Leaders Nigerians deserve
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- Category: Philosofaith
- Written by M. U. Ndagi
- Hits: 1875
When I sat to write this column, it was my intention to relate my experience during the gubernatorial election in which I served as a domestic observer for a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). But I soon changed my mind because what I saw during the exercise is unprintable in this medium. I will just mention one which I consider heart-touching. I find the number of youths that were involved in ballot box snatching and other electoral offences quite disturbing. The boys who looked more like thugs claimed to have “fortified” themselves with local charms against police bullets and other weapons of attack. Many of them are young boys whom, I guess, are supposed to either be in school or gainfully employed. I can now understand why politicians have refused to address the problem of collapsed education system and unemployment because if they do, there would be no thugs to recruit. It’s really sad. Anyway, let’s get back to our topic of the day.
The much awaited April 2011 polls are now part of Nigeria’s political history which details are still being collated and edited for documentation. Most contestants who aspired for elective positions in the elections have at this point in time reached the finishing line of their race to the Presidential Villa, Government Houses, National or State Houses of Assembly as the case may be; bringing to an end the hypocritical political campaign jingles on radio and television stations. While we regret the economic meltdown some media and printing houses are likely to suffer from the discontinuation of advertisements and printing of posters, we consider it heart-warming that our ears and eyes would enjoy some relief from the daily advertorials which contents sought to irritate the sensitivity of ordinary Nigerians more than they soothe their minds. The close of April 2011 elections certainly marks an end to several socio-political and economic activities including the scramble by political parties for airtime on radio and television stations; the struggle by billboards for strategic positions along highways ; the rush for registration at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) by mushroom NGOs for political motives; the hiring of crowd for political rallies; the granting of newspaper interviews by those who speak from both sides of their mouths; midnight meetings with individuals and groups including women who should at that holy hour be with their respective husbands or children; and the block booking of hotels and motels for political party activities. At least for now, the political storm could be said to be over even though, unlike a climatic storm, this is not likely to be succeeded by rain.Without mincing words, results of the April 2011 elections reveal that a cabal of fiendish leaders have again emerged (fraudulently or otherwise) as “winners” to rule this country for another four-year term; extending their period of misrule to sixteen years. But I think Nigerians deserve the leaders they get. Of course, angels did not come down to conduct the elections. It was the same Nigerians who were subjected to bad governance in the past twelve years that were yet used by desperate but crude politicians to manipulate the electoral process. While many of the electorate betrayed their conscience through the auctioning of their voting rights for a price as low as two hundred naira only, others were used to defraud to collation process (a new pattern of rigging introduced by monstrous politicians) through inducement in the case of those who were ready to play to the gallery or intimidation for those who wanted to exhibit a sense of godliness. And so, Nigerians were used to illegally and massively thumb-print ballot papers; stuff or snatch ballot boxes.
If the electorate and indeed other stakeholders guilty of the same offence wanted credible leaders, they would have acted to the contrary by refusing to be used in a fraudulent electoral process. But their singular act of being agents of fraud and in some cases mastermind indicate their preference for leaders who will further entrench poverty in the country, breed unemployment, loot public treasury, privatize security services, commercialize education, dispose of public utilities and corporations, empower criminality, politicize the judiciary, promulgate laws for the spread and survival of corruption, source electricity from neighboring countries and replace water boards with sachet water companies. People thus get the leaders they deserve. Allah (SWT) affirms this in Qur’an 13:11 and states “…verily, never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)…”
It is amazing that the official statement of the former American Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, issued after the presidential poll is not given much publicity. Mr. Campbell faulted the conduct of the presidential election. He described it to have been marred by electoral irregularities, adding that “the devil is in the ballot collating”. According to Campbell, “…Most of the rigging appears to have benefited Jonathan, and the Electoral Commission has certified that he won twice as many votes as Buhari and easily a majority of the ballots cast. Why rig in states that Jonathan was certain to win anyway?” If the irregularities that allegedly characterized the just concluded elections are anything to go by, we advise the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to purchase machines that can identify multiple thumb-printing of ballot papers by voters should any court of law ask authorities at the Commission to testify in cases brought before it.
Well, gratitude is due to Allah (SWT) for accepting the prayers of those who wished Nigeria well during the April 16, 2011 presidential poll. Allah (SWT), we are told by scholars, answers the prayer of His righteous servants in three ways: He accepts and bestows the favour instantly; He accepts but delays the favour to a later but better time; He accepts the prayer by denying His servant the requested favour particularly when such act of kindness would bring evil instead of good. In a country like Nigeria where corruption has almost been turned into a virtue, a person who insists that the right thing must be done at the right time and in the right place would be seen as a “thwarting cog in their wheels”. This column believes that if Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardaunan Sakwato, were to come back to contest for elections in the same region of the country he once led five decades earlier as its first and only premier, he is likely to go through and suffer similar if not worse frustrations (in Sardauna’s case betrayal) in the hands of greedy political elite and some prejudiced traditional rulers. Gratitude to Allah (SWT) that the law of nature has permanently kept Sardaunan Sakwato out of the present quagmire the north has found itself.
Assuming that we all get to the Kingdom of God and unexpectedly find a suit filed by the Sardaunan Sakwato at the divine court against all those who served as governors, particularly in the Fourth Republic, to explain their individuals and collective roles in the ruining of the legacies he left behind. The responses can better be imagined. May Allah (SWT) forgive us, amin. Nonetheless, our prayer that Allah (SWT) should continue to answer the prayer of the oppressed is still on; and to it we say: amin! amin!! amin!!!
