GOD FATHERS AND CACOPHONY OF POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS IN NIGERIA
Political appointments in Nigeria provides greater amplitude of initiation for ambitions, inordinate ambitions, political mesmerism, and power plays.
By Taiye Olaniyi
Nigeria is a country of noise makers, of foolery in perjury, of pomp and galore of celebrations and sensationalism when politicians in their politicized politics make their appointments for whatever reasons they do so.
Political appointments most times in Nigeria are borne out of what the late Chief Sunday Afolabi referred to as, "Come and Chop" syndrome when castigating the late Chief Bola Ige who then was critical of the Peoples Democratic Party before the latter eventually was made the Minister of Power.
Nigeria was still without electricity despite Ige's promise of the restoration of electricity within 6 months of his assumption of office.
Both are late today and basking in their graves but then their memoirs will continue to linger in our memories as to what they did or left undone as verses, stanzas, and chapters in the "Book of Life" here now and in the hereafter.
Such goes for" I and I" as we room in space, loom around corners, and boom and doom in spheres of existence.
It was the late General Murtala Mohammed when as Head of State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria came up with the revolutionary idea of trying to nip in the bud, the then booming merchandise of abuse of office and corruption.
In his words, "My Government will not condone indiscipline, corruption and abuse of office..."
The public service was his cynosure of attention and the purge of numerous public servants remains a blow as a dictum," It may be good, it may be bad."
His revolution of pebbles of life at that spur of the moment later was replicated in General Muhammadu Buhari's "War Against Indiscipline" when he emerged as the military Head of State in 1984.
Thank God we are today living witnesses to such benchmarks, molding in today's happenings, the victory and the unconquered corruption accessories strewn here and there in Nigeria.
Have you ever thought how noble it is to be asked to serve in whatever capacity of a beloved country?
More often and so beautiful is such an opportunity but most times when it comes to the product of the endeavor of political godfathers, the spices and fragrance of Brother Satan become the insignia of office and drunkenness in power to rob the citizens dry an emblem of many political appointees.
Politics and merchandise of stealing, means not stealing but a reallocation of resources, siphoning of the national commonwealth, and padding of selves beyond sanity become the pledge and anthem of political officeholders including those who put them to go chop and belle full. ( The Godfathers).
One thing I know is common in seeking, lobbying, luring, or even killing to be bestowed with political appointments, it's a barometer and measuring device for being in a phylum of " New Arrivals," the "Powerful Sacred Cows" those who can steal without being caught if ever caught, have like an octopus, tentacles of contacts for their escape routes and when justice displays, becomes justice delayed and judgment in favor.
Little wonder three categories of initiations are attendant to being political appointees and political office holders:
(1) Time has come to dilute the acclaimed service to the nation with ingredients of service to the pocket, family, religious backbones, and ethnic jingoism.
(2) The time power must change hands and thus the search, dribbling, fiddling, fumbling, withering including the killing of perceived enemies.
(3) Political appointments in Nigeria provides greater amplitude of initiation for ambitions, inordinate ambitions, political mesmerism, and power plays.
Acting god with the potency of power and viciousness of destruction and deceitfulness.
Have you ever pondered that when appointed as political appointees, appointees' family members, friends, classmates, and community leaders go aglow-sounding testimonies of the illustriousness and goodness of the appointees?
However, governance in Nigeria, the mentalities associated with power, and the luxuries attendant to being appointees invariably push their initial pebbles of light of humanness into alleys of darkness.
Their polluted thoughts, words, and actions present an image of Bob Marley's "Man to man is so unjust, brother you don't know who to trust..."
All in all, true service eludes Nigerians, and promises of better life degenerate into a pitiful abyss of unending disappointments.
Innumerable poverty culminates in many, cursing why God ever created them in this nation and then my bleeding heart, who amongst our politicians and their auxiliaries be entrusted with power, who should be trusted as honest and who will the Karma judge aright on the Day of Judgment?
Crimes are escalating, health challenges are volcanic, bad roads take their tolls, and blood sacrifice blooms as tithes and zakat to religious leaders who pride and ply on the ignorance of many as they infuse them with the injection of untruthfulness and vaccination of false prophecies.
Should Nigerians jubilate over appointments of political appointees?
Should we hail and hero-worship politicians and their godfathers?
Time will tell, time will tell and time will always tell.
One thing with politicians and corrupt practices is the apt viewpoint during the French Revolution as encapsulated in the saying,
"Conditions in the society must be very bad before men in their large number could think of its violent overthrow. For no one will like to lose everything for nothing."
But then to point at the beginning of why and how politicians totally and deadly get corrupt, it becomes a product of history which a Swiss historian described thus:
"History is that subject where it is difficult to begin from the beginning".
Now 2023 is fast approaching its end, will it bring any good fruits now that the politicians and the moneybags are camping, decamping, revamping, couping, recouping, and realigning to sway and railroad our intelligence to suit their vogues and fancies.?
Prayer is we have the choice to say no to filthiness and fiendishness in our political climes which daily get entangled in all sorts of personality clashes ridiculing us into the peril of nothingness.
God Bless Nigerians and Nigeria.
Taiye Olaniyi, a retired Postman of the Nigeria Postal Service, is based in Lagos.