The Nation Newspaper

Category: Segun Gbadegesin

  • Ethics, education and community

    Ethics, education and community

    Today I start a series of reflections on what I consider the foundation of a progressive society: the education of the public or public education. I think it is fair to say that the future of any community or nation is going to be determined by the attention it pays to and the resources it provides for the education of its members from the cradle to the grave. If the preceding reasoning is true, then education of the public is also a matter of ethics. First, if we bring children into the world, we have a moral responsibility to educate them so they have a meaningful life experience. Second, educating its public is in the interest of any community that prioritises peaceable living and development. And there is a general consensus among thoughtful people that if a community gets right the priority of educating its members, it can be assured of the addition of all other good things of life.

    I just argued the point that the education of its public is a matter of ethics for any community. But I have not shown, it may be pointed out, why a community should bother about ethics or morality. Indeed, why do we need to worry about shared moral beliefs or moral rules? Why can’t individuals create their own rules and play by it or even refuse to follow their own rules in a consistent fashion? I think many of us would protest the sense of this question because it appears to ignore the reality of our times. Many people, especially the highly placed, now create their own rules and don’t necessarily play by them unless they are assured of benefits for themselves. The point, however, is that even those individuals would be first to advocate common moral rules because it is not in their interest if everyone were to imitate them.

    Without proper communal standards of conduct, anarchy is bound to prevail. And where anarchy prevails, individual survival or progress is jeopardised. But if proper communal standards are essential to avoid anarchy, it should also be recognised that proper communal standards of conduct require shared moral beliefs. These are trying times for decent human living. The fact that there is so much trouble around us point to the absence of adequate moral values.

    We are witnessing the negative impact of the erosion of shared moral beliefs and standards across the land. It is not just in terms of divergent religious or ethnic values. Indeed, deep down their roots, every religious or traditional value system has important shared beliefs about the sanctity of life, about the good of communal living, about the care of the offspring. And communities still survive and make progress because the majority of their members accept and respect the primacy of moral values and principles. Morality is an internalised private cop, which if completely abandoned will spell doom for all. In spite of the odds, we still have generalised shared values about the wrongness of kidnapping and armed robbery just as we do about the immorality of corruption.

    The more insidious agent of moral and value conflict has to do with the inequalities caused by disparities in access to good education. In the normative sense, education refers to two—narrow and broad—processes. In the narrow sense, we may see education as the process of bringing up the youth, training and instructing them for particular—whatever—ends. Broadly, it is the development of a person’s awareness, the transformation and regulation of emotions, wants, and attitudes. To be educated in this sense means more than to be trained for a job. It is to be brought up for good citizenship.

    Education is a value; an educated person is an improved person and the end-product of an educational system is a desirable product. Education, in this sense, prepares one for a wholesome life and for living well, which does not necessarily mean materially well. Obviously, then, formal institutions of learning have a role to play in providing education in this sense but there is much more to it than formal institutions are capable of offering. In any case, a community or nation must come to terms with this sense of education because it is its most important resource as a social force.

    Let me suggest the following syllogism: To educate is to improve; every human person needs to be improved; hence every human person needs to be educated. I think there is a very important sense in which this is true. But there is one caveat or two. First, it has also been suggested that education can dehumanise in which case it does not improve because it cannot be both. We may deal with this by making a distinction between genuine and fake education, what Carter G. Woodson once referred to as mis-education. While genuine education improves, mis-education dehumanises.

    A second caveat has to do with the second premise of the syllogism: every human person needs to be improved. The question is by whom? And the answer is by self and the community. Self-improvement is certainly an obligation that everyone has to bear responsibility for. “I have been made; I will have to remake myself” is an important traditional axiom. But we know that the human being is wholly dependent at birth and this extends to the first seventeen to eighteen years of life. Some can gain independence earlier but not without enormous and debilitating struggle the scars of which sometimes permanently impair future development and progress. Therefore from infancy to adolescence every human person needs a community of fellow human beings to take responsibility for his or her education.

    The community has a genuine interest in educating its public to avoid a degeneration of its existence. Mwalimu Nyerere’s sagacious reasoning in this matter is instructive: The purpose of education, he observes, is to transmit from one generation to the next the accumulated wisdom and knowledge of the society, and to prepare the young people for their future membership of the society and their active participation in its maintenance or development. Traditional communities paid serious attention to this important area of their responsibilities within the scope of the resources—tangible and intangible—available to them. The question we must ask ourselves is “how have our contemporary societies fared with regard to the discharge of this grave responsibility?” This will be the focus of attention next week.

  • Responsibility of citizenship: The youth in focus (3)

    Responsibility of citizenship: The youth in focus (3)

    Today, I offer the third and final installment of the lecture delivered under the auspices of a group of progressive indigenes of Oyo State on December 18 at the Ibadan Civic Center.

    I now return to the role of the youth in recapturing the essence and consequence of thinking including cooperation to solve challenges. Let us not lose sight of the fact that the indigenous administration that took over the reins of government in the Western region in 1953 made investment in human resources its priority because it believed that human beings are the most important agents of development. As that administration struggled along with other nationalists for independence, it persuaded itself that it needed to invest in educating the youth. Human resource development was its mantra. If we failed to credit that administration with anything, it would be grossly unfair if we failed to recognise its success in the education of the cadre of human power that laid the foundation for the pace-setting achievements. And as the saying goes, if you were promised a gift of clothing and dresses, it is wise to first check out the appearance of the promiser. The members of the Awolowo administration were well-educated. Here then is the first challenge for the ThinkOyo group. Education is the key to all aspects of development.

    The independence era was one of will to excellence. Competition was productive for the regions. Other regions sent delegations to study the success of Universal Primary Education in the West. And building on the fame of its deviant rejection of federal funds in order to have the freedom to use its internal funds for development as it saw fit, the West simply matched on with one achievement after another. This was the case in the pre-independence and early independence periods. When you think Oyo, you must think of what positive achievements could be made with a truly federal structure.

    Your challenge as a group is to engage in collaboration and cooperative endeavors to rebuild the walls of Oyo State. This is a challenge that must be met. I have no doubt that you can do it. Of course, there are obstacles and challenges. But there are also resources to meet those challenges.

    The foremost challenge is the provision of quality education for the masses of children and young adults that are drifting in the ocean of hopelessness so that they are well-placed to make substantial contributions to development. Education is the most effective leveler and an effective education policy that levels the playing field is desperately needed in order to realise an era of ajumose.

