One of the casualties of military rule on the political psyche of Nigeria is that politics has lost its philosophical personality. The only thing that drives people into politics is the quest for power because with power you have easy access to the public till. NEW FUEL PRICE—Minister of State, Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu,. In other words, corruption or corrupt self-enrichment is what propels the quest for public office. That is why the democratic process since 1999 has produced more millionaires and billionaires from among the “successful” political actors than the productive sectors of the economy could boast of. The few who managed to score it big as business entrepreneurs did so because they benefited from the corrupt system which has bred a few super-rich and created mass poverty (especially among the youth).
What sad days we live in! Compare this with what we had before the Nigerian civil war. Politics still wore its noble garbs. Despite the fact that political parties were essentially ethno-regional, they were still very much the gatherings of what was called “like-minded people” – people who shared the same ideals and visions of how they wanted to approach socio-political and economic developmental issues. Those who found themselves in political parties where their visions clashed were described as “strange bedfellows”. Nigeria’s foremost nationalist and Pan-Africanist, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, had a vision of one unified Nigeria where everyone would “forget our differences” and work together to create a nation that would be the toast of Africa and the Black race. Sardauna Ahmadu Bello, instead, wanted a Nigeria dominated by the North’s Islamic culture in line with the original purports of his Usman Dan Fodio Fulani ancestors who established the Sokoto Caliphate.
Mallam Aminu Kano also wanted a Muslim model for Nigeria where the welfare of the common person (rather than pandering to the comforts of the ruling oligarchy pushed by Bello) would take primacy. Chief Obafemi Awolowo wanted a Nigeria where each of the major ethno-regional blocs would take charge of their areas in a strong, decentralised federation to enable every group to develop at its own pace. It was this visionary politics that drove the various defunct regions to frenzied paces of development that have not been matched since the unfortunate entry of the military into our politics.
Who would have believed that the North, now rated as the poorest and most backward in the federation (despite its dominance of power since independence) was once the most prosperous? Is it not a great irony that Western Nigeria, which used to be the beacon-holder in education is now consistently returning second-rate results and getting cut-off marks than South East and Edo/Delta states? Who would have believed that the former Eastern Region was once rated by the UNP as the “fastest industrialising economy” in the Third World in 1964? Because of lack of principles and absence of noble intentions in embracing politics, everything goes.
All that matters is the grab for power – power at all costs, as that guarantees easy access to our oil money. It was unprincipled politics foisted by the military that made it possible for all sorts of flotsam and bobtail to crowd into the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the party which the military handed over power to in 1999. No heed was paid to party principles and bed-fellowship.
Unlike in 1979 when you could easily distinguish between Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, from National Party of Nigeria, NPN, states, you could not tell what makes a state a “PDP state”.
There was no resemblance at all between the PDP Federal Government and PDP states.
The same applied to other states controlled by the opposition parties. This political malaria was transferred to the All Progressives Congress, APC, when a merger of a mongrel of political parties was announced on February 6, 2013.
A party led by Muhammadu Buhari, Fulani-Muslim fundamentalist with military reflexes who co-authored the centralised federation with his fellow post-war rulers, found himself in the same party with Bola Tinubu, who advertised himself as a neo-Awoist “true” federalist “progressive”.
They opened their arms and welcomed a disgruntled chunk of the ruling PDP’s faction, and a new party that had no character or vision was heading toward power. Tinubu’s group has found itself flip-flopping from opposition to the deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry (which the then Goodluck Jonathan regime wanted to effect) to defending it now that they have found themselves in the saddle.
A political movement that came out, with a myriad of paid “civil society” activist groups in Ojota in January 2012 has now mobilised to push the argument that there is no alternative deregulation. They are backing away from most of the campaign promises with which they seduced Nigerians to transfer power from Jonathan’s PDP to them.
They have shown they cannot be trusted, and that words mean nothing of value. In spite of that, some people still continue to prattle about the “integrity” of our leaders whose sanctimonious pretences are being slowly stripped bare for the world to see for what it is. In 2012, we argued on column and elsewhere in support of deregulation because we believed in putting an end to fuel crises in our economy.
We believed that the oil boom of that time was an excellent opportunity to make a quick break and tide over it with a variety of social safety nets the regime proffered. But organised Labour played into the hands of wicked and power-hungry politicians and forced Jonathan to backtrack. We lost over trillion naira in subsequent subsidised fuel imports. Four years later, we are faced, once again, with no option than to deregulate. Yes, we have no option.
We must do it or we die. Let us protest a little, but let us cooperate. It is better to cooperate willingly than to destroy the economy further through unhelpful civil disobedience. Next time they come to you for your vote, let their deceits and failed promises guide you in the decision you will take.
VANGUARD
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