Politics practised in Nigeria today is the same as any other country based on the fact that the number one rule of Politics is self interest. The contemporary Nigerian politics has deviated from the vision of our founding fathers who wanted a political class which will be for all and not solely for a small or minority elites.
Its a known fact to all that we are still living gargantuanly in our age of slight political innocence in which the fundamental element of societal organization is the enthronment of endowed people in positions of leadership. In the words of one of the greatest political philosophers, Plato, he called for the intellectuals whom he refered to as “philosopher kings” to rule. Also the works of Nicollo Machiavelli in a book titled “The Prince” also explained how a Prince who is the ruler is to rule and also discussed that governance shouldn’t be runned as politics is runed.
It so sad today that the way our polity in this country is run today has led to the abuse of power by our political elites who sit at the corrdiors of power, neglect of the rule of law and perpetrate electoral malpractices.
It must be said that most of the problems facing our politics in this country is as a result of colonization, years of civil war, military coup and our multi ethnicity as a nation state.
The political situation in most African societies, the means of enlistment into the rulership hierachy is by popular recognition to the entire society. There is a guarantee that such person will serve the interest of the public when they are elected or handpicked into public office because during the electioneering process they set out to win the endorsement and acceptance of the people by giving some beautiful manifestos which in their mindset they knew such manifestos are just mere utopian and political propaganda. They fake the act of kindness and generosity through the hosting of lavish parties and the distributions of cash gifts to the public to induce them for their votes and support and they as well take to media to potray them as the angels of God and showcase what they have done to get public sympathy and score cheap political points.
This act will continue so as to give the people the mindset that such act will continue when they emerge and this will potray the aspirant as a Messiah of the people. By this, the gullible ones will start singing their praise songs and start worshipping such political monster in the clothes of the Messiah and with the mindset of Wolf and do their biddings.
Our multi ethnic group has led to the preaching of hate against other ethnic group in an attempt to keep supporters insulted from influence to change choice through logical presentation of political issues. This has led to the issue of zoning which is not even recognized by the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria just so to allow some ethnic group has a say in governance for all to see themselves as part of Nigeria and by so doing this we are losing our unity and we are giving in to politics of ethnicity where ethics group in which one comes from supersed the National unity of the country.
This is why our politics is dominated by where one comes from and not its merit not what he or she can do and not his or her adminstrative capacity. This was so evident in the 2015 general elections between the then president Goodluck Jonathan who was a Christian from the South South against the then opposition candidate, Major General Muhammadu Buhari who was a Muslim Northerner. This led to a contraction of choice and loyalty to ones region and not the nation state. That election was highly influenced by ethnicity and religion. This is what our politics has turned to a politics determined by religion and ethnicity.
This is democracy by remote control because people are allowed to exercise their right of free choice in the public sphere but this choice is predetermined and fixed by reason of prejudice and national treachery.
Our contemporary politics in Nigeria has been marred by election inconclusiveness and massive vote buying not leaving away cases of Electoral violence. All of these are not issue which has just began but took a different stage during this current democratic disposition. Money is used to buy political support which is another language for fixed results and this has killed free democratic choice in Nigeria today. Political aspirations has been hijacked from the realms of true voluntary offer for political leadership and handed to naked power seekers and treasury theives in their world of dictatorship. We have accepted negative leadership culture because we have been living with it for so long and the people of Nigeria has accepted it as their political fate. They have subject our polity to the lowest stage by looking at the pocket of aspirants and request for material gratifications in return for the contemplation of a possible support of his candidacy. They will contemplate on his or her candidacy because they will demand and receive from all opposing Aspirants and the will then vote for their ethnic or close relatives of the highest giver in the absence of a relative Aspirant.
To an average Nigerian, the mostly believe politics is a dirty and dangerous game of which is played by people who can get their hands dirty and compromise their honesty and integrity. The problem of our contemporary politics in Nigeria starts from the party primaries where an aspirant will do everything possible to get party ticket, this include destruction of the unity of the party as his first task, controlling of the party and then marginalise other aspirants from getting the party ticket.
Nigeria politicians are still flagrant in their disrespect of the rule of law which makes one wonder if they ever intend to make laws while in office and they will want such law to be respected. The rule of law is one of the fundamental principle of governance and democracy in particular and it is one of the stronghold of how governance should be run.
According to Adegboyega (2019) in his own addition and contribution on the rule of law he said “The rule of law being a constitutional concept remains the cornerstone of governance in any given polity” . He discussed further that It means that everything must be done according to the law. This implies that both the government and the governed must always justify their actions in law. And that government should be conducted within the framework of recognized rules and principles which restrict discretionary power, which Coke colourfully spoke of as “golden and straight netwand of law as opposed to the uncertain and crooked cord of discretion. Government business should be done to avoid dictatorial tendencies, because of discretionary powers are allowed, those in government would use such to the detriment of the less privileged members of the society.
There are social laws which originated in the distant past and have now become natural laws because they are universal and seen in all societies. The disobey of the rule of law is mostly accepted in the case of National security or classified operations even though its not recognised by the law but its an act by the executive to maintain the internal security of the nation state. This act of disobey to the rule of law has been in existence since Nigeria bedane independent and since Democratic dispostion it became one of the apparati of governance to silence critics or to silence the oppositions.
The Nigeria contemporary politics seems brutish in the words of Thomas Hobbes in his analysis of Hobessian state and its right time our politcal class needs to love the country more than their soul and interest just as Nicollo Machiavelli has said in the Prince and finally they must understand than governance isn’t run the same way with politics. The rule of law must be respected because it is a fundamental pillar in which democracy lies upon and in the absence of the rule of law, anarchy and tyranny looms and this might give way for civil disobedience and a state of anomie.
Written by Shokoya Olakunle Adeboye
The writter Is sociologist with bias in development, a socio political analyst and a social via ShokoyResearcher. Contact him on [email protected]
