The gale of defection from one political party to the other has started by political office holders in Nigeria. It is all for 2023 general elections. How party politics will develop in Nigeria remains to be seen. With democracy, this writer has observed that most Nigerians tend to focus on their rights, but not much is said about their responsibilities as citizens of a nation aspiring to achieve technological and economic development. Often, people focus on their rights because much of the history of humanity reveals that most leaders trample on the rights of those they lead.
So, the founders of most advanced democracies such as the United States of America (USA) had strong convictions that they should protect certain indisputable rights with which people are endowed by their creator. This has led to freedom in such countries, which is an amazing thing. But I dare say that freedom is not absolute. Freedom is a relative and subjective concept, which is beyond the scope of this article.
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Most people who desire to lead often seek leadership positions because of the perks and privileges of office. It is true. Do not mind what those seeking leadership positions say at times. They struggle for leadership positions only to create wealth for themselves and leave the remaining citizens in poverty. Nigeria is a classic example. It is not Nigerians’ right to be poor. A country that can muster almost 100 million people needs to quickly re-examine all its monetary and fiscal policies and implementation strategies.
If the government of the day will not agree to restructure the country, those in authority must come up with superior reasons why restructuring of the country is not feasible
This writer is still studying ideas and theories that matter in the 21st Century with a view to finding out whether our policy decision makers require the “Wisdom of Solomon” to tackle poverty in Nigeria. Poverty has eaten deep into the fabrics of the society that our country is still the poverty capital of the world. We need to change the narrative immediately because 105 million Nigerians are reported to live in poverty. But what do we need to do in order to create and improve access to jobs, provide millions of people with access to basic social services, and above all empower those living in poverty?
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Of what use is any policy that cannot create wealth, and help in the management of water and other mineral resources in Nigeria. What could be done so that water is effectively managed, security provided, and rural roads repaired so that those living in rural communities whose livelihood depend on agriculture can make a living. Do we need to make the nation’s irrigation system operational so that we can have more crop yields? Do we need to remove barriers in order to facilitate equal access to resources and services by citizens?
Do we need to improve and provide access to electricity? How do we ensure that leaders and followers obey laws and regulations? These questions appear rhetorical but they need to be answered. We must acknowledge though, that state and federal governments have spent trillions of Naira on health, education, security, physical and technical infrastructure, agricultural programs, and others in order to have economic growth in the last two decades. Yet, the economy appears not to be moving.
However, as leaders at home, in the workplace, and in government, we should always be aware that leadership carries responsibility, and that what we do affects the people whose feelings and well – being are within our influence. The influence we have with others will either be positive or negative. It is a matter of choice. “A life is not significant except for its positive impact on other lives.” If our political office holders choose to influence others and become better leaders, it is because they have a mindset of adding value to their followers.
We are in a new decade, which the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) says is a “decade of action.” Joe Biden, the 46th President of the USA refers to the new decade as a “decade of decision.” You may wish to call it a decade of restructuring for Nigeria. Or you may decide to call it a decade of responsibility. Why restructuring? There is a clamor for restructuring by most Nigerians. If the government of the day will not agree to restructure the country, those in authority must come up with superior reasons why restructuring of the country is not feasible. After all, there was a promise by the ruling party APC that the country will be restructured. Can we say that the leadership of APC lied to Nigerians with false promise on restructuring? May be or maybe not.
In this decade, hopefully, we are going to witness two major general elections in 2023 and 2027 respectively. What manner of elected political leaders are we expecting to have in the new decade in all 36 states and at the federal level, piloting the affairs of Nigeria after general elections? With a flawed electoral process, effective leaders are not likely to emerge. In order to get the right leaders to rule the country, we need to completely overhaul our electoral processes starting from the elections at the ward level.
Too many leaders in our country think that leadership is all about themselves. That perhaps, is the reason why a few years ago, former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, gave life to the phrase “stomach infrastructure” to describe the selfish inducement of Nigerians especially those in government and public offices. Within Nigeria’s political context, “stomach infrastructure” means the politics of the belly in which national resources are consumed at will by political office holders and their collaborators.
Good leaders will always focus on the need and wants of the people they govern. And as much as possible make their people’s hope and dreams a priority. The people of a nation will rejoice when their dreams and the vision of their leaders come into alignment. What we have seen in the past two decades of our democracy is a misalignment between the visions of political office holders and the aspirations of the people that voted them into political offices. Thank you.
To be continued…
