OF PARTISAN POLITICS, GRANDFATHERS IN POWER AND EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

 By Ikeji, Victor C.

It was Simon Kolawole -The journalist- who said "The Old PDP and The New PDP are just a committee of friends probably fighting over who took the large chunk of meat from the table while they were eating.". He went further to state that "we shouldn't take sides when these people are fighting because they are all the same, fighting for their own share of the National cake and not concerned about me and you". 

This brought to my mind the issue of partisan politics here in Nigeria whereby everyone is concerned about winning primaries for their parties and going on to win the election against other parties after which they start siphoning off funds to pay of debts incurred during election campaigns or settling their political 'Godfathers' who fought tooth and nail to place them in that position. It doesn't just stop there as they would now go on to fill their own pockets and that of family members, relatives and even in-laws leaving the problem that is supposed to be solved unattended to. Surprisingly, after appointing and putting their cohorts into different positions and implementing policies that would make it seem like they are actually trying to solve the problem, they continue ripping the country of its resources and funds. As if that is not enough, they come back for a second term with the same 'nutella coated' promises they used during the elections in their first term or sometimes slightly modifying it so as to have us (who does nothing but take sides during their battles with other parties) to vote for them.

We seem to be carried away with the style of politics being carried out by these 'over-experienced', self-glorifying, 'recycled' buffoons which is why you have young and intelligent minds carrying the tag 'Political analyst' on TV discussing or sometimes even taking sides with these parties who have done nothing but loot the Nation's treasury and stripped it of its resources. The sometimes biased media had even turned these 'old thieves' into celebrities as it is uncommon to always find 'the XYZ led faction or ABC led faction' on the cover of Dailies and News headlines on Television. The younger generation now enjoys discussing politics and holding debates about 'their' parties. A young man once said while we were discussing governance 'Take a look at my party and the strategies they've put in place plus the Candidates they would be bringing forth come 2015 and you'd see that there is hope for this country.' This individual is only concerned about selling the Idea that 'his' party is the best and should be voted in come 2015 probably because of what he stands to gain afterwards.

We are a Nation under siege by these Grandfathers who have nothing to offer but employ some of their old and outdated tricks to stay in power. It is said that you can't use the same technique which have not solved a problem over and over and expect a positive result. This is applicable to the Nigerian situation whereby some people have been in power for so long, yet nothing seem to have changed and they are still being recycled with every election. The former Vice president of World bank -Oby Ezekwesili while speaking at an event was asked by a young adult 'Ma, if given a chance to go back into power, what would you change?' Her reply was 'After serving for 5years, I think I have had enough service of the Country, we need the younger ones like you in power' I was thrilled by her response and the next thing that came to mind was the politicians who are still clamouring for political offices after serving for about half of the country's age or even more.

Instead of taking sides or voting for 'our' parties during elections, I think we should concentrate on doing away with these aged fellows who had done nothing but worsen our problem and breed a new crop of young leaders who are passionate for change and would champion the course of good governance and effective leadership which would bring about the desired change and development that we as a Country had been deprived of over the years.

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Twitter: @victorikeji