From Forward-Thinking to Forward Acting

Clearly, the time has come for Nigerians to take ownership of what happens in the political arena in their country and stop thinking that the “cabal” that controls the political landscape and by extension – everything in the country will change and start to do the right thing to help the country. There is a lot of evidence in psychology about the herd mentality. Most people do things, not because they are convinced or convicted about those things, but just because those things are popular and reflect what most other people do. In politics it is exactly the same: there are many things that most Nigerians do when it comes to politics that have become stereotypical – they do them out of fashion and habit and nobody really knows why they do them, beyond the fact that everyone does them.

For example, serious people who are making progress in their professions or careers seldom get involved in seeking political office, since conventional wisdom suggests that politics is for thugs and bandits. In a similar vein, everyone expects that politicians must have plenty of money which they must have gathered corruptly since they are thugs and bandits, and that elections are won by these politicians distributing money to local chiefs and community leaders who give direction to their local thugs and the desperate poor around them, and in turn decide the political leadership of the country. While all of this is going on, the forward-thinking Nigerians sit in their salons, beer parlours and now more than ever on the internet and social media complaining about Nigeria, reinforcing these same stereotypes and not doing anything to change the narrative in politics and governance. Yet, no society in the world has ever experienced true renewal and growth without serious-minded and forward-thinking people coming together to translate their thoughts into action in the political arena. We want to become great and we all desire a better Nigeria, yet most of us are happy to leave things the way they are, that is, our country and society will be run by a cabal of thugs and bandits and the decision as to who runs our country will still be determined by people who do not know any better; the people  who sit at the fringes of society who these “politrickcians” have given petty inducements. 

Isn’t there something wrong with us the forward-thinking Nigerians who are reading these words and hearing this message today? Don’t we understand the unique and privileged role that we can play? Why do we keep confirming and conforming to these age-old stereotypes about politics in our country which only lead us ostensibly to the same futile end every four years? Why do we stay away from seeking elective office, stay away from political parties, stay away from voting and expect that people with the lowest ethical and moral standards will do a better job of leading our country, and that people on the fringes of society that these criminal “politrickcians” have rendered perpetually hungry and impoverished will be in the best position to decide who should lead our society?

The answer is not far-fetched – SELFISHNESS. We continue confirming and conforming to these stereotypes because we are too busy pursuing our personal comforts and securing our future and that of our children. The truth is that this class of educated and exposed people in Nigeria are playing a dangerous game. We want to advance in our jobs, careers and businesses without questioning how the institutions we work for or own make the money to pay our salaries. We turn a blind-eye and pretend that our own organizations are not neck-deep in fueling the corruption and injustice in our society just so that our children can eat, wear fancy clothes, attend “aje-butter” schools and aspire for comforts like trips overseas and education in Ivy League Schools. If getting involved in politics and political processes will in any way diminish these personal expectations, then staying away from politics is the right decision to make. 

For example, when I decided to get involved in politics, many of my friends told me that they will rather seek political expression and participation working in an Executive Capacity, appointed by the political class in Policy or Advisory positions to do the “work”. Clearly, this is the “safer” route to take – you will rather take all your forward-thinking ideas, hand them over to a “politrickcian” who has acquired political power by every means foul and fair, just so that you can earn a decent salary, travel overseas on some training and tours and take care of your precious family, while the problems of Nigeria persist and get worse. Then, after your 4 year term in that appointed position (when you were largely inaccessible due to the ‘pressures” of work), you come out and tell us gory stories about how bad things are in the Government, how terrible the political class are, and how nothing can get better in Nigeria. You forget how you too contributed to that mess! 

Or to another who says that his polling unit is too far from his house, and when the suggestion that he could stay in a Hotel close to his polling Unit is put forward, he complains about the money he will spend and the fact that he cannot leave his children unattended to for one night during an election. I imagine that if he was in some senior appointed position in Government, he will be happy to spend election nights or any night at all at the service of his political masters away from his family, and that if he was a business man like me he will have no qualms paying hotel bills to advance the cause of his business. Clearly, rescuing Nigeria is not that important!

Nigerians of the forward-thinking extraction are you really forward-thinking or is your forward-thinking disposition only evident in public discourse when it seems appropriate to speak big-big grammar? I knew that Donald Trump will win the US Elections in 2016 when I heard his Campaign Manager point out that many American elites who shared Trump’s views will not speak on camera in support of Trump because they needed to preserve their jobs and their reputations in the liberal communities to which they belonged. She was however confident that in spite of their need to remain “polite” in public, they will do the needful in the privacy of the ballot box. My dear forward-thinking Nigerians who are too polite or worried about their comforts, please take a cue, even if that’s the only thing we can do. Pretend to go with the stereotypes in public, but in secret, vote for the renewal and renaissance that deep down you know needs to happen. #Let’sGetInvolved