In civilized societies the people know their rights and obligation. The sovereign power is in the hands of the people. They build systems and strong institutions that protect these rights and empower them to meet their obligations to the state.
Nigeria as country is a place of contradictions and paradoxes. When the late Afro-beat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti released his hit track “suffering and smiling” in the 70s many thought he was speaking of the Nigerians of that era, under the control of the military juntas, but Fela’s words seems to be true about Nigerians of every generation. In my over fifty years of living on this planet, I have sojourned and lived in many countries but I have seen a people as tolerant of bad leadership and poor governance as Nigerians. And I have never seen a people that can endure misery and hardship as Nigerians. I have never seen a people so afraid to defend their interest and fight for their rights as Nigerians. I have also not seen a people that run away from their responsibilities as Nigerians. Nigeria is a land of anything goes. A land where leaders are never held accountable for their actions and where followers never care what their leaders do.
Nigeria has everything required to build a great nation; but paradoxically the country is in a comatose state due poor leadership. The great literary giant, Prof. Chinua Achebe in one of his book entitled “The Problem with Nigeria” published in 1983 identified leadership as the bane of the Nigerian state. In truth, the country Nigeria has not been fortunate with leadership save for one or dynamic leaders in the past. The rest are either, cruel blood thirsty tyrants, weak political puppets or greedy, self-seeking political demigods. The result has been inept dysfunctional leadership that is insensitive to the needs of the citizenry. And the people carry on as if that is normal. In Nigeria, aberration is normalcy.
But in reality, you can’t talk about leadership without the followership. It is said that every society deserves the kind of leadership that they have. This is because the leaders themselves are the product of the society more so as it the people that elect the leaders. The society has the mechanism to elect and change their leaders as expected. This means that the responsibility of making the leaders is the function of the people. Choosing or tolerating the leaders depends on the awareness of the people and their values. Dynamic and informed societies will elect and hold their leaders accountable in line with their shared vision and when there is deviation from that, the people will revolt. But in Nigeria it is never so; the right to protest is never there. In Nigeria civil disobedience is treasonable.
In civilized societies the people know their rights and obligation. The sovereign power is in the hands of the people. They build systems and strong institutions that protect these rights and empower them to meet their obligations to the state. The fundamental human rights: the rights to live, the right to freedom of association, the right to freedom of expression, the right to exercise your electoral franchise and other rights are guaranteed. The government provides security to lives and property and enabling that allows the people to make honest living. The leaders and the people are all subject to the rule of law. The agencies of the government work to protect the people and ensure that the system is working. And the people contribute to the state treasury by paying their taxes. In this scenario, the leaders are conscious of their responsibilities and obligation to the state and the people and would always keep to their mandate because they know that the people are sensitive to their actions and would react to every wrong move from them. Thus, those in authority are wary of their conducts but within and outside office. Misdemeanor would result in scandal and public outrage; rejection and resignation.
In Nigeria, it is a different ball game. The citizens have no rights or say. Those in power are the Lords who lord it over the people. Those in power do what please them. They formulate policies that suit them and not the people. It is in Nigeria that the public highway is closed for hours because one government official is passing by. It is in Nigeria that the country has no official airline but the president has nine private jets in his fleet. It is in Nigeria that a government official is traveling in a retinue of twenty cars and the other road users a driven away from the road. It is in Nigeria that a public official will be travelling with scores of security officers while our towns, villages and streets have security presence. The presence of security officers rather than protect the people, intimidate bully and extort those that they are supposed to protect. It is Nigeria that public officers loot public funds with reckless abandon and subject the people to pain and anguish and the people will not just endure it but celebrate their oppressors. It is Nigeria that people will complain about the hardship inflicted on them by the government and still defend the officials accused of embezzlement.
During election periods, Nigerians don’t ask candidates about their programs or the content of their manifestoes. They don’t ask to know about the character or the pedigree of those standing for elective positions. They don’t care about qualification, credibility or capability. Nigerian’s election decision rule is just about where the candidates come from or his faith; every other thing is secondary. Yes, some say the votes don’t count in Nigeria. The votes don’t because we don’t want it to count. There are rigging and electoral malfeasance because we tolerate it. How many times have Nigerians protested about rigging and insist the right things be done. The so-called politicians use the same suffering masses to rig themselves into power. The same youth whom the politicians have rendered jobless and unemployable will be the ones used to perpetrate mayhem during elections. The professors in our ivory towers will be used to rig vagabonds and touts who don’t value education into power and then turn around to complain and then embark on industrial action because education is underfunded in the country.
As Cassius told Brutus in the Shakespearean Julius Caesar, “the fault dear Nigerians is not in our stars but in us. Yes, the fault is in us Nigerians for we directly and indirectly make the leaders. We seem not to understand the notion of leadership and governance. We submit our will, our freedom and our rights to those in power to trample on. We are lackadaisical and lethargic in manners of governance. We don’t take those in authority to task. They act with impunity and reckless abandon and nobody cares. We celebrate those who are corrupt when they flaunt their ill-gotten wealth and hold in derision those who are honest. It is like Nigerians enjoy suffering. Nigerians would prefer their tribe’s man in power rather good governance or improved welfare. It is suffering and smiling and this situation will continue until Nigerians learn the essence of public leadership and governance.
Hajia Hadiza Mohammed
[email protected]
An actress, social activist, politician
London, UK