    The matter is simple to my mind. I was informed that ThinkOyo is an organisation of successful upwardly mobile young men and women. I would like then to call your attention to an old proverb of our ancestors: Ajooje ko dun beni kan ko ni (it’s impossible to motivate cooperation between haves and have-nots). But just as it is in consumption, so it is in the matter of production: Ajoose ko dun benikan ko ri se. You cannot expect the cooperation of a person of your age who has not been as privileged as you are in educational achievements and employment opportunities. Public education is still the greatest leveler and the greatest contributor to the closing of the inequality gap in a number of countries and you must pay your due to sustain it.

    Second, there is the challenge of youth alienation and despair. The youth are now more than ever especially at risk of drifting in the ocean of individualism where there are only a few islands of community and social responsibility. As a member of the ThinkOyo organisation, you must avoid the temptation of drifting in that ocean. You must join forces in the membership of an inclusive community of responsibility. That community is one that places more emphasis on what can be done for the community and less on what the community can do for it.

    No member of ThinkOyo must consider him or herself as successful just because the Governor knows him or her. Surely, the governor appreciates your loyalty as individuals. However, you must believe that your success as a member of ThinkOyo is because of the success of your mobilisation of others to the cause of helping the Governor to build a new Oyo State where everyone recognises and participates in the work of reconstruction.

    Third is the challenge of inequality. Ajumose entails a shared sacrifice. But glaring inequality militates against “ajumose.” Because it simply means that some are sacrificing much more against their will. Therefore an effective reduction in the gap of inequality is a prerequisite to the implementation of ajumose.

    We should remind ourselves that the original idea and practice of ajumose was in the form of traditional cooperative and collaborative efforts in rural agricultural communities that we all hailed from. In those communities there was no rampant inequality. Communal ownership of land, the principal means of production was a sure guarantee that people needed one another to survive and thrive. Therefore self-reliance was advanced in part by inter-personal assistance between friends and families. The realisation of the idea of the goodness of communal cooperation was not independent of the reality of equality of means and commonality of poverty and need.

    That the youth have a duty to rally to the cause of Oyo in particular and the nation in general is no news. Indeed, it is a duty that grows out of the duty of self preservation and self promotion. For the youth of today, the future of Nigeria as a nation has never been more uncertain. With unemployment skyrocketing and education nose-diving, the youth have good reason to panic about the future that may be their inheritance. And this is why they must see themselves as having a huge stake in the matter. Even if they have little or no memory of history; even if they are not aware of the labours of our heroes past, they can at least relate to their personal needs and appreciate the task that must be done to realise those needs. It is my hope that they are ready to show themselves worthy of the call of their generation to rebuild the walls of Oyo State, Yorubaland, and the nation at large. It’s all in the hands of the youth.

    I am here reminded of a story that must have been told a million times and for which there have been many versions. I first had my version from a Baptist preacher and later from a former university president. I have myself told it many times with different nuances. It is the story of an old sage and a bunch of youthful rascals. The sage was fond of admonishing the youth, always citing historical episodes laced with words of wisdom. The youthful rascals on their part were more like contemporary area boys.

    On the day that the story in question unfolded, the rascals had been out doing one mischief after another. Then they got tired but not until they got hold of a small bird. They argued about what to do with the bird. Some suggested torturing the bird for the fun of it. Others suggested frying it alive for good taste. Then the leader came up with the idea of testing the intelligence and wit of the old sage. They would ask him a simple question: is the bird alive or dead? If the sage replied that the bird was alive, the one assigned to hold the bird will suffocate it and proclaim the stupidity of the sage. If on the other hand he answered that the bird was dead, they would release the bird to freedom in triumph. Either way, they would claim victory and silence the old sage forever.

    The old man was not a sage for nothing, As soon as the rascals encountered him with their question, he knew it was a set up, and he answered them in kind: Whether it is a dead bird or a live bird, it is in your hand. In like manner, I say to ThinkOyo, what Oyo State is and would be is in your hand. Happy New Year!

  • Responsibility of citizenship: The youth in focus (2)

    Responsibility of citizenship: The youth in focus (2)

    Today, I offer the second installment of the lecture delivered under the auspices of a group of progressive indigenes of Oyo State on December 18 at the Ibadan Civic Center. The first installment was published last week on this page. Next week, I conclude with the role of youths in recapturing the essence and consequences of thinking including cooperation to meet the challenges of responsible citizenship.

    It is instructive to understand and appropriate the political wisdom that established and sustained the Oyo kingdom. Here was an ancient story of nation building that competed effectively with the best practices of the time. Indeed a foreign scholar once argued that the norms of governance established by the Oyo kingdom were comparable to any of the classical political philosophies. Recall that Aristotle, the Master of those who know, never really privileged democracy as the best form of government because for him the demos may have ulterior motives since they had little to no property at stake.

    The organisation of the Oyo kingdom did something unique with the checks and balances that it put in place vis-à-vis the power of the king and the authority of the Oyomesi. What else do the Greeks practiced that surpassed our heritage of governance? And what has prevented us hitherto from pushing the limits of innovation in this area that we helped create?

    I now go to the heart of what I consider to be the core of our culture and pace setting engagements. It is what I refer to as civic responsibility. It comes in various forms. I was only ten years old in the fourth grade when the Awolowo administration introduced the Universal Free Primary Education system in Western Region. The campaign for the system should normally engage everyone as one of the most impactful welfare schemes. All right thinking adults were integral parts of the campaign, putting themselves forward as community activists who were not officials of government.

    Surely, the folks who participated in the grass-root efforts must think of the benefits to themselves and their children. But I want to believe that my old man and his friends who were deeply involved had a good sense of the possible benefits to the community. They mobilised and rallied support for the measure. In the end, the community at large benefited. Of course, as we know, the other side scared citizens by focusing on the insubstantial and unsubstantiated negatives including the alleged loss of children to farm help.

    Civic responsibility is crucial to the success of any government. If citizens are not fully engaged, government work is one-sided and definitely impossible. I am sure that our governor would be the first to concede the enormity of the significance of civic engagement. It also occurs to me that this is what ThinkOyo as an organisation would like to emphasise with its focus on “ajumose.” To this important issue, I will eventually turn. First, let me think history and its various thinking deficits.

