Politics is an interesting game because it allows its players to apply any rule to gain victory irrespective of whether such rules are in the interest of the people who hold the power or those who parade themselves as political messiahs. In developing countries, such as Nigeria, politics is seen not necessarily as a profession which is what it should be, but rather as the struggle for power and wealth. Perhaps it is for this reason that ordinary Nigerian in the street sees politics simply as the struggle for power.
At the higher intellectual plane, the conception of politics is that of “authoritative allocation of values” associated with David Easton, while for Harold Laswell, it is the process of “determining who gets what, when and how”. But for William Zartman, politics is the process of handling demand made by the public on the government and demands that are either not properly handled or not handled at all which escalate often from politics to violence.
It was Professor OBC Nwolise who observed that politics, whether national or international is fundamentally and ultimately the struggle for the minds and resources of men and nations”. According to him, “In this struggle, the gladiators often apply all forms of strategies and tactics to win, including deception. Those men and nations who are deceived in the process lose (freedom, power, resources etc.), and grow lean, while those that deceive them gain (freedom, power, resources, etc.), and grow fat. This is why politics and governance, require minds, brains and bodies that are properly schooled and tuned for them”.
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.What is happening today in our country clearly justifies not only that politics is the struggle for power but that for us, it is the desperate search for relevance, inordinate wealth and opportunity for primitive accumulation of public treasury. Listening to most politicians speak in many occasions makes someone to wonder whether those people who masquerade as politicians actually understand that leadership at any level is all about service. Political leaders are people who have taken the oath of office of their countries, States or Countries as the case may be, to provide service to the people through a social contract agreement executed through the ballot box where the people willingly give their mandate to such political leaders to determine their future and wellbeing. That is why a Politician is defined by Merriam Webster dictionary as “… a person experienced in the art or science of government, a person engaged in a party politics as a profession”. Such people are men and women of ideas who have the vision and mission to transform the life of people and society they live for good.
That is the example of Mahatma Ghandi of India, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania who ruled the country for many years and had no house of his own and even rebuffed attempt to build a house for him after retiring from the presidency. Instead, he returned to the Catholic and became a Catechism teacher; we have Abraham Lincoln of America, the likes of Church Hill of Britain, Dr. Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, and Jacques Chirac of France among many others. These were men and women whose ideas and commitment to the plight of the people and society translated to monumental development in their countries and brought positive change to bear in governance. Men and women who understood politics as not just mere struggle for power but as means of developing human capacity, such men are the leaders are the servants of the people.
That is the difference between a politician and a political town crier. While a politician is one who engages in party politics as profession and provides leadership to the people, a political town crier is one who professes to be a politician but yet has no idea on how to translate politics to service but keeps shouting in the streets to attract attention. That is why Random House Kernerman Webster’s Dictionary defines town crier as “Someone formerly employed by a town to make public announcements or proclamation by shouting in the streets, someone who gossips”. Today we have political parties which aspire to become opposition and clamouring to take over power from the ruling political party, yet all we see from the party are men and women who only celebrates movement of politicians from another party to their folds. If we take an example of the All Progressives Congress (APC) being the most noticeable opposition party in Nigeria today, what Nigerian have seen or heard from them with regard to the 2015 presidential election is the slogan calling for change. There is yet no detailed blueprint articulating the vision of the party and how it will address what may have been identified as the areas of weaknesses of the present administration which the APC desires to change. Yes, Nigerians are tired of witnessing the pogrom arising from the bombing of innocent citizens by the insurgents in the North, Yes, many Nigerians are very hungry, many youths are unemployed and the education sector still has challenges. The present administration informs Nigerians that efforts are being made to tackle the challenges, as already some sectors such as agriculture, transportation, roads are receiving attention. Ordinary Nigerian voter is asking the question: What is APC’s Agenda for Agriculture which will be different from the one on ground? What is APC’S Agenda for the transportation sector that will be different from the one PDP is putting in place? What is APC’s agenda for uninterrupted power supply in Nigeria? What is the party’s programmes for road infrastructure, for qualitative education in Nigeria, unemployment challenges and skill acquisition for the youths which could reduce the number of young men who roam the streets in search of non-existent jobs, often lose their lives in stampede? In a nutshell, what is the manifesto of APC that Nigerians can begin to examine and consider if the party is prepared to take over power in 2015? Nigerians will be happy to see insurgency end in Nigeria, but it is not enough to say that General Buhari the APC Presidential candidate will end insurgency in the North if elected to power. Are there no APC States in the North experiencing the same insurgency, has the party applied its expected magic solution in that state? We need to know more of what APC will do differently from PDP if elected into power in 2015.
President Goodluck Jonathan has laid down programmes in all aspects of governance in Nigeria and he has been following the programme meticulously despite challenges posed by critics. It is not in contest that corruption is one of the challenges of this administration and Nigerians a government that will ensure that our common patrimony is not cornered by a few privileged people in government at the expense of the majority of the people. This is a challenge any serious opposition party can present a strong manifesto or blueprint on how to address it and win people’s confidence. The same applies to unemployment, and the rot in our oil sector which appears to have become a birthright of certain group of people in the country.
The irony is that while the opposition politicians are busy shouting and threatening to take over power without agenda for consideration which makes them mere political town criers, President Jonathan is busy attending to the needs of Nigerians at all levels and winning more political adherents. That is the quality of a leader. A leader is one who has the ability to establish directions and influence others to achieve a goal or to realize a dream or a vision that will better a society.
Nigerians need strong opposition party with agenda for consideration. Change is an essential part of democratic transition but it is not done by mere sloganeering, it is borne out of genuine desire and concrete programme that will transform the life of the people and bring peace, security and progress in the society. Let the opposition release their agenda to show they are ready to take over power in 2015 and let us start the debate. Enough of political town criers.
- Uhuo is a Political Scientist and Public Affairs Analyst
