Diezani Allison Madueke just rubbed it in when a perjorative comment was attributed to her saying Nigerians can't ask for rule of law and be complaining of fuel scarcity,that's rich coming from an over pampered political pooch blinded by the filthy proceeds of her "special relationship"with the president.
In the midst of the scandals after scandals and the never ending committees from the "shoeless one" I asked myself how we came to be at this critical but sad juncture in our national existence?how did we come to be saddled with such an ineffective president corrupt government and a leadership with no conscience or love for country..things were far from ideal during the Government of the irrepressible enigma General or Chief Obasanjo (depending on which side you were according to him recently, only his opponents referred to him as a General while friends and admirers called him Chief Obasanjo!)
Although things were far from ideal but it wasn't as bad as it is presently,in the midst of a country descending into an abysmal mire of spiralling failure in governance,failure in the providence of the basic human needs like healthcare,security, cheap and affordable homes, our President has embarked on a foolhardy ego driven project to build a bigger banquet hall for 2.2 billion naira(£8million plus) not only this flight of fancy but another residence which has already gulped (6billion naira...around £24million plus) is being built for the Vice President,never mind the fact that successive Vice Presidents including the indefatigable Atiku ABubakar, Gneneral/Chief obasanjo's prominent and influential Vice President did not complain about or felt the need to erect a residence.They have just requested for an additional 9billion naira(£34million plus change) which has been rejected by the Nass.We don't know if they might turn round to approve it later after money has changed hands,however it won't be surprising knowing their past antecedents.
So while Ghana a smaller neighbouring country with less revenue is gearing up to build the largest solar power station in Africa, our own irresponsible government's aim and aspiration is to build the largest banquet hall in Africa.
Thinking about this I asked myself this question incessantly how did we arrive at this political cross-roads..
After weighting different explanations and scenarios without getting a cogent answer, I followed one of the great fictional detectives Sherlock Holmes logic where he asserts that "when you have eliminated all which is impossible,then whatever remains,however improbable must be the truth" and arrived at the only logicsl conclusion of "voter apathy".
In our own case the Nigerian presidential and parliamentary elections and voter turn out.I realised after going through the electoral/voting data that based the voter turn out, the President was voted in by a minority of the officially registered voters, hence he could be forgiven for neglecting to listen to or take care of or even giving a damn (his words not mine)about the majority to the exclusive preserve of the minority. However this is only a general assertion on my part let me explain and put this in clear perspective.
According to the survey or poll conducted by the institute for democracy and electoral assistance,based on The Nigerian general elections in 2011,in the parliamentary election a total number of 21,074,621 voters participated by turning out to vote representing 28.66% of a total registered voting population of 73,528,040 .it is pertinent to note that this translates to about 72% of registered voters not even bothering to show up on election day.In the Presidential election a slightly higher 39,469,484 representing 53.68% of the total registered voters came out to perform their civic duty again, about 46% of the registered voters did not bother to turn up..from the forgoing data, an obvious and alarming pattern emerging shows that in the the parliamentary elections generally speaking out of a total population of 160million people give or take a couple of millions on either side to account for the demographics who are not capable of qualified to vote due to a variety of reasons, only about 13% of the entire Nigerian population voted in lawmakers who will represent the entire nation,who will make laws formulate policies bills oversight functions or even made any attempt to engage in the political/electoral process.
In the presidential election of same year only about 25% of the entire population were vested with choosing the president that will lead and hold in trust and manage the collective destinies and legacy of the whole population!!
If this has not shocked you or knocked your hats off then check this out.The PDP with the sitting President as their candidate won their controversial elections with 22,495,187 the nearest to them was the CPC with GEN M Buhari as their candidate who secured a grand total of 12,214,853.While a lot of Nigerians voted Gej based on the now proverbial mantra of "I voted gej I did not vote pdp" the monumental electoral malpractise which includes vote rigging on a concentrated and industrial scale in favour of the President by the PDP and their minions cannot be ignored,this is because it was adduced as a reason and directly or indirectly one of the major causes of the Boko Haram insurgency .It is mind boggling saddening and preposterous that an extra 30% turnout of undecided voters in favour of General Buhari would not only have made the difference but would have coasted him home to a comfortable victory even in spite of the monumental rigging and electronic /physical ballot manipulation.
Now we know the cause of a popular candidate losing in the last election,we also feel the effects which we are experiencing in different degrees, how do we extricate ourselves from the claws of this immoral and utterly malevolent Government?we do so by a model which has been used to great success result and applause in successive American elections called community organising model.
While I will not delve into an in-depht and detailed description of community organising due to the fact that there is an article based on it already on this blog,moreso I am working on a write up solely based on this issue which I hope to put up very soon GOD willing in a couple of days .Community organising is as the name suggests ordinary average citizens of a country actively participating in politics and elections.People constitute themselves into units and clusters of supporters/pressure groups solely dedicated to a chosen candidate.They hold neighbourhood fund raisers organise,engage,encourage the community especially undecided voters into voting.They operate from the grassroots and have the advantage of being familiar with their neighbourhood .This model is not only important but imperative for the Nigerian kind of elections, due to the astronomically high number of undecided or passive voters we have.
If every one of the active voting population manage to convince at least one undecided voter to come out and vote we will have a turn out of almost all the registered voters which will serve to even out the odds to a large extent. This model is also suited to the Nigerian political landscape because we don't have to spend any money in mobilising people as voluntary donations both in cash and kind play a huge part amongst organisers, and Nigerians generally are politically motivated to varying degrees so that stage does not need much work.
I will conclude by saying that while we are trying to get our acts together,make plans and create strategies, the hawks and vultures who are feeding fat on our collective legacies being held in trust at aso rock already have their strategies in place ,they have their systems and moles already entrenched and are desperate enough to make sure they do everything within their considerable power and network to make sure the status quo remains.We as citizens owe it to generations unborn, to protect our communal behest,not only by confronting the but most Importantly by using the people power to overcome the sinister and malevolent behemoth which the ruling PDP constitutes in its entirety including rendering their network, influence and designs totally ineffective.History has consistently shown us over several continents that when the people rise up in unison, in confrontation against the minority and ruling autocracy,their resolves melt away into insignificance and they are roundly defeated and rendered impotent.
A political system where only a minority of voters gets to decide for the majority is not only flawed but a sin to sound morality and totally goes against a natural sense of justice and FairPlay.
Time is fast running out ,hence before serious campaigns start for the General elections in 2015, we need to start making sound clear concise and robust strategies towards achieving the enthronement of the popular will.If we don't start actively putting our house in order and putting strategies in place while working towards entrenching a real democracy we might be too late and any efforts will not be able to make much impact on the final outcome of elections posterity will never ever forgive our passiveness,inaction lethargy ..
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Edmund Burke
SOURCES; http://www.idea.int/vt/countryview.cfm?CountryCode=NG
http://www.punchng.com/news/senate-rejects-extra-n9bn-request-for-sambos-house/
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/110336-dont-call-me-general-obasanjo-unless-youre-my-opponent-obj-tells-ghanaian-journalist.html
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