By Saviour Udoh
In the middle of any great storm, a ship’s survival depends on two things; sea room and steering-way. The sea room means that the ship is at a safe distance from anything it might crash into, like Coastline. Steering-way on the other hand mans that the ship is moving forward with enough power to steer rather than just getting pushed around by waves and wind.
Could it then be said that the voyage of Nigerian politics right from its inception has been troubled by these waves and wind? Or, has their voyage been a successful one? Others, who saw this ship when it began her voyage, had thought that it would land safely.
But on the contrary, they noticed that at the middle of the sea, the sailors were not able to take into consideration the sea room and the steering-way.
Booting
Any well informed Nigerian who has been following the voyage of Nigerian politics will not shy away from the fact that her journey has been a blistering one. One could say that our sailors from all indication have given us signs to show that our political ship can no longer withstand the towering walls of water, driven by powerful winds.
I hear the cries of mothers, fathers, and the young, sobbing like the days of the titanic ship because their great ship is about to sink. Fear grips them because death can be seen in the hazy weather. So disheartening the end will be, because no passenger may survive.
Right-clicking Voyage
The Oxford Advanced learner’s Dictionary defined Voyage as a long journey by sea or in space. It also defined it as a travel. Retrospectively, history has recorded other Voyages done for the purpose of discoveries.
For instance, in 1492, we heard about the famous man Christopher Columbus, others includes: Ibn Battuta, Zheng, Vasco da Gama, just to mention but a few.
They had their primary goal towards discovering one thing or the other. This is not far from the light of politics where it seems we have not carried out any necessary discovery.
At least, to find out what has gone wrong by looking into her journey through the road of politics and discover where we have failed and proffer solutions to them for an effective leadership.
Opening the folder (The journey)
This journey started in 1960, a wonderful day we have waited with increasing impatience, rather than been compelled by our colonial masters to watch other countries take lead of us at the sea road.
It became loudly clear that the child born new Nigeria has waken to face her responsibilities and to stand on a firm foundation.
I dop my beautiful cap for you! Each step of our Nigerian Constitutional advance was carefully planned with full and open consultation; this is not only channeled to representative interests but in harmonious cooperation of all. We carefully selected among other systems of government the one that will suit us.
Despite these, the hard fact that stares us is the fact that the decay in our Nigerian politics is not only nauseating but also embarrassing. May be we have lost the map given to us or have decided to follow our own map.
In our Nigerian political system what do we see? Can we boast of October 1960 now? Little wonder most patriotic Nigerians still wonder where our founding fathers have wronged us. As it stands now, trepidation grips even an average Nigerian because the weather is very cloudy such that our Nigerian sailors find it difficult to see the road.
Furthermore, even as the ship continued to sail, it was punctuated with various coups. We had a lot of blows even inside the ship. People were wounded, while others got drown at the middle of the sea.
As if that was not enough, we had signals from the indicator position showing that this ship will definitely crack on the way.
This resulted to political instability, legitimacy crises, political intrigues, overwhelmed by ethnic competition for wealth and resources.
These drove a greater number of our political sailors to disregard transparency, good governance and accountability. Each going his way, others who believed they can swim jumped inside the water so as not to crash to death.
At this time, words became feeble to fittingly count the number of those who are still on this voyage. We shall see as the Nigerian political voyage unveils itself.
HIGHLIGHTING THE NIGERIAN POLITICS (our ordeal)
The Nigerian politics has been characterized with various irregularities. It might also interest you to know that there is every strong reason to be afraid.
It has become very obvious and lucid even to the blind that the voyage of the Nigerian politics is nothing to write home about. A journey that we started for more than fifty years, but we have not arrived.
A critical look at our political system will not only furnish you with the answers but give you other interesting and convincing reasons why our political sailors and leaders have failed to live up to expectation.
I heard a voice saying that they are yet to come up with their best. This kind of excuse has led to weak legitimacy and has left the society and her citizens pauperized.
May be these political gladiators have nothing to concentrate on than to manipulate the people so as to advance in their selfish agenda. You will find it very easy to win any argument that has the title “Corruption” in relation to Nigeria.
In fact, if you are a business man, you will really do well regarding this. These points to the kind of position we have plunged ourselves. It has become shoddier that even the insane has kept soliloquizing along the streets: “our political leaders are mad”.
What do you expect the sane to say? But no matter how ridiculous this may sound, the truth of the matter is that Nigerian politics has suffered a lot of setbacks decorated with crises and unless something is done fast to remedy this ship, its end will be a disastrous one.
Nevertheless, Nigerians have been faced by serious insecurities ranging from one name to the other, compounded by the rise of Boko Haram terrorism, the massacre of the Fulani herdsmen and the famous kidnapping extravaganza.
I think time has come when certificate will be issued to those who have been kidnapped once, so that they can present it anywhere to show their merit in the kidnapping shuttle list, since our leaders have been silent.
