Humpty Dumpty: The Impeachment Saga Can Anyone Put Nigeria Together Again?
By
Debo Awosika-Olumo, MD, MS, MPH
Nigeria
is a mistake by the ocean, created by man and destined to have a great fall and
scatter. The country named Nigeria has tried all forms of government that could
be prescribed for humanity with failure grades. We have tried colonial rule,
parliamentarian, military, military dictatorship, executive presidency of
governments and all leading to the same result failure. Hence, what else do we
need to try?
The
most insidious influence on the young is not violence, drugs, tobacco, drink or
sexual perversion, but our pursuit of the trivial and our tolerance of the third
rate. –Eric Anderson
One
of the problems of the country past and present generations is our pursuit of
trivial and our tolerance of third rated leaders. No member of the country’s
ruling class in the past and present are from the first rated in terms of
intelligence, patriotism and vision to move the country forward. There is no
magic or miracle that can change this phenomenon, unless we change the current
charted course.
I
will like to borrow some phrases from renowned novelist, Dr. Ngugi, which a
family member of mine brought to my attention after finding some similarity in
viewpoints in my article on the profile of a coup plotter and that of Dr. Ngugi
about how ranks are determined in politics.
“You
will have to be invited to this fair, to qualify, you must be a known thief or
corrupt person. In the fair, you also had to prove that you are a better
thief than the other, the best thief will then be chosen. You would be
given a political ranking based on this. In other words, the President
will be the best thief/ criminal in the fair”.-Dr.
Ngugi
Any
president or governor that failed to live up to the billing of the best
thief/criminal will be impeached. This happened to Balarabe Musa the first
executive governor of Kaduna State, and is happening to President Olusegun
Obasanjo now.
I
do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in
a fate that falls on them unless they act.- GK Chesterton
Another
problem with Nigerians and their rulers is mediocrity. No country can develop
beyond the vision and knowledge of its people and their leaders. The ship of
governance in the country has always been stirred by nincompoops, thieves, and
people with demented brains. The situation in the country is stack against
rulers from the first tier. Hence the fate of poor governance that continues to
befall the country.
Chief
Obasanjo is the architect of his own fate, his administration problems arose
from his failure to lead and act as a leader, his lack or inability to
articulate his vision, and finally his failure to heed advises from well meaning
Nigerians and friends of the country home and abroad.
What
is the good of drawing conclusions from experience? I don't deny we sometimes
draw the right conclusions, but don't we just as often draw the wrong ones? GC
Lichtenberg
The
country’s crops of rulers are always from depraved groups in the country,
hence, they have the penchant to always fail to learn from history because of
their innate background and their inherent gift to always draw the wrong
conclusion from past experience. What is the explanation to this craziness that
is permeating every arm of government in Nigeria, this madness is more
pronounced in the legislative arm of government, in both the Federal and state
levels. How can any sane person explain the behavior of the Federal legislators
regarding their ill advised and unpatriotic move to impeach an elected
president, when the next election is just few months away. This stupidity and
madness is further pronounced when considering how fragile and young the
democratic governance and the level of mistrust and disillusionment in the
country.
The most disturbing aspect of this charade are the comments of some self appointed leaders with the exception of Chief Emeka Anyaokwu and some few patriotic Nigerians in support of this foolish act by the legislators. I am not disappointed with the comment and support of the legislators action by General Buhari (a known coup plotter) a leopard can never change its skin.
Common
sense always speaks too late. Common sense is the guy who tells you, you ought
to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front end this
week. Common sense is the Monday morning quarterback who could have won the ball
game if he had been on the team. But he never is. He's high up in the stands
with a flask on his hip. Common sense is the little man in a gray suit who never
makes a mistake in addition. But it's always somebody else's money he's adding
up-Raymond Chandler
The past, current and possibly future rulers of the country lack the minimum
intellectual capacity necessary to govern a country as big and diverse as
Nigeria. Their reliance on commonsense is epitomized by the legislators and
their ilk thinking, that the most important need of the country’s polity and
the general public is the destabilization of the current democratic
dispensation, by impeaching the president. At the end of this imbroglio, the
president will become stronger because of the following reasons:
The
insincerity in the legislators action will surely win sympathy for the
president, although inept as a lesser thief/criminal to the crop of
politicians in the country. The politicians who claimed they are trying to
save the country from the tyrannical rule of the president made a stupid and
tactless move by pardoning their colleagues (the Okadigbos) that were found
guilty by their peers of mismanagement and embezzlement of funds without any
plausible reason.
They
have help Obasanjo to energize his political and tribal base, if you have
rabid and tactless enemies that the president Obasanjo has, you don’t need
friends. Mr. Naaba and Pius Ayim, who sold you this failed venture?
“When small men attempt great enterprises, they always end by reducing them to the level of their mediocrity.”-Napoleon
It
is greatest height of stupidity for anyone to equate the removal of a speaker,
senate president who are leaders among equals to the impeachment of a president
or governors who are usually elected by the generality of the votes cast in the
whole country or state.
One
thing that this stupid act will bring back to prominence in Nigeria will be
tribal politics, it is foolhardy of the legislators to think that
impeachment of a president in “Black Africa” or in emerging democracy
will be a cake walk. The president is going to fight with every fiber in his
bone. An example of what I am getting across is the feud between Boris
Yeltsin and the legislators in Russia. I will advise these brainless and
rascally minded legislators to go and study history. I am also very sorry
for those legislators who are allowing themselves to be used. There is a
common Yoruba proverb that says “The person that allowed his head to be
used to break coconut shell will not partake in the eating of the
coconut”.
The
end of presidential prerogative in Nigeria and the weakening of the
executive arm of government, any president that failed to bribe and
corruptly endeared him/herself with the legislative arm will be impeached.
Hence, the further confirmation of Dr. Ngugi’s writing, “only the best
thief/criminal can be the president”.
The
end of democracy and possibly violent balkanization of Nigeria.
In
my opinion, after reviewing the historical governance of the failed experiment
called Nigeria, I respectfully question the wisdom of the country’s existence
as a Nation. It is time to try something else that will encourage the right
crops of ruling class in the country and countries that may arise from the
disintegration of the country.
“
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different
results.”-Albert Einstein.
“Humpty
Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had
a great fall.
All the King's horses, And all the King's men Couldn't put Humpty
Together again.”