Nigeria is an interesting country
and its people are even more confounding. Our love for and belief in miracles
is unparalleled. The word, ‘paradox’
finds expression here too. Here you find students who do everything but study;
yet they look forward to fantastic results at the end of examinations. They may
even run after some prayer contractors who promise them miraculous success in
such examinations, rather than sit down to study. Process isn’t one of our
strong points. So no matter what someone is doing or is not doing, it is still
okay if he/she comes out reeking of sudden, huge wealth. ‘He/she has arrived’,
many would say or ‘he/she is blessed’. I have heard of a so-called ‘miracle
money’ wherein some religious adherents are promised sudden monetary windfall
or payment into their bank account for doing absolutely nothing. It is a new
wave of religiosity that beats the imagination of many right-thinking people.
It is not only in the realm of
religion that we see this contradiction. It is all over the place. One area is
in politics. Although politics here is full of sharp practices, fraudulent
behaviours, lies and violence, it beats me when citizens expect to see good
governance emanating from the cesspit that our politics is. This has led many
of us to conclude that the country is not honestly ready for real democracy,
the type that brings about the famed ‘dividends of democracy’. And the reasons
are many. Here are a few ways we do the wrong thing and expect a good result by
way of miracles.
Where in the world do we hear of
citizens paying a fee to their political party to qualify to seek nomination as
standard bearer? And even if that exists, are the sums paid so embarrassingly
high as here? Pray, how much is the official and legitimate earnings of the
president of Nigeria that the two major political parties would demand N27m and
N22m respectively for aspirants seeking to be the parties’ presidential
candidates? And the citizens, ever passionate believers in miracles expect the
aspirants in this process to come into office and devote their lives to giving
everyone a brighter future. That must be some great expectation to think that
the aspirants will not first recoup and seek profit for their investments.
We breed a class of politicians
who do not believe in democracy. This is because while democracy is hinged on
the freedom of choice by citizens on who should lead or represent them, today’s
politicians abhor the promotion of such freedom to choose. Instead, they try to
foist ‘consensus’ candidates on the populace. Someone said recently that
whenever a Nigerian (man) says ‘that is our culture’, then watch it, a woman’s
right is about to be breached. Similarly, when politicians talk about ‘consensus’
candidacy, watch it, for someone’s right and privilege to aspire for a
political position may be at the risk of a breach.
And for all the teeming
contractors and professional praise singers who supposedly brought their
hard-earned incomes to purchase forms for politicians even more privileged than
them, did they really believe many citizens were fooled by such lies? And
assuming the facts were as they claimed, what is in it for them by way of
payback? A free and fair contract awarding system is certainly not a natural
outcome of such but a miraculous expectation.
What about social, cultural and
religious affiliates of persons in government who put much pressure and make so
many demands from these persons to bring in illicit funds and patronage to the
group? Yet they expect good governance and prudence in state finances. That
again is political miracle or great expectation. And the delegates at party
primaries who for a few bundles of money (sometimes laundered) and some other
material items like cars, plasma television would readily give their votes to
the highest bidder, they should kiss goodbye to any miracle of good governance
four years hence.
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