    I have made copious references to the pre-independence era of our various communities. I hope that I have not over-romanticised our past because it had its own challenges which included the shame of inter-tribal wars and enslavement of fellow community members. Yet such negative episodes must be understood as by-products of something positive, namely the civic engagement of community members in what they understood as the good of their communities. Whether it was Balogun Ibikunle of Ibadan, Ogedengbe of Ilesha, or Kurunmi Are Ona Kakanfo, or Lisabi of Egba fame, they and their cohorts were fully committed to their communities. That was our heritage. Of course, we can be Monday morning quarterbacks, to use an American idiom, and pontificate on the selfishness of those commitments. It cannot be dined, however, that these were commitments that the entire communities believed in.

    Moreover, and more relevant to our theme, these were cooperative efforts on their part. Yet, there is no denying the fact that those wars set us back at least a century. If the one hundred years war wasn’t fought, we would not be exposed to the European invasions that depleted our human resources through enslavement in the Americas. If those wars didn’t occur, who knows if we would devote our energies to innovations in education in competition with the Europeans? We could go on.

    After enslavement, we were colonised. And it was supposed to be for our good. Considered unripe for civilization, we were to be brought to the level of tolerance, where and when other fortunate nations can tutor us in the art of government. Never mind that we were going to be forerunners in the art of governance if we were not distracted from the insights that defined the Oyo Kingdom experiment. But we don’t really need to sweat to debunk the ideology of the burden of the West to spread civilization. The architect of the colonial idea was too honest to be misconstrued. Lord Lugard was clear about the Dual Mandate—to expedite the industrial revolution of Britain while helping the “uncivilised” people of Africa.

    The extent to which colonialism helped Africa should not detain us. What is important is the deficit of thinking that enabled a number of African folks to internalise its norms, especially in the matter of the alleged superiority of the coloniser’s culture. Whereas, Europeans deliberately waged war against the culture of Africans, in other parts of their colonising efforts, they refrained from a wholesale sacking of the people’s ways of life. What is sadder, however, is that even after independence, despite the campaign promises of some of the nationalists in the forefront of the struggle against colonialism; the colonial infrastructure was kept intact resulting in what Kwame Nkrumah referred to as Neo-colonialism.

    Our post-independence era was, therefore, effectively rigged for crisis and it didn’t disappoint. Primed to privilege our different pre-colonial nationalities above the new nation, we ended with a fratricide that still defines us till today and is not likely to go away any soon because we still lack the type of committed leadership that is capable of inspiring and mobilizing a new dialogue of hope and restoration.

    What I would like us to understand, however, is that the whole era of colonialism and the post-independence episode of fratricide are distractions. Assume that nothing happened to the pace of the old Yoruba nation in general and Oyo state in particular, you may indulge your imagination about where we would be by now. Indeed, assume that the pace we set for ourselves between 1955 and 1962 were not disrupted, you could imagine where we would be now. The question then is this: why has this not been our attitude? Why have we been manipulated into thinking that we couldn’t do much outside of the mainstream infrastructure that the center was supposed to provide? Why has the imaginative thought that developed the federal system been usurped by the unsophisticated resignation to the status quo ante that the accident of military rule suggested?

    And the structure that the military bequeathed to us must be regarded as a suggestion. After all the military is only one of the institutions of the nation and one that was shamed out of relevance to internal democratic governance. It cannot therefore aspire into reckoning in the national political dialogue without paying adequate attention to the longings of the people. When you ThinkOyo, you must contemplate these things. For, in thinking, as in other matters, ajise bi Oyo laa ri. Oyo kii se bi enikan.

  • The responsibility of citizenship: The youth in focus (1)

    The responsibility of citizenship: The youth in focus (1)

    On Tuesday, December 18, 2012, an historic event occurred in Ibadan, the political capital of the southwest. A dynamic group of young, upwardly mobile men and women, determined to contribute to the transformation of Oyo State launched a project with the inspiring name, ThinkOyo. I felt humbled and considered it an honour to be invited to deliver the maiden edition of the organisation’s Distinguished Lecture Series. The following is the first installment of the lecture that will appear on this page in the next two to three weeks. I appreciate the organising wizardry of the Steering Committee including Funlola Adesina, Wale Olajide, Biodun Makinde, and Femi Popoola, the incomparable broadcaster who brought back memories.

    I am particularly impressed with the choice of name for the organisation, ThinkOYO. Thinking is one activity that we as a people have not been serious about in this country. But the downside of that neglect of thinking is that we are denying what is our fundamental nature. We are thinking animals. That is what separates us from other animals. It is the ability to think that enables us to appreciate who we are, what we are, and why we are here? Opo ojo lo ti ro ti ile ti fi mu. What makes any of us so special that we were not in the list of those that have been called to the other side of the river? Are we better than those that were called?

    Moreover, it is the deficit of thinking that makes people engage in disreputable activities. Consider the case of a leader who got carried away by the allures of office and misappropriates public funds. He or she might give little thought to the probability, even possibility, of being caught. That is the kind of shallow thinking that gets people into serious trouble. So the name of the organisation that sponsored this event is itself food for thought. And for me, it does the job half way.

    My question then is this: When you think Oyo, what do you think? What ideas run through your mind? What images are presented to your mind’s eyes?

    I hope that what comes to your mind is the enviable tradition of pace-setting in every aspect of social and political life, in adventurism, in culture, in work ethics and pride in the dignity of labour, in entrepreneurship, in political consciousness, and in civic responsibility.

    Oyo indigenes in particular and Yoruba nationals in general have a great heritage to be proud of provided. Consider the origin of the nation. Oranmiyan was the most adventurous of the children of Oduduwa. It was his adventurism that motivated the founding of Oyo and the consolidation of the kingdom of Oyo, making it one of the first empires of note in Africa. That spirit of adventure inspired many of the “first in Africa” achievements that the Western Nigeria was able to claim credit for in the fifties and early sixties.

    That Oyo has always been a pace setter in culture should come as no surprise to anyone. Whether it is material culture production or artistic creativity, our people have led the pack. And when I once privately watched a video of Iku Baba Yeye Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III making a presentation on Yoruba history and culture I found myself literally leaping out of the seat filled with pride and joy in my cultural heritage. Of course the video was promptly circulated among my colleagues who were always eager for good news from the home front.

    Needless to remind ourselves that culture is an identifier. It is what makes us who we are. The major elements of culture include language and religion. Let us grant that the latter is a controversial issue which can take us further afield from our focus here today. It cannot be denied, however, that for various reasons and due to various causes, traditional religion has lost its place as an important aspect of our cultural identification. But not only do we no longer want to identify with traditional religion, we also shy away from names that are otherwise meaningful but have dispensable connection with our past religious identification as Africans or Yoruba.

