Of Politics and Babel

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Voltaire
"If we do not believe in freedom of expression for those we despise we do not believe in it at all." - Noam Chomsky

A babel of political voices is threatening to drown us all. The biblical account of the tower of babel is apposite here. An attempt by the early inhabitants of the earth to build a tower up to heaven was foiled by the confusion of tongues through the agency of an angel. Since then and ever since, man has been forced to disperse to the four corners of the earth, each inhabiting a space where tongue do not differ. But since man is by nature gregarious, he is often seen crossing boundaries and making do with interpreters. You must be living in Mars if you fail to notice the din of political tongues wagging all over the place. When the politicians were dispersed is really unknown to me but I suspect INEC has a hand in it. 

It all started rather innocuously when our dear departed president Yar' Adua was seen to be incapable of continuing in office. From the benefit of hindsight, so many kitchen 'cabinetters', having read the hand writing on the wall began the macabre dance of hide and seek, a ploy to buy time and at the same time bide their time, hoping in the long run to manoeuvre power in such a way that  President Goodluck would sooner than you can say "Jack Robinson" find himself beating a hasty retreat down the road to Otueke. They were hoping to assemble at the broth so concocted to ingratiate themselves with the spoils of office. But what many have termed as 'divine intervention' frustrated their every move. Everything done in secret was revealed in the open even before the break of day. The rabid selfishness of not a few government officials and their politician cousins was laid bare for all to see and denigrate. We saw through their every move to deny Goodluck Jonathan the honour to continue from where Yar' Adua stopped. It was a babel of voices interpreting what they knew nothing about. It was a babel of voices opposing what they knew very little about. It was a babel of ethno-religious bigotism masquerading as 'Zoning Formula.' How can you be talking of a zoning formula when an event alien to your zoning permutation has taken place? Was there a time when those who framed and championed zoning factored in a situation where nature takes its course? Is there no such thing as an 'Act of God?' And in all cases where an act of God occurs, it alters all your calculations and brings to the fore the saying that man proposes, God disposes. And so it was with PDP Zoning formula. God has disposed of it and this must be respected by all. I am not one to use the name of the Lord lightly but in the sense of this discourse, the natural course of events since the death of Yar' Adua points to some divine manipulation if you will, albeit not in the strictest religious sense. 

Now that Jonathan has signified intent to vie for the presidency, there is the din of voices again, shouting themselves hoarse about some zoning formula that must be respected. The babel is somewhat confusing at times because they find it difficult to run away from the fact that Jonathan has a fundamental right guaranteed by the constitution to vie for any office in the land, including the presidency. How this sits with those clamouring for north-south rotation is difficult to fathom. That this gratuitous arrangement is offensive in the extreme to every 'minority' tribe is lost on the so-called majority. The misnomer of 'rotation' among the big tribes of the north and south needs to be pointed out to the jingoists. It is more appropriately an oscillation between north and south. A rotation will inevitably involve and touch every area in its circular path. The time to silence the babel of voices is now. It is time we considered merit. It is time we considered credibility. It is time we considered justice to one and all. This is the time to consider the 'minorities.'

Furthermore, any attempt to make our constitution subservient to a party's constitution must be resisted. We are happy that President Goodluck himself has broken his long silence on the zoning controversy. He pointedly told Nigerians that zoning was never meant to affect the presidential slot. The logic behind this is that all other posts in PDP are shared or 'zoned' depending on which zone produced the presidential candidate. The presidential candidate by extension of the simple logic is therefore produced by the exigencies of the moment as has happened in this case. This explanation is clear enough for everyone to understand except those who have claimed the presidency as their birth right and will not see reason, either now or in the nearest future. Pity.

The Good in Goodluck Jonathan

There is something refreshing about the way President Goodluck Jonathan intends to run his campaign. It is obvious that he learnt a lot from the way President Barack Obama ran his campaign - and won.

For some months now the President has been on Facebook. As expected, he has loads of 'friends' and he has been making good use of the opportunity to interact on a personal level with Nigerians which is very novel in these parts. It is heart warming that the President recognises that we have gone past the digital age. We are in the Information age; it is here with us in living colours, in email, on websites, in blogs, on hand helds, on your mobile phone, on Facebook, in MySpace,  on Twitter, in Delicious, on Digg - you name it. These social media drives the information age. We are all witnesses to how President Obama leveraged technology and the web to his advantage. He was able to mobilize a critical mass of voters who hitherto were nonchalant  about electoral matters in the United States. He raised millions of dollars in campaign funds through micro donations from his campaign website. While his opponent was lazily collecting restricted federal funds, Obama opted to forgo such funding. He knew what he was doing. In the end he collected so much in donations that he could match and even out run John McCain in their media wars.

However, over and above everything else, Obama was able to communicate one-on-one with the voters through his facebook page and by email and twitter. And he continues to do so even as President which is unprecedented. Obama's Facebook page is very popular not only in the US but around the world. He is able to reach his people and get raw, unadulterated feedback from them. Like this, he can gauge the reaction and effects of government policies in the lives of ordinary citizens. So it is very refreshing that our very own Goodluck Jonathan is treading this pioneering path. Jonathan's Facebook page has tremendously helped ordinary folks like me to meet him one-on-one and communicate our deepest feelings. And he responds. On his page, he has been able to sell his ideas directly to me. He has been able to explain some the policy thrusts of his government. This makes for maximum impact because if I have any contrary view to some of his claims, I give it back to him right there unedited, unsifted. This is the essence of the information age - the democratization of media and ideas.

