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Politics Power and Government By E. Terfa Ula-Lisa, Esq
In the classical definition, politics is not about the politician but the people. The politician gains his or her legitimacy from the people and not the other way round. There is no class of persons born as politicians although we have had families who have naturally sought to pass on political influence as a family heirloom. As in all ventures, proximity and continuous exposure can influence a person to develop certain proclivities, hone certain skills to understand the nuances of group politics. To say someone is born with the skill and manners of a politician is however, not a compliment. Nevertheless,
if politics is about selfless public service, then it is a very noble
venture. Of course, every
Nigerian politician would swear that his or her intentions are and have
always been noble. The true
test of nobility is in the generosity of the offeror.
One that is noble very often would get a unanimous verdict of
history, the naysayers notwithstanding.
A Bum in a designer suit remains a Bum even when he smells like
the cologne industry from PowerThe
charade currently running as a Republican Democracy remains nothing but
a bazaar with the votes thrown to the highest bidders. While there have
been very few families in Power PlayPower,
like an aphrodisiac, is intoxicating and addictive. Once you have had a
taste of it, it becomes difficult for the ordinary person to let go. At
the peak of the June 12th Struggle someone made a poignant
metaphor that IBB was like a bull in a china shop that had to be eased
out carefully. Any discerning adult at that time knew that IBB did not
give up the position he had usurped and so viciously consolidated for
the love of Often
commentators with ulterior motives pretending to play devils advocate,
posit that IBB alone cannot be held responsible for June 12 because the
decision-making was done in a collegial setting in the PRC.
These persons would hope that we have forgotten that IBB,
single-handedly fired his ostensible second in command and at one time
held all the reigns of power when he also sent packing the PRC and for
about a week or two no one in this nation of 120 million souls was sure
who was in or who was out of the corridors of power, except IBB.
With that kind of power comes full responsibility. Real and Perceived PowerIn
a home, sometimes you find that the husband is the titular head while
the wife is the real decision maker; she has the power. In the same way
in the Boardroom, the boss might not after-all be the boss on account of
a weakness or a prior defeat; there might be some other person in the
boardroom that calls the shots (for instance because the person has the
unions in his pocket, or because she has “bottom-power”-sad but
often happens). All leaders who have influence, for good or ill are
often studied, their deeds and misdeeds dissected by scholars,
politicians and analysts. Till date Americans are still writing new
books of the Nixon, Kennedy and Lincoln Presidency to mention a few. It
stands to reason that when we analyze the “The
man does not and has never claimed to be an angel or a saint. All he
wants to do is to be an instrument of change. Change and economic reform
are synonymous, and the momentum must be maintained for the
sustainability and the economic prosperity of indestructible Read
Max Gbanite, The Man is Still
Standing as accessed on If
Max Gbanite speaks for IBB; from the above, we need to study the books
IBB reads or misreads; and secondly the persons who on authority write,
advice, or speak for IBB to find out why Nigerian leaders have
consistently failed their country. Recall that in the Nigerian political
power matrix, we have had the various heads of state, rotating Ministers
and “Super Perm Secs”. Then in the wings we have the real power
brokers, the determiners of who wears the crown; the Caliphate, the
Musical Chairs Generals and the mythic “Kaduna Mafia”. Any one who
has been any where near the corridors of power in Gowon
and IBB for instance are geographically from the middle-belt but that is
where the similarity ends. IBB did not rule at the behest or on behalf
of the middle belt or he would have been called to order if not out
rightly punished for the harm he did to the region while in government.
This is because the middle belt has certain values intrinsic
therein. Gowon, could be forgiven for his naivety, he was young and
unsophisticated in the ways of power and did not have total control.
Murtala Mohammed knew what he wanted to do with power and set about
trying to implement it until he was assassinated as a result of power
play. Obasanjo, in his first coming did not want to rock the boat so he
quickly handed over power; which gave him Brownie points with the
International Community. Again,
OBJ in the first term of his second coming held power at the behest of
others, not the southwest. My point is that Power in Nigerian politics
has never belonged to the people. Not even during the June 12 Struggle.
This is because the sponsors of both final contestants in the election
of 1993 were not the grassroots people; and definitely, the interest of
the contestants did not initially coincide with that of the majority of
the electorate. The only point of convergence was the fact that
Nigerians were tired of the scheming dictatorship of IBB and wanted a
change by all means and a free and fair election had brought out a
winner in MKO who should have been sworn in as president. MKO was not
sworn in because the power brokers discovered that his agenda
post-election was separate and distinct from theirs (much like the
Ngige-Uba Saga played at the national level). Government Government
exists for the protection of the rights liberties and sovereignty of its
citizens, the creation of an enabling environment for prosperity and the
control and distribution of state resources. If that is our working
definition of government, Nigerian politicians are only interested in
the latter; the control (distribution, pillaging, looting) of state
resources. All of the politicians’ engineering is geared towards
perfecting this goal and the ancillary goal of masking this self-serving
intention with platitudes, rhetoric and bare-faced lies. IBB
unfortunately is the face given to the maverick Nigerian politician. He
is representative of all that is wrong with Of Professionals in
Government Professionals
have always left their respective fields to serve Then
there is the argument that politicians ruled or want to rule |