It seems that as a Nigerian, one cannot completely avoid commenting on the affairs of the nation no matter how determined you are to watch events from the side-lines or from the back row. Perhaps, that is a price for being intimately connected to the theatre of the absurdities – Nigeria. The current scene being played out is the volte-face of Femi Fani-Kayode (FFK). That is his theatrical defection from PDP to APC. Sadly, most of the comments about his action have been on the man, rather than seeing it as exposing the deep malaise lying at the heart of the country’s political life, or what we Nigerians erroneously describe as politics. A country that willingly accepts that the lack of integrity, ideology, conviction and above all, the relegation of values and public interests in public service equates to “politics’’ is gravely misguided.
If Nigeria continues to define politics or politicians in the above terms, the country will continue to oscillate in the vicious cycle of poverty, ignorance, and under-development. Nigerians, please let us begin to accept the universally accepted definition of, and the agreed principles that underly politics. There is a clear difference between apostasy and conviction politics. Politics is not a catch-all phrase for all manner of behaviour. Never call apostates, politicians. Apostates have overwhelmingly populated Nigerian existing political parties. They are mendacious, emotionally unstable, and morally deficient. Real politicians are not so. They are nation builders. And we desperately need them. No nation has attained any meaningful progress without adopting ennobling progressive ethos which conviction politicians abundantly offer. If Nigeria were to be an exception to this rule, it would have long reached the zenith of human endeavour.
Back to FFK, apart from conforming to the general bad behaviour of Nigerians who have managed to attain high political office, what really could be his personal reason for his latest action? Answer – FFK like his type is a victim of the coercive economic system in Nigeria. Unlike other countries that started from the same base as Nigeria at independence, Nigerian governments have institutionalised poverty and adopted it as an instrument of securing the obedience and loyalty of its citizens. Thus, Nigerians have been deliberately pauperised to weaken their capacity for questioning and resistance; even though there is the pervading knowledge that the people innately lack the will or ability to organise for collective actions. For their determined efforts Nigerian power holders have successfully turned the country into a beggars’ colony, in which anything goes for the sake of individual survival.
FFK has simply done what your relative who begs you for money do. The difference between FFK and your relative is the level at which they each pitch their requests. FFK goes higher while your relative goes lower. I am certain that if Nigerian governments at all levels have been interested in expanding the country’s economic base, with increased economic opportunities in the country for all, the numbers of FFK would have been negligible. Instead, they are swelling on daily basis. Frankly, their numbers have never been this high in the land. Therefore, brace yourselves as it is unlikely that this type of spectacle will be ceasing anytime soon.
Question – a very serious question, the actual prompting for this article. What useful political, economic and social purpose does the devoting of huge time and energy discussing FFK’s action serve? If you are like me, I think that the answer would be – NONE. But here is the trick, spend time discussing his action, you unwittingly encourage others of his psychological make to act out their bad behaviour. Discussing these people is to supply them the oxygen they crave to feed their exaggerated sense of self-importance. With the avalanche of the free commentaries trailing FFK’s defection, he now has the bundle of evidence to present to President Buhari of what he and APC have gained, never mind that APC “won” elections despite him. Nigerians, can we change? Chorus – Yes, we can. Okay, let us see!
• Kingsley Ogbonda, London