Some of those discredited politicians coming out of the woodwork know next to nothing about the age we are living in. It is very probable that they intend to rule with ancient ideas and methods. We know them. We have seen them before say the same things, promise the same things, cajole us, bribe us but no sooner are the gates of government house shut behind them do they also shut us out of their minds and programmes completely. From then on, the government is for them and their families, friends, cohorts, bootlickers, thugs and the like. They scant hear us no matter how hard we shout - they have bought over the media houses or firmly controlled the state media house - they scant pay attention to us as they whizz past in their long convoys cocooned in bullet-proof vehicles with tinted glasses, yes tinted glasses - they don't want to bother their conscience with the spectre of an impoverished population that voted them in. In this campaign season, they are stepping out of the tinted bullet-proof vehicles. They are climbing down from their Hill Top residences, they are coming to promise us this and that. Their information managers (read Special Assistant on Media or Commissioner for Information and Strategy) are flagellating all over the place trying their best to recast the stories of their principals in good light. But they fail. We are a more enlightened society even if not more educated. We shall not be deceived.

I have read President Goodluck's declaration to run on Facebook. He has started well by not promising eldorado once he is elected. This shows that he is leader who is firmly rooted in reality. Nigeria's developmental problems took all of 50 years to mature into some complex labyrinth that cannot be unknotted in four or even eight years. So those promising fours years "to lay a foundation" for development should go back to their luxury hilltop to lap up what is left of Nigeria's stolen billions in their custody. But it would have made more sense to bring what is left of the billions of dollars as restitution so that we can start the 'development' by ploughing the money into electricity transmission for instance. Nigerians would easily forgive such acts of repentance rather than the braggadocio in-your-face antics presently being paraded. Nigerians need a leader who is in touch with the people. Not a leader in touch with sycophants. Not a leader who is 'larger than life' because of stolen wealth.

In recounting some of his modest achievements in the short time he has been in office, we see President Jonathan not overly thumping his chest as haven met all the expectations of Nigerians. He did not magnify anything. He merely said those improvements are the things expected of a government that works for the people. He is making a sublime statement that government is about service. It is about providing infrastructure. It is about improving the living standards of the people. That was the reason he was voted in with Yar' Adua in the first place. So, if he is providing those things that he was elected to provide, why should we thank him for it as if the funds used belonged to him. I give kudos to Jonathan for thinking straight, it shows he has grasped the full import of governance. It has never ceased to amaze me when state governors, presidents or public officers holding high positions in government consciously go out of their way to get sycophants to take out full page adverts to congratulate them for building roads and bridges, schools and hospitals, or delivering the so-called dividends of democracy. Pray, whose money was used to build those facilities? So if a governor spends government money for the people, we have to thank him? Thank him for doing his job? Or are we thanking him for spending the money for our benefit instead of 'chopping' it? A monumental shift in thinking is what the average and high-minded politician needs in this country. They should stop paying lip-service to democracy. Democracy is for the people, not for brigands parading themselves as democrats.

The Terror in Aba

Nigerians living in the South East are daily inundated with terrible news of armed robbery, kidnapping and brigandage along the Port Harcourt-Aba Express road and within Aba township itself. It is very frightening the manner and frequency of these criminal activities. Not least the fact that these criminals almost certainly are in military or police uniforms. They set up road blocks to deceive the public into believing that they are security men on 'stop and search'. On the said Aba road, hardly a day passes without these criminals running berserk killing and maiming. The police and the army should be very concerned that criminals are impersonating them to commit heinous crimes.

The situation is so dire that no right thinking person should set foot in Aba if he really loves his or her life. I pity those who live there. Robbers routinely write letters to banks informing them of their intending visit and actually keep the appointment! We hear that the police in Abia state are generally reluctant  to respond to the impending invasion even when they are informed in advance. This leaves the citizens helpless and powerless against the rampaging thieves and robbers. The daily carnage as a result is better imagined. All manner of kidnappings are daily fare in Aba, so also are robberies and even rape. The sad part is that most times the robberies and kidnappings happen right under the noses of policemen busy collecting N20 'toll' from hapless motorists. The other day my niece and her husband were robbed along that road within a proximate distance from a police check point. They were fortunate to be alive to tell the story because they were nearly abducted if not for an argument that arose between the robbers.

What really is happening in Aba? Why is the government so insensitive to the situation? And why is the police also inept in arresting the murderous trend? Is Aba steadily sliding into anarchy? As an important commercial hub, does it not fall within the responsibilities of the state government to act proactively to confront the criminals strangulating the city?  How many more lives must be lost before appropriate actions are taken? What will it take for instance for the police to constantly patrol the entire highway from Port Harcourt to Aba to vet the numerous checkpoints along the route? How is it that the police does not have intelligence on criminals operating along the highway? Rumours are rife that the criminals holding Aba hostage are well known socialites and even traditional rulers.

