As a political bystander, I am often miffed at the manner some politicians in Nigeria embark on their inordinate quest to grab power. At times I struggle without success to comprehend the rationale behind most of their actions. These past days, with events unfolding in quick succession, the uninitiated in the delicate art of politicking could have been sent to their untimely grave, if they were to juxtapose current happenings in the political sphere with what took place in the first and second republics, which culminated in a prolonged military interruption in government. The saying that the greatest tragedy of history is that men don’t learn from the past is fast playing out, yet men of integrity and goodwill are watching helplessly.
I am grappling to come to terms with the notion that politics itself is a mixture of the high and the low, the realm in which politicians attempt to make real some of their highest aspirations: the desire for political freedom, their longing for justice and hope for peace and security. At the same time, while this maneuver and intrigues persist, many have forgotten that politics is laced with individuals and groups seeking their selfish interests at the expense of others.
To a large extent, this could be true and an apt description of the attitudes of some politicians in Nigeria today. They no longer have the interest of the electorates in mind, but are constantly and vigorously in desperate pursuits of their personal ambitions. And this turn of event is denting the image of politics and politicians in Nigeria. Many people are beginning to question the benefits of electing to positions of authority individuals whose sole qualification is the ability to con a group of people to vote for them.
Also, some sections of the population have severally described politics as a dirty game, which people with integrity and high degree of moral rectitude should not touch, even with a long spoon, just because of some bad eggs in the profession. And if this is taken seriously and good people with lofty ideas keep away from politics, it therefore means that our collective interest would be in jeopardy as we would be at the mercy of unconscientious politicians who will now have a field day to unleash a reign of terror and unrestrained acquisition of wealth, on the unsuspecting public.
Great thinkers have, either inadvertently or knowingly come to accept the notion that politics deals with messy and complicated situations. For this reason, it is pertinent for all political actors to acknowledge that politics is concerned, not only with the political ideal, but also with the best that can be achieved. With this backdrop, any politician worth his onion must know when to compromise and when to stand fast on principle.
Political theory helps us to understand such issues clearly. It has been widely reported that the American Revolution took place when a group of statesmen decided to stand on principle and reject further compromise. But shortly after the revolution, many of the same statesmen worked together to draft the United States Constitution, built on a series of compromises. The Federalist Papers, urging the adoption of the Constitution, offer a brilliant account of how a principled government can thrive in a world of self-interest factions.
For example, Christians are often ambivalent about politics; on one hand, the Bible often presents God in the language of politics: a sovereign ruler over His kingdom, with Christians called to help build the kingdom. Viewed from another perspective, the Bible distinguishes between the kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of heaven. Interestingly, the King’s College is rooted in the tradition that urges Christians to engage the political realities of their time.
Politics is studied, in part, to learn how to transform our largely secular and pluralistic society for the better. It is on this score that we must imbibe the culture of compromise for the overall interest of the public. When this comes to play, healthy political mores would have been institutionalised.
Few years back, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, then Speaker of the State House of Assembly, contested and won the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, primaries for Rivers State Gubernatorial race in 2007. His name was substituted and he took the case to the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court. He became Governor on October 26, 2007 after the Supreme Court pronounced him the rightful candidate of the PDP and winner of the April 2007 Governorship election in Rivers State. There was no street protests against this pronouncement by other political parties, including the PDP’s candidate who had at the time declared winner of the gubernatorial election and sworn-in as the governor of River States.
Last week, stalwarts of the All Progressive Congress, APC, took to the streets of Abuja, protesting against the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC’s decision to conduct a re-run in the Anambra State gubernatorial election, which the electoral body had declared inconclusive in some parts of State. Although, peaceful protest is an integral part of democracy and the APC has the constitutional right to it, the bizarre spectacle of the APC, at best could be termed laughable. Does it mean that when a political party fails to win election it has to take to the streets in protest calling for either total cancellation or conduct of fresh elections? Why did the party not protest in the other States’ gubernatorial elections the INEC had declared it winners? This was sheer hypocrisy and self-saving.
When would our politicians begin to accept the will of the electorate? If there were infractions in the Anambra poll, there are courts of competent jurisdiction to entertain such cases. What if the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Mr. Willie Obiano did not win the Anambra State governorship election, would the APC have welcomed his protest for cancellation and conduct of fresh election? When would politicians in Nigeria accept defeat at the polls and congratulate their opponents as done in other civilised democracies?
Our elders say the dancer does not know what his back looks like while he is dancing. There are so many issues that have electoral values, which the APC should endeavour to resolve before subsequent elections. The true pulse of the electorate must be felt, rather than being carried away by the rented crowd that often besiege political rallies for pecuniary gains. How did the APC expect to win the governorship election in Anambra after the internal deportation order carried out by the APC-governed Lagos State?
Certainly they will be punished in 2015 by the aggrieved ethnic group in Lagos. Again, why did the APC show so much disrespect to the Obi of Onitsha by launching its campaign on the day the Obi was marking his Ofala? The Obi reportedly went the angry length of cursing the APC on that occasion. Also, there is the lingering memory of Okija which may have worked against the APC. The street protest by the APC just proved that Nigerian politicians are incurable optimists. Next time they should arrange for people to tell them how crooked their backs are while they are engaged in this macabre dance.
A commentator once wrote: “Nigerian political parties often shout about foul play when they are out-rigged, but when they rig and win, it’s all fair.” What an ignoble classification of our ruling elites!