I WATCHED on AIT the live transmission of PDP governors’ banquet in the beautiful city of Jos on Friday 22nd November 2024. As I watch the governors and top party leaders exchange greetings, with broad smiles that stretch from one side of the cheek to the other, their tables decorated with assorted wines and foods, I wondered if they really know what Nigerians are going through. If they do, can we really look up to them for the rescue Nigerians expect in 2027? It is difficult to believe whether politicians have conscience, judging by their past callous actions.
Nigeria, like every nation of the world, is organic. It means that the nation can be seen as a living, dynamic, and interconnected entity, much like a biological organism. This idea is rooted in 19th century philosophical and sociological thought, particularly in the works of thinkers like Johann Gottfried Herder, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Émile Durkheim. Like all natural organisms, it can blossom or die depending on the environmental condition. Our politicians have made our political climate too harsh for the growth of the country. Nigeria today is tottering on the brinks of economic and political annihilation.
Critics criticised, and activists protested against the policies of the PDP and got away with it, but not with APC. NLC staged several protests against Obasanjo-led PDP over fuel price increase and nothing happened. If it is tried now, they will be charged for treason. We cannot forget 2012 protest against Jonathan’s government that lasted for a whole week, and in which the current president played a critical role. Not one person was arrested. APC is anti-people. Any government that is anti-people will definitely go down. Like PDP, APC will go down.
An organic nation is supposed to be dynamic, constantly growing, and evolving over time. This growth is often seen as a natural, inevitable process. It is good leadership that makes growth possible. Good leadership is humous to a nation. It brings about development, cohesion and interconnectedness, where individual components (citizens, institutions, etc.) work together to form a unified entity.
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Bad governance, in the other hand, brings ruin to a nation. It gives birth to harsh political and economic climate.
From 1999 to 2015, PDP provided leadership in corruption, ineptitude, cluelessness and carelessness, thereby paving the path for our destruction. It was seen then as a strong party, and it boasted of remaining in power for 60 years before any party could dream of it. But like the Bible said, when a stronger than the strong man comes, he will bind the strong man before dispossessing him of the ill acquired titles and privileges. PDP may not near power in the next fifty years. The party has been conquered for now. Those smiles that we saw on television on Friday night are not real.
No matter how strong and virile a natural organism may be, a harsh and adverse habitat can destroy it. Nigeria’s problem is bad leadership. We are favoured by the benevolence of nature. Our leaders are not just clueless, they are wicked and careless.
The good people of this country have never been privileged to be in power at any time. It has always been the bad and the ugly. All the evils in the land today, such as herders and farmers conflict, Biafra agitation, Niger Delta agitation, Boko Haram, banditry, kidnapping, etc.; are dividends of bad leadership, and they can all be corrected through good leadership.
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With PDP losing grips all in front of the political space. At the moment, we in danger of a one-party state. Except we arise, we should be prepared to trudge the rough way to perdition.
In all climes, it is government that propel the wheel of growth. No nation became great on its own. The duty to create and uphold a fair, impartial, and effective legal system, fostering strong, accountable, and transparent democratic institutions, safeguard fundamental human rights, including freedom of speech, assembly, and association, are ways government help the organic growth of a nation.
Leaders who do not understand that they hold power in trust for the generality of the people will not keep it for long. That was why PDP, the unfortunate beneficiary of our collective struggle against the military, lost power while still revelling in the hereditary frenzy of the monumental achievement that they never contributed to.
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APC may be rejoicing today, but the fact is that they have proven to be worse than PDP. Corruption under APC has assumed a higher dimension. Intolerance, deceit, hypocrisy, bigotry, cronyism, insecurity and nepotism are all operating at higher level under APC. Phoney and phantom projects that may never be completed in our life time are been embark on.
Critics criticised, and activists protested against the policies of the PDP and got away with it, but not with APC. NLC staged several protests against Obasanjo-led PDP over fuel price increase and nothing happened. If it is tried now, they will be charged for treason. We cannot forget 2012 protest against Jonathan’s government that lasted for a whole week, and in which the current president played a critical role. Not one person was arrested. APC is anti-people. Any government that is anti-people will definitely go down. Like PDP, APC will go down.
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In all climes, it is government that propel the wheel of growth. No nation became great on its own. The duty to create and uphold a fair, impartial, and effective legal system, fostering strong, accountable, and transparent democratic institutions, safeguard fundamental human rights, including freedom of speech, assembly, and association, are ways government help the organic growth of a nation. It also includes Integrating civic education into school curricula, promoting critical thinking, and civic responsibility, creating opportunities for citizens to participate in decision-making processes through town hall meetings, public consultations, and other mechanisms. Provide resources, funding, and capacity-building programs for civil society organisations.
We may have managed to survive the coruscating effects of the leadership of the bad, whether we can survive the leadership of the ugly, only time will tell. It is clear that apart from Peter Obi, no opposition group is emitting light in our political space. We can only be consoled by that aspect of war history that shows that no war has ever killed everybody. Certainly, some Nigerians will survive this season of darkness.
Comrade Amechi, Lagos-based trade union activist, will write this column, ‘The Observer’s View, every Tuesday.