It is very unfortunate that kidnapping has become big business in Aba. It is now an official item to be included in the traders ware or 'market' as they call it. How sad and bestial. Even students of higher institutions are not left out. They have been implicated in several cases of kidnappings and ransom takings. Now, everybody is at the risk of being kidnapped and there are no boudaries. They kidnap drivers as they kidnap pastors, they kidnap labourers as they kidnap children. Just about every and anybody can be kidnapped. The physical and mental torture to which kidnappers subject their victims is better imagined. We have heard tales of  the cruelty of these kidnappers and it beggars belief the utterly sadist methods employed by them to extract maximum ransom. We have heard tales about how victims are tied to trees in the open bush for days on end, under rain or shine, exposed to the elements, insects, snakes and other dangerous animals. To add to the misery of the hapless victim, there is the constant beatings and taunting. How wicked! How sad! A manifest case of man's inhumanity to man, an Orwellian conundrum depicting how low we have sunk as a nation in 50 years! And now, as if to commemorate our 50th independence, a Nigerian syndicate has managed to 'export' kidnapping to Malaysia. This will further dent our image in the comity of nations inspite of Dora Akunyili's tepid efforts at burnishing it.

That the menace of kidnapping is continuing unabated into the forth coming elections in 2011 presents a very frightful prospect. State governments nationwide (yes, it has become a national issue, witness the kidnappings in Abuja and Kaduna) should urgently consider enacting stiff laws to check this horrendous trend. I believe that this, among other measures such as creating job opportunities for our teeming idle youths, the provision of social infrastructure for the survival of  informal and small scale businesses will go a long way to stop this cankerworm from spreading any further.  May God help us!

On Your Marks, Get Set.....

It has started. Politics I mean. Not yet the jingles, not yet the campaigns, but the race has started. In earnest. You mean you have not noticed? I can't blame you because the way of the politician is deceptive and passeth all understanding. For those of us conversant with the mentality of the Nigerian politician, nothing is too sacred and nothing too base for them to do to achieve their goals. The house of God is patronised as much as the house of Satan. The politician can be found supporting one cause or the other in the church, attending church services in the full glare of the press and at night escape to the shanty, dark hut of the witch doctor throwing cowrie shells on the sand, trying to see tomorrow (apologies, Gabriel Okara).

The promises they made four years ago to provide pipe borne water, electricity, schools, health centres, you name it, could not be fulfilled because, "you know, there is economic downturn", The same politician who promised to turn water into wine during the campaigns. He also promised to provide air conditioners in all our streets! Now that elections are around the corner, these are being 'fulfilled' (how convenient!). So there is no more economic downturn? Can you not see the rush to complete roads? the rush to provide electricity? the rush to sink boreholes here and there? how about that bridge that one state governor and the man at the house of representative were struggling to take credit for? It was widely reported that there was a shouting match during the commissioning in a manner unbefitting for high government officials. Some witnesses swear that there was fisticuffs. Nigerian politicians! If I may digress, the 'affray' was needless. It would have made more sense if one party had gone to commission the bridge and left, and the other party goes to do their own commissioning with a fresh plaque beside the earlier plague. You see? The more the merrier! After all, if you listened to both parties, you will be led to believe that each party contributed to the successful (partial) completion of the project in equal measure; the only snag being that like cat and mouse, both big men cannot occupy the same space at the same time in their own state! Otherwise, it would have been a sweet joint commissioning. The battle for the soul of that state had begun in earnest.

Back from that digression, the year 2011 promises to be one hell of a year for Nigerians. For most states of the federation to abandon governance this early to pursue the politics of successions is very worrisome. It is more worrisome for those state governors who 2011 or not, are acquitting themselves creditably and credibly.Unlike other places where we see 'political' projects, these performing states started witnessing a sea change in the provision of amenities from the very onset of the government. Where there was no money, creative ways and means were sought and adopted to provide some level of acceptable social infrastructure. Internally generated revenue doubled and even tripled in those states. Citizens were educated as to their civic duties. They were made to understand that civic rights followed civic duties. And because they trusted their governments, the citizens cooperated and paid their taxes which the governments wisely deployed to VISIBLE and VERIFIABLE projects. Not white elephants. For such forward looking governments, the fear of electoral loss is not the drive to belatedly think about the welfare of their citizens. They saw their first term mandate as a contract that must be executed because they loved their citizens. They are truly committed to the welfare of their citizens. The privilege to serve was not lost on them. In other words, they did not seek power for the sake of flaunting power. They sought power because they MEANT to make a difference in the lives of their citizens. Even if such leaders are irreligious, they regard power as a sacred trust, a trust that must not be betrayed on the alter of primitive greed or unbridled corruption. We are proud of such governors. The sky can only be their limit.

As for the rest of the so-called leaders hell bent on capturing power whether they performed well or not, we sympathize with them. If the idea of One Man One Vote takes hold and is sustained throughout the elections of 2011, we shall have the political landscape littered with electoral casualties - their just reward for ineptitude, wickedness and crass opportunism.