Time for our political leaders to trust the people

George Akume

Nigeria’s political leaders believe they know it all, especially when it comes to who succeeds them in office.

Because they believe they can control the future, they decide to play God. They take it upon themselves to decide who is worthy to step into their shoes.

Such leaders don’t care about the will of the people. They are so disrespectful of the peoples’ wishes that they seldom allow the people to vote in who they like. Instead, they try their best – by hook or by crook – to ensure that their own candidates carry the day, crushing the people’s wishes.

Upon completion of their eight-year tenure, practically every state governor tries to handpick his successor – with disastrous consequences most times. Yet they persist in this anti-democratic practice.

Senator George Akume, former governor of Benue State, says he regrets handing over to Gabriel Suswam, who is facing charges of corrupt practices while in office.

Akume, who was governor between 1999 and 2007, admits that he “personally insisted that Suswam was made governor of Benue,” against the wishes of the people.

“Of course I didn’t know he would become highly criminal and swindle the entire state funds. The whole state is broke and this was caused by Suswam’s siphoning,” Akume stated in righteous indignation.

When he “personally insisted” on making Suswam governor, did Akume break any laws? Did he manipulate the electoral process even when he knew the people of Benue didn’t want Suswam? Your guess is as good as mine.

Outgoing Edo State governor Adams Oshiomhole says he is interested in who succeeds him because he has “seen the damage which the wrong driver can do to our collective vehicle.”

That’s always the excuse that is given to bully the people into “accepting” the leader’s choice. It’s the same excuse President Obasanjo gave us when he practically forced Umaru Musa Yar’Adua down everyone’s throats.

Even though Nigerians warned him about Yar’Adua’s failing health, OBJ went ahead with his plan. He spectacularly made a phone call during a PDP campaign rally to the presidential candidate who was receiving treatment in a hospital abroad. The call was to prove that Yar’Adua was not dead, as it was being rumoured at the time.

“Umaru, are you dead?” he famously asked as he tried to show he knew more than everyone.

After he demonstrated that Yar’Adua was still alive, he forced the ailing Katsina State governor on Nigerians. Two years later, Yar’Adua was dead.

After much wrangling, Yar’Adua’s deputy, Goodluck Jonathan succeeded him. Soon after, OBJ turned against his former protégée and even campaigned against him in the 2015 elections.

When he was delivering a speech to some university students last year, OBJ tongue-lashed Jonathan, claiming he did not perform well as president. The students reminded him that he forced Jonathan on the country so he should bear part of the blame, if there was any.

In his characteristic fashion, OBJ shrugged off any responsibility. Without blinking an eye, he told the students that Nigerians were to blame because they were the ones who voted for Jonathan!

Why do our leaders always think they know better than the people? Democracy is supposed to be about the choice of the people but our political masters, due to their parochial interests, love to hijack the political process to shove their friends, family members and lackeys down our throats.

Our leaders have turned out to be the biggest obstacles to democracy. They manipulate the electoral process to ensure their preferred candidates get elected. In saner climes this would be seen as a crime but in Nigeria it is just part of our unique “political calculations.”

And because the “winners” of these “elections” were not the people’s choice, they feel no compulsion to serve the people. Instead they try their best to serve their godfathers. The problems start when they can no longer serve their masters’ interests, preferring to serve only themselves.

Nigerians are very intelligent people. They know who will best serve their interests and the kingmakers need to allow people to make their choice. The impunity of shoving candidates down the peoples’ throats has got to stop if our democracy must grow.

picture credit: Wikipedia