Some of you have read bits and pieces of this essay. I have coalesced all here together. As you prepare to vote Ezekiel Ette Nigerians are ready to cast their ballots for a new government on February 14, so they say. As usual, the candidates with no new ideas to offer rely on ethnicity and the politics of geography. Whose turn it is to govern is used, not because one has a superior idea, but because the individual comes from a geographical location that deserves a turn to slice the pie not for the people but for one own benefit. The Nigerian pundits see the current configurations as natural with no need to seek a peaceful settlement and build a strong society. Those who dare suggest otherwise are seen as traitors of their people. Yet it will take a fearless stand to change what is often seen as the natural state of things. One is reminded of the American politician, Robert Kennedy, who famously noted, “Some see things as they are and ask why, I dream of things and say why not? In Nigeria, it will take a critical mind to move beyond what is often seen as given. We all must be reminded that there are no omnipotent constructivisms and no permanent truths beyond what we ourselves have constructed in our minds. Those who would change the world must rise beyond misplaced concreteness, egoism, selfishness and stand ready to engage in a little sociological imagination as the late John Dewey reminded the world more than 100 years ago. Sinai and Zion can talk, the lamb and lion can share space. It will take the rejection of the familiar and the given, it will take thinking outside of the box. The APC had a great chance to take the country in a different direction, but they fielded a controversial and a divisive candidate and therefore stand ready to hand over the country back to Jonathan and his cronies. Of all the people in the country, the APC could not find a candidate beyond an old military ruler who reminded Nigerians of the days of the Generals and strong men? As if this was not enough, they keep calling him General Buhari and made no pretense at re-packaging. Buhari is not Obasanjo and using such logic in the selection of Buhari is to gamble with a once in a lifetime opportunity. It is incomprehensible that APC would put a candidate up as their flag bearer without asking questions about qualifications of the said candidate. If it is true that Mr. Buhari has no minimum qualification as alleged, then we are in for a long drawn litigation and constitutional crisis should he wins. The whole election thing in Nigeria is just not what it is dressed up to be. Those who have tasted power and have become rich through looting will do anything to keep the power and their wealth. Those who are out of power will fight to get in for a piece of the pie. Those in charge of the elections will sell their souls if they could and the police is under the control of the incumbent. Meanwhile the country is on fire and the sounds of the impending storm can be heard as the oil price continues to plummet, yet the band plays on. The average Nigerian is oblivious of the situation and remains uninformed. He/she is more interested in who was born where and who worships where. Ethnicity, religion and geography become paramount and individuals stand ready to vote against their own welfare and self-interest. President Jonathan is a very weak candidate and the party he represents has presided over Nigeria’s patronage system and corrupt government in more than a decade. The country is fractured and insecurity is on the mind of every Nigerian. No one knows what happened to the kidnapped school girls and foreign governments who were in Nigeria to help left in frustration amidst the unprecedented corruption. While more than 2000 people were massacred in Baga under his watch, the president kept quiet and played with the numbers while he was quick to write about and sympathize with a foreign government about the seventeen people killed in the Paris attack. The voodoo accounting system he introduced changed Nigeria’s balance sheet on paper, but in real life, the average Nigerian is not better off. Unemployment is an all-time high and crime is rampant. There are more promises about infrastructure than there are completed projects. Many roads especially in the South are impassable and it is not an exaggeration that a twenty-mile trip takes a whole day. The police force is heavily controlled as it was since 1966. The average Nigerian does not feel or see the benefits of government and it is not unusual to see people lining up at the gates of elected officials for handouts all over the country. If you want water, you have to dig your own borehole and if you need electricity you better buy your own electric generator. If you need security, build your own wall and install an iron gate. This is the life that Nigerians have come to know. Yet in this election cycle as others, the discussion is not about changing lives, but about who was born where, who worships where and what corner of the country the candidate was born. Nigerians have been taught that election is war against those who are different and not about their own lives and livelihood. Election is not war, and Nigerians must be made aware of this. It is about the future it is about who has a better idea to improve the lives of citizens. Individuals should not be led into fighting and strive because somebody supports a different candidate. They should not allow themselves to be used by criminals as a thug or hired killer. Anyone who wants you to kill so he/she can get into office is a criminal and does not care about the nation or your welfare. Nigerians should know that as things stand now in the oil market, the country will undergo serious economic hardship after the elections because the price of oil continues to slide. We need someone with sound economic policies that will make hard decisions and steer us away from reliance on oil. We do not need the usual sell, plunder and spend of the oil policies of the past. Where the individual was born has nothing to do with our welfare. This election is about your future, it is about the future of our land not about who worships where and who was born closer to you than the other. Our country is fragmented and peace has become a foreign commodity. Having a job is now difficult for many and so many are dying in the midst of abundance available only to a few. Use your head and leave sentiments at the door as you go to vote. This is not about us and them, it is about you! In an ideal world, everyone would have been aware of this but we do not live in an ideal world and like a suitor who wants a beautiful bride, the candidates will try to get your vote. This is what election is about in a democracy but it is important that you ask the hard questions. How do we build an ideal society? This has been a question that many have asked throughout time. It has been a question that great leaders and citizens of countries have asked and answer in their own ways. Great democracies of the west have answered this question by making the politicians afraid of the people. The power of the ballot has sent a realization to those holding political power that they serve at the pleasure of the people. Such realization is what has changed western democracies. Nigerians have the opportunity in this election to also change the Nigerian society. By making the politicians know that they cannot win elections simply because of geography and ethnicity, a powerful message will be sent that politics is done in the service of the people. By defeating those who are counting on the accident of birth we can, for the first time, make the politicians afraid. It does not matter where an individual was born. Make this issue irrelevant in this election so we can build a good society. When the politicians are afraid that they can lose elections because of policy decisions they have made or promise to make, they will sit up and listen to the people. When policy makers are given a pass because of ethnicity and geography, we all lose and become puns in this game of political patronage in Nigeria that passes for politics. Parties dont matter what matter is food on your table, cloths on your back and happiness on your mind.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 22:59:01 +0000
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