Still on 2023 and Political masquerades
Last week, we metaphorically likened presidential aspirants to masquerades
stepping out for the proverbial election dance come 2023. We tried to
articulate the qualities and competencies candidates must have to gain the
attention and trust of the electorate. We further, argued that this is the best
time for us to start examining the candidates and demanding that they inform
us about their vision for Nigeria and what they are bringing to the table in
terms of skills, experiences, dedication, and knowledge that will benefit
Nigeria when they are elected President. Today , we are yielding the column
to my erudite friend and bother Dr Gift Worlu to expatiate on some of the
issues raised in the last column and pontificate, in his unique, peculiar
manner, on the “Moses, that will lead Nigeria out of Egypt”. I profoundly thank
Dr Gift Worlu for adding value to this discourse.
I am a regular reader of my friend Dr Dakuku Adol
Peterside’s weekly column. His interesting offering of January 17, 2022 titled
“2023: Where are the masquerades” took me down memory lane to my
childhood days when I wore and decorated masquerades in my Choba village
as it then was, in the company of now entertainment icon Julius D’Genius
Agwu and other young men. Dr Peterside, in straightforward language,
discussed the socio-cultural importance of masquerades and shared his
general knowledge of ‘masquerades’ as an Opobo-Ijaw man, and likened
politicians to ‘masquerades’, vide: “As the drumbeat of the 2023 election
dance started, we have seen big “political masquerades “coming out to
declare their interest in the struggle for power and relevance. Across party
lines, powerful politicians likened to big masquerades, and their cohorts are
showcasing introductory and essential aspects of their election dance and
using both old and novel gimmicks to make known their interest in the
presidency of Nigeria.”
This piece lends a voice to the pungent views of Dr Peterside on the qualities
masquerade watchers (voters) should look out for in masquerades (politicians)
before giving them gifts (votes) and deciding on the best masquerade (the
President). Masquerades are useless without people watching them, and they
enjoy their displays, cheer them up and present gifts, and choose the best
masquerade for the season. And this is where this whole masquerade analogy
makes much sense. As we watch the masquerades display on behalf of
themselves and those that decorated them, we must critically assess them,
cheer up those with skilled dance steps and then make up our minds on those
that will get our votes. What follows are essential qualities that should guide
our choice and why.
President Buhari would have led or ruled Nigeria for eight years by next year.
Opinion about his stewardship is dichotomously split into binary opposites.
Some say he did well, but many, including yours faithfully, believe he failed so
disappointingly and woefully. I feel Nigerians are more divided, hungrier,
angrier, and hopeless today than in 2015 when he took the reins of power
from a “clueless” President Jonathan.
In a recent TV interview, the President admitted that he failed the nation,
blaming his age and health. There is no doubt that the suffering of Nigerians
worsened and continues under Buhari’s watch. Thus, Nigerians do not want
excuses or blame games ever again. All they want is a good and trustworthy
leader who, like Moses, will lead the children of Israel out of Egypt into the
promised land of peace, justice, unity, and prosperity. They want to eat the
fruit of the labour of their hero’s past – a land that is bound in freedom, peace,
and harmony. The Nigeria of our dreams is possible if only we understand that
“the fault is not in our stars but in ourselves, that we are underlings-“
2022 is the best time for candidates to begin indicating their interest in running
for the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and convincing the people
of their capacity to deliver if given the job. Besides, it provides Nigerians
ample time to ask questions and examine the candidates, dig deep into their
personality traits, leadership experience, track records of achievement, and an
unflinching desire to serve Nigerians for the good of all.
I share the views of Dr Peterside that to lead Nigeria today, you must be a
visionary who can guide Nigerians to articulate a national vision. Vision is
everything, and it gives direction and ignites thinking about reaching the
desired destination. With a vision, you can see the end from the beginning and
everything in-between. The issue is, where do we want Nigeria to be in, say,
the next 5, 10, 50 years, and how do we intend to get there? What challenges
and opportunities lie ahead, and what decisions/actions must we take to get
there? What will happen should we fail to redirect our path away from the
dangerous road we have been traveling since independence?
We urgently need a strong enough vision to permanently scare away men and
women of little learning and questionable characters that ubiquitously
dominate Nigeria’s political firmament. I mean men and women that know
nothing but how to use the money to get power and then use power to get
more money. Take or loathe it, the violence and indiscipline we see in Nigeria
today is a direct consequence of the violence, indiscipline and all the
shenanigans that successive governments reward, wittingly or unwittingly .
