SINGING A DEVIOUS LULLABY: EKITI, OSUN ON MY MIND I & II. ..Oh what a tangled web we weave. When first we practice to deceive.- Sir Walter Scott (Marmion, 1808). Wait a minute, what does all the hullabaloo about the Ekiti and Osun polls being free, peaceful and fair connote? Does the massive deployment of troops and Security men to monitor elections suggest that we are a violent and an incorrigible electorate? Are we by Jove setting a new precedent in democratic practice where the military abandons their traditional role to become election monitors? To applaud the militarization of the democratic space during elections is to sing democracy to an early slumber, yes we are singing democracy a devious lullaby. Some have said that when the Edo election won by the APC was militarized we were quiet, so we should overlook the Ekiti and the Osun spectacle. Sadly they ignore the fact that our critique of this new practice is neither pro APC nor Anti PDP, it is simply a plus for democracy and a nod for sane democratic ethos. I must say for the umpteenth time that I am not a member of the APC, I have never been, nor am I a hater of my former Party the PDP. I hate ill-rule, I hate corruption, I hate religious hate, I hate ethnic jingoism, I hate and repudiate the persistent denial of a peoples right to democracy dividends, and I hate do-or-die politics. To condone and excuse the many ills of this chequered system is to sing democracy an intense lullaby. What is right is right, and wrong, wrong. To excuse the massive deployment of Soldiers to monitor elections is to tell our Children and posterity that we are unripe for true democracy. It is an admission of guilt to wit that our politicians are not service oriented but lucre motivated for which violence and brigandage is veritable. Curiously, is this new practice peace propelled or channeled at giving one Party the edge over the other? TO BE CONTD. Prof. Chris Nwaokobia Jnr. SINGING A DEVIOUS LULLABY: EKITI, OSUN ON MY MIND II. Conscience is an open wound only truth can heal it - Uthman Dan Fodio 1805. I passionately pray that as 2015 draws near we will elevate our politics and debate beyond the banal confines of ethnicity and crash partisanship. I crave a cross ventilation of thought that shall coalesce into a new moral benchmark for leadership and set a new paradigm for the Actors on our socio-political amphitheatre. The jig-saw of conjectures and debate that came on and off the Ekiti and the Osun polls were predominantly banal. Partisanship prevailed over the credential and the character of the candidates. Religion over the passion to govern. And stomach infrastructure over constructive short and long term development. Sad. What must count if we sincerely want this nation to grow is the passion to lead, the desire to serve, the determination to govern indiscriminate of creed and clan, and the commitment to genuine transformation. To those whose motivation and choice of leadership devolves and revolves on the ethnic, sectional, partisan and religious pendulum I bring this reminder, yes, it is an incontrovertible truism that at all level and across the parties governance within the past 15years have been below the 40% mark, therefore we MUST learn to think out of the box and collectively demand responsible and responsive leadership. Yes we MUST torpedo partisan bickering and up the bar beyond the contours of banal politics to the noble pedestal of profound issues, deep debate and patriotism, such is the way to go. God Bless Nigeria. CONCLUDED. Prof. Chris Nwaokobia Jnr. Pin:27169311 Pin:33175219 Twitter@CNWAOKOBIAJNR PLEASE SHARE.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 09:08:27 +0000
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