BY ABADOM LAWRENCE AMECHI
IF YOU have a society of 500 slaves and 25 slave masters, and that society is democratised, you may be surprised that, at every election, one of the slave masters will emerge as the leader. The question that should naturally arise is: Why would 500 people, who possess the numerical strength to determine their own destiny, continue to elect one of the 25 people who have kept them in bondage?
The greatest tragedy of oppression is not merely that people are denied their freedom, but that, over time, they may be conditioned to believe that they were born to remain oppressed. They lose the capacity to recognise their collective strength, appreciate their inherent worth, and harness the opportunities available to them. They become so accustomed to following that that the possibility of leading begins to appear strange, distant, or even impossible.
The biggest project before us today is therefore the deconstruction of the mental structures that have kept its people in perpetual dependence. The masses of our people must be helped to understand that they are not inferior, that their opinions matter, and that they possess the capacity to lead, govern, and determine the direction of their societies. The masses must be united at the bottom, like elites are united at the top. Until this happens, democracy may continue to produce leaders who are disconnected from the needs of the people
This is the foundation upon which many oppressive systems are built. The slave masters do not need to outnumber the slaves. They only need to ensure that the slaves never discover the power of their numbers.
ALSO READ: The Spike In The Drink Of Our Political Leaders; By Owei Lakemfa
In a democratised society, numbers are power. The 500 slaves possess the numerical advantage to elect anyone they choose. But if they are divided, deceived, intimidated, or persuaded to believe that their interests are different, their numerical strength becomes useless. The slave masters understand this very well. They know that a united people can challenge their authority, while a divided people can be easily manipulated.
Consequently, the first strategy of the slave master is to prevent the slaves from recognising their common condition.
One group may be told that it is superior to the others. They may be promised that power belongs to their race, tribe, religion, or region. Another group may receive a different promise. Each group is made to believe that it has a special relationship with the slave master and that its own interests will be protected if it remains loyal.
The result is a society in which the oppressed begin to fight among themselves over privileges that the oppressor never intended to distribute equitably.
ALSO READ: Nigeria’s Borders: Can The Security System See The Whole Picture? By Lanre Ogundipe
By the time an election arrives, the slaves may not find anyone among them suitable for leadership. They forget that the condition of slavery cuts across the entire society. They forget that hunger does not ask for ethnicity before visiting a household, and that poverty does not respect religious identity. They forget, above all, that there is no benevolent slave master.
The fundamental principle of slavery is that the slave must remain down for the master to rise and shine. The master may occasionally offer gifts, distribute handouts, or make promises of prosperity, but the purpose is often to preserve the existing relationship between the master and the slave.
This is why the greatest challenge facing African democracy is not simply the conduct of elections. It is the liberation of the minds of the ordinary people.
The essence of democracy is the recognition that the people possess the right and capacity to determine who governs them. But that right becomes meaningless when the people are mentally shackled.
ALSO READ: My Desk Is Enough: What Achebe’s Things Fall Apart Teaches Us About the Sundiata Post Model; By Max Amuchie
The struggle to unshackle the African mind has therefore been one of the most important battles in the history of the continent. Across Africa, progressive voices have emerged to raise consciousness, challenge oppression, and remind the people of their dignity. Some of these voices were eliminated, imprisoned, persecuted, or silenced because their ideas threatened entrenched interests.
The names of Kwame Nkrumah, Thomas Sankara, Amílcar Cabral, Patrice Lumumba, Muammar Gaddafi, and Steve Biko, among others, remain associated with the struggle for African liberation, dignity, and self-determination. Their histories, despite their differences and controversies, remind us of the danger that powerful interests often perceive in ideas capable of awakening the people.
The biggest project before us today is therefore the deconstruction of the mental structures that have kept its people in perpetual dependence. The masses of our people must be helped to understand that they are not inferior, that their opinions matter, and that they possess the capacity to lead, govern, and determine the direction of their societies. The masses must be united at the bottom, like elites are united at the top. Until this happens, democracy may continue to produce leaders who are disconnected from the needs of the people
The day the Nigerian masses understand that what binds them together is stronger than what divides them, the foundation of their liberation will be laid. The day they realise that their poverty is not an ethnic condition, that insecurity is not a religious problem, and that poor governance is not a regional privilege, the political elite will lose one of their most effective instruments of control.
