Nigerian
politicians are a peculiar lot. They care a lot about power, being in
power that is. For them, it is a game of the end justifies the means. It
doesn’t matter who they are in bed with, it doesn’t matter what the
shape or colour of feather of the next bird looks like, once it helps
them get a hold over power, then let’s go there!
For instance, very few of them have
remained in one party since Nigeria returned to democratic governance in
1999. As a matter of fact, a large number of our politicians have moved
through all the big political parties before they eventually got
settled into one. That is if they will ever settle. Someone may wonder
how that is important. I think it is, because political parties are the
engines on which democracy run. They should produce the policies and the
people who execute those policies. In most sane political environments,
ideologies form the basis on which political parties come up with
policies, so you are identified with the ideology of the political
party, whose flag you fly.
Take the example of the United States.
Even those of us who do not stay in the country have a fair idea of what
to expect from each of the two major political parties when elected
into office. We know their individual dispositions to the welfare of the
people who elect them. They are proud about those dispositions and are
willing to defend them until the end. Those ideologies have guided the
parties for years and everyone who comes into each of these parties must
live with and abide by them.
People in mature political systems do not
jump from one party to the other like they are changing hats.
Sometimes, generations of families stick to the same tradition for
years. That is why the Kennedy Family in the US can be said to be a
family of Democrats and the Bush family legendary Republicans. This same
tradition is prevalent in the United Kingdom, in France, in Germany, in
South Africa and even in our neighbouring Ghana.
Although one is wont to attribute the
attitude of politicians in the countries listed above to the number of
years for which they have practised democracy, it is also true that
politicians in these countries have come to see political office as an
instrument of service. Political office is not seen as a means of
personal enrichment and personal aggrandisement but a way to give back
to society. Of course, this does not mean that we do not find occasions
where people misuse power but those are exceptions rather than the rule.
And when people misuse power, the system deals with them in a way in
which they would likely never consider moving near public office again.
People in civilised political cultures do not also consider losing as
death sentences on their career. They accept defeat with dignity,
congratulate the winner, and go back to the drawing board to prepare for
the next time or simply move onto something else. It is never a
do-or-die matter!
But we are totally extreme of the other
side here. Nothing but personal gains, personal interests, personal ego
and generational prosperity underpin our politics. It is the reason why
politicians jump from one party to the other. So when they lose the
power game here, they look for some greener pastures on the other side
and quickly jump there. They now embark on a revenge mission, using all
weapons in their arsenal to fight the system that brought them up.
The story is sadly not much different
even when they win elections. Political office holders behave as if it
is all about them. Members of the same cabinet fight one another like
there would be no tomorrow. And when that happens, what do we expect
from people from different arms of government? It does not matter that a
political party controls both the executive and legislative arms of
government at the federal level for instance. The relationship between
these arms of government is to say the least shameful. I cannot remember
one very important thing that these two arms of government have been
able to agree on without dragging us all into an extensive public debate
which almost always ends nowhere. And it is no speculation to say that
most of these misunderstandings are not about the people. They are about
the egos of those who are in power, those who see no reason why they
should compromise in the interest of the people who elected them. Did we
not see a member of the House of Representatives call for the return of
the Petroleum Industry Bill to the executive a few months back? His
reason was that the lawmakers were scheduled to proceed on break just
when the bill was presented and if it was not returned, the executive
would make Nigerians think that it was the House that delayed the
passage of the bill. That all important bill, like many others, suddenly
became the subject of popularity contest among our politicians.
It is the reason that I hope that those
who are coming together to form the All Progressives Congress are doing
so for altruistic reasons. It is my hope that unlike the attempt in
2011 which was scuttled by the personal ambitions of the leaders of the
two main collaborating parties, this latest attempt would go beyond
individuals. More importantly, in spite of the diverse political
orientation (or lack of it) that these people may have, let us hope that
they find some philosophy, some ideology other than merely grabbing
political power by dislodging the ruling party which joins them
together. Without that, it all looks to me that the Nigerian politician
has still not started!
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