Character, capacity, and competence are other qualities we require from the
candidates. Nigeria is richly blessed with good people. Unfortunately, very few
are in our dirty and deadly politics. Whereas politics is a fine art and
democracy is one of humanity’s greatest inventions, Nigerian politicians have
failed to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people. To lead complex
Nigeria, we need a leader who can generate higher internal complexity to take
advantage of the opportunities in an ever dynamic and uncertain world. Ross
Ashby’s law of requisite variety states that as variety proliferates, “only variety
can absorb variety.” “Eneke the bird,according to Chinua Achebe, says, since
men have learnt to shoot without missing, it has learnt to fly without perching.”
Nigeria faces many problems that pose an existential threat to our corporate
unity and progress. So we need a leader who has the requisite tools,
knowledge and skills. This period is no time for trial and error, as 2023 is a
make-or-mar for Nigeria. We need a leader with the capacity to change the
cultural landscape. Before we talk about infrastructure, economy, and
insecurity, we need to address the issue of our culture and values. Nigerians
and non-Nigerians alike see and describe the country with such derogatory
words as a shithole, zoo, poverty capital, irredeemable, hopeless, useless,
unhappiness capital, jungle, failed, ghetto, rogue state.
Many Nigerians do not trust their leaders. This mental programming must
change before anything else. Nigeria needs a Cultural
Revolution- akin to what Chairman Mao Zedong did in China from 1949 when
he became President of the People’s Republic. The leader must also love
Nigeria, be mentally strong and emotionally stable, be ready to deny self and
die for Nigeria.
Nigeria’s next President needs courage and empathy for the people. These
are unique qualities that only very few persons
have. Principalities and powers in high and low places have long existed in
Nigeria. We hear of cabals, cartels and untouchables that appear more
powerful than government at all levels – not to mention drug barons, human
traffickers, oil bunkers, kidnappers, armed and pen robbers, “yahoo yahoo”,
separatists, economic saboteurs, militants, “agberos”, and bandits. They are
in and outside government and literarily hold government and official’s
hostage. President Jonathan said after leaving office that he was “caged.”
Segun Adeniyi and Reuben Abati wrote about “spirits” in Aso Villa that turn
“good men” into bad. Nigeria needs a courageous and audaciously bold
leader to step on toes (big and small) and be able to rescue Nigeria from
these principalities and powers. The president must connect with the people
and empathise with their feeling and conditions in the country.
It is time Nigeria elected a president with the requisite experience and
education. Anyone who aspires to lead Nigeria needs real experience and
proper education, up to at least first degree or its equivalent. I state this
opinion without prejudicing the Not-too-young-to-run Act 2018 (that allows
anyone that has reached 35 years of age to vie for the office of President and
governor in Nigeria). And Chapter VI, Part I, Section 131 of the constitution
(which states that a person may be qualified for election into the office of the
President if educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent).
Education at the School Certificate level cannot give the knowledge and skills
needed to function effectively in the most critical office in the country today.
Experience also matters. By experience, I mean performance in, not tenure of
office. In Nigerian politics, we reward bad performance with higher office.
To make the much-needed progress in Nigerian politics, we must kill the
excessive ego, greed, insensitivity, deceit, and ignorance that afflict leaders
and the led’s ignorance, indifference, helplessness, and gullibility. Leadership
is central to the success or failure of Nigeria. Leaders provide direction, make,
and execute decisions, and inspire the people to reach their full potential.
They do so through their thoughts, words, and actions. Leaders think about
the past but worry more about the present and future. According to
management guru Peter Drucker, “the best way to predict the future is to
invent it.” Put differently, “you may not be able to predict the future, but you
can create it.” We cannot do anything about our past, but we can create the
future we want with determination and faith in ourselves.
I have two major worries about 2023 and Nigeria. First, Nigeria is a multi-party
democracy, and one must belong to a political party to aspire for political
leadership. Sadly, our parties are not wired to field people because they have
the vision and capacity to solve problems but because they can win an
election. I pray that our two major political parties do not leave us with the
devil’s alternative – where neither candidate has leadership qualities, but we
must choose a lesser devil because our choices are limited. Second, our
electoral processes are still susceptible to manipulations and money’s
influence. That assumes that the people will not vote based on primordial
sentiments like ethnicity, religion, sex, and age.
We must not change failed leaders without changing the conditions that made
them fail. Replacing one incompetent person with another equals what the late
Afrobeat maestro Fela Kuti calls “perambulation”- moving but remaining in the
same place. The good news is, the Nigeria of our dreams is possible. It only
calls for Nigerians, especially the youth, to stop complaining and start acting
right- join political parties and cause changes in their modus operandi by
insisting on internal democracy and issue-based politics—enough of empty
political rhetoric and demagoguery. We have the power in our PVCs, and let’s
use it wisely.
Dr Gift Worlu teaches at the University of Port Harcourt .