Have you ever taking a walk to our Nigerian Universities? Then you better do; all we see is an education that has evapourated without reaching its centigrade. It is characterized by brutal manifestation of physical strength and ostentatious life styles.
These are those of them we termed “the leaders of tomorrow”. Most of our leaders have comfortably sent their children to study overseas because our educational system is in shamble.
Human being today is of no value to our leaders. They have turned us to human beans, such that we can be cooked and slaughtered at any time.
Our leaders cherish the lives of their dogs more than their citizens. It may not be new to say that if time is not taken; their police dogs, house goats and house snakes are always placed on air conditioner. Their dogs are attended to by foreign medical doctors especially when they refuse to eat.
Who knows, it may be a symptom of acute malaria. Of course receiving precious attention more than human beings, but when it is time for election, they will remember that we are citizens. Having calculated all these, I came to understand that our political organizations from the first to the last have presented themselves too complex for a straightforward description.
We no longer comprehend them when it comes to the way they govern and lead us.
Truly, this is a big concern for worry and has complicated the already fraught state of Nigerians who have no means of livelihood.
RECYCLE BIN (Deleting the unwanted folders)
Nigeria is said to be one of the best favoured nations of the world especially when it comes to natural and mineral resources. At a time like this, multiplicities of questions abounds. What shall we do? When will this come to end?
The reasons for the above questions are anchored on the fact that fear has gripped the most protected. Not even the government officials, politicians and other outspoken social activists are exonerated from this. In fact, no one is safe.
Interestingly, Nigeria is one of the top winners in the Guiness book of record as one of the most corrupt and poor countries despite their natural endowment. This inconsistency has kept many right thinking Nigerians in a staggered situation.
Amidst all, is there any hope of change? Can we still make it? The answer may not be an easy one because if our human eyes can see through the hearts of our political leaders, you will come to agree with me that they have eyes but cannot see.
They have sworn an oath in their anger that never shall the citizens find rest. Little wonder I happen to approach a good friend of mine who is blind, to know why he was carrying a lantern in a broad day light when everyone can see.
Let us listen to him: “my good friend Tochukwu, you will not understand, am carrying this lantern so that those who have eyes can see clearly enough and stay out of my own way”.
The time has come when we need to focus more on the way out, to look for a solution and see if we can find any light at the end of the tunnel.
Integrity is an underlining virtue when character of an individual plays a vital role in his performance in an office (cf. Only in Nigeria pg. 205).
This is not just a time for our political leaders to go back to the drawing board because the board is filled. To begin with, there is need for all to be involved in this task. Our leaders on the other hand are not left out for they have a primary role to play.
This is because the greater portion of the predicament comes from the activities of our leaders. Our leaders must first be of good conducts, disciplined and impeccable in character.
What else do the citizens want? Leaders who will respect the rule of law and not the rule of man; leaders who are lovers of transparency and unity; leaders who will not present awards to those who wantonly break law and in like manner sentence truth and justice to prison; leaders who frown at bribery and corruption, injustice, inequality, embezzlement of public funds, and other related crimes.
Be that as it may, our leaders are not showing any sign of positive change. The more reason why Nigeria is tasteless today is because our leaders are not interested in solving the problem of her citizens.
And suppose they are, they are not acting. Again, the church has tried their best in composing a lot of prayers like “prayer for Nigeria in distress” with hope that things will get better, but the journey seems worse.
They went back to their big chapel and added another “prayer against bribery and corruption” seeking God’s intervention over the condition of Nigeria but we are yet to see it reflect in the lives of our leaders.
The church at a time like this, when our ship is battling with the towering walls of political water, must not relent; her continuous and people directives both to the leaders and citizens on the need to do good and avoid evil, will certainly create an impact.
SHUTTING DOWN GREATNESS, is not found in big commissions and emoluments, neither can it be found in big contracts and spending nor in ransacking the treasury of the nation (pg 210). Greatness therefore is found in what we have achieved.
How I wish we can take into consideration what ought to be done in relation to politics in Nigeria, we would have steered well and the sea room would have been protected more than ever.
I don’t want to believe that the name Nigeria is a cause may be due to the fact the name was giving by a woman probably when she was returning from a honey moon with her husband.
All hands therefore must be on deck if really we want this ship to land safely. The dirges chanted by the people will be a thing of the past and the baton that just changed hands will be for good. Surely, we can still make it. Like Marx, all we need do is to loose the chains in our legs and hands.
The chains for me in the Nigerian politics are the chains of selfishness, religious background and ethnic affiliations. Let us give this a trail and we shall sit on the highest pedestal of happiness and our political sailors will have reasons to smile at their efforts to withstanding the turbulent sea waves. Above all, Nigeria needs prayer because no matter how much active the eyes are, they can never see well in darkness without the aid of light.
God is the only light that can kindle and lighten up harmony in the minds of our leaders. But apart from that, we shall begin to sing the famous monotonous “requiem” for Nigeria without knowing where to bury her.
We shall not hit any ice in our voyage to nation building. Safe journey Nigeria!
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