Political Investment.

The term politics has a Greek origin, ‘politika’ meaning of citizens or relating to citizens. Largely the term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs. By virtue of this therefore, it is governmental affairs that necessitated the emergence and act of politics. Indeed what politics does is to facilitate the avenues through which intending public officers will obtain power in order to serve the state; in so doing it involves the people who are the major stakeholders in the democratic process into selecting candidates that will represent them in government. The people then become the only legal and genuine means through which candidates win election in a Democracy. By it self, Democracy is a system (meaning that it is not a haphazard or extemporaneous administrative methodology aimed at making a society free and fair. Rather, it is a well structured set of procedures that targets and focuses on attaining the wellbeing of the populace through conscious and concerted synergy. Everything within the set up is design and engineered to work by the people responsible) of managing human and material resources of a particular locale in the interest and benefit of all and ensures that majority of the people actively participate in decision making irrespective of their class, gender or religious inclination. This leads us into the fact that by theory (at least as far as Nigeria and other nations are concern) that Democracy is government of the people by the people and for the people. This Abraham Lincoln’s view of Democracy is yet to get a stand in our country because the mentality of our leaders from local to federal level is that as it is shown by George Orwell in his famous novel, Animal Farm in the speech of Snowball which declares that ‘all animals are equal but some are more equal than others.’ And therefore nullifies the free and fair and equal treatment of all within the system. Jose Belo Chipenda, General Secretary, All African Conference of Churches (AACC) said ‘Democracy is about a whole complex of rights and duties which citizens must exercise if a government is to be open, accountable and participatory.’ Indeed, free and fair and equal treatment of all is a right given by the constitution to all men and women. At its inception, hopes were high to the level of crescendo that such social, economic and political qualms the country faced and still continues to face like poor electricity, unemployment, balance of payment disequilibrium, political apathy, water shortage and host of others will be ameliorated if not totally eradicated. However, things have gone worst today and we have the perpetuation of all these and the coming on board of others like the Boko-raham, Fuel Pump Price(FPP) aka fuel subsidy removal, outrageous fall of the education sector and increase depreciation in the standard of living. Today, more than 70% of Nigerians are set to live below $1 a day as reported by UN. All these provide us with the notion that our democracy was not founded with people who believe in the tenets of democratic processes. Our leaders do not sincerely believe in it to serve as a platform for the articulation of diverse voices for the propagation of majority decisions in making and implementing policies. Rather, they believe in it to the extend that it will give them comparative advantage over others; they believe in it in so far as it will guarantee them certain social status, political power and economic stability for the victimization of their supposed foes. Their faith in democracy only rest on the believe that it will provide them with the avenue to enrich themselves with their kings and queens. The resultant effect of all these is that the people are angry with the politicians and how they have succeeded in turning Democracy into something that only the rich enjoys. Indeed it may be factual to assert that Boko-raham is as a result of peoples’ agitation against the whole state of affairs in the country as induced by democratic governers. Every pain and suffering of the past has now tripled and so many jobless hands will join in unleashing terror to their mother land. Isn’t the right thing to do, but what do you called an idle mind? I only hope that things will not generate to what Thomas Hobbs describes as ‘a state of nature where life is brutish, nasty and short.’ The avoidance of this is the beginning of democratic intelligence that will lead the country to discover her glory. In other democracies around the world, it is the people that decide who wins and who lose an election. Unfortunately, same thing can not be said of Nigeria. This role played by people in the political process has been replaced by money. The electorates no longer possess the power to bring a candidate to power, but money. This new status in a baby democracy like Nigeria’s is perilous and it threatens the fundamentals of the democratic processes. It is with out doubt that politics of money has taken over Nigeria’s nascent democracy. Our political terrain has been turn to stock exchange. Credibility and integrity is no longer the requirement but money. It is large some of money that guarantees joining the political class as against credibility and integrity. Money is the name of the game; the true fuel that spurs the political system. Money is the motivation not service; money is the mobilizer and the aimed target. Remove the high financial benefit and the game is up for this political criminals. The huge sum of money put into electioneering campaign by these dubious politicians is not directed towards honest desire to represent and work for the people, but towards return on investment. They see the money they put into the whole process as seed money. They connived to make politics a money making venture. Little wonder the country is still lacking behind in all areas of basic amenities. Politics is now a class thing because the politicians have succeeded in monetizing it just like everything else in a