The Politics of Excesses and Social Cacophony

Living in Nigeria has its thrills and shrills and one can't help but learn many life lessons in daily interactions and even by merely observing, be it from a distance, or close by. One reoccurring subject issue in the writer's observations is the theme of excesses. The writer would like to crave the indulgence of all and state it clearly that this piece is not been written from an unbiased and neutral standpoint, but that of a biased witness. The writer can't claim possession of absolute impartial knowledge. Postmodernist theorists argue that no knowledge exist that is devoid of bias or prejudices. Prof Claude Ake of blessed memory in his pamphlet published in 1992, “Globalization a view from the South”, argued that “in observing social events what one sees is less of what one is looking at, as of where one is looking from”. When viewing social events, our observations are wrought by our perspective, viewpoint, prejudices and inclination. Thus, this is a piece exploring one viewpoint and one side of a story only, keeping in mind though that there are at least two sides to every story.

The Nigeria society is blessed with many potent ideas and acts of ingenuity, however none is more pronounced, nauseating, hilarious, pathetic, amusing and down right tragic as the exploits of excesses. Excesses can be defined as “unrestrained behaviour, immoderations and extremity”. The different acts of excesses in our society would be tagged as the politics of excesses and the conditions it creates will be called social cacophony. This theme would be analyzed under three broad topics, political, religious and social excesses. This division has been done just to make the analysis clearer because all three topics are interwoven and interconnected.

Political excesses abound all around the society, but only the extreme ones would be used as empirical evidences. The Nigeria political terrain to the casual observer is the most fertile ground for excesses. Political systems thrive on, sycophancy, outright flattery and ass kissing / licking. In certain instances the ass kissing / licking gets so bad that the face of the ass kisser / licker gets completely lost in the ass of the kissee / lickee with the ass kisser / licker's face not seeing the light of day in an awful long time. The writer would require reader's discretion for the explicit narrations, because nothing else could be used in appropriately conveying the message.

Political office holders and government officials are feted with the same adoration and veneration usually reserved for God Almighty. Not even the ancestors and heroes of years gone by are treated to the same exhalation and glorification. Acts of sycophancy is gradually elevating the status of these leaders from kleptocrats to warlords and to gods. Jean-Francois Bayart an Africanist in his books titled “The State in Africa: The Politics of the Belly”, & “Criminalization of The State in Africa”, talks about extreme personalization of statehood in Nigeria and the rest of Africa. In line with the excesses of the leadership, there has been a gradual progression from using public institutions for personal gratification, through personalisation of the office, to the out and out criminalization of state power.

State apparatus and resources are routinely mobilized and deployed to nefarious activities and vices of different sorts. State financial resources and tools of government office are deployed to committing acts of piracy on the high sea, stealing natural mineral resources, money laundering, drug and human trafficking and even acts of state sponsored terrorism (including the murder of political opponents and their families, promoting ethnic bigotry and inciting religious zealotry and extremism). From the topmost tier of governance to the lowest cadre, there is flagrant display of excesses by both the leadership and followership.

The writer was a witness to an act so undiginifying and indecorous that it's beyond reason. This episode would have been comical if it were not so tragic. A top official in the ruling party was accompanied to the official quarters of one of the State Governors and on getting in, a tragic-comical scene unfolded. The writer who accompanied his uncle greeted the Governor's wife, the uncle who is one of the topmost party officials of the ruling party at the federal level suddenly rained abuses on his cousin “Ki mummy, so ni ki mummy ni, omo buruku nio o, o ni telemi wa ibi molojo min. Alofojudi omo ani ko ki mummy dada, dobale ki mummy dada iwon omo alarifin yi ki mummy dakun ki mummy dada”. “Greet mummy, are you not going to greet mummy? You are a bad boy and I will not bring you here next time. You insolent child I say greet mummy properly, prostrate and great mummy you rude child, please greet mummy well now or is something wrong with you?”