    What is more disturbing, however, is the place of our mother tongue in our contemporary quest for new identities. The Yoruba language has been an enabler in several respects. First, like other mother tongues, it provides the most effective medium for the education of our children in their formative years as the research has been an unambiguous about the benefits of mother tongue education. Secondly, the richness of Yoruba language is attested to by scholars and the diaspora community has been fascinated by this undeniable property of the language.

    Institutions of higher learning across Yorubaland and the Americas have developed centres for the study of Yoruba. The multiplication of such centres means that there are going to be openings for specialists in Yoruba language and culture in those countries for the foreseeable future. We are going to take advantage of such opportunities for our young ones only if we provide the foundations for the teaching and learning of the language right from the elementary school.

    But it is a damning aspect of our present condition that we have relegated Yoruba language to the back burner of the media for civilised discourse such that middle and upwardly mobile Yoruba are literally banning the speaking of the language in their homes!

    Our work ethics and enterprising spirit is legendary. Our ancestors understood the importance of hard work. They detested laziness and explicitly expressed their disdain for a life of drudgery or thievery. Tal’o fole lomo? We have poems in praise of hard work: Ise loogun ise. Mura sise ore mi. Ise lafi ndeni giga. Ba o ba reni feyinti, bi olee lari. Baa ba reni gbekele a tera mose eni. The emphasis on hard work is not just so you can do well in life if you had no wealthy relatives. They also advise against relying on the prosperity of relatives. Baba re lee lowo lowo, Iya re lee lesin leekan, Boo ba gboju le won, o te tan ni mo so fun o. Iya mbe fomo to ko gbon. Ekun mbe fomo to nsa kiri. Ma fowuro sise ore mi. Mura si se ojo nlo.

    That was the sentiment that underscored our identity and it is what must naturally come to mind when you think Oyo. For when we now reflect on the pace setting achievements, we must bear in mind that everything associated with that era was the result of the highly charged productivity of the populace and the determination of leadership to make a mark, itself born out of the internalisation of the cultural norms that got them inspired in the first place.

    With regard to political consciousness, colonialism cannot claim sole credit for its inception. In any case, politics is the heart and soul of societies. Whether it is the politics of ascension to or abdication from the throne, it’s all politics, if you abstract from the pretentions to spiritual intervention.

     

  • The challenge of citizenship

    The challenge of citizenship

    Let us agree on a few maxims about citizenship, starting with what citizens are not. First, citizens are not subjects. That is to say that they are not members of a kingdom where the king is the state. When Louis XIV of France declared himself as the state, he did not consider those he ruled over as citizens; they were his subjects owing their allegiance to him. But a citizen does not owe allegiance to an individual, no matter how highly placed.

    Second, citizens are not robots. That is to say that they are not brainless and mindless machines programmed to respond in particular ways. Fela’s lyrics concerning the zombies of this world are inapplicable to citizens.

    Third, citizens are neither Saints nor Satan. That is to say, citizens are neither perfect beings nor irredeemable devils. Since no human being is perfect, and since citizens are human beings, it follows that they are not perfect. It is not a mystery that saints are not declared as such until well into their having departed the world of sin!

    A satanic being is incapable of doing any good. But no matter how bad a citizen is, there is always some redeeming value. This is what institutions are expected to do and why Jean-Jacques Rousseau pleaded with the Government of Poland to create institutions that are capable of making citizens out of human beings because “it is national institutions which shape the genius, the character, the tastes and the manners of a people; which give it an individuality of its own; which inspire it with that ardent love of country..”

    Now to what citizens are. First, citizens are self-determining beings. They are responsible for the laws that they are made to follow. That makes them lawmakers as well as law-keepers. They are lawmakers in the sense that their elected representatives, who represent their interests, are responsible for the making of laws. As such keeping the laws is not an imposition; it is a case of the maker also being the keeper. And it does not matter that my preferred representative is not the choice of my fellow citizens.

    Second, citizens are rational and deliberative beings. Reason is the master driver of the affairs of citizens. They deliberate on the most effective and efficient means for their desired ends. They have self-regarding as well as other-regarding interests which they want to promote. The latter include interests of a parent for a good education for her son or daughter, or the interest of a philanthropist for the welfare of motherless babies. Citizens with such interests deliberate and reflect on how they can have their interests realised and will throw their support for candidates who share their interests and concerns. Once those candidates get elected, our citizens will mount pressure on them to support legislations for the realization of their common interests.

    Third, citizens are morally conscious. This does not contradict my previous point that citizens are not saints. What this means is that citizens are aware of the distinction between right and wrong. They know what conduct is wrong, and if they do not suffer from a weakness of the will, they would refrain from such conduct.

    More importantly, citizens are aware of their responsibilities to fellow-citizens and to the state of which they are citizens. They are conscious of the moral wrongness of breaking the law; evading taxes; aiding and abetting corruption; and violently thwarting the will of the people in elections. A citizen will also put the good of his country above everything else because he or she identifies that good as his or her own good as well. After all, the peace of the tree is the peace of the bird that perches on it.

    It is readily apparent that the picture of the citizen that emerges from the foregoing is not the reality that many of us are familiar with. Rather, we have citizens in name only, and never in deed. When the jurist suggested that there is only one Nigerian nationality with its citizens, he took the form for the substance.

    Of course, the state confers citizenship, but to what end is that? Do the citizens have the inspiration to conduct themselves as such? Can citizens be deliberative and rational when they are confronted daily with irrationalities as the order? Can they espouse morality in an immoral society led by evil impostors? Can a citizen see herself as self-determining when she knows that her vote counts for nothing and the lawmaker representing her is an election robber?

    Our present predicament goes back to the sandy foundation on which the national edifice was laid. We went into independence fractured and divided. While the nationalists were seemingly united in their quest for independence, there was no united focus on building lasting national institutions or creating a common patriotic citizenry. There was no national hero, nor a national leader that the entire country can look up to. There was no inspirational leadership that cut across the divisions of cultural nations that predated the Nigeria we came to acknowledge as nation. In the circumstance, what could have helped to create a sense of belonging was the development of strong national institutions. Instead, the selfishness of those who got themselves into national offices prevented them from seeing beyond the immediate interests of holding on to power.