capitalist state so much so that one is automatically excluded from it once he has little money or no money at all. Except of cause where one gets sponsored which does not easily come by. It is a serious political tragedy brought about by the very people who are suppose to be the custodians of the country’s political system that politics have been subjected into the law of commodity exchange. You have little money or none at all; you are not in the scheme of things. The affairs of the state has now being turned to money whirling business enterprise by these politicians whose ulterior motive from inception was not to actually serve the state, but their concentric ambitions. Today Nigerian politics have been hijacked by self serving money bags who deprived Nigerians of decent living. They spray so much money on the political terrain to get to power and commit heinous crimes against the majority of the people. In this regard I will like to talk about how The Independent National electoral commission (INEC) and the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) are partly responsible for this mess. INEC has outrageously place a heavy price tag on those seeking public office from local government councilor up to the president. Today, registration of candidates by INEC requires hundreds of thousands and millions of naira. With this kind of serious money being demanded from candidate they have their attention focused on how to retrieve their money plus interest once they get to office. They are not willing and ready to sacrifice so much in ‘vain’. A case that easily comes to mind is the Ngige and Chris Uba saggar. Chris Uba who is supposedly the sponsor of Ngige declares war on Ngige’s government because he feels that his monetary investments were being threaten. As long as huge monetary commitment is required by those who are willing to serve the people faithfully, the system will hardly be sanitize. RMAFC on her part pours so much riches to political office holders even when majority of them are not contributing to nation building. Over 60% or so of the annual budget is allocated to public officers salaries. Politicians in Nigerian earn too much for doing too little or nothing, I mean they are over-paid for dosing up on duty. Without fear of contradiction, it is this substantial financial blessings that is causing this nightmare. Clearly, these characters operate by the principles of ‘cause and benefit analyses. With so much money to get including so much freedom to steal more and the inviting allowances here and there they do not mind spending anything to get to power. RMFC should as a matter of urgency have a downward review of the emoluments of public office holders. A lot of pressure and problems would have been done away with from the system. This will create the opportunity for honest people who are sincere in serving the people to come on-board. Or else we will continue to have the kind of corrupt and lazy money concern politicians who lack the initiative to do the simplest thing in office. I believe you can remember the slogan, ‘bow and go’ in the senate during the ministerial nomination by David Mark. That is frankly annoying and it shows the level of indolence and lack of interest by the so called representatives to do what they are elected to do. They simply lack the questions to ask these ministerial nominees or what? Can you imagine this colossal national aberration! Compare this with how US senate drills their nominees. Hillary Clinton, former first lady and two times senator was nominated as foreign secretary of state, but you need to see how she was drill to the pops by the house as if they never knew her. Have the same situation in Nigeria and David Mark will declare immediately madam foreign secretary of state steps into the podium, ‘madam we know your records, you are one of us, we believe you will do your job well; so just take a ‘bow and go’.’ what a comedy! What an insult to the sensibility of our common intelligence! This should have being the opportunity to access her competence into her new responsibility. The responsibilities and duties of a senator certainly is not the same with that of a foreign secretary; it requires a completely different approach. Little wonder lots of square- pegs are always put in a round hole in this country. Conclusively, there is need to divorce so much money from politics because having the two will always produce the twin brothers, corruption and poverty and our innocent country will be forced into perpetual impoverishment. The political immorality we see today is the product of their co-ordinated miscalculation and misappropriation! INEC and RMAFC should urgently redress their position on the state of things in the country’s polity so as not to continue to suffocate the arteries of true democratic order. Without doubt, the liberty given by Democracy is so as to benefit all and not some few people. The concept of freedom in a Democracy is such that an individual’s liberty ends where that of another begins. In other words, one’s right must be exercise in consideration of those of others. All these are geared toward the creation of ‘social good’ which is the product of co-ordinated intelligence. ‘Social good’ is in a way, the avoidance of misery to the accomplishment of happiness. And all human beings deserves happiness not some individuals. The foundation of Democracy in ancient Greek was to the accomplishment of this very fact. The Greek founded Democracy on the principles of patriotism, honesty, integrity, accountability and tremendous sense of responsibility. However, the Nigerian situation has taking another dimension contrary to what it is obtained from the founders. Alh. (Dr) Yusuf Maitama Sule, Dan Masanin Kano captured it thus: ‘The syndrome of everybody for himself and God for us all, the devil takes the hindermost has relegated our natural responsibility of being our brothers keepers.’ If anything needs to be done is NOW. I raise my case.