FEATURE ARTICLE

E O EkeFriday, March 27, 2015
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NIGERIA, A REPUBLIC, NOT CRIMINAL PARADISE

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hen you look at the way Nigerian politicians behave, their audacity, sense of entitlement and hubristic attitude that has nothing but contempt for the opposition and people, you would think that Nigeria is either an aristocracy or a monarchy and wonder how they secured their impunity.

No! Nigeria is a republic and not an aristocracy or monarchy. Therefore, the duty of her government must be first and foremost to the people and not to Ezes, Obas, Emirs, kings, ex-military coup plotters and dictators and party leaders and the foremost responsibility of the people should be to hold those entrusted with power accountable.

The first duty of a republican government is to defend the rights of the citizens from whom it derives its power and ensure that crimes are investigated and those responsible brought to justice, no matter their position in the society, who they know or are related to or how rich they are.

This is the single most important ingredient lacking in the Nigeria soup and which must be added to make it taste like a democracy.

A responsive government aware of its obligations to the people from whom it derives its power, will not pander to party leaders, traditional rulers and ex military chiefs at the expense of the people. It will not seek to bribe interest groups in the hope that they would keep the people from revolting against their excesses. It will administer the law and uphold the constitution which asserts that all men are born free and equal before the law.

A people aware of their duty and rights, would question the source of sudden wealth and ensure that those whose duty it is to police the treasury are not taking more than their fair share. This is how a democracy is supposed to operate and there is no reason whatsoever, why it should be different just because our preferred carbohydrate is different.

Therefore, the pandering of politicians to select group of people, chiefs, traditional rules and self appointed community leaders, as if they have two votes, instead of engaging directly with the people, says something sinister about the conception of politicians, in a representative democracy.

The business of Government in a republic, should be the welfare and rights of the people and, whenever a republic fails to prioritise the interest and welfare of the people and put the interest and welfare of a group or organisation over and above that of the people, such a government has failed and such a country cannot claim to be a republic, in the true sense and meaning of the word.

Educating Nigerians to understand that the government is established to serve them and that they should be vigilant to know, when those in power are misusing their power for selfish ends is their civic duty in a democracy should be part of change.

The failure of the Jonathan's administration has been tragic. He has so much good will. Many Nigerians believed in him as the boy without shoes, but he has failed spectacularly in all indexes of good governance, civil society and morality. It has failed to build a civil society United under common values and interests. He has divided the country and govern by fraud, force and contrivance, when all it needed to do is affirm that all men are created equal with equal rights and ensure that all are treated fairly and the law respects neither riches nor position.

He has failed in securing the borders of Nigeria and representing the very people who elected him, I suppose. Nigeria's worst Night mare just began

If the revelations in the last few days are anything to go by, Nigeria has just entered her dark ages and no one knows, when the nightmare would end. The existence of an insurgency, which gets its arms from the same people who supply the government they are fighting, and significant number of people who share their ideology, but not their method or tactics is any country's worst nightmare. With a presidential candidate who has stated publicly that he shares the same aims with them, what hope has Nigerians for peaceful coexistence in a secular society, where the rights of all, include to hold any religious and political beliefs are granted?

The current reality in Nigeria has created a win , win situation for the arm manufactures, who are supplying both the Nigerian government and Boko Haram. On top of it, foreign armies are paid to fight Nigeria's war, for the simple reason that successive governments, afraid military coups, have underdeveloped and underfunded the military and whatever remains was stolen by millionaire generals, unaware that once, an army is paid by a foreign power to fight a war, that war will never end as no man will willingly fire himself from a lucrative job.

The lesson of the relationship between America, Pakistan's army and the Talibans shows how an army sustains an insurgency to keep the money flowing.

It seems that Nigerians have not realised what has happened to Nigeria.

Some years ago, when I wrote 'Nigeria wake up hell has come home' I did not know that the disaster would be as bad as it is. I did not know that the government would stand by and watch Boko Haram slaughter innocent children, pregnant women and helpless elderly people. I could not imagine that more than two hundred girls could be taken from their school and the government not touched to do everything in its power to free them. I did not fathom that the Nigerian army would be routed by a rag rag insurgent group. I did know that Nigeria would walk into the trap of arm manufactures, who have interest in the wars and would want her to remain a permanent customer. Worst of all, it never crossed my mind, that the boy, who once went to school without shoes, will forget what education mention to him.

I have wondered why Black people and Arabs have not asked themselves, why is it only in their region that differences are often settled by war. Why do they easily resort to violence to settle differences amongst themselves, while Caucasians talk first and then resort to war, when all fails? Why are Black and Arab lives so cheap, while Caucasian and other lives have so much values?

Well, it well be because in many African and Arab countries, leaders behave like Jonathan, Obasanjo, Babangida, Museveni, Mugabe, Buhari, Zuma , Gadaffi and many like, Femi Fani-Kayode, Ahmed Tinubu and T A Orji, etcetera, line up to cheer them.

When will hope return to Nigeria ? When will the years of cankerworm end? Maybe, Nigerians should ask not when a democratic leader will emerge, but when they would take up their responsibilities of democrats. Change will come to Nigeria, when Nigerian leaders are promised the inflexible and the fixed certainty of retribution for wrongs.

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