    A just electoral system is a sine qua non for a strong democracy. Yet the election that ushered in independence was nothing close to just. And since then, it has gone from bad to more than worst. But ideal citizenship is a product of a strong democracy. It cannot come out of nowhere. Therefore it is in vain that we wish for the emergence of good citizens without selfless leaders who are willing to sacrifice their self-interests for the good of the nation.

    There are many lines of division that make the dream of a united country so elusive. This was recognised earlier in our years as a toddler nation. We even got it written into the first national anthem. But while we declared our brotherhood despite the difference in “tribe and tongue”, those who had responsibility for following through to make our brotherhood a reality were guilty of deepening the differences. Later developments, some deliberately pursued as state policy, put to rest the insincerity of the declaration. And when for once, citizens in action rather than words, issued their own declaration of unity in diversity, raising the hope of a brighter future based in strong democracy, they were rebuffed by their self-imposed leaders. It was not only another missed opportunity, that selfish and thoughtless act on behalf of a clique, drew the country back at least another thirty years.

    Six years later, the public struggle of the few courageous ones and the private support of the silent majority appeared to pay off when the coward dictators that relied on the power of the gun instead of the content of their ideas were shamed out. But appearance is not reality and for more than twelve years we have simply either matched in place or backward in every sphere of national life. Security is presently where we never experienced it since the various inter-tribal wars of the 18th and 19th centuries. The quality of education at all levels was much higher in the days before independence. And the health status of citizens has never been more precarious.

    What is needed, then, is a citizenry that takes seriously the responsibility of citizenship to serve as the gadfly perched on the back of lethargic and uninspiring leadership. We must resolve to confront a jaded leadership that threatens our citizenship status; come together state by state, local government by local government in demand of good governance.

  • Moving Oke-Ogun forward

    Moving Oke-Ogun forward

    As the good people of Oke-Ogun assemble this week-end in the historic town of Tede, I am sure that they understand very well the task of development that stares them in the face and they are determined to move forward with an agenda that privileges the strength of the collective efforts of all.

    There is no denying the truth of the good old axiom that there is enormous strength in unity. Unfortunately, as is the case with the larger Yoruba nation, the all important requirement of unity has been an elusive goal of Oke-Ogun community. All is not lost, though. For it is also very true, as the history of nations makes it clear to us, progress or development has never been achieved on the basis of a hundred percent participation of members. Indeed, a minority of selflessly dedicated citizens and leaders have led the development efforts in the majority of historical cases.

    In the matter of the plight of the communities, including the ten local governments that make up Oke-Ogun, it is an understatement to suggest that there is much work to be done. With poverty on the increase and spreading, everything else follows on the road to decline. Health is an easy prey to the scourge of poverty, and we are seeing an alarming rise in the morbidity and mortality rate among young folks. If it took a statewide free health clinic for many of our people to discover the near-death nature of their bodily conditions, it is not a surprise that we have recorded such a large number of untimely and unexpected deaths in recent years.

    The statistics are far from heart-warming. The response, however, cannot be a mournful resignation to despair. What is needed is a renewed determination to move forward with thought leaders stepping up to the task of generating innovative ideas that challenge preconceived opinions and lethargic thinking.

    Since what ails Oke-Ogun is integral to what ails the nation at large, it stands to reason to stand back a little and reflect on these common ailments. Of course, it is not an original idea to suggest that politics tops the list since the political system is the all-embracing and all-devouring leviathan of our time. If we play the game right, politics should leverage our aspirations and achievements in other areas. For one thing, by ensuring the security of life and limb, we should enjoy the peace of mind to pursue our individual dreams. By providing the public goods that no individual can provide for himself or herself (e.g. good roads) economic activities are boosted for all. If government, whether local, regional, or national, is unable to deliver on these matters, then citizens are in jeopardy of unfulfilled aspirations.

    In the case of Oke-Ogun, there is a double jeopardy. Without the advantage of early recognition and attention during the prosperous times of our national economic advancement, our various communities lived with derelict roads and poor infrastructure for a long time. And second, when the national economy tanked, these same communities bore the brunt of the collapse.

    A glaring if embarrassing illustration of the pathetic condition referenced in the last paragraph is the Ikere Gorge Dam project. Initiated by the Obasanjo military administration prior to its handing over in 1979, the project was inaugurated in 1982 by the Shagari administration. The multi-billion naira 700 million cubic water dam project was designed to provide electric power, irrigate farmlands, and provide portable water for the entire Oke-Ogun communities and beyond. Former President Shagari did not complete the project before he was ousted and the military administrations that followed did not care much about it. The civil administration of President Obasanjo apparently had too much on its agenda to take notice of such an “obscure” project. The consequence is that the dam site is now a safe haven for reptiles. But it is worse. For there is a genuine threat of a tsunami-like flooding of Oke-Ogun should a breach of the levee occur.

    I have not brought this matter up to apportion blame. Rather, the question on my mind is a simple one. If the national government is too far from our corner of the nation to the extent that it has no qualm abandoning a project that is meant to improve the lives of the people, what is the story about our local governments? For Ikere Gorge dam, there is plenty of blame to go round. Where should the blame go for the supply of basic material needs in our local elementary schools, local dispensaries, and for the construction and maintenance of our local roads?

    Local governments have responsibilities assigned to them by the constitution. This is one of the most encouraging aspects of the constitution—that the welfare of the local people is placed in the hands of local leaders. And it is the tragedy of our clime that the sacred expectation of the constitution has not been fully realised in this matter. I do not want to be misunderstood. A good number of local politicians are above board. But there are many that understand their mission in ways that suggest that the people are expendable. There are rumours about the practice of sharing local government allocations by local government chairmen and councilors. How much of this is true and what are community leaders doing about it?

    For thought leaders, traditional rulers, business men and women from Oke-Ogun, there is a need for community forums where the plight of the people and the responsibility of local government are addressed with the sacred authority of the community brought to bear on the decisions taken. Local governments are peopled by local community members. The power that they exercise is from the community. A servant is not greater than the master or mistress. As servant leaders, they are answerable to the community. Should the community, in a non-partisan forum, express its disapproval of the actions or inactions of particular local leaders, such disapproval cannot but be taken seriously.

