Danfo Driver Politics In Nigeria

Danfo Driver Politics In Nigeria: Operation Kill PDP

Prince Charles Dickson

Jos Plateau State

Again the recent proliferation of political parties in the name of fighting to restore democracy, abolish democratic dictatorship and fight the third term syndrome that is first moving at a speed likened to the AIDS epidemic is again empirically establishing the absence of strong political participation owing to a lack of a sense of a nation’s commitment on the part of most Nigerian political actors because the best that has brought the current unions together is a collective grief of having been outsmarted in the power and looting equation.

Among the galaxy of parties I do not see the need for more, rather the strengthening of the existent ones and then the partial coming together to at least outwit the big fool called PDP through a possible merger of existing political structures. As these new parties, clubs and unions as I see them have not corrected anything other then riding on public sentiments of disapproval of the current error we call leadership through Obj’s PDP.

Political parties in Nigeria have refused to provide any political ideology as a way of providing a foundation for the expression of nationalism, this has made it possible for us to consciously cre ate any party in which ethnic cultures and foolishness has not taken precedence. That is why a Bayelsa thief in the name of governor is stealing while claiming to be pioneering the Ijaw nation’s interest. The nation Nigerian has no insurgent creed, fashioned out with great care as a vehicle to propel groups, classes, ethnic groups and parties to political power that is why so much foolishness is in display.

Hear the new landlords on the block of the MDD requesting the government to account for the N300 billion that Tony Anenieh ‘wacked’ as monitor for potholes and death, when the going was good nobody spoke up anyway like the Igbos saying when a man wa kes up is his morning, at least they have woken up- good morning big fools.

The new unions being formed still are two sides of one coin. There are no sets of ideals, ends and purpose which help the members to interpreter the past, explain the present and offer a vision of the future. There are no plans, what if Obasanjo drops dead cause at this rate that is probably not a far away possibility, the MDD, MRD as they are, cannot capture any positive imagination that can inspire Nigerians because these men are ex-this and ex-that who at one time or the other had the opportunity to have done better but not only sat with the devil but dined with the beast. The MDD wants to stop democratic dictatorship and bla…bla…bla, while the MRD wants to make sure that power returns back to the AREWA, and then they are both exploiting a union of convenience, which in foundation already is faulty as the issues are not in harmony excepting the cast out Obj by 2007 revival crusade, thje anyhow anyway of doing things is one of the many reasons we are where we are today and our so-called leaders are not showing signs of changing the direction of their foolishness.

The old ‘new’ politicians on the block have one fundamental problem, being that the are not totally committed to com mon standards, and because of ‘where from and where to’ so when circumstances change radically, commitments would be abandoned. One would recall characters like Jim Nwobodo when he was still under the Umbrella of disaster called PDP, the Umbrella that we got when it was dry and was collected when the rain started. Audu Ogbeh then messiah of PDP as chairman he promised to bring back to the party all run away soldier...but until he feasted with Presido over a plate of pounded yam and which soup only God knows he could not discern that there is no direct flight from anywhere in Nigeria to the Koma lands because there are no airports in Koma. For now the common vision and motto may be let’s avoid dictatorial democracy, at least kill PDP anyhow.

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I recall the face of deceit as Obj and Atiku held hands in 2003 after they had collectively rigged out Mallam Buhari and collectively called all us Mumus, now the mutual smiles of suspicion is visible to the discerning in the new unions, smiles that shows the seed of scheming and manipulations. Such that Buhari and Atiku are meeting. Nigeria is indeed a nation in its own miraculous class. We are playing the Danfo Driver politics so it’s all about the driver of the cab whose vehicle or car is next on the line and the backstabbing of drivers against drivers in relation to the Polic e, union officials, spare part dealers and others. The selfishness has closed our eyes to the truth of the lack of legitimacy of policy makers, faulty constitutional arrangements, political equality and popular elections. The fact is that Nigeria is not united, she is not strong, neither is she self reliant, there are no opportunities any longer such that we no longer have just brain drain but pocket and mind drain, our politics as played by our leaders have made our society, one of a law for the rich another for the poor. Tafa Balogun’s 17 billion equals six months; you or me fight with the landlord 10 years in jail.

Ever been to a typical Motor Park i n Lagos, the Bauchi Road Park in Jos, or the Kawo Park in Kaduna you will get the picture, the noise from conductors, the fight of touts ad miscreants. The rantings of union officials and tax collectors. The passengers are not left out in the melee of all movement without motion and from the park when the Danfo leaves it certainly would be overload, no spare types or spare tyres no jack and no fuel …Its at best an environment that exists based on chaos. This is Nigerian politics in its best...screaming headlines of a public official’s escapade on the pages of paper…one week “I am not afraid” the next week… “Nigerian Governor Escapes dressed as Mama Resource Control”. We sure are idiots, that is why a man over 50years of age tells a whole crowd that he escaped from yonder plenty thousands of kilometres and arrived Nigeria, he does not know how…the miracles of Jesus in Galilee was not like this haba! Like Soyinka put it ‘ofe’ the man bin dis appear, in Hausa…’ya pata’ he got lost and found himself in his village.

Nigeria is yet to attain a minimum consensus, an idea of one nationality, implying the existence of a shared national identity is found only in its embryonic form, sectional loyalities being of primary importance among the nationality group and this is because our leaders have continually played their politricks that way to their benefit. There is only one Nigeria when looting of the national treasury is to occur, afterwards the Danfo Driver Politics makes sure that all the formidable fundamental liberties in the constitution are honourable more in breach than in observance of them. The muted 2007 dream whether real or imagined would not have been possible if the constitution was a document that danfo drivers (politicians) respect.

A look at the new ‘clubs’ in formation would certainly show an array of dysfunctional actors and this stems from many factors and one factor, that is the geographical entity known as Nigeria today can be said to be a monument to British venture in administrative experiment and till date these actors have continued to write scripts and interpret to suit the motor park which Nigeria has become! So a polity without a central value or culture consciously cultivated to override the primordial values and loyalities of the players. There can be no clear perimeter with which to gauge or even teleguide the activities of actors in the Nigeria political system. The only uniting goal-oriented credo is looting, money; power and greed, so it is not as much as exposing oneself to the caprice of ethnic conscious people but greed motivated persons and greed inspired goals.

Our political system needs to be one of several systems coherent by infusing a central value to them. This central value, i.e. shared orientations towards action, this would define the type of role relationships which can arise and allow the individual to develop stable expectations about the behaviour of others. A political ideology can only be woven if the likes Obasanjo, Ahmadu Ali, Tony Anineh, Alam, Dariye and co are purged out with Andrews liver salt. Nigerians should revolt, which ever way we do it, the sitting of men (which reminds me these days we have no men, as men have suddenly taking to feeling more comfortable as women) will not do it…somebody should do something quickly. I spoke to the man who was responsible for making sure that Abacha did not wait to see if the cap fitted him. Almighty Allah’s wrath is not something to be taken li ghtly. May He have mercy.