Change is inevitable and the only permanent concept that outlives all others in the human race. Until 2015, the word “change” has always either been conceived for positive innovation and process enhancement for quality service delivery to attract a more robust outcome or as an avenue to improve on an existing facility or process to enhance its status, value, and productive capacity.
No wonder, organizations spend huge financial resources to train and retrain their employees on skills advancement and change management courses with a view to improving standards, quality, and processes with a view to enhance profitability in their spheres of business.
Nation building requires systematic, focused, and determined attention and devotion for progressive results. The change mentality, therefore, drives every component of the efforts put in to move the building process from one level to the next. Therefore, when in 2019, the mantra was “next level” Nigerians were ordinarily hopeful that whatever could not be effectively changed between 2015 and 2018, would be taken up the ladder to the next level of accomplishment for the good of the nation.
If we use global key indicators of assessing good governance side by side with the results of recent efforts at nation building, it is obvious that there are unenvisaged huge gaps. Those whose roles brought us ‘change’ and ‘next level’ are equally bearing the same economic crunch as market forces are no respecter of anybody. The insecurity in the country cut across boundaries and we are now living with it, not too sure if it will ever abate for peaceful co-existence that had before now permeated the country.
The above analogies justify the title of this piece as we are now faced with another golden opportunity for political campaigns and general elections in Nigeria. In the past, some of us Nigerians failed to heed candid patriotic advice, because of rhetoric oratory by a selected few who were used (or offered themselves to be used!) to deceive and/or confuse unsuspecting electorates on the best candidate(s) deserving our votes.
Perhaps the Marketing Orators were smarter or chameleonic in their acts hence their “manifestoes” were taken hook, line, and sinker. In all, our shortsightedness brought us to where we are today.
The campaigns ahead are going to be replete with “battles for survival” as predators will leverage social media mainly controlled by the very educated but unemployed youths. The past experiences with social media will, most likely going to be a child-play compared with what will play out during the next political campaigns because of the unassailable level of insecurity, ethnic and religious consciousness occasioned by impunity, diatribes, and corruptible acts that now pervade different all levels of governance and the society at large.
It may be difficult to control effectively pessimists with their self-centered and financially induced postings of falsehoods to malign personalities and political actors. The ongoing war or fight against fake news on social media should be driven by genuine concerns that will reorientate the minds over and above primordial tendencies. Ironically, the same social media were wrongly used for the wrong purpose in 2015 and 2019; that regrettably laid the treacherous foundation upon which intimidating but defective structures and processes for our nation-building, now rest.
Politics is generally regarded as a game of numbers with little or no conscience. In this part of the world, conscience does not seem to add value to how we play politics hence politicians can apply rhetoric assertions to deceive and confuse unsuspecting persons to support their enterprise. Politics is full of uncertainties particularly in an environment without a clearly defined political system lacking political ideology, proper orientation, and clear manifestoes. It is difficult to advance the democratic process in a country that abhors rule of law, and equality; encourages injustice and impunity, and whose drivers are majorly comfortable working with individuals of the same faith and ethnic nationalities.
Following the above, Rev. S.O. Akhigbe, in one of his daily devotional messages, cautioned that when “people celebrate what is evil and condemn what is good; value reason over faith, tolerance over truth and pleasure over purpose, the world (will continue to be) in bad shape”. A true patriotic and nationalist will always be driven by forthrightness, objectivity, equality, inclusiveness, visionary leadership, and innovations that will engender purposeful development of the country. Unfortunately, this is not the case with so many politicians in Nigeria who are more concerned with what they get out of government and for their immediate families, not minding if such negative tendencies are detrimental to nation-building. The consequences of such a paradigm are the building of few individuals and the weakening of the system of corporate good governance.
In a sane and progressive political environment, leaders and their marketers, particularly during electioneering campaigns, should be more concerned about promoting a culture of development of institutions to enhance service efficiency and productive capacity of the country that will outlive their tenure in office. Regrettably, the reverse is virtually the case. For instance, the contradictions in the political horizon in Edo State between the tears 2018 and 2021 campaigns clearly exposed the dangers of rhetoric in the marketing or demarketing of political candidates. In a country where people truly value performance and records, the immediate and long-term consequences of the projections are enormous and weighty against his chances of realizing a higher political cum elective position in the future.
At times, our politicians easily forget there is an unknown day called “tomorrow” when they are on the podium regardless of our technology age where the world is now a global village. In a recent “Live Interview” on Arise TV, a former National Chairman of All Progressive Congress and who indeed should by his exposure be a role model and more objective in analyzing the socio-political and economic agenda of the country, cautioned the electorates not to blame Bola Ahmed Tinubu for whatever are the lapses, infractions and leadership ineptitude of Buhari government. Yet his candidate has always been well known and acknowledged as the National Leader who never publicly denounced or cautioned against any policy or structure put in place by his party-led federal government. The former Chairman obviously knows the true worth of our past and present leaders.
