LET me start with a caveat that what I am about to say here is just an opinion, and should not be misconstrued as an indictment of the current presidency. For me, it’s a frame piece of my “refusal to learn” from a leadership style that I perceived as morally and democratically bankrupt.
To elaborate on this, I want us to examine the intersections of political ethics, institutional integrity, and the social contract in the Nigerian context.
The central issue to this critique is that, leadership is not merely about holding power, but about the pedagogy of governance: what a leader teaches his or her citizens through his or her lifestyle actions.
In the present dispensation, gradually, we are all witnessing the erosion of the democratic opposition. The prompt suggests that the President (PBAT) has “clipped” opposition parties, effectively absorbing them into the ruling APC. We may close our minds and consciences, but the truth cannot be hidden from those who are genuinely discerning the ugly scenarios that are unfolding in the recent Nigerian political landscape.
In a healthy democracy, the opposition serves as a shadow government and a watchdog. But when the lines between the ruling party and the opposition parties blur through political “co-opting” or “coven-like” consolidation, the democratic process will be stalled. This means that instead of a vibrant multi-party system, Nigeria is being steered toward a one-party state disguised as a democracy, where dissent is either bought or broken.
The resultant effects are the destruction of moral Integrity and the “legacy of character flaws” amongst the APC leadership echelon.
It’s a situation where personal history and the question of pedigree are relegated. The mention of “drug lords” and “forged certificates” points to a crisis of role-modeling in a decent society, but If a nation’s leader is perceived to have bypassed the law or ethics to attain power, it sends a message to the youth that the “end justifies the means.” This becomes a national pedagogical and moral failure for the upcoming generations. Our President is not only our National Brand Image (NBI), he’s our National Teacher (NT). If the teacher “forges certificates,” “encourages massive corruption,” and “rules under a hopeless mandate,” the “students” (the citizens) will eventually adopt these vices as survival strategies. At the end, evil vices will become the best norms for our national priorities and reward schemes.
It equally galvanize the moral decline when institutional injustice becomes a symbolic pawn by persons of influence rather than a national idealistic ideology.
This has prompted a question of how Nigerians can believe in “proceeding to Court for injustice,” when justice seemed to have been perverted.
It highlights a deep-seated distrust in the judiciary. The fear is that the legal system has become a tool for the powerful to sanitize “illegitimacy” rather than a venue for truth. It reflects a breakdown in the “Sleparation of Powers”. If the judiciary is seen as a “clearing house” for forged documents or electoral irregularities, the rule of law has been compromised, and soon, will collapse to a mere trade by barter market place. A place of capitalism, where the highest bidder buys both the rotten and fresh items in the market.
Except in our normal acceptance of absurdity, our president is the most powerful “Emperor” Archetype in the world, with exemption of few countries, and hence, we are already close to a “State Capture”.
Our President is a “political emperor,” who imposes leaders and emasculates the “commonwealth.” This is a concept, where public resources and political processes are diverted to serve the interests of a small elite or a single individual. This has led to a system of crony capitalism, where only those within the “coven” gain access to appointments, contracts and resources.
Using Lagos as an example, the President’s tenure in Lagos is not only measured as a success story of urban development, but as the birth of a new toga, “godfather” system. This can be likened to a “cabalistic system,” where the state’s treasury and its political future remain under the thumb print of one man.
We also experienced the era of ‘Bullion Van Politics’. The reference to bullion van politics symbolizes the monetization of the ballot. When wealth becomes the primary determinant of electoral success, the “will of the people” is replaced by the “power of the purse.”
This is perhaps the most potent image of the “monetization of poverty” that has reduced Nigerians into beggars. By bringing bullion vans to a private residence on election eve, the leadership sends a message that the democratic mandate is something to be purchased, not earned.
Apart from the financial corruption to physical violence, the October 20, 2020 of the Lekki Tollgate incident is a raw wound in the Nigerian psyche. Till date, the President didn’t condemn the “killing of youths,” and as such, Nigerians framed the administration of APC as being built on the blood of the generation it claims to lead. This already created a generational rift that will be very difficult to heal.
Tragedically, the allegation of “tacitly supporting” the intimidating and maiming of Igbo and none Yoruba voters in Lagos during the 2023 elections touches on the dangerous weaponization of ethnicity. For a country as diverse as Nigeria, a leader perceived to favour one ethnic group while suppressing another cannot champion the ideals of a united Nigeria. When a leader is perceived to tolerate or encourage attacks on specific ethnic groups to win an election, such a leader has compromised the “One Nigeria” ideal for a temporary seat of power.
Heading back to the national issues, we have a governance system that reigns by Proxy and “Press Release”. Modern leadership requires the presence and empathy of every Leader, especially at this moment of grieves amongst many Nigerians due to terrorism, banditary, kidnapping and killings. But our President “chats with citizens only through press releases”.
This seriously highlights a disconnect between the ruler and the ruled. When a leader avoids spontaneous engagement, town halls, or unscripted media inquiries, it creates a “reclusiveness” that breeds suspicion. This worsened when such leadership style is grafted with “nepotic and impunitive policies,”. This will create an environment where the government feels like an “occupying force” rather than a “representative body”. In most cases, this will result into an economic paradox, where the most harrowing part will be that the government uses its governance “corridors to intentionally create a class line between the rich and the poor.”.
This regime’s neo-liberal policies (often associated with Western influences like France or the IMF/World Bank) and “borrowing for domestic sharing” have resulted in a “colossal failure in governance reality and the erosion of accountability and the protection to our national sovereignty”. The fear of ceding sovereignty to foreign powers and institutions suggests that the administration’s economic choices benefit international creditors more than a Nigerian market woman or the local entrepreneur. This equally creates a cycle where the “domestic sharing” of borrowed money provides temporary political loyalty but a long-term national economic disaster and bankruptcy.
The challenge of insecurity has demonstrably showcased a lack of will by the government, and unfortunately, the worst insecurity scenario was birthed when APC took over in 2015. This ugly precedent has resulted into a perilous situation, where every citizen is afraid of both the state and none state security actors. This is because, there are various conflicts and confusionists within and outside the corridors of power, who have been alleged to be involved but have remained, untouchables.
As I conclude, Nigeria democracy must be reinforced by a strong and committed moral ultimatum. The moment a leader adopts “evil politics,” such a leader must be rejected. This must reflect a shift in a new Nigerian political consciousness.
The “offer to learn” from a dictatorship style of leadership must be rejected: and this is because, the “curriculum” of such abnormal leadership are spiced up with “evil vices” such as, vote buying inducement, ethnic suppression, and institutional intimidation. Such ugly vices must be as seen as toxic to the nation’s future democratic foundation.
Finally, for the present Nigerians to survive, they must unlearn the “abnormalities” of the current era, and demand for a leadership that are rooted in verifiable integrity and genuine public service. It suggests that political loyalty is not blind; it is conditional. When a leader crosses from “good governance reality” into certain “dirty lifestyles” and “evil politics,” the citizen’s duty must shift from sychophantic cooperation to ardent criticism and ballot rejection…even though that I come in PEACE.
***The article was first published in Independent Newspapers.
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