STRIKER: Serving The People By Force

 

IT is painfully amusing watching some agents of the so called “International Community” crying wolf about our electoral process and its outcome. Have they ever meant well for us and sincerely wish it were different? From the days of the Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah who they overthrew, to Patrice Lumumba, Amilcar Cabral, Thomas Sankara and Steve Biko, who they assassinated, they never ever wanted patriots ready to serve their African people to come to power or stay in power. Their stock in trade is manipulating our economy through debt burden and import dependency, and manipulating our politics such that persons of clear vision and egalitarian commitment like the Avatar, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, will never come to power.

However, are they to blame? In democracy, the bulk must clearly stop on the table of The People, every people inevitably get the kind of government they deserve. Though unfortunately held down in poverty, ignorance and primordial sentiments – cleaving to ethnic and religious affiliations which are manipulated to divide them – the people, as the Yoruba say, must still endeavour to see while shedding tears; “bi a ba n sukun, a ma riran.” Like Bob Marley said, “how long shall they kill our prophets while we stand aside and look?” A people willing to stand aloof while their bests are wasted and their most selfish and vile are imposed as rulers over them are no longer victims but accomplishes in their own misfortune. As Bob Marley said, again, “none but ourselves can free our minds.”

Buhari is a Northern Muslim and Emefiele is a Southern Christian but they have collaborated to occasion the disruption of the entire Nigerian financial system through a policy that they claim was well intended. Between “good” intention and the harsh outcome, no one is remembering their tribe or religion – whereas the punishing impact spares no tribe or religion. However, because of cut throat competition to grab power, we – the people – are always reminded of our tribe and religion at election time, and are stupidly manipulated and primed to wreck havoc; meanwhile, the issues of power supply, housing deficit, productivity, currency rate, woeful infrastructure deficit, declined education quality, absent health care institution, astounding and mounting debt burden, endemic corruption, insecurity, and a thousand other miseries are all left out of the discuss!

The simple reason why struggle for public offices, which is for service to the people, have become do-or-die, is that they are not going there to serve the people but themselves and their cliques. Why? Because government in Nigeria has since become a grand conspiracy to be in control of oil money for sharing and stealing, and politics thereby the most lucrative business that is killing the growth of all other productive businesses. Why should anyone want to die and be ready to kill others simply because he or she wants to go and make life better for the people? Is that logical? Is being in government the only way of rendering service to the people?

As we go to the polls as ordinary Nigerians tomorrow to elect Governors and State Legislators, let us have at the back of our mind the Big Picture and the Plain Truth, so that we go peacefully and let whatever outcome be; and what is the Big Picture and the Plain Truth?

One, our politics and economy is largely controlled by foreign powers and manipulated in a way to keep Nigeria in perpetual bondage without real development. Two, it is possible to end this foreign control but only a visionary political party that puts the people first can do so; none of the present big parties has that goal. Three, the first step by any truly pro-people political party with well-meaning politicians is to restructure Nigeria into a genuine FEDERAL REPUBLIC; it is the ultimate solution to almost all animosities and tensions, and the catalyst to real productivity by all states – none of the present political parties and politicians inside them are committed to that goal. Four, there are still some few exceptional patriotic and pro-people politicians scattered across all political parties BUT they are endangered species and overwhelmed by the majority selfish and venal ones who are contended to maintain the status quo of centralised governance based almost entirely on sharing oil money and endless borrowing. Hence, in these elections, whichever party wins, whosoever becomes governor or legislator, will not solve the countless Nigerian problems that can only get worse: just simply remember “Change” of eight years ago and our hope in a new Messiah, which allowed us to sweep away Jonathan BUT where are we today with all those dead and buried expectations? We are today left with a harvest of compounded woes!

So, there is no point for the ordinary people that have nothing to benefit from mere change of government personnel to go and kill or maim themselves for those who care less about them. The real task before the people is after the election; to get together across tribe and religion, on the basis of finding out how to end their oppression, then organising and struggling to build a great FEDERAL Republic, where there is life more abundant FOR ALL.