Sliding Towards Garrison Politics?

Power is sweet, power is alluring.

The former French emperor, Napoleon 1 equated power with a mistress. In a conversation with Pierre Louis Rvederer in 1804, Napoleon said “power is my mistress. I have worked too hard in conquering her to allow anyone to take her from me or even to covet her.”

Napoleon’s postulation tells us how sweet and enchanting power is, such that many people of power would hardly permit any flirtation with power by any rival and any wink at their lovely mistress. It also explains why there is always a titanic struggle to acquire power at all cost, and if possible keep it for ever.

In truth, there is o crime in pursuing power and all the accoutrements associated with it. But it defiles civility and essence of power when such a pursuit inheres in Luciferian arbitration, fixates on destructive tendencies or is accoutered with brigandage, and arrogant, hideous clatter of gestural selfishness.

Regrettably, this appears to be the sing-sung among Nigerian politicians. For sometime now, the battle for the soul of 2015 has assumed a musenlar dimension for which politicians flex musele and sinew. Everywhere is assailed and voided with clatter noise of how political gladiators scheme to edge out one another on a long, foggy road to 2015.

As the nation inches towards that magical date; I say magical because of the belief that 2015 is capable of producing starting results by legerdemain; the political atmosphere gathers more cloud and frenzy. A glimpse of what to expect is already playing itself out in some states where politicians are entangled in a crossfire over who controls the power machinery. The same applies at the centre where government apologists and their political foes are locked in a battle of wits, often times sabbrerattling.

Recently a statement was credited to former Niger Delta Militant leader, Alhaji Mujahid Asari Dokubo that “The day Goodluck is no longer the president, all of us who are on sabbrerattling will come back. There will be no peace, not only I the Niger Delta, but everywhere. If the say it is an empty boast, let them wait and see.”

Asari’s threat and the response that followed it from Professor Augo Abdullahi, representing the voice of the Arena Consultative Forum, that Asari should begin his war now and not wait until 2015, are all indications of military mentality. And if the political events in Rivers State in the past two months are anything to go by, we may not scratch our heads too far to know the fog that lurks around 2015 electron. The Rivers State House of Assembly has suspended sitting sine dine. Obio/Akpor Local Government secretariat is under lock and key even if a competent court in Port Harcourt has ordered police to vacate the council. All these negate the tents of democracy.

If truly governance is about serving the electorates, why will any man of power refuse to subject himself to the judgement of the electorates who are the ultimate delivers of how occupies the fortress of power? Why wouldn’t our politicians allow their pedigree to speak for them rather than taking to garrison politics?

Perhaps, the answer to these questions was provided by James Freeman Clark. According to him, “politicians think of the next election, while statesmen think of the next generation.”

From all indications, it does appear that the bunch of Nigerians politicians is not guided by the judgement of history which may be harsh or benign depending on how they shape events around them.

The major attraction of power is the opportunity it offers its holder to shape events around him for the good of the common man. That attraction is the very soul of governance. This exhortation is more useful to Abuja politicians who would want to pursue their ambition with fiendish distemper of a military hegemonies.

It is a settled matter that under the democratic system, the electorate is king who ultimately decides who should rule. It is, therefore, a disservice to democracy for a cabal of people to wants to force itself on the electorate at all cost. Those who did so in the past ended up in the footnotes of history, and will continue to be spat upon by the people. If you are in doubt, ask Maman Gadaffi of Libya, Idi Amin of Uganda, Mobutu Seseko of Democratic Republic of Congo, ad our won Sani Abacha.

Nigerian politicians will do our democracy some good of they can conduct themselves with circumspection and moderation and avoid things that either endanger our democracy or turn politics into a fiefdom or a feudal affair in which ordinary Nigerians have no say.

Boye Salau