Politicians and governance in Nigeria

The countdown to the 2019 general election has been very emblematic of the crisis of governance in the country, especially since the advent of democratic rule in 1999. Whereas Nigerians were very hopeful about the positive accruals expected from democratic rule, it cannot be emphatically said that their hope has been met given the less than stellar performance of the country’s politicians since 1999. This has been visible in the continuing pauperisation of the people, resulting in Nigeria becoming the poverty capital of the world under the tutelage of the politicians. There is growing mass unemployment even in the face of a contrasting economy. Infrastructure has collapsed and governments at the various levels are not bothered in any significant way about helping to provide succour to the people.  In short, life has become so unbearable for the people, yet the most important thing under the democratic dispensation would be for the politicians to pretend to be in government while no serious governance is contemplated or pursued. Now that the elections are approaching, all that the people see are the various gimmicks of the politicians to yet again sell empty promises to hoodwink the electorate and grab power.

Yet, the point has to be made that politics and democratic rule are not meant for the aggrandizement of politicians but should be a platform for addressing the problems of the society and thus helping to ensure a better life for the citizenry. This is the sense in which politics is about governance which should reflect the devotion of those in government. They should ideally use the instrumentality of government to address the developmental problems and issues in the society. And this is best assured where all are concerned with the building of institutions, and allow the institutions to function outside of the whims and caprices of individuals. It is regrettable, for instance, that in spite of the so-called working of democratic rule for more than 19 years since 1999, the country is still bogged down with interminable crisis and tension between the legislature and the executive principally because Nigerian politicians have tended to function in relation to the influence of personalities rather than the demands of institutional integrity. It is so bad that Nigerians are made to be at the receiving end, through lack of governance, of persistent skirmishes among and across all arms of government, without the majority of politicians standing up for principles.

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In any case, how are they going to set great store by principles when all they look out for is how to make money for themselves at the expense of the system and the Nigerian people? Which politician in Nigeria, running for re-election for an executive post, for example, has bothered to refrain from utilising the resources of that office for re-election purposes by ensuring that every political trip made with government resources is reimbursed, as is the case in other democracies?  Here we see presidents and governors utilising collective resources for their reelection campaigns with the president, for instance, flying the presidential jet to attend campaigns without reimbursing for the cost as if it is part of the budget of the Presidency to pay for campaigns. This attitude is on display at all the levels of government and is it any wonder then that politicians prefer to concentrate on elections and campaigns rather than governance in the current countdown to the elections, even as they have never been bothered about governance before this time?

The truth is that Nigerians do not need more of the election frenzy and fever but a fundamental change in the attitude and perspective of the politicians. Nigerians want democratic rule to address and provide solutions to their problems. They want roads, schools and health institutions that are functional and are provided not at the benefaction of politicians, but as part of deliberate efforts and plans to make life more comfortable for the people. It is only when this is made the bedrock of politics that elections and the entries democratic platform would be made to serve their intended purposes. And this should be the hallmark of participation in politics with politicians making service to the people through effective governance their major preoccupation. We hope that politicians and Nigerians in general would use the opportunity of the coming elections to signpost the importance of such a change or attitude by ensuring that only those committed to this platform of effective engagement and governance have a pride of place at the elections.