ON A GRAND NATIONAL POLITICAL REVOLUTION Ifeanyi J.B Igwe Friends, - TopicsExpress

ON A GRAND NATIONAL POLITICAL REVOLUTION Ifeanyi J.B Igwe Friends, without running the risk of sounding pessimistic, it strikes me with crystal clarity that what Nigeria needs at this moment of great intensities is radical revolution more than the age-long option of dialogue which has proven barren. Yes! Under the circumstances of the moment, it is only sheer culpable ignorance or downright intellectual dishonesty that would incline one to propose either the so-called sustained dialogue or even mere prayer as handy remedies to the NIGERIAN PREDICAMENT. The recent successful political insurgences in most African countries has taught us that talks about the so-called civil and non-violent agitations, as preferred options in addressing the mindless sabotage of common good by political leaders, can in some situations be idle. From the intensive campaign of civil resistance in Tunisia and Libya to the on-raging dramatic wave of social and political insurrections in Egypt, the need for the oppressed and marginalized to assert their full humanity with vehement drive has always been vindicated. In these countries, vicious leaders who could not listen to the voice of reason were compelled to surrender to the potency of resolute civil opposition. In Tunisia, for example, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali gave way to democracy after 23years of despotic rule only when the people undauntedly stood up to reclaimed their right in the social contract. In Libya, Muammar Gaddafi only ‘realized’ he was no god after 42years, over his dead body. In Egypt too, Hosni Mubarak learnt his lessons the hard way. Igbo wisdom says: Agbaghi Uzo Owere Mgba Onaghi echi (Evil will keep thriving except when staunchly confronted). Again, Ekweghi ekwe na-ekwe n’uta ekwere (The stubborn will always submit to a colossal confrontation). This, in our context, means that people, nay, leaders are not to be left to develop respect for the common good at their own pace. If Ali, Gaddafi and Mubarak chose to be slow in acting according to the promptings of social conscience, it, ipso facto, became necessary that their countrymen set their democracies on a faster route of progress by resorting to stern measures. In Nigeria, problems of corruption, poor living condition, unemployment, food inflation, to stop short are all no thanks to bad leadership. No matter how hard one tries to factor in the question of bad followership as a key variable, bad leadership is always a nodal factor to reckon with. Prof. Oguejiofor was shrewd to have observed that in every polity, leaders stand out as role models. When leaders reel in disillusionment, it often comes as no surprise when their followers follow suit. From the exemplary leadership of Julius Nyerere to the self-sacrificial heroism of Nelson Mandela, the power of good leadership to furnish desired tonality to a whole polity has always been confirmed. In the face of the endemic and asphyxiating leadership malaise besetting Nigeria, I propose revolution. But what kind of revolution? This question is very important, since there seems to be a fashion of revolution already raging in Nigeria: a type I choose to delineate as social revolution. Social revolution is a situation in which the masses, on account of dismal living conditions, are driven by the crude impulse to survive to become meanly determined to prey on themselves. The symptoms of this kind of revolution come in various shades, and so there are kidnappers, armed-robbers, fraudsters, to stop short. Summarily, within the context of the on-raging social revolution in Nigeria, individuals instinctively feel the need to survive, but, unfortunately, it is their fellow victims of the Nigerian predicament that must be made to pay the price for the difficulties they encounter trying to survive. This is not correct! To be sure, social revolution is not the type of revolution we need in Nigeria. If we must win our fight against our real enemies, we must first build a bond of solidarity as the oppressed. Our real enemies are our leaders! What kind of revolution do we then need? It is a political revolution, the target of which is to get the leaders stick to the terms of the social contract that installed them or give way to the flourishing of common good and democracy. Political revolution is a situation in which the masses, in the face of disoriented leadership, are driven by the need for restored social order to establish a formidable bloc among themselves in order to either effectively caution their leaders or totally divest them of the mantle of leadership in the event of non-compliance. Such is the genre of revolution we in Nigeria. But how do we realize this? This is also a very important question that seems more difficult to answer. This is because the multiplication of ethnic groups in Nigeria apparently corresponds to a multiplication of conflicting interests. As a result, the idea of building a common revolutionary front among the masses may, at best, be quixotic. Be that as it may, we hold and confidently propagate the conviction that Nigerian citizens can make their various states and local governments good pilot departure points for the Grand National Political Revolution (GNPR) we propose and hope for. Importantly and to be sure, political revolution, if it must be justifiable and justified, must neither isolate instruments of violence as key propelling tools nor thrive on any sort of offensive and crude force, for that matter. In every instance of justifiable political revolution, instruments of force come in as last resorts and exclusively as means of self-defence. But people can, for instance, take to the streets and refuse to give up until a leader foisted on them against their legitimate political preference, revealed during an electoral process, steps down (history shows that this strategy of taking to the streets, which some political scientists choose to classify as civil disobedience, has proven proactive in many countries). Patriotic musicians and fine artists can go satirical in their compositions and ingenious creations. Unfortunately, it seems we would rather have ourselves devote more time these days to figuring out how to get used to the disquieting state of affairs than to researching out proactive ways of dealing with injustice and corruption. Since nobody ever gets to know which tasks are impossible or difficult before they have tried their hands on them, it is always better to try first before succumbing to fear and pessimism. We have tried dialogue and mere paper criticisms and, yet, nothing seems to be changing for the better. Perhaps then, it is high time we tried political revolution. The discussion continues!