Where is our compass as a nation?
Recently, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) registered two new parties, the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). This development brings the number of registered parties
- By Ray Ekpu
Recently, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) registered two new parties, the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). This development brings the number of registered parties to 21. We can rejoice that we have a multi-party democracy even though we have one dominant party, the APC.
I have two questions for the readers of this column. One, do you know the names of the 21 parties? You don’t. Two, do you know the driving philosophy of each of these parties? You don’t. The reason that Nigerians do not know even the basic things about these parties is because the parties are too many and will soon become inconsequential in a fast-changing world. But that is a story for another day.
Today, the world has been deeply polarised and fragmented. It is no longer a purely western dominated system. There is the United States bloc, the China and South East Asia bloc, the Russian bloc and the remaining parts of the world that tend to be non-aligned. Each of these blocks is devising different strategies to dominate the rest of the world economically and politically. That is why we have wars in Gaza, Israel, Lebanon, Yemen as well as tension in Venezuela and Cuba. These wars and tensions are about domination and the expansion of spheres of influence. Those conflicts are in confrontation with international law and the concept of the United Nations as the world’s peace-builder. What it means is that those who have the might think that might is right.
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Even before now some tendencies had emerged in some parts of the world to curb the excesses of their leaders and bring transformation to their countries. There have been far-right movements such as the Freedom Party in Austria, the National Rally in France and the AfD in Germany. Leaders that believe in populism have also emerged in such countries as Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia. In these countries there is a big push for a sea change in the affairs of their countries.
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The global leaders such as United States, China and Russia are using multiple strategies to expand their dominance of the world. One of these strategies is conflict acceleration and or cultivation in hitherto peaceful environments. In such cases they use superior military power for dominance. The most vivid examples are found in the Ukraine and Iran wars. Another strategy is the use of tariffs to foster protectionism and global domination. Since the world’s economy appears to be in a tailspin, the use of tariffs has become a valuable weapon for gaining economic impact. The third strategy is immigration. With rising cases of poverty and hardship in many countries, the number of immigrants looking for sanctuary in prosperous climes has drastically increased. Some of them have been drowned in the process; some are simply stranded in the middle of nowhere while others concoct all kinds of fake stories as evidence for asylum seeking.
On the other hand, the countries from which they seek asylum or residency are severely tightening the visa rules and raising astronomically the visa fees. The fourth method used for unfair dominance is technological suzerainty especially with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain technologies. These technologies are recklessly used to tighten control over information acquisition and dissemination.
Their fifth strategy is the use of superior power to acquire mineral assets in countries that are soft targets. The most vivid examples are Ukraine and Venezuela.
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Nigeria has enormous problems in such areas as security, economy, infrastructure and democracy and is seeking for help from several countries. Such countries include United States, France, Britain and China. The United States is involved in the tackling of our insecurity conundrum through training and intelligence exchange while the other countries are involved in security as well as infrastructure development. These exertions by the federal government deserve commendation. However, in engaging these countries, it is important for us to be non-aligned so that we do not lose the support of any of the super powers with whom we are doing business. In our engagements we may find that some of the leaders of the other countries are brash because of the superiority complex that they wear on their sleeves. But even in such situations it is no weakness if we show good manners.
Mark Twain said that “good manners consist in concealing how much we think of ourselves and how little we think of others.” In engaging with other countries we must know what to overlook because we need them more than they need us.
As at today, we have serious challenges in areas, such as: insecurity, economy, democracy and infrastructure. Insecurity is the main event. If we do not solve it, we can hardly feel safe enough even to tackle the other problems. Something interesting is happening in this area. We are seeking help from abroad and we are also working on having a second level of policing, state police. When these two decisions translate to reality, we will see the difference in the management of our security. The economy seems to be improving but we have a huge debt problem and a significant population of poor people who are crying about hardship. The federal and state governments are offering palliatives to the people but these are like a drop in the ocean.
What we need more than dropping a few coins in people’s pockets is an all-embracing scheme for educating and equipping people for sustainable living. Giving people fish to eat is a temporary act of compassion but teaching people how to fish is a permanent act of sustainability. In the months to come as the politicians step out to the podium asking for our votes, we must ask them what they will do to drastically reduce the poverty and generally transform the country.
We borrowed our democratic system from America but the Nigerian syndrome has affected it and made it imperfect. In our political parties, internal democracy is virtually absent. Those who manage them want to run them as dictators. That is why there are splits, crises and court cases affecting the major parties. That is also why we do not have any formidable opposition party today. It is they, the politicians, who destroyed the opposition by jumping like acrobats and gymnasts from one party to another. After destroying the PDP which was a strong alternative party to the ruling party, they are now claiming that the country is drifting towards becoming a one-party entity. Who should we blame for this? The wayward politicians who have been strolling from one party to another in search for an Eldorado. Some of them have been members of three or four parties since 1999. Where else in the world does that happen? Nowhere except in Nigeria.
Such lack of fidelity and consistency is a disincentive to democracy and good governance. Yet in the next few days they will tell us that they are the best for the country and we should vote for them. We will have to ask them to convince us with facts and figures.
In the coming days we need a road map, a candle and a compass for the country especially as the world is changing very fast. Any political party that wants our votes must provide that compass so that we can decide whether voting for them would be the right thing to do or not.
The attainment of the good life in Nigeria by Nigerians must become the right of every citizen instead of the preserve of the few privileged ones who dominate the political space.