The first lady was so embarrassed she picked up the prostrating young man and hugged him. However, this was only the beginning as the uncle then started to pour encomiums on the first lady, “mother of the world, best mummy ever, the mummy all other mummy's are envious of, the mummy that would never die and but live forever, the mummy the gods approve of, the mummy that would be my mother in the next life, the mummy that holds the key to world peace and without whom the world would end”. He then rounded it up with a song “mother sweet mother I no go forget you for everything you do for us yeye, yeye”.

Furthermore, on leaving the Government house, diatribes and tirades were rained on the writer by his uncle for his perceived insolence and the uncle rounded it up by saying he would gladly hold out his hands smiling while the State Governor defecated (shit) on it . This statement effectively wrapped up the political system in operation in Nigeria; “shit politics”.

The foremost German International Relations Scholar Hans Morgenthau described an attribute in man which he named “Animulus Domini: the will to dominate “. This “will to dominate” has completely emasculated everything else and made democracy's greatest fear come to being; namely tyranny and dictatorship. The elites have reduced democracy to the tyranny of the majority over the minority with very little and in some instances absolutely no regards for the governed, the minority (not just Ethnic minorities) and the opposition.

This excess in the desire for aboulte power and control has seriously heated up the system. This top down manifestation of power by the elites is identified by Claude Ake as “vertical articulations” and in turn it has trigged “horizontal articulation” from the excluded (opposition, minorities, even the governed), who lose faith in the system as they see no realistic way of instituting peaceful change, thus they withdraw into primordial identities (ethnic, religious or otherwise) making nation building or national development almost impossible. Withdrawal into primordial identities not only robs the state of one of its most important attributes (as identified by the German Sociologist Max Webber), the wielding of monopoly of violence on its territory, but then sets the country on the very dangerous path of ungovernability.


Moreover in line with the many excesses earlier identified, religious excesses take a very prominent position. There is complete lawlessness, inconsideration and intolerance that often comes with the worship of God by Traditionalists, Christians and Muslims. In its many manifestations; very loud noise pollution, obstruction of major roads and creation of road rage and utter chaos while worshiping, deception of folk and followership, indoctrination and incitation of intolerance and violence.

Members seeking orthodox medical solutions to routine medical problems are discouraged and often encouraged to seek spiritual and metaphysical assistance instead. There is a concerted effort by these religious organizations in ensuring that the followers always seek spiritual and metaphysical solutions to all problems no matter how trivial and mundane.

The enemy/retrogression card is put to work, an enemy must be identified either in the family, in the neighbourhood or at work. The enemy is responsible for the medical condition afflicting the members and the reason for the members' retrogression (whatever that means). Enemy/ retrogression syndrome then triggers personal irresponsibility and unaccountability. No one ever takes responsibility for their actions since someone else is responsible for their conditions; being that of joblessness, childlessness, hopelessness or haplessness. No one ever argues that their present state may be as a result of certain actions or inactions in the past. Not the choice of an unmarketable course in school that has boxed them into a corner, lack of seriousness in school thus the poor grade and subsequent joblessness, one's bad nature and attitude thus the lack of friends and assistance, childlessness due to the uncountable number of abortions and subsequent destruction of the womb due to bad hygiene and not the witchcraft of the mother in-law among others. With one not responsible for one's condition but everyone else to blame, laziness, self-pity and haplessness almost inevitably sets in.

In addition, supposed men of God preaching nothing but prosperity, as materialism and worldliness are glorified to the high heavens. These religious organizations set out to outshine one another in extravagance, affluence and profligacy. These preachers go to the extreme in delivering theses hollow and superficial messages hardly ever making mention of the personal sacrifice of the originators of these religions or the message of social justice which they stood for, died for and should be remembered for.

Furthermore, the government plays its active role in perpetuating these religious excesses. Precious resources are wasted, financial and otherwise on subsidies for pilgrimage to the holy lands of the two big religions Christianity and Islam. So much spent on pilgrims who abscond in droves, the ones who do come back then proceed to kidnap other people's children to use for rituals to assist in electoral victories, while others just simply embezzle government funds allocated for social infrastructures and community development.