    Every local community has a community organisation. These organisations have functioned effectively in raising awareness and promoting development. That was until the politics of party affiliation severed the ties that bind extended families of a community. Interestingly, this is one dilemma that only Oke-Ogun people have resolved against their larger interests. In other communities, blood brothers and sisters not only belong to rival political parties; they also hold political offices as senators, ministers or commissioners. Oke-Ogun indigenes have the distinction of elevating party loyalty over and above family loyalty. And when families are split on account of party loyalty, family affairs invariably suffer irreparable damage. In such cases, we are justified to judge such loyalty as blind and unhelpful. There must be a reconciliation of differences such that politics serves the needs of the community and the people. This is how to move Oke-Ogun forward. I extend to all delegates very best wishes for a successful convention

  • Security on their minds

    Security on their minds

    Security is on the minds of our lawmakers this week as they begin to feel the heat of the Boko Haram terror attacks closing in on their magnificent edifice. To be sure, this is strange. The people’s House and the Upper Chamber should be immune from any and all forms of physical threat. Recall that in the wake of the nationwide protest against increase in petroleum prices, the people were prevented from getting close to their House. Now, our men and women of honour are afraid of just a few terror mongers?

    That is the nature of terrorism. Its goal is to destroy the morale of a people and to weaken their sense of security with its chosen method of random killing and maiming. You might ask: why would any reasonable human being engage in such an obviously immoral act? The answer is simple. Many reasonable people in many places engage in obviously immoral actions. Corruption is immoral. People engage in it. Robbery is immoral and people also engage in it. Not to talk of adultery and other such sinful behaviors. The difference between terrorism and these other immoralities is not just that terrorism involves killing the innocent, but that it is also a form of psychological warfare against the innocent. It creates panic, as is evidenced in the exposed mindset of our lawmakers. It also weakens confidence in the ability of government to secure its people, as is the case now in dear country.

    The last point has been brought to the fore more effectively with the statement credited to the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who allegedly stated that his party is not a security agency. Assume that the statement might have been taken out of context, it does not help assuage the feeling of helplessness that citizens have about the current security regime in the country. To be sure, a political party is not a security agency. It is an organisation of like-minded individuals in pursuit of common ideological principles for the governance of a nation. But those principles must necessarily include principles to effectively secure the people once the party succeeds in acquiring power. For what this acquisition of power means is that the people have entrusted to the party and its flag-bearer the responsibility to take care of their security needs for four years. For any political system, the security of the people is the first and foremost task.

    The latest assault by Boko Haram should not have come as a surprise, given its past approach following a government declaration. It followed the former Inspector General of Police to his office after he declared war against the sect. It has flexed its deadly muscle once an official declaration of intent was made. Taking the battle to den of the lion that Jaji is supposed to be must be seen as an undeniable victory for the group. How much more embarrassment can the government take? The Police are incapable. Now the military has been seen as impotent inside its own house? This must explain the frustration expressed by members of the National Assembly.

    The expression of fear by honourable members of the National Assembly over the activities of Boko Haram is natural and instinctive. Everyone, except the suicide bomber, fears the violent death for which he or she delights in and spreads. However, the contagion of fear that Boko Haram represents should not grip the National Assembly as an institution. This is because that institution, along with the Presidency, has the sacred duty to sustain the confidence of the people in times such as this. It is instructive that the party of the President controls the majority in both chambers of the National Assembly. A more effective approach would be for the members to approach the Presidency with concrete recommendations to contain the insurgency.

    The question now must be whether Boko Haram is here to stay and we are all condemned to a life of terror and fear. Are we now in the same league with Somalia? What explains the impotence of government to deal with this threat?

    It is interesting that the National Assembly debate expressed fear of terror attack on the institution when the Executive arm has been reluctant to describe what is going on as terrorism and has in fact lobbied the United States against declaring Boko Haram as a terrorist organisation. If it is not, then what is it? And if the government can deal with it as something other than a terrorist group, then why isn’t it working? This is where citizens must ask questions of their government. It appears that government is out of its wit in this matter. We have a security challenge that must be solved if everything else, including the economy, tourism, and foreign investment must pick up. It is unacceptable for government to throw its arms up and give up on the people.

    I believe that this country is internally blessed with human and material resources to deal with the challenge of insecurity. However, if I am wrong in this confidence in our people, then I would urge that in the matter of our security, government cannot be too proud to seek help from friendly nations. And the first step to doing this is to wake up from our state of denial. We must recognise the fact that we have a security challenge from a terrorist organisation that is determined to undermine the republican system of government that we uphold as the best for our multi-ethnic and multi-national structure. If we give in because we are unable to rise up and meet the challenge head-on, then we must be prepared to accept the inevitable demise of the country as we know it.

    Already the leadership of ACN is appealing to southern governors to wake up and confront their northern colleagues to stop the killings. If Boko Haram succeeds in pitting the South against the North, it would have achieved its foremost objective. Then what would the President and the National Assembly do about their oath of allegiance to protect and defend the constitution?

  • Thankfulness

    Thankfulness

    It is the season of year when, if we are privileged and sufficiently wise to count our blessings and name them one by one, we might be pleasantly surprised at what God has done for us. It is time for thanksgiving. And as has been a tradition for me, I have to enlist the support of my bosom friend, whose demeanor this year has been a bit of a surprise too. He not only acknowledged the reality of our people-hood, he also extolled the virtues of our democracy in spite of its challenges.

    “In this season of thankfulness, may I ask you a simple question? What blessings are you most thankful for?”

    “That is not a simple question” Opalaba responded. “First, it is unfair to categorise blessings in ascending or descending order. A blessing is a blessing and all blessings are equal to a thankful spirit. Second, however, since our experiences are complex and often compartmentalised, for purposes of analysis we may categorise them. We are all supposed to be political animals. I don’t believe that I am. I am a medical professional, you are a philosopher. I am a family man as you are. And we are both spiritual beings. In each of these spheres of our lives, there are uncountable blessings. Therefore, for all the blessings I have received I am most thankful and will forever be.”

    For some reason, my friend sounded tamed and subdued. How weird! I wondered to myself, what could account for this sudden appearance of rationality. Could it be the near-death experience of the past year? Mindful of the need to sustain the civil tone of our dialogue, I simply tagged along.

    “That’s wonderful, Opalaba!” I chimed in. “I agree completely with your observation. We are pieces of complex machines and our complexity must be acknowledged and applauded. So tell me, what are the reasons for your thankfulness, all things considered?”

    “Let me start with the political,” Opalaba answered. “Though we have not always agreed in the matter of the direction of our political life in the country of our birth, I have also been the one that appreciates the fact that it could be worse. And I can tell you now that when we talk about blessings and thankfulness, the driving force of my attitude is that possibility, indeed probability, of it being worse.” We are still one country and one people. Imagine what it would mean if you have to apply for visa to visit your in-laws on the other side of the Niger! Now I easily accompany you, but I don’t know what I will do if I need to go to the Embassy of ?? to get a visa! The thought of it makes me sick!

