It always
comes down to this. How selfish, greedy and insensitive can some of these our
rulers be? They are parasites feeding fat on the blood of the people, causing
untold miseries and are like malignant tumours that just will not go away.
Eight years
as a governor of an oil-rich state, with thieving hands in the treasury every
day, no visible or beneficial people-oriented development despite the billions
allocated to the state each month of eight years, and then wants to head to the
Senate, to be a legislator, to make laws for us; the same laws they routinely
and flagrantly flouted, ignore and abused during their times in office. This is
just Delta State, but the scenario is replicated by most of the executive
governors in the 36 states of Nigeria. The two-termers amongst them are gearing
up to go to the Senate (I wonder why they never consider the House of
Representatives) after their expiry date. Sadly for the helpless people, it has
become an automatic ticket for them. They are almost always guaranteed
election, forget the election.
To do what,
if you ask me? To help make the laws that will perpetuate themselves in
constant treasury-draining and keep the masses perpetually impoverished; earn
huge salaries that guzzles a huge bite out of the federal budget, while not
adding any value to the society or the polity.
Having said
all of the above, I am not unaware that their success of being elected to the
Senate or wherever they want to be depends, or should depend, on the people,
the electorate. And that is what some people will be quick to point out to me.
No problem. But knowing my country, my people and my politicians and the irresponsible and duplicitous way we have
been running and ruining our democracy and turning it on its head, we all know
that the sincere electorate may not have any effect on the outcome of
elections. Therefore, instead of rejecting these ilk of politicians, our votes
may not even count, as has we have times without number found out to our
chagrin and cost. This is what we are observing today and seeing our country
being run to the ground without shame by obtuse politicians and rulers
Why don't
they just retire to their villages and enjoy the fruits of their loot? No, they
want more money, and more power, and want to be relevant despite not relating
in their eight years of making the lives of their people miserable and
uncomfortable.
Please don’t
get me wrong. I am not unaware of our and their Constitutional rights. They are
entitled to go for any political
position they want, even if after being in government or holding political
position before; this occurs in the United States and the United Kingdom too,
but with the reality that we know what these latter have done, are doing and
will continue to do for the benefit of their constituent and people. But even
in the US, you will hardly have a State Governor jostling for the right to go
to the Senate or the House of Representatives after his tenure. It is “live and
let others live”. They have done enough for their people; time to go, let go
and let someone else continue with their good works and the solid foundation
they have laid down.
In my dear
country, it is “live and let others die”. It is an abject exhibition of
self-centredness, conceit and insensitivity. Whilst in power, they half-heartedly
execute the projects they are elected and paid to do with great fanfare and
inflated costs, with only self-interests in mind; what they or their families
and cronies will gain from it and then loudly commission such projects as if
they are doing a favour to us by building roads that do not last for six months
until washed away by the rains, bridges that collapse after one year, meaningless
schemes and ventures, and other white elephant schemes that are abandoned after
only a short while; the funding for them disappearing into thin air, etc.
They want to
be there forever because they think it is their right. They are the only ones
who can do it; who can rule us! They have a monopoly of knowledge, skills,
expertise and ability. They also have access to a lot of money, mostly stolen
from the people they want to go and “represent”. Nobody else can, so it is for
them only. They reason they are the only ones who can change things; things
they could not change or failed to change in eight years of abusive and
profligate executive tenure. But they say, “Give us a chance, and we can change
Nigeria when we are lawmakers”.
And when they
eventually get to that discredited and dishonourable House, which is now a retirement
home to thieving and incompetent ex-Governors, undistinguished military generals,
the politically mediocre and other
politicians of dubious identities and characters, all they do is sleep
throughout the sessions, collect their massive salaries and emoluments
(arguably, the highest in the democratic world), do deals and run after
government contracts and then, cause trouble in their home states by trying to
exercise undue influence on the running of the state. In the Senate chambers, already
suffused with ex-governors and ex-military officers of the same ilk, all they
do is sleep, reminiscence on their past bad governance, glorify in their
inflated and damaged ego and dream of the loot they will be taking home monthly.
