STRIKER: A Waste Of Life

There is a quotation that our Education Curriculum ought to integrate into Civic Knowledge from Basic 1 up to GNS 101 in Tertiary Institutions so it becomes etched in the minds of citizens and contribute to making them avowed patriots. It is lifted from no other fundamental document than the American Declaration of Independence, and worth repeating again and again because it is not just about America, not just crafted by some of the best human minds, but about the very essence of humanity and its instituted governments.‎‎

It says, and we take liberty to quote at length because failure to act on it is what leads to wasted lives, especially in Nigeria: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organising its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

The right; nay, the duty, of the people to abolish governments that do not guarantee their welfare and security is inalienable. Confirmed. In order not to allow the exercise of that right degenerate into a war, periodic elections to choose those that govern are instituted in every Constitutional Democracy. It is then up to the people to keep insisting on perfecting their electoral system – knowing that whereas perfection is not attainable on earth, excellence is.

The catch, however, is that if a people keep electing, or allow some persons to be “declared elected,” who do not care for their welfare and security – in words and deed – and repeatedly so, again and again, then they are condemned to a lifetime of misery and tribulation! Every elected government (Presidents and Governors) desire to stay at least the usually permitted 8 years, or so. Parliamentarians without specified tenure limitation by the Constitution desire to stay there forever!

So, if we put a human lifetime at a ripe 100 years old, he or she can only experience the tenure of a maximum of 13 Presidents and Governors in an uninterrupted democracy if they all enjoyed their 8-year tenure. Granting a man or woman must be 18 to be considered fully responsible, his or her 82-year adult life can only be lived under 11 of such governors/presidents. Imagine living the first under a man who so much sought to be president and wept after repeated failures but got there and reigned clueless for 8 agony-dispensing years.

Then comes the “turn” of another stumbling and fumbling individual that dreamt of being president since he was a baby, who is now delivering unrelenting (and unprecedented) cost of living crises and escalating insecurity. If that our citizen then lives just 6 more of such presidents, then he or she would have lived 82 years of a life that is difficult to qualify decently. Even the minority that will be fortunate to live the affluent life in such a country of wasted lives cannot completely escape the unavoidable trauma.

In such a country where the President and governors consider themselves omnipotent, rule imperially in a unitary system that lives a false “Federal Republic” name; should the policies and programmes of governors and presidents be largely self-aggrandising and anti-people, then the fate of the majority is sealed – shouting “up NEPA” as a child, then again as adult, and their children now shouting same “up NEPA” as a miserable legacy! Forget roads, water supply, health system, quality education, industry; not to mention science and technology in an age when Voyager 1 has left the solar system and flags of nations are planted on the moon.

The only thing left for the citizens and patriots of such country is to listen attentively and abide by the words of the Late Murtala Mohammed – and recapture the spirit of learning and know how TO ACT for their redemption. Murtala said shortly before his death on February 13, 1976, “For too long, we have paid lip services to issues of remoulding our society; far too often we have talked glibly of the birth of a new nation. Now is the time to rethink, to reflect and to act.”

The opinions expressed in this publication are solely those of the author. It does not represent the editorial position or opinion of OSUN DEFENDER.