How can a rational Nigerian, who is neither sick nor mentally incapacitated, observe what has happened in the country over the past three years and still wait for a celebrity, pastor, bishop, oba, chief, governor, minister, or another influential person to decide whom he or she should vote for?
ALSO READ: Of Caps, Marabouts And Politics Of Envy; By Hassan Gimba
Why should a grown man or woman, who bears the consequences of government policies, surrender the responsibility of choosing a leader to someone whose interests may be entirely different from his or hers?
Why should a citizen who is struggling to survive wait for a political godfather to tell him whether the economic hardship he is experiencing is real? These are questions that every Nigerian should ask.
A minister was recently reported to have boasted that ordinary Nigerians would not vote according to the economic hardship they were experiencing, but would instead follow the direction of their leaders, who were controlled by people in power.
If such a statement was accurately reported, it reveals a disturbing understanding of the Nigerian electorate. It suggests that some people in positions of authority believe that the masses can be manipulated indefinitely, regardless of their lived experiences.
ALSO READ: The Mirror Of Thrones: When Power Mistakes Itself For Destiny; By Iduh Onah
Nigerians, whether in the East, West, North, or South, are going through similar hardships. The suffering of the ordinary people does not stop at regional boundaries. Insecurity does not ask whether its victims are Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Christian, or Muslim. The high cost of living does not discriminate between regions. Unemployment, unaffordable healthcare, poor infrastructure, and economic hardship affect Nigerians across the country.
Today, there is an apparent attempt to reduce the serious issues confronting Nigeria to mundane arguments about religion, tribalism, propaganda, deceit, and lies even when Nigerians are facing real and urgent problems.
Since the arrival of the rains, reports of travellers spending long hours on bad roads, including the Benin–Agbor road, should remind us that development must be measured by the everyday experiences of the people. And to be sure, that is just one example amongst many.
Unfortunately, because the political class understands that the people possess shackled minds, it has resorted to handouts, emotional appeals, religious endorsements, ethnic sentiments, and empty promises. The objective is to distract citizens from evaluating the actual performance of those in office.
Ordinarily, the evidence of performance should determine whether a government is returned to power. A government that has delivered security, prosperity, infrastructure, employment, and good governance should have a record to defend. A government that has failed should be subjected to scrutiny.
But where citizens have been mentally conditioned to follow personalities rather than evaluate performance, a leader may attempt to buy loyalty with temporary gifts while ignoring the deeper causes of poverty.
This is the danger of political handouts. They can become instruments of manipulation when they are used to replace accountability. A temporary distribution of food items cannot substitute for a functioning economy. A political promise cannot replace the need for competent governance.
As the 2027 election approaches, Nigerians must be wary of the politics of deception. The All Progressives Congress and its supporters may present new promises and fresh initiatives, but the people must ask what has been achieved during the years already spent in office.
The same people who have used divisive rhetoric against particular ethnic groups in the past are now attempting to present themselves as champions of unity and friendship. They are now telling stories of friends from communities they previously denigrated, as though personal relationships are sufficient evidence of a commitment to equality.
Nigerians must learn to ask difficult questions. They must demand explanations for failed promises, poor governance, insecurity, and economic hardship. They must resist the temptation to vote based on the instructions of religious leaders, traditional rulers, celebrities, or political godfathers.
The day the Nigerian masses understand that what binds them together is stronger than what divides them, the foundation of their liberation will be laid. The day they realise that their poverty is not an ethnic condition, that insecurity is not a religious problem, and that poor governance is not a regional privilege, the political elite will lose one of their most effective instruments of control.
The day our people will realise that their vote is not a favour to any politician but a powerful instrument of accountability, they will begin to use it wisely. And when the people finally unshackle their minds, the elites will discover that the greatest threat to their dominance is not the opposition party, the media, or the next political movement. It is the ordinary Nigerian who has finally learned to think for himself.
An unshackled mind is a nightmare to the elites.