Articles
Leaders Nigerians deserve
Category: Philosofaith Written by M. U. Ndagi Hits: 1875
When I sat to write this column, it was my intention to relate my experience during the gubernatorial election in which I served as a domestic observer for a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). But I soon changed my mind because what I saw during the exercise is unprintable in this medium. I will just mention one which I consider heart-touching. I find the number of youths that were involved in ballot box snatching and other electoral offences quite disturbing. The boys who looked more like thugs claimed to have “fortified” themselves with local charms against police bullets and other weapons of attack. Many of them are young boys whom, I guess, are supposed to either be in school or gainfully employed. I can now understand why politicians have refused to address the problem of collapsed education system and unemployment because if they do, there would be no thugs to recruit. It’s really sad. Anyway, let’s get back to our topic of the day.
The much awaited April 2011 polls are now part of Nigeria’s political history which details are still being collated and edited for documentation. Most contestants who aspired for elective positions in the elections have at this point in time reached the finishing line of their race to the Presidential Villa, Government Houses, National or State Houses of Assembly as the case may be; bringing to an end the hypocritical political campaign jingles on radio and television stations. While we regret the economic meltdown some media and printing houses are likely to suffer from the discontinuation of advertisements and printing of posters, we consider it heart-warming that our ears and eyes would enjoy some relief from the daily advertorials which contents sought to irritate the sensitivity of ordinary Nigerians more than they soothe their minds. The close of April 2011 elections certainly marks an end to several socio-political and economic activities including the scramble by political parties for airtime on radio and television stations; the struggle by billboards for strategic positions along highways ; the rush for registration at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) by mushroom NGOs for political motives; the hiring of crowd for political rallies; the granting of newspaper interviews by those who speak from both sides of their mouths; midnight meetings with individuals and groups including women who should at that holy hour be with their respective husbands or children; and the block booking of hotels and motels for political party activities. At least for now, the political storm could be said to be over even though, unlike a climatic storm, this is not likely to be succeeded by rain.Without mincing words, results of the April 2011 elections reveal that a cabal of fiendish leaders have again emerged (fraudulently or otherwise) as “winners” to rule this country for another four-year term; extending their period of misrule to sixteen years. But I think Nigerians deserve the leaders they get. Of course, angels did not come down to conduct the elections. It was the same Nigerians who were subjected to bad governance in the past twelve years that were yet used by desperate but crude politicians to manipulate the electoral process. While many of the electorate betrayed their conscience through the auctioning of their voting rights for a price as low as two hundred naira only, others were used to defraud to collation process (a new pattern of rigging introduced by monstrous politicians) through inducement in the case of those who were ready to play to the gallery or intimidation for those who wanted to exhibit a sense of godliness. And so, Nigerians were used to illegally and massively thumb-print ballot papers; stuff or snatch ballot boxes.
If the electorate and indeed other stakeholders guilty of the same offence wanted credible leaders, they would have acted to the contrary by refusing to be used in a fraudulent electoral process. But their singular act of being agents of fraud and in some cases mastermind indicate their preference for leaders who will further entrench poverty in the country, breed unemployment, loot public treasury, privatize security services, commercialize education, dispose of public utilities and corporations, empower criminality, politicize the judiciary, promulgate laws for the spread and survival of corruption, source electricity from neighboring countries and replace water boards with sachet water companies. People thus get the leaders they deserve. Allah (SWT) affirms this in Qur’an 13:11 and states “…verily, never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)…”
It is amazing that the official statement of the former American Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, issued after the presidential poll is not given much publicity. Mr. Campbell faulted the conduct of the presidential election. He described it to have been marred by electoral irregularities, adding that “the devil is in the ballot collating”. According to Campbell, “…Most of the rigging appears to have benefited Jonathan, and the Electoral Commission has certified that he won twice as many votes as Buhari and easily a majority of the ballots cast. Why rig in states that Jonathan was certain to win anyway?” If the irregularities that allegedly characterized the just concluded elections are anything to go by, we advise the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to purchase machines that can identify multiple thumb-printing of ballot papers by voters should any court of law ask authorities at the Commission to testify in cases brought before it.
Well, gratitude is due to Allah (SWT) for accepting the prayers of those who wished Nigeria well during the April 16, 2011 presidential poll. Allah (SWT), we are told by scholars, answers the prayer of His righteous servants in three ways: He accepts and bestows the favour instantly; He accepts but delays the favour to a later but better time; He accepts the prayer by denying His servant the requested favour particularly when such act of kindness would bring evil instead of good. In a country like Nigeria where corruption has almost been turned into a virtue, a person who insists that the right thing must be done at the right time and in the right place would be seen as a “thwarting cog in their wheels”. This column believes that if Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardaunan Sakwato, were to come back to contest for elections in the same region of the country he once led five decades earlier as its first and only premier, he is likely to go through and suffer similar if not worse frustrations (in Sardauna’s case betrayal) in the hands of greedy political elite and some prejudiced traditional rulers. Gratitude to Allah (SWT) that the law of nature has permanently kept Sardaunan Sakwato out of the present quagmire the north has found itself.
Assuming that we all get to the Kingdom of God and unexpectedly find a suit filed by the Sardaunan Sakwato at the divine court against all those who served as governors, particularly in the Fourth Republic, to explain their individuals and collective roles in the ruining of the legacies he left behind. The responses can better be imagined. May Allah (SWT) forgive us, amin. Nonetheless, our prayer that Allah (SWT) should continue to answer the prayer of the oppressed is still on; and to it we say: amin! amin!! amin!!!