No heroes in politics

I am interested in foreign countries' politics only insofar as it affects their political and economic policies towards Nigeria and Africa. The truth is their basic policies do not change. There is a lot of change in the wrapping paper, but the "gift" remains the same. The funny thing is they tend to criticize each others' policies towards Africa, which is amusing because all of their policies are the same.

This works for them. It serves their interests.

My abiding focus is on figuring out how Nigeria and its African neighbours can start to achieve our own interests.

In most countries in Africa, the opposition complain that the government suppresses democratic freedoms. Funnily enough, when the government and opposition switch places, the erstwhile opposition do exactly the same things the former government did, and the former government (now opposition) starts to whine about democracy and demanding all the things they refused to do when they were in government.

Africa is not alone in this.

All over the world, the different factions in the political world are more similar to each other than they are different. Whether the SPD or CSU wins in Germany, the country will be as it was, and as it will be. Whether the Democrats or Republicans win in the USA, life continues for most Americans as it did before and as it will. The truly important things are usually out of the reach of the politicians anyway. Or more accurately, politicians tend to do nothing about the important things until some sort of crisis forces them to act. And when they do act, they do the same things.

This works for them, but it does not work for us.

Nigeria (and Africa) need a radical paradigm shift in the political, economic and social spheres. And business-as-usual tennis matches, where different factions of the same system pass power back and forth between themselves is not going to get us there.

Most Nigerians have a political hero or two, or even several.

Most Nigerians have a person or persons they believe were great leaders, or the greatest leader that ever lived.

Many of these heroes, dare I say most (or all) of them, appeal to specific sections of the country, and are either (at best) respected abstractly in other sections, or (at worst) distrusted, feared, disliked or hated in other sections (at worst). The reaction of most of the country to the annulment of the 1993 elections is a case in point; even people who ostensibly voted for the late Moshood Abiola could not be bothered to fight for his mandate. Ultimately they gave him their vote because the only other option allowed them was Bashir Tofa; truth be told, these voters probably wanted (and trusted) neither one of them particularly much.

I have always been politically neutral. There is no point supporting the opposition when they would be no different from the sitting government.

Still, I have felt the need to act. I have felt that need since the Second Republic. I was a child then, but even then I knew that it did not make any sense.

Igbos were supposed to vote for NPP because it was the Igbo Party. Yorubas were supposed to vote for UPN because it was the Yoruba Party. Hausas, Fulanis and sections of the Middle Belt were supposed to vote for NPN because it was the NPC reborn (actually, it was the precursor of the NRC, the SDP, the UNCP and the PDP, but that is another story). Other sections of the Middle Belt (the ones that supported the UMBC in the First Republic) were supposed to vote NPP, in a sort of resurrection of the First Republic's All Progressive Grand Alliance, while the people of Kano (who backed NEPU the first time around) were supposed to back the PRP this time around. And the people of the Niger-Delta were supposed to vote NPN as a bulwark against the NPP, for reasons that also dated back to the First Republic. The new kids on the block were the GNPP, whom you were supposed to back if you were from Borno or certain parts of Gongola.

Notice how nothing above had anything to do with policies, ideologies or even a sense of what the federal social contract should be. There was nobody offering a definition of what the federal republic was, what it should be, with an explanation of how we were meant to get there.

Just a bunch of ethno-regional rubbish, masked under pleasant-sounding words and phrases.

I have wanted to be active in politics ever since then, not for any personal ambition, but because I felt (even as a child) that SOMEBODY had to offer something else, something different, something that gave our people a choice.

Too much of our politics does not make sense. From as far back as the 1950s, we have been fighting each other over the wrong things, and neglecting the important things.

I do not support any of the existing political factions. If you read through this blog from the first post to the last post, you will see that I do not discriminate in my critiques on ethnic, regional or religious bases.

Nevertheless, writing critical essays does not really achieve anything. If you want change to happen, you have to create change. You must work for it, sweat blood for it, and if necessary suffer for it.

I came very, very, very close to joining the Nigeria Rally Movement. I might still join in the next few months. I have to think about it. Sometimes things sound like they are what you are looking for, but until you really get to know the things in question you can never tell. I did exchange emails with one of their leaders. It sounds good, but we will see.

What I am trying to say is, if you see me criticizing your own particular political hero, please do not think I am doing it in support of your hero's rival. Odds are I have the same opinion of your hero's rival as I do of your hero.

Oh, and check out the NRM website. If you like what you see, join them.

I might.

I might not.