The writer was once involved in an argument where he proposed that the Pilgrimage welfare board should be scrapped and changed to Social welfare board. This welfare board should cater for the numerous street children and other vulnerable members of the society, because the writer was of the conviction there was no sense in sponsoring pilgrims to Holy lands when they obviously come back more wicked, ungodly and heinous than they left. However, in line with the excesses of the people the writer was tagged an atheist who should repent and turn to God. It is safe to conclude that all what is desired by Nigerians is the paraphernalia and pecks of religion, definitely not the fear of God and personal sacrifices that are prerequisites to Godliness and holiness.

In addition, in social terms, the level of excess is equally baffling. Regulatory agencies for instance carry extremities to a whole new level, in most sectors of the polity; there is a complete absence of government appointed regulatory agents. Even though they are paid by the government to carry out these functions, they instead concentrate their attention on making personal gains in ways often detrimental to their sworn oaths and assigned duties. Thus serious decay sets in as social amenities and infrastructures are left to wither and rot away. Chaos reigns supreme in the agricultural and natural resources, education, health and environmental, housing, petroleum and other minerals, science and technology, transport, works and infrastructure sectors. The citizenry is routinely extorted and acts of recklessness and absolute disregard for authority is on open display. Road rage is on the increase and more cases of death at the wheel is been reported.

The writer was once tricked by street thugs working in connivance with some members of the state road regulatory agency into using a wrong side of the road as a diversion sign was put up. Agents of the state agency suddenly appeared from hiding, came across and accused the writer of road infringement. Subsequently, massive extortion and grand larceny took place as the writer was seriously fleeced. In all these, the street thugs could be heard in the back ground laughing and boasting of how their scheme had landed yet another prey.

Also, burials ceremonies are celebrated with such pomp and pageantry that it can be convincingly argued that those celebrating are glad the deceased is late. Contrasts and contradictions are clearing visible. The deceased dies and there are lots of tears, wailing, balling and weeping, hissing, and gnashing of teeth. One is almost convinced of the terrible grief the family is thrown in. However, a couple of days or weeks after, there are huge celebrations, the outpouring of joy and celebration is unmistakable and the transformation from grief to joy in such a short period is equally remarkable.

Quite often those celebrating set out to constitute a nuisance to others, roads are blocked making movement almost impossible, neighbourhoods polluted with outrageous levels of noise, streets and schools completely littered with waste (both organic and inorganic). Money is thrown around physically and otherwise, national currencies abused in varying degrees, extreme wealth flouted in the midst of extreme poverty, law enforcement personnel that should be policing the streets and making the society safer are deployed to menial duties of carrying the sacks of money being spayed and providing a cordon to prevent the “have-nots” from disturbing the “haves” in their chosen endeavours of frivolities, insensitivity, tactlessness, indiscretion and utter unkindness.

This regime of excesses has seriously infected our female folks as both the old and young jostle to be used as objects of sexual pleasure by the elites, despicable things are done in these orgies of demeaning sex. The elites are gladly willing to enslave parents and prostitute their children. It is often argued that poverty is the cause of this new wave of devastating prostitution. However, the writer argues that the poverty responsible for this rot is not just material poverty but a poverty of morals and values. Caution has been thrown to the wind as greed, lust and debauchery reigns supreme. A decade ago the period was called the jet age and this writer's generation was tagged “the Generation X”, sadly though the “X” today seems to stand for “X-rated”, this clearly is the generation of “the aristo”.

A rather disheartened but also optimistic conclusion was reached by the writer, the Nigerian society has slipped back to the State of Nature as espoused by British theorist Thomas Hobbes (in his “Social Contract Theory (SCT) and the Search for a Leviathan”), “where life is hard, brutish, nasty and short”. A situation that rational people do not desire, thus they come together setting aside selfishness, greed destructive individualism to create a society habitable for all to grow, develop and achieve full potentials.

What kills Nigeria the most is the excesses in the ways of both the leadership and the followership, excesses which leads to a regime of impunity. Accountability is the key to change, not just financial accountability but taking responsibility for one's actions and inactions, a situation where all are answerable to all. Only after this is any hope for positive change to take place. The labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain. Amin.

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Articles by Akinniyi Abioye Oyewusi