…most Nigerians are ravaged by poverty ensured by leaders who are endlessly poised to get power and steal away resources. They, in order to have hungry Nigerians dance to their tune in times like this, intentionally deprive people of their democratic benefits. This kind of formula has continued to blur all agenda to rescue the country’s dying vehicle from the garage of ruins.
When Lacken Rose defined politics as “the art of using euphemisms, lies, emotionalism and fear-mongering to dupe average people into accepting–or even demanding–their own enslavement”, he must be referring to the Nigeria’s fraudulent political system and its shameless adherents in mind. In the most populous African country now, we are in silly campaign seasons. Politicians at all levels, including those that have been invisible for years, have started their stupid door-to-door outreach. Almost all the states of the country have been welcoming men desirous of power as they roll out their hackneyed and mendacious lies.
For instance, the monitored video of the Bola Ahmad Tinubu addressing some women has gone viral. He promised to settle WAEC fees of Nigerians. A number of Nigerians have reacted on it. The Nation quoted the former governor thus: “Your children’s West African examinations fees will be paid by us, so that no one, no matter how poor, will be left out. The symbol of our party is a broom. The symbol of my cap is breaking shackles. You break the shackles of ignorance, poverty, and many things.”
This kind of cheap, ridiculous campaign is not new in the Nigerian political space. Several political office bidders have their manipulative ways of making Nigerians behave as they want them to before, during and after elections. Like Tinubu, a number of politicians are engrossed in the business because they are aware Nigerians are so cheap when it comes to campaign and elections. Some combine sweet platitudes and handouts to make the people forget 2023 even before it happens. While this putrid culture continues, it is worthy of note that this is detrimental to the betterment of the country.
It is depressing that Nigerians are a bunch of unsuspecting people whose understanding of elections is marked by a complete absence of vision. Many Nigerians, especially those who have lost hope in the country, take political campaign as free ticket for them to get their own share of the national cake. These people welcome only bidders, however poor and myopic, that are ready to spend money like water. The situation is so poor that every political season comes with reasons Nigeria hasn’t been able to forge ahead. It is not error to argue that the norm of political officer bidders having the unalloyed confidence to buy Nigerians into their continued lies and deceit is unarguably sustained by the way politicians treat the masses.
Incontrovertibly, most Nigerians are ravaged by poverty ensured by leaders who are endlessly poised to get power and steal away resources. They, in order to have hungry Nigerians dance to their tune in times like this, intentionally deprive people of their democratic benefits. This kind of formula has continued to blur all agenda to rescue the country’s dying vehicle from the garage of ruins.
2023 is close. Nigerians must choose between making the country better and accepting handouts from bad-headed, power-driven politicians. In the interest of the urgent regeneration which the country deserves, it would be stupid for Nigerians to prioritize the fraudulent ambitions of politicians in whatever guise over the priceless opportunity for tangible change. Like I have always said, Nigerians should have grown past the kindergarten, ill-conceived political campaign that has always k-legged the country since independence.
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As patriotic Nigerians, nothing should matter to us more than the genuine readiness to salvage the country, to bring sanity into the system, to ignore every distraction marauding as political campaign. There is also a need for us to be intentional in our quest for a country that works. This demands that we get sincerely ready to go through the rigours of foraging for a clear-headed, young and forward-looking person who can deliver the country to where it ought to have been.
As Jill Telford once angrily wrote, “If there is money for elections, there should be money for our communities. Raise money for our country like how you hustle to raise money for your campaign”. This summarizes the reason politicians in Nigeria prefer to spend during elections. Nigerians should understand that politicians who come with sweet words and handouts would eventually turn against the people after elections. That’s why Euripides said, “When one with honeyed words but evil mind persuades the mob, great woes befall the state”.
Nigeria suffers a lot because Nigerians are endlessly gullible. Because our leaders are crafty enough to know what our main weakness is, the build on it to condemn the country to perpetual backwardness. But as disturbing as this seems, we can rework the practice if we really care for our country. In these political seasons, we can choose to be different just for the betterment of our country. It is worth our stress, for nothing should be more important to us than a country we can all cherish.
Ambali Abdulkabeer
abdulkabeerambali@gmail.com