They consequently
add more to the corruption and dishonour of the legislative arm of government,
because they bring experience of looting, manipulation and indifference with
them to an already corrupt and sweltering inept environment.
I am aware that
Power is a drug; but only to those who get addicted to it. Unfortunately, it
seems most of our rulers and politicians get addicted to power, which again,
unfortunately, they do not even know how to wield, control or manipulate to
benefit anybody, not even themselves on the long term. Power and authority, to a Nigerian is
like being a mini-god. Most time, their sycophants, political jobbers and
praise-singers drag our rulers to that deluded state of mind. But God has given
us, eyes to see, ears to hear and brains to think and remember. Unfortunately,
look at the people ruling us today and what one discovers are the same people
who ran previous governments aground. However, they fail to believe that God
has a way of doing things. If Nigerian politicians were to use their eyes, ears
and brains, and reflect on the Babangida and Abacha eras they will realise that
nothing is impossible. The signs are all around us.
Why is it
that once anybody, be they existing politician, businessman, civil servant, or
anybody in any capacity of endeavour get a taste of politics, they then turn
politics into a career, and in the process, on its head? An engineer, or
medical doctor, or teacher or banker is elected into a political position, and
the next thing, he becomes a permanent politician. After their tenures in office
or position, it becomes extremely difficult for them to return to their
original calls in life and live ordinarily as they had previously, pre-politics
lived and worked, but now their entire lives and livelihood are dependent on
being politicians. They do not know how else to survive or make a living. These
even include Ministers and State Commissioners, who are supposed to be
technocrats and experts in their discipline before being appointed into
government.
I may even be
able to defend them, if they had added value and made impacts on the lives of
the people who elected them in the first place, and the people are beseeching
them to remain to continue their good works; but No, it is the most unworthy
and corrupt of them that will “do-or-die” to remain in position or aspire to
another position.
Of course we
know the reason. The fastest way, and
perhaps the easiest and least risky ways to make colossal amount of money in
Nigeria is to be a politician, and continue to be one. You will even get away
with it if and when caught. The trick is to steal billions, so that you can
have the best lawyers and pay off the investigating and prosecuting
authorities, and still have billions left to enjoy the rest of your life. How
many corrupt ex-governors and other thieving politicians and civil servants
have spent a week in prison after the initial noise and arrest? Abracadabra,
the EFCC quietly and corruptly doze off, files disappear, witnesses disappear,
EFCC lawyers collaborate with the defence lawyers to apply delaying tactics and
the compromised judge keeps adjourning cases, until the public gets weary and
just say “Leave him to God”. Who lost out? It is the Nigerian people, again and
again. And the thieves and their collaborators smile all the way to the bank
again.
Well anyway,
my President has said Stealing is not the same as Corruption, so who am I to
altercate him?
I refer to
one of my favourite stories again. There was once an American robber called Mr
Willie Sutton. When he was asked why he robbed banks. He replied: “`Cos that’s
where the money is”. It was an uncomplicated philosophy which served him well
until he was caught and marched off to prison. We can apply this analogy to the
Nigerian politician. Why are they in politics and want to be in government? It
is because in Nigeria, politics and government are where the money is. This is
where and how some of us can make fortunes with very little effort. The money
is there to be taken, even asking to be stolen, so where else to be than to
pretend you want to serve your country and its people, and you are suddenly in
charge of, or have access to billions of Naira, staring at you and practically
saying “Take me; nobody will get you for stealing; it is allowed; everybody
does it here”.
The ideals of
free and fair elections, no rigging and vote/election manipulation, acceptance
of defeat, no thuggery and one man, one vote, can no longer be relied on. There
is absolutely no guarantee that the people will not vote them in.
However, I
will still urge and plead with my people NOT to let these disastrous rulers of
their states realise their inordinate, perverse, self-seeking, narcissist,
insensitive and uncaring ambitions. Most of them are supposed to be in jail,
not making laws for us in the Senate.
Does that
make any sense?
REJECT FAILED
POLITICIANS!!!!!!
Let the TRUTH
be said always!
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