In a similar case, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, while on a political campaign rally in Kano on Sunday, March 20, 2011 (and reported by The Vanguard, Monday, March 21, 2011, page 6) asked “What has CPC (then referring to Muhammadu Buhari) got to offer? We certainly don’t need expired leadership”. Five years after and at an older age, the same Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the architect behind the coming together of major opposition political parties and abundantly supported Muhammadu Buhari to become President of Nigeria. He anchored virtually all aspects of the campaigns with specific reference to the ability of the retired General to rescue and redirect Nigeria on the path of glory with the party’s “change” mantra.
The Sun newspaper of Thursday, September 30, 2010, reported Mallam el-Rufai to have called on “all young people of Nigeria to take their future into their hands and ensure that they vote for a new generation of leaders” By implication, el-Rufai was convinced that Muhammadu Buhari was “too old” to be trusted with the leadership of the country. A few years after, the same el-Rufai did not only join the APC with Muhammadu Buhari but he is regarded as one of the devoted supporters of Buhari’s two-term government as President at his officially declared age. Time will not permit a recall of the monumental absurdities he, el-Rufai, and his co-travelers, made against the sitting President Goodluck Jonathan, all in an effort to ensure power returns to the North.
In support of earlier submissions by Messrs Tinubu and el-Rufai on the need to have a young, intelligent, and vibrant leader to pilot the affairs of Nigeria, Babatunde Fashola, former Governor of Lagos State, pleaded that the electorates should not “put old people there ooo. If you put old people there they will sleep ooo, and they will not be able to work” – Tribune newspaper, Thursday, January 15, 2015. Fashola was conscripted into the APC-led federal government and became a Minister of the Buhari administration. He was first assigned the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works & Housing, perhaps an opportunity for him to prove that any serious government can resolve the power problem bedeviling the country within six months of inception. The position of power supply for domestic and industrial purposes and its sustainability between 2015 and now are not in doubt. Indeed, there is a huge difference between theory and practice.
As we prepare for the forthcoming national political campaign rallies, I urge Nigerians to be swift to hear and courageous to speak the truth to every candidate. Recent experiences are enough to embolden us to reason beyond ethnic and religious sentiments, and brown envelopes with temporary inducements for their selfish interest. We should be able to ask the politicians on the podium or in our villages, fundamental questions like what are their plans for the children of the downtrodden, what are their plans for the less-privileged; what are their plans for the infrastructural development of the country; what are their plans towards solving the intractable insecurity in the country; what are their plans to resolving the unending industrial disputes between government and labour unions, including the Academic Staff Union of Universities; what are their plans for the education and health care delivery for our children, etc.?
While everyone, particularly the political class, is preparing for the formal commencement of electioneering campaigns come September, some comments made by Keyamo on a Live TV channel recently, in an effort to defend obvious lapses and ineptitude, are evidence of how insensitive a man can be, to the aspirations and yearnings of the masses; the people that sacrificed their time and energy to vote. He has just tested the waters. Leadership is about providing good governance and security for the people. Keyamo’s response to the sniffling prices of basic commodities and foodstuffs as “lazy” politicking, is very instructive and an eye-opener. Similarly, it is always very cheap and easy for our political actors like Keyamo to add that Nigeria does not live in isolation or an island to herself to justify the daunting characteristics of poor leadership in Nigeria but difficult for them to do the same by drawing leaders’ attention to better climates with attractive infrastructural development, economic stability, rule of law and patriotic service.
Abraham Lincoln saw far ahead of generations when he cautioned persons in leadership positions “You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” It is hoped that Nigerians are learning from past mistakes that arose from pretentious and deceitful tendencies, to guide our desires to attain the dreamed national lofty heights of heroes past.
Leadership is service! Anyone who desires to lead must be able to show the character of a purposeful and transformational leader. Who among them is genuinely ready to make the sacrifice that will rescue and transform the country from her current setback position? This is the time to address fundamental issues on leadership and readiness to lead, not on frivolities and fallacies.
It should no longer be just about a political party but someone with the capacity, integrity, and conscience to lead all ethnic or religious nationalities inclusively, ready to accept responsibility and be held accountable. We expect the politicians to articulate their plans and programs in a simple document (manifestoes) with which the citizens will hold them accountable if elected into office.
The era of rhetoric voices, which they deliberately use to deceive and mislead the people, including our teeming youths, should no longer be tolerated or encouraged, if we truly desire to experience unity, love, equity, peace, transparency, justice, and fair-play in all spheres of governance in Nigeria.