges, with best end-to-end solutions.

5. We are held bound by the greed and ego fraught mindset of pre-colonial governance, where the King is deemed to be next to the gods, and his rule is absolute. Thus, a king installed was expected to rule over the land until he died. If he was good, he was hailed. If he was bad, the citizenry would endure his rule unto his death, and hoped the next king would be better. Right to Kingship resided in the royal family, therefore, no common man (even if he was a better administrator than all the heirs to the throne) had any chance to be made king. Usually, it was a case of the best men being ruled by the worst. Since there was no clear institution for breeding men with minds of kings, good rulership was a matter of chance. A good ruler may be succeeded by his son, who would be a bad ruler. Unfortunately, the notion of “power” was inherited from this system; and we expect our own brand of Democracy to work!?!

6. Unlike the advanced econo-polities, we are still predominantly and unrepentantly proponents of the “rule of might” philosophy. When we understand that the “rule of right” is the ideal, and this is upheld, regardless of who is involved, we will begin to improve our lot. An offense is still an offense, regardless of whether the pepper-seller in the market committed it, or the First Lady did. In advanced democracies, the Policeman is commended for apprehending an erring public office holder, not flogged, humiliated and dismissed. The public office holder is also made to face the full brunt of the law, rather than hidden behind an immunity clause. The tenet is plain: Others may indulge in (or perhaps, get away with) offensive conduct, but a public office holder is expected to know better, act wiser and conduct himself in a manner befitting of his office. Especially as he is a role model to the society.

These are some of our political problems. The white man does not even understand it, and cannot help us. We must help ourselves by re-training our minds to foster better governance. The battle-ground is our minds. We have not been cursed to fail; we fail because we do not do what will engender success. We tell ourselves: “All these talks na theory!”, while the advanced Democracies apply themselves to implementing and internalizing the “theories”. There you are! That is the difference between their Democracy and our (aberration that I beg to call) Nigeriocracy!