    I told Opalaba how insightful his observation was. It reminded me of my service agent at Darcas Dealership whose instant response to the normal “how are you?” greeting was always: “I could be worse.” That indeed is the spirit of thanksgiving. To know that the situation could be worse is to be thankful first that it isn’t but also second, to entertain the hope that it would be better. However, I wanted to probe Opalaba more.

    “You know, of course, that the “it could be worse” spirit is a dangerous one simply because it leaves a lot of room for complacency and resignation to fate or destiny. If you come to the conclusion that our political arrangement and its outcome for our wellbeing could be worse, doesn’t that let the powerful operators off the hook too easily? How will they be held accountable for their excesses and lapses? And by the way, while I am also apprehensive of what a breakup might mean for someone like me who have extended a handshake across the Niger twice, applying for a visa is the least of my concerns.”

    “To suggest that matters could be worse is not to suggest that it could not be better. Indeed there is a certain amount of negative connotation to “it could be worse.” Note that my response could have been “it’s great! I can’t ask for a better political arrangement!” More importantly, resignation or complacency should not even be an option for the reason that even the most advanced political systems are also constantly challenged to improve. What we need is the engagement of citizens as the gadfly of democracy and egalitarianism. At any rate, I am thankful that in this country, we have a large number of citizens who are willing to make the necessary sacrifice to move the country forward.”

    “You are right again, my friend,” I complimented Opalaba. “As the last general elections in God’s Own Country demonstrate, democracy is always going to be work-in-progress. With some states enacting laws that suppress votes by cutting the number of days for early voting, or demanding photo identification, you would have to wonder what their understanding of democratic election is. It took the vigilance of citizens to ensure that democracy was not ambushed by oligarchs. And I am thankful that we did not have a shortage of hands literally and figuratively. Otherwise, the outcome would be different.”

    “Politics is important because it directs all other spheres of our lives,” Opalaba observed. “But it isn’t exhaustive of our experiences. We have a social life, a spiritual life, and of course a personal life that matters to us. And in all these, I am thankful. I know that my redeemer lives and I am going to live the rest of my days making sure that I please Him. I am thankful for the grace which I do not intend to abuse.” True to his nature, Opalaba now wanted to know what I am thankful for, not minding my self-assigned role as the questioner.

    “I cannot ask for a better social life,” I volunteered to my friend. “I am thankful for the joy of family, for the experience of true friendship, for the opportunity to live in a society that allows me to flourish physically, mentally, and spiritually, and for the life that I have chosen. I am thankful that when I saw the need, I was able to make my modest contribution alongside others to the renewal of the hope of democratic governance. And now that I have answered the call of duty to serve my profession at another level, I feel blessed and thankful.”

    Everyone has good reasons to be thankful. And as the scripture attests, from the mouth of little children, we are able to discern the lessons of life. A girl who could not be more than six years of age put the matter of thanksgiving extremely well the other day. Asked by a television reporter what she was thankful for, the girl responded: “everything.” And before you wonder what could be the reference to everything in the life of a six-year old, the girl added: “Even when you fall on a sidewalk, you still have reason to be thankful because you could learn one thing or two from the fall.” How philosophical!

    Happy Thanksgiving!

  • The Lam Effect

    The Lam Effect

    The passing of Alhaji Lam Adesina, former governor of Oyo State, has created another gaping hole in the landscape of progressive leadership, not just in Oyo State, but in the country as a whole. That statement sounds humdrum, given the human penchant for hyperboles especially in the wake of events such as this. Appearance notwithstanding, I am persuaded of the veracity of the claim in this regard.

    At least three qualities are central to progressive political leadership. First is an empathetic understanding of the challenges that face the folks that they lead. This is a quality of mind and heart. Second is the ability to intelligently identify and execute policies that are designed to overcome those challenges. This is a quality of the intellect. Third is the manifestation of courage and boldness and determination to confront all obstacles in the chosen path to deal with those challenges. This is a quality of the spirit, what the Yoruba refer to as igboya. All these go together. Empathetic understanding without adequate policies is impotent. Policy sans empathetic understanding is blind.

    It is true, of course, that different individuals can lay claim to the possession of the qualities identified above. However, in a democratic system, in which ideas and policies compete for the support and acceptance of the public, birds of the same political feather must flock together. And a lone ranger in a crowd of antagonistic ideas and policy options may discover the inevitable choking of his ideas. This is why good men and women sometimes find themselves in politically incongruent circles and ultimately regret their inconsequentiality to effect change.

    Lam was a compassionate human being. We may attribute this to his background as a self-made man. Yet this would only be partially right. There are many with his background who later found themselves in position of authority where they could right wrongs and sooth human pains but chose otherwise. Lam was an intelligent man who brought the passion of an intellectual to governance. And if nothing else did, Lam’s unceasing political jabs at civilian and military dictators must earn him credit for courage and boldness.

    With those qualities as his driving force, he made a choice early in his life to align himself with like-minded patriots to promote an agenda of abundant life for all. He had an intellectual endowment that facilitated the move. His career in teaching, a profession that makes the development of the human person its mandate, revealed to him the imperative of political action for the right policies to empower the masses. Early on, he joined the foremost progressive political organisation of the day and never wavered even in the face of an atrocious recourse to the brutal use of power by opponents. From Action Group to UPN, to NADECO, then AD, and ACN, Lam fought valiantly in the trenches of progressive battles for better lives for the masses. As a “prisoner of war” in the military-declared political battle of 1994-1998, Lam had the scars of war to prove it.

    In 1999, after the cessation of hostilities and the defeat of militocracy, civil governance was ushered in, and who else could have merited the gubernatorial crown of the pace-setter state than the Great Lam, a title which his empathy, intellect, and courage earned him?

    He approached governance with a determination to enlarge the freedom of the people and make life more abundant for them. Following the populism of the old UPN, AD would provide education, health, employment and improve the conditions of rural life. The welfarist manifesto appealed to the people who never forgot the good times of the foremost welfarist. But times had changed. The federal system that made possible the magical achievements of the 50s and 60s was no more. The unitarists had ensured that states would be better served as appendages to the centre and would survive only on hand-outs from the Federal Government. This was bound to jeopardise the effective execution of any progressive agenda. Added to this was the heritage of a bloated bureaucracy.

