Nigerians And The Culture Of 'doci-bility'

Among many instructive phrases from the Holy Books that one should find worthy of consideration, especially in this worrisome condition of Nigeria, is 'my people are perishing because they lack knowledge' which is credited to the Christian Holy Bible.

Knowledge is power. Knowledge is understanding. Not just understanding, but having the awareness of a particular fact or situation which should aid rational decision making, and in this regard, we are talking about political choices in Nigeria.

In 2014, nearly sixteen years of ruling by the People's Democratic Party (PDP), there seemed to be a bilateral admittance by both the haves and have-nots that the crop of leaders in Nigeria since the start of the 4th Republic (from 1999) had let the country down in every area, hence power must change hands. Obviously, during the period, Nigeria was witnessing unprecedented incidence of insecurity, corruption, economic paralysis, hunger and different problems bedeviling the supposed giant of Africa. As expected of any emotionally wired human, most Nigerians were clamouring for a change as they were in dire need of a messiah who would deliver them from the perilous situation they found themselves.

There is nothing bad in searching for greener pastures when one finds oneself in an unpleasant situation. With that, it is an understatement to say that an average Nigerian was desperate to get rid of the then president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and his party, the People's Democratic Party (PDP). Anywhere you found people discussing Nigerian politics that time was dominated with questions on how to reshuffle leadership so that Nigeria could move forward. Who, indeed, would have called that an unjust cause?

The body language of many Nigerians said it all. They wanted anyone, just anyone to replace the then president. In fact, that time, the Devil from Hell or an al-Shayṭān from Jahannam would have emerged the president without concealing his true identity.

It was this Nigerians' desperate quest for a new leadership that robed the opposition parties with a toga of confidence in 2014, making them believe they could clinch the topmost throne of leadership in the country. They formed a formidable opposition party-- the All Progressives Congress (APC). General Mohammed Buhari, who had earlier served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 August 1985, and who had contested to be a civilian president for three good times but failed woefully, was the one that the All Progressives Congress settled for.

Nigerians, in a way of docility, had forgotten the report of the National Concord newspaper of September 4, 1985 which reads: "The 20-month tenure of the Buhari administration has been described as 'inhumane' which the country should never experience again". The statement was credited to a former civilian governor of Borno State, Alhaji Mohammed Goni. Also, Doyin Okupe, the then Senior Special Assistant to President Jonathan on Public Affairs had previously said this about Gen. Buhari as reported in the Daily Post, April 3, 2013: “Everybody in this country knows that it was Buhari who vowed that if he did not win the election [in 2011], he would make the country ungovernable for this President [Jonathan]".

One would expect that Nigerians, who experienced or heard about the said 'inhumanity' during Buhari's military regime and the recognizable elements of ungovernability of the country after the 2011 election which he lost, would worry about his antecedents and investigate him thoroughly when he resurfaced in 2014, but instead he was embraced with open arms.

Preoccupied with zeal to seize the federal power, the APC employed various means to sell their presidential candidate to Nigerians. They did have beautiful promises on paper, of course, and they had people 'smart' enough to sugar-coat their 'change' agenda to suit public acceptance. A news headline of The Nation newspaper of July 12, 2014 captured the then governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, saying "Only way to have stable electricity is to vote out PDP". Many other party leaders promised the earth. Top on the list of the APC's promises then were security, fight against corruption, restructuring, refinery (at least one every year), stable electricity, and job creations among others.

Buhari and the APC eventually won, meaning that Nigerians had thrown caution to the winds and cared less about why they had rejected the man of 'integrity' three times before. Fast forward, the first term had ended and President Buhari was looking for a reelection. A larger percentage of the campain promises were still unfulfilled but that wouldn't stop him from winning his second term bid, totalling 8 years of a bitter-sweet experience from the erstwhile general.

More than half of the APC/Buhari's administration was dedicated to playing the blame game. Blaming the past administrations and giving excuses was their new mantra, forgetting that they were brought into power to right the wrongs as they had promised. This was possible because Nigerians don't really like the stress of asking their leaders questions. They find it easier to survive under maladministration than question the antecedents of their would be leaders. On different occasions you would see the afflicted citizens publicly holding a brief for those afflicting them. Some extend their docility to the extent of bullying or beating up anyone who does not subscribe to their blind loyalty. Sadly enough, this culture is not a respecter of education, religion or age. Anybody can easily be docile.

Though I share the sentiment in Joseph de Maistre's quote that “In a democracy, people get the leaders they deserve", yet given the way Nigerians brilliantly and patriotically analyse politics and topical issues in public places, one wonders who keep giving them leaders that do not really care about them or why they keep recycling those leaders. Well, ours is a country of people who embody contentment with complacency. Nigerians are people that don't ask their leaders what (they have for them), how (it will be achieved) and when (it will be achieved). I agree to Niyi Osundare's opinion on leadership in his poem The Leader and The Led that what we need is "A leader who knows how to follow and followers mindful of their right to lead".

Now that we are warming up for the general elections in a couple of months, and just like 2015, Nigerians are again looking for a messiah. For once, can we bodly say that security, economy, agriculture, education and electricity among others have been improved upon since 2015?

I should be patriotic enough to remind you that the longest strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in Nigerian history occured under the watch of the APC, the party that, while looking for power, condemned Jonathan's government over the ASUU strike in 2013 (see The Nation newspaper, December 5, 2013).

May I remind you again that right now, dollar is at the topmost top defecating over our naira which is against the campaign promise of the government in power to make the two equal. There are areas in which this administration would not be scored zero, definitely, but your opinion as to whether the APC have performed well enough to be given another chance in Aso Rock this 2023 is as good as mine.

The most disturbing issue is: when will Nigerians stop living in self-denial and begin to question and hold their leaders responsible for their actions and inactions rather than ply the self-destructive path of docility and gullibility on matters of life and death like governance? I agree and would submit with the advice of the revered Bishop Matthew Kukah that come 2023, Nigerians should pause and reflect as they head to the polling units to cast their votes.