#SomberTuesday! The new year is only three days old. Most of us are making resolutions on doing better, engaging in all kinds of aspirational contortions that should transform our lives if we persevere and do the hard work of actualizing them. We also hope for grace (undeserved favor) that produces the transformative miracle with scant effort on our part. The extravagant claims and promises made by candidates for political office and their proxies are similar in many respects. It is doubtful that many are interested in being held accountable by citizens.
Once they secure access to the seats of power, they quickly forget/become distracted/submit to the flattery of sycophants who assure them that they’re God’s gift to Nigeria, regardless of any evidence that they are doing anything worthy of note. Yet, the imperative that our dear country becomes a true democracy remains an urgent matter. We need political, economic, and social transformation. The masses remain burdened by great economic, political, and social adversity. Nonetheless, they need to organize and get more involved in politics through civic engagement.
They must vote, but what is required goes beyond voting. Constant vigilance and demands that political leaders fulfill their obligations must become part of our ecosystem. Civil society organizations must also continue to demand accountability from elected officials. But such demands should be better organized, coordinated, and tenacious, with a long-term scenario, rather than sporadic action as the preferred strategy. Elected officials should be serious about actualizing the claims made in their platforms. We live in a competitive world. If Nigeria is not to be left behind, it should have all citizens embrace an “all hands on deck” approach to contributing toward reaching the nation’s full potential. State and society must confront our explosions of insecurity, inequality, unemployment, and underemployment, with a determination to end the dismal phenomena.
The #EndSARS protests remain on my mind. Nigerian youths demanded good governance, an end to impunity, violence, and police brutality. Brutal suppression was the state response. Yet, many Nigerians continue to long for the deepening of democracy. The economy is in precipitous decline. Insecurity is routine and catastrophic. Families face the demand for ransom of their loved ones in isolation. Most experience tremendous trauma and financial devastation. Internally displaced Nigerians continue to suffer from the enduring ramifications of catastrophic, unprecedented floods.
The litany of woes are numerous. Yet, we must applaud our tendency as a people to be optimistic. Hope is indeed the weapon of the powerless. But still, two years and counting, #Nigeria must never forget the massacre of peacefully demonstrating #EndSARS protesters at #LekkiTollGate and other locations. We should collectively say: #NigerianWomenArise #EndPoliceBrutalityinNigeriaNOW #EndSars #EndSWAT #EndImpunity
I am quite the broken record on this repetition of Howard Zinn’s statement, and its applicability to Nigeria’s situation: “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.” 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.