    The dilemma of any progressive government is how to reconcile the existence of a run-away bureaucracy and its huge overhead with the provision of essential services for the rest of the citizens who are in the majority. On the one hand, labour is not only an essential part of the progressive coalition it is also a segment of the citizenry with needs that government has a responsibility to meet. On the other hand, in a state with meager internal and external resources, the more the resources that go to servicing a disproportional workforce, the less is available for every other need, including welfare programs. There was no doubt that Lam struggled with this dilemma, which confronted him immediately he assumed office, with a bitter labour dispute. It is not a dilemma that can be ignored and, though Lam is gone, as he would say, the search must continue for a workable resolution of this dilemma.

    The electoral hurricane of 2003 swept off Lam and his colleagues from government houses in the Southwest with the exception of Lagos. There are truckloads of blames to go round. What is important, however, is that to their credit, Lam and his colleagues never lost hope; neither did they waver in their commitment to progressivism. Outside of the power structure that they once controlled, and in the political desert that was Southwest for eight years, they fought on with the power of ideas. Without any skeleton in his cupboard, Lam was able to hold his head high, sneering at the godfathers of rigging and political chicanery. He assailed the deliberate impoverisation of the masses and served as a headhunter for candidates. To his credit, and the credit of the national leadership of his party, Oyo State and the Southwest are back in the column of progressives.

    This is the Lam effect and legacy. A peaceful rest is assured for him because he left the scene as an achiever and overcomer. He fought the right battles and secured victories for the people. But while it is over for him, it is just beginning for the rest of us, and especially for his former colleagues, every progressive, and particularly in the pace-setter state, his foremost political son, Governor Abiola Ajimobi. To paraphrase the late Senator Ted Kennedy, the work must go on, the cause must endure, the hope must live on, and the dream of empowering the people to excel must never die.

    To the matriarch of the Lam Adesina family, Alhaja Saratu Lam Adesina, and Dapo and his siblings, there is every reason to celebrate a life that was fulfilled in every respect. You cannot ask for a better inheritance. For all of us, in the memorable title of his brilliant column, the search continues.

  • In our hands

    In our hands

    The United States presidential election of 2012 is now history. But it is one that leaves behind a lot of memories, not many of which are pleasant. The campaign was nerve-racking and torturous. For those candidates including former Governor Mitt Romney, who had to go through the primaries to secure the party nomination, it was an experience that they would not wish for their enemies. In one important respect, the Republican primary sealed the fate of the nominee as a general election loser. But more on this later.

    The general election was hijacked by money bags who took advantage of the Supreme Court decision in the landmark case of Citizen United to unload their green wares with a determination to make Barack Obama a one-term president. One individual contributed over $50 million to the Super PAC supporting Mitt Romney. There must be some intense gnashing of the teeth when Romney appeared at 12:55 am to concede defeat.

    The ad war was particularly fierce, especially in the battleground states. Through multiple media outlets—television, radio, Internet, Facebook—innocent citizens were inundated with attack ads. A five-year old got so upset that she broke down in profuse sobbing: I am tired of all these Obama, Romney, Obama, Romney! Leave me alone, she agonisingly pleaded, as if the ads were aimed at her. But it is the nature of the beast. It is the civil war model of democracy, the type that advocates of no-party democracy lament.

    The campaigns were particularly unsettling in the cruel insight they provided into the inner workings of human nature. They demonstrated the embarrassing reality that one may want something so badly that, in the quest for it, one really loses the soul that is supposed to be the beneficiary of the thing. But is it worth it? That is the question that ambition relegates to the back burner in the echo chamber of political brigandage where shamefaced lies, character assassination, hyperbolic narratives, and pettiness of mind rule the day.

    In the strategic positioning that is required to win the Republican primary, Governor Romney settled himself to the far right of the most conservative candidates in the pack. Forced to pander to the extreme right wing of his party and their rejection of the Affordable Health Care Act that they mocked as Obamacare, Romney denounced his own singular policy achievement as governor of Massachusetts and vowed to repeal Obamacare. One cannot appear more desperate. Independents and moderates watched in amazement.

    It got weirder. Romney defined his conservatism as “severe” and attacked Governor Perry of Texas for compassionately making in-state tuition available to children of undocumented immigrants. He also placed himself on record as an advocate of self-deportation, which translated to making life so unbearable for undocumented immigrants that they would just consider checking out on their own. Members of the Hispanic community, the fastest growing demographics in the United States, paid close attention and were not amused.

    Still making up to the Tea Party crowd who controlled the base of his party, the governor publicly opposed President Obama’s use of federal funds to bail out the auto industry. Even before the primaries began, Romney had authored an op-ed with the provocative title “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.” The auto industry is the economic equivalent of natural oxygen for the key battleground states of Michigan and Ohio where one in eight jobs is tied to the industry. Working class families in these states took notice.

    With his demonstration of loyalty to the cause of extreme conservatism, Romney’s posturing paid off big in the Republican primary as he clinched his party’s nomination. And with a publicised “etch a sketch” strategy, he was poised to wiping off any record of his primary positions in the general election campaign. It almost paid off as evidenced in the performance of President Obama in the first debate. Having prepared to debate Romney on his avowed severe conservatism, Obama was befuddled by Romney’s sudden affirmation of moderation and championing of middle class values. This would earn a democrat the title of flip-flopper-in-chief as John Kerry can attest. But Republicans are a different breed.

    The 1 percent supported Romney with all they had. Pro-Mitt Romney Super PACs spent more than $600 million in political ads. And while pro-Obama PACs did not match that figure, they also spent above $400 million. The Romney donor who gave over $50 million to the campaign was reported to be just a little “disappointed but not discouraged.” That is to suggest that a repeat performance next time around is not out of the question.

    It is this attitude of the one percent that may partly explain the outcome of the election. Majority of the electorate believed that Romney did not understand their situation and cannot represent their interests. If a big donor can shrug off the loss of a $50 million investment in a presidential campaign, and would lose no sleep over it, how can their candidate feel the pain and suffering of the ordinary folk? As they watched, ordinary voters resented what they saw and determined to take their destiny in their hands.

    On Monday, November 5, Obama made his final pitch in the last campaign of his political career. In Des Moines, Iowa, he wowed the crowd with his now familiar oratorical style. Then he told them that the outcome of the election was in their hands. It was the moment of truth. It brought to the fore the obvious truth that in a true democracy, voters have the final word. Money doesn’t vote. Advertisements don’