It is rather unfortunate that while we claim that our Constitution is fashioned
along with that of US and top politicians there from like the Secretary of
State, Mr John Kerry, come here to "civilize" us on running a
violent-free election, as well as brain-washing us to ensure that we adopt the
western type of democracy, we still do not eschew and abjure violence, from our
body polity and campaign. We are still either unthinking or lazy in thought as
to make our political campaign personality-based instead of issue based. By so
doing we tend to show that we no ideology or plans for the masses of this
country beyond self-perpetration in office and control
For example what does it benefit the masses to make the
loss of Zulaihah, a mother of 3 children and daughter of General Muhammadu
Buhari to death's angry scythe a campaign issue, other than the fact that we,
like the bourbons of 16th -19th century French history? How does this put food
on the kitchen table of the masses, provide our youths with gainful employment,
give us much eluded national security, reinvigorate our sliding Naira as a
medium of exchange and put in place multiculturalism to eliminate mutually
distrustful and antagonistic ethnic rivalry with concomitant divergent
aspirations and interests ?
To show that the world has moved beyond politics of
personalities to issues of principles I recall 2 incidents during the US
presidential campaign in 2008. The first was when during a rally by Senator
John McCain, the Republican Candidate, an old woman referred to President
Barack Obama as an Arab adding that "he is not one of us" The
reaction of John McCain was to snatch the microphone from her mouth adding that
she was wrong. and that he and Obama are both Americans but only with
ideological difference. The second was an attempt made by Democratic zealots who
attempted to make issue out of the pregnancy of the daughter of Sarah Palin
(the Republican vice Presidential candidate), before graduating from High
School. Obama cautioned his party zealots warning that family matter was
off-limit in the campaign. . That was "politics without bitterness"
at its highest if I can borrow the phrase of one of our First Republic
politicians late Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim. We should always avoid touchy matters
bordering on opponents personal misfortunes that could be reminiscent of bringing
grief of sorrows and sadness caused by intensity of loss between the bereaved
and the deceased. As a matter of fact such bitter words frittered away can
bankrupt a candidate, sell out good policy or even dissolve a government
We should instead, learn from examples of good leaders in
the contemporary world politics. Only yesterday I was saying in another forum
that since our independence 53 years ago, we have remained stagnant due to
massively corrupt successive administrations due to bad leadership. I went to
the extent of comparing the leadership that we have been unlucky to have with
that of a country like Singapore which at is independence only in 1965 had like
Nigeria, problems of mass unemployment, shortage of houses, and lack of land.
Worse than Nigeria the country never has such resources as oil and gas which
Nigeria has in abundance? However this notwithstanding, the good leadership
provided by Lee Kuan Yew, the country moved from a developing nation to the
first world status by the end of the 20th century. He curbed unemployment,
raised standard of living, and implemented large scale public housing.
Likewise, he developed the economic infrastructure of the country instead of
concerning himself with stomach infrastructure, erased racial tension and
created independent defence system which guarantees national security. It is
this kind of leadership of rising up to challenges and accepting responsibility
which are hallmark of good leadership, our ruling elites should learn to
emulate
My people say 'Ma f'orun yo mi; gbogbo wa la jo nlo'
meaning do not mock me with death because we shall all die. There is nothing
partisan about this ,. A word is enough for the wise.
As written by Elder Joseph Fagbola
Austin, Texas
