By Pieray Awele Odor
I am an OBIdient! I cannot hide my choice or pretend about it. I have told my friends this as we discussed the man who merits to be the next president among the contestants for this highest position in Nigeria and, as Mr. Boris Johnson said, “The best job in the country”; not the best job for me though! I have also told them that what is important is why anyone supports any candidate.
This should be the basis for discuss about who should be the next president. I chose to support Mr. Peter Obi because of his four bases for asking Nigerians to vote for him. These are “No shishi”, “Character”, “Track record” and Trust”. This is unique in Nigerian politics! Indeed it is phenomenal! In this piece, as contribution Toward a New and Better Nigeria, I shall discuss “No shishi”.
“No shishi” signifies
a political contract. It is incumbent on all the people who have been going
from one state, village and community to another to know that for telling the
people to vote for them and adding what they will do when they win, they are
making an offer to the people; and that when the people vote for them, based on
what they said they will do, they express acceptance of their offer; and,
hence, that a contract is established between them and the people.
This contract has legitimacy like any other contract. The people
preserve the right to enforce it and to sue for any breach of it. These rights
of the people is why I have argued among my friends and in the book that has
the title of this piece that the people are participants in governance and NOT
followers. It is insulting to call Nigerian electorate “followers” or
“followership” because it derogates from their superior status vis-à-vis
government functionaries.
In terms of business, which is what all politicians consider
politics to be, the people own the business because they employ the president,
governors, legislators and local government chairmen directly by voting for
them. They own the business because they are the real rick bearers for not
being absolutely certain that the people they vote for will be loyal to them
when they vote.
They employ ministers, commissioners, etc, indirectly
because these people are appointed by the people whom they employ directly. This
is why Dr. Chris Ngige was categorically wrong and disrespectful to lecturers
when he said: “They cannot dictated for their employers how they should be
paid”.
Concerning direct employments, what politicians say they
will do during campaigns amount to applications for employments. The votes cast
for each of them signifies employment. The employments impose duty and
responsibility on the people who occupy positions in the political structure of
Nigeria to serve the people by doing all that they want and ask for, for their
good and the good of Nigeria, as applies generally in employer-employee relations.
The reality about Nigerian politicians however is that while
they are in the positions that the people graciously put them, they make
themselves Ubermensch — authority, principle, god and lord — over the people,
and the people their slaves. They use the power that the people entrusted them
with concerning their interests to deny the people what they have right to have
as their employers to oppress them, cause them to suffer poverty, hunger,
diseases and death; homelessness and hopelessness. They do these absolutely wrong
and obnoxious things as democrats, and the people cannot punish them.
This is another reason it is absolutely wrong to say
“democracy is the best form of government” and “the most liberal dictatorship
is worse than the worse democracy”. Note: “By their fruits we shall know them”
(Matthew 7:15-16), “For forms of government let fools contest. Whatever is best
administered is best” (Alexander Pope, 1734). I rest my case against the
dictatorship of democracy for now.
Now to my interest proper, Mr. Peter Obi’s political
contract. His offer to Nigerians is expressed thus: “I, Mr. Peter Obi, will not
give you shshi in order that you will
vote for me as other people did and my major co-contestants have been doing. When
you vote for me in spite of not receiving shishi
from me, when I become the next president, I will not steal, loot or embezzle shisi. They loot your shishi then play philanthropists with
it! I will not build mansions, buy fleet of cars and establish companies with your
shishi as they do. I will not store your
shishi in banks in Nigeria or launder
it in foreign banks as others did and do.
“I recognise that God blessed Nigeria with good population
of intelligent, energetic, and hardworking people, and natural resources. I
recognise that I must be absolutely loyal to you when I become your president, because
you made me president by voting for me, and because voting for me imposes
contractual trust on me. I will dedicate and commit myself to carry out my
duties and responsibilities to you as a covenant. I will do all that are good
for you and not what are good for me,
what are good for me and my family, what are good for me, my family and
members of my party, or what are good for me, my family, members of my party, and
my friends.
“I will not transfer the loyalty that I owe you to the IMF,
World Bank, WTO, Paris Club, other globalist organisations, sundry proxies who
call themselves “experts” and “consultants”. Selfishness by others harmed your economy,
currency value and development very seriously. I will not be selfish. Vote for
me and establish the contract which I, Mr. Peter Obi, formally enter into with
you today consciously, deliberately, and freely. Thank you very much in
anticipation that you will carry out your part of the contract by voting for me”.
*Prince Pieray Awele Odor, an Independent Researcher and Public Good Promoter, writes from Akoka, Lagos (PrincePeterAweleOdor@gmail.com)
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