#SomberTuesday! Presidential inauguration and transition plans are underway but lawsuits on the results of the elections continue. The percentage of Nigerian women elected into office has dwindled to minuscule proportions. Youths and people with disabilities are also few and far between. INEC is a great disappointment as an election management body. It has contributed greatly to damaging public trust in the integrity of the elections. Ethnic divisiveness and hate speech remain concerns that challenge the project of nation-building. Democracy remains ephemeral.
There is still currency scarcity although more old notes are in circulation, some so tattered and dirty that it’s a marvel that they don’t disintegrate into nothingness. Plus handling them encourages hand-washing that has the unintended consequence of contributing to positive health outcomes. The economy remains in the doldrums, although it is usually the case that even in bad times, some people make a figurative killing. It is also usual that the masses suffer most because they have few to no social safety nets.
Nigeria is blessed with numerous youths. Majority of them also suffer from the country’s political, economic, and social problems. Many are understandably invested in japa–leaving the country by any means necessary to seek better opportunities abroad. They are literally “sick and tired of being sick and tired,” as Fannie Lou Hamer, courageous African American civil rights activist famously said. Octogenarians have taken control of the reins of power in a country with the youngest population in the world. Democracy. What does it mean in the day-to-day realities of the youths? Should patriarchy, oligarchy, and gerontocracy be so ingrained in Nigeria? Should there be so few women in leadership? Do the people with disability not deserve representation? Do poor Nigerians have any hope of getting into political office? What kind of democracy do we want?
Insecurity, abductions, and kidnappings have become normalized. Nigerian political institutions, infrastructure, and social services do not perform as expected. High unemployment and underemployment remain prevalent. Decent jobs are few and far between. Is there any memory of the social contract between the people and leaders?
Democracy and economic development, personal and human security should not be impossible dreams. Citizens’ well-being and welfare, as well as the masses’ ability to meet their basic needs, should be uppermost in the minds of the leaders. The hope for a brighter future shouldn’t be lost to all but the elites.
#EndSARS youth protesters went to the polls hoping to freely choose their representatives, but the glaring mismanagement of the elections caused frustration and confusion about the utility of engaging in the political process. #EndSARS demonstrations were demands for good governance, an end to police brutality, extortion, impunity, economic inequality, marginalization, targeting of youths and other minorities, and cessation of political violence. However, violent suppression was the response.
The 2020 Lekki massacre should never be forgotten. Youths at #LekkiTollGate & other locations were subjected to state-sponsored brutality and naked force. The right to peaceful protest should be sacrosanct in a democracy. We should collectively think about how to build a nation where democracy and sustainable development are deeply rooted and experienced as realities. Kleptocracy should be eschewed. Instead, it is celebrated.
#NigerianWomenArise #EndPoliceBrutalityinNigeriaNOW #EndSars #EndSWAT #EndImpunity.
Howard Zinn’s statement remains relevant: “Civil disobedience, that’s not our problem. Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves, and all the while, the grand thieves are running the country. That’s our problem.”
Like the voice in the wilderness I repeat: Let the kleptocrats give back our stolen wealth so that we can fix our infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and also offer worthwhile social protection to our people. Let the masses enjoy the full benefits of citizenship in Nigeria. Let the leaders and political class repent and build peace with justice.
This is no time for politics as usual. The people elected should be those trusted to bring justice, equity and human security to the entire country, not expedient, unethical and egocentric individuals determined to dominate for self aggrandizement or sectional gain. We don’t need oligarchs’ continued domination. We also need a government that puts the interests of majority of citizens first. Dare I hope that this will happen anytime soon?
Prof. Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome is a professor of political science at Brooklyn College in New York.
