Bye-bye to governance

Anyone interested in Nigeria will look at the unfolding turn of events in the political space and candidly confirm that the polity is in a pressure cooker, steadily been heated up by members of the ruling party as they gladiate and pursue, with all their might, their 2015 agenda.

The current jousting and jostling is all about the coming general elections. In our still feudal political structure, politicians are parochial, petty and mired in provincial politicking.Therefore, it is very likely that the collective interest of Nigeria will be disregarded; projects discarded and work suspended at the federal, state and local government level as well as their respective ministries, departments and agencies. The personal agenda of politicians will be given full consideration. If it does, as we expect it to, the time, resources, energy and attention that could have been better utilized to passionately create better conditions for Nigerians will be devoted to political arm twisting and vendetta. Already the ruling party is displaying behavior typical of unruly juveniles. It’s a slippery slope to delinquency.

The nation’s public universities have been shutdown, for couple of months now; the academic calendar is likely to be disrupted again, while youthful students of these universities idle away. Some of them are likely to deploy their youthful energies to improper purposes. Yet what occupies the minds of our rulers is the search for political positions come 2015.

Insecurity in the creeks of Niger Delta, the plateaus of the Middle Belt and the Sahel of northeast Nigeria is taking lives of innocent Nigerians, no thanks to the legendary ineffective and haphazard response of the security agencies. However it is surprising how these same security forces are rapidly deployed in the ugly political melodrama being played out among dissenting parties of the ruling class, across Nigeria. Certainly, it is because our rulers are involved.

The economy, though stable is vulnerable – the country losses a colossal 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily.

In climes where leadership is conducted with much less self-interest and more concern for public good, cabinet reshuffles or changes are guided by the overriding zeal to better improve socioeconomic welfare of the citizenry or in order to achieve a meaningful shift in policy direction, but ours is a different story.

Nigerians are daily being treated to the negative impact of in-fighting in the Peoples Democratic Party. With the way things are happening in the ruling party, all is really not well. In the cat and mouse squabble between serving governors and ex-governors and the presidency, political vendetta has emerged as a tool in the fight for supremacy.

There are fears that 2015 elections may portend the greatest challenge for the corporate existence of the country. With the way fists are being clenched, self rising above other considerations and the do-or-die mindset, these fears are being heightened.

We are worried that with this crass display of self-interest going on in the ruling party, adequate attention is not be given to critical issues of governance in the country.  And more importantly, if things really get out of hand it is the poor, majority of Nigerians without umbrellas that will bear much of the rain.

We urge all gladiators to sheath their swords, and tread softly; surely there are more decent ways, in consideration of the good of us all, to settle scores.