Nigeria: Political Class Is Eating Our Tomorrow!

  

*Senate President Lawan, President Buhari, Speaker Gbajabiamila

By Paul Odili

Society grows when leaders plant trees whose shade they may never sit under — Greek Proverb 

This tirade speaks for itself. The  political class in Nigeria has not demonstrated competence; it has no sense of national mission, ideology and, or commitment. It takes the people of Nigeria for granted. It assumes that the people can be bought and manipulated and that it has the tools of how to do this.

It has gotten away with great misplacement of goals because, so far, it has not been taught a lesson by the people, and has, therefore, become hubristic. In this regard, Nigerians are advised to regard with strong skepticism signs of intelligence, humility or piety by the political class. They are not to be trusted. 

Nigeria: Political Class Is Eating Our Tomorrow

 
*Senate President Lawan, President Buhari, Speaker Gbajabiamila

By Paul Odili

Society grows when leaders plant trees whose shade they may never sit under — Greek Proverb 

This tirade speaks for itself. The  political class in Nigeria has not demonstrated competence; it has no sense of national mission, ideology and, or commitment. It takes the people of Nigeria for granted. It assumes that the people can be bought and manipulated and that it has the tools of how to do this.

It has gotten away with great misplacement of goals because, so far, it has not been taught a lesson by the people, and has, therefore, become hubristic. In this regard,Nigerians are advised to regard with strong skepticism signs of intelligence, humility or piety by the political class. They are not to be trusted. 

Coming To Terms With Niger Delta Avengers

By Paul Odili

To correct a wrong, it is sometimes necessary to exceed proper limits’. This doctrine is attributed to Mao Zedong by his personal secretary, Lin Ke.

Mao, founder of the modern communist state of China was a man of power, who had no hesitation using whatever means he judged necessary to protect his power and the state he founded. In this context, Mao was justifying the use of terror. 

I do not ordinarily believe in the use of terror by legitimate forces of the state, yet there are times you just ponder what are the options before state actors under certain circumstances. If Mao were to be the commander of Nigerian state, there is no question as to what he would do in view of the dystopia in the Niger Delta area.

The senseless attacks and economic sabotage going on in the Niger Delta by a shadowy militant group( Niger Delta Avengers) claiming to be fighting for the interest of Niger Delta, you wonder if there is no great wisdom in Mao’s doctrine. We don’t have a Mao here of course, we have PMB and PMB is no Mao clearly. And Nigerian state is neither a communist state nor resembling a Chinese society. We are Africans with our cultural mores and social and economic structure. But we are a society that must survive and we are under attack by a merciless force. Nigeria is in a state of war.

In any state of war, economic assets are legitimate targets. So what do we do? Let’s get inside PMB’s head. A retired old school Army General, strict and unbending, prides himself in promoting order and discipline above everything else, is now faced with one of the greatest existential threat yet to his administration. At a period of great economic stress, in which the main source of the government’s economic power is being systematically sabotaged and somehow he is powerless to do anything. This must be his worst nightmare! Naturally, his first instinct would be to use military force and exterminate these saboteurs.

He said as much when he declared that the Niger Delta militants would be dealt with like Boko haram. So far PMB is wrong. The terrain and associated circumstances are different. NDA have called his bluff. Almost on a daily basis one asset or the other has been blown up. Minister Ibe Kachikwu is lamenting the effect of this on oil production down to 1.4 million; the lowest production in two decades. With the hapless situation he is facing PMB must be torn between armistice with the militants or military operation to conquer. With public panic rising and economic downturn worsening with the continuation of this act of war, what should be done and done to end this conflagration once and for all?

Nigeria On The Famished Road

By Paul Odili

Apologies to Dr. Ben Okri for stealing the title of his 1991 explosive book, The Famished Road, his Booker prize winning literary work. Dr. Okri’s lush style and distinctive narration of spirit world and realism is imitable. A major sub-theme of The Famished Road is the struggle in politics between the “party of the rich and the party of the poor” in post-colonial Nigeria with its corruption, poverty and squalor.

 In mirroring Nigeria’s reality, the part(ies) of the rich prospers at the expense of the party of the poor. This article is not about expounding on The Famished Road. Rather this article is derived from a one page excerpt; sadly, of what must have been a much longer article written by Dr. Chinweizu. Which I think has a curious connection to Okri’s sub-theme of elitism, corruption and poverty. I stumbled upon Dr. Chinweizu’s article purely by chance. I regret I am unable to find the full copy of the work and having no contact with Dr. Chinweizu, I just could not wave it aside, finding the thoughts he has penned down here so engaging I felt compelled to reproduce his points copiously.

Chinweizu author and public intellectual was theorising on Nigeria elite in a deep and insightful way, and because of its aptness deserves a generous treatment (incomplete as it is). He says: “Development and prosperity are by-products of the project to build national power prestige, either out of fear of bigger powers or out of competition with rival powers. The quest for national power and prestige is the ultimate source of political will to do whatever economic development call for. It is the project of national power, not abstract moral precepts, not consumerist appetite, that best imposes on a people the discipline, accountability, probity, and appropriate systems of sanctions and rewards that form the core values of a viable society.”

Dr. Chinweizu further states, “ If Nigeria were frightened or humiliated, or otherwise stimulated, into a quest for national power and prestige, then Nigeria would find the political will to implement those excellent policies which the experts have devised, not only for health, but also for education, economic development, etc. If you doubt this statement, just reflect on what has happened to Nigerian football since we began to consciously seek prestige on the football field.”