#SomberTuesday! The first month of the new year is almost over. The human desire for better conditions is natural. Political candidates for office and their proxies have intensified their campaigns since the elections are almost upon us. There are many grand promises that give us hope that if elected, such politicians will help Nigeria reach its full potential. But it is best to take these promises with huge bags of salt. Most politicians do not show serious commitment to fulfilling promises once they become incumbents. Citizens who vote for them have also been lax in demanding accountability.
Simply stated, politicians should strive assiduously to keep promises. Citizens must embrace civic engagement and tenaciously demand that promises are fulfilled. Accountable action by elected officials is not a luxury but a necessity. Nigeria needs true democracy as well as political, economic, and social transformation as urgent necessities. The masses are affected the most, and their needs receive the least attention. Given that politics is a struggle for resources, they must engage politics as civic actors who vote as well as engage the political system throughout the electoral cycle. This requires focused, consistent, laser-focused participation, especially by those whose interests are not given priority in the political system. Civil society organizations should be more determined to hold government accountable. Nigeria needs pro-poor coalitions that have a long-term perspective on the change we want.
The heightened level of insecurity is unacceptable. The cost of its seeming intractability is massive. We seem to have accepted the political economy of kidnapping/abduction as normal. The financial cost to families of those abducted/kidnapped is ruinous, as they must pay exorbitant ransoms to facilitate the release of their loved ones. There is also the trauma of dealing with the horrors of abduction by the victims and survivors as well as their friends and family. We have a huge population of internally displaced Nigerians who are affected by the enduring ramifications of environmental catastrophes, ethno-religious conflicts, insurgencies, and conflicts between herders and farmers. There are many other problems that would have overwhelmed less resilient populations. So, Nigerians’ capacity for optimism is commendable.
But while we should be hopeful, we also need positive action to create the world we want. We need conscientious and selfless elected officials that are committed to producing the giant of Africa that their campaigns promise. As a matter of urgent necessity, we need well-functioning institutions and good infrastructure. Nigeria exists in a competitive, dynamic world that is in constant motion. If we want to be competitive, we must become organized, focused, efficient and consistent in our approaches to solving the problems we face. For Nigeria to be transformed, all citizens must collectively strive to contribute to national development. We must prevent insecurity, inequality, unemployment, and underemployment from being perpetuated. These are part of the demands made by the EndSARS protesters. The youths challenged us to recognize the imperatives of good governance, and an end to impunity, violence, and police brutality. They were suppressed by state security forces, which inflicted violent attacks on them. Two years on, #Nigeria must remember that it is unacceptable in a democracy to massacre peacefully demonstrating protesters as done to the #EndSARS protesters at #LekkiTollGate and other locations. #NigerianWomenArise #EndPoliceBrutalityinNigeriaNOW #EndSars #EndSWAT #EndImpunity
Like a voice in the wilderness, I repeat these words of Howard Zinn and draw attention to their importance to Nigeria’s contemporary politics: “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,l 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.
