Nigeria’s Political Capone De Capii Tutii’s
By
Anthony Okosun
tonyosun@yahoo.co.uk
Political Godfathers in Nigeria are the quintessential
exemplification of the notion of Mafia God Fathers as popularised by
the Mario Puzo fictional creation 'The Godfather' based on real life
Sicillian mafia life style of Italian crime families and the daily
activities of the family head known as the Capon de Capi Tutii-
Boss of all Bosses.
The late German Jurist Friedrich Carl von Savigny who was
one of the greatest, most respected and influential 19th-century
Jurists sought to prove and actually succeded in his great works the
Recht des Besitzes and the Beruf unserer Zeit für
Gesetzgebung; that the laws of a people reflect their
spiritual consciousness. Applying Savigny's principle to the
Nigerian political environment, would reveal , that country Nigeria
is pretending to live in a socio political scenario, that creates a
set of laws, political and economic apparatus and systems that are
irrelevant and strange to the average Nigerians. The Nigerian masses
have been left behind. The political elites are too far away from
the masses. It has become their world against our world. To put it
aptly, the regular system is dysfunctional. The regular system is
not working. Meanwhile, the masses must survive, therefore, God
Fathers offering alternatives to the regular system must emerge.
They have emerged and they are thriving.
A
scenario such as the one described above leaves a great space, for
those with great common sense, those blessed with unusual guts and a
great depth of native intelligence to emerge as special alternative
governments and leaders unto the people. This is matter of political
economics. The masses need leadership. The regular governments have
been found lacking and wanting. They are even too far off. In other
words, there is a short supply of leadership. Thus the demand for
alternative leadership has become high. Naturally, folks among the
masses, who can supply the socio-economic and political products and
services, the desire, for which, the masses crave leadership and
good government, will automatically emerge as God Fathers.
According to Criminologists, the society prepares the crime, the
criminal merely commits it. The Nigerian socio-political environment
prepares a good ground for God Fathers to emerge. God fathers fill a
void, because nature will not allow a vacuum. Political God fathers
are also economic and social God Fathers to the masses. These
political God fathers understand the Nigeria masses, better than
the government. God Fathers work very hard to win the trust of the
masses. They promise and they deliver. Their followers trust them
more than the government. Their followers believe them, whereas same
followers see the regular government as completely lacking in
integrity.
Any surprise, that God Fathers have become alternative governments,
that are thriving, while the regular governments at the federal,
state and local levels are all failing. Political God Fathers and
members of their political families are prospering, while those who
hold faith in the regular governments are left in the wilderness of
confusion, despondence and social stagnation.
Understanding and unravelling the phenomenon called Political God
Fathers and Political Families, will require a multi-prong approach.
A pertinent question that must be addressed to lead us to the power
base of political God Fathers is, why are the governments and their
agencies at the federal, state and local levels not delivering the
dividends of democracy to the people. The people are not going to
wait for ever. They have an alternative, that alternative is the
government provided by the local or state strong man. That is the
God father. Now lets get down to the nitty gritty. If a man cannot
get justice from the regular justice administration apparatus. He
will seek an alternative provider of justice. That is human nature.
How that alternative justice is provided is within the domain of
your guess; and boy your guess is as good as mine. Same applies in
the arena of social justice. The regular governments have all failed
woefully to create an enabling environment, whereby the masses can
thrive and prosper. The political God Father is able to provide some
measure of individual long term and short term relief . How dare you
attempt to tell the beneficiaries of the benevolence of the
political God Father, who tripples up as economic and social God
father, that they must not sacrifice their lives for the God Father;
when it is time to knock some sense, by way of impeachment into the
head of some erring Governor who is encumbering the release of a
fraction of the security vote necessary for the survival of the
political family. Has the Governor, forgotten that he was rigged
into the Government House by the political family, ably led by the
God Father.
Whenever there is a show down between a God Father and a God Son
Governor, what the press and the on-lookers usually fail to
appreciate, is that the crisis is actually, a fight between members
of the same family. The army of the God Father are fully aware, that
they could lose their lives in the ensuing melee, yet they risk
being called thugs and take to the streets. Reason? These folks are
aware, that they are fighting for their daily bread. The God Father
and the political family are the governments they know, and the
governments they have learnt to trust.
Usually God Fathers feed thousands of Nigerian citizens daily. Why
can't the government create outfits to offer these guys regular
jobs. Has any one ever considered how much it costs to provide
three free meals in 365 days. Now you understand, why there is
always a fight over security vote; that even state Governors do not
usually account for. Why are the federal, state and local
governments not doing anything regarding the provision of
accommodation for the millions of Nigerian homeless. Do we know how
many Nigerians would have no place to rest their tired bodies and
bones at the end of each day, minus the benevolence of God Fathers.
Come to think of it, whereas no government in Nigeria has a Public
Defenders office, God Fathers always assume responsibility for the
legal defense of members of their political families.
Long after elections, when those elected into political offices are
now busy looting and siphoning the wealth of the people to foreign
shores, political God Fathers usually hang in there, attending the
marriage ceremonies of bricklayers and carpenters who belong to
their political families. God Fathers pay school fees for sons and
daughters of indigent members of their political families. Now you
know why God Fathers are trusted why the regular governments
are treated with disdain by the masses. When Adedibu Ariyibi Lamidi
died, all the deformed beggars in Ibadan organized themselves and
went to his Molete Ibadan residence to offer prayers for the late
political God Father. They were not unduly influenced. They were not
cajoled. They were not forced. Adedibu was not around to arm twist
them into offering prayers for his soul. They organized themselves
and voluntary went to Adedibu's residence to offer prayers for
Adedibu's soul. Now think about that.
Many people have reservations about the approach of political God
Fathers to the conduct of elections. The truth is, when the
government is really determined to conduct free and fair elections,
the God Fathers stay out of the way of trouble and play by the
rules. If you doubt my position on this, ask Babangida Badamosi
Ibrahim and Nwosu Humphrey. Yet the government of the day annulled
that free and fair elections of 1992. Any wonder that God Fathers
understand the game to mean- Every one rigs, who rigs better wins.
Thus the solution, is for us to have good government with the
determination to do that, which is right.
Blaming political God Fathers for Nigeria 's woes, is like attacking
the symptoms, while the root cause of the problem is ignored. Bad
ant i- people government is the bane of Nigeria 's
under-development. Taking over power at all cost, seems to be a
cultural thing in Africa . The military boys used to force their way
into power. Now, militant civilians force their way into power, by
rigging of elections. This brings us back to the great German Jurist
Von Savigny. Our society tolerates rigging, thus it is a cultural
thing. Our society tolerates worship and crowning of the strong man.
Thus God Fatherism is a cultural thing.
Political God Fathers and Political Families with all the attendant
negatives, will witness a demise, the government decides to be a
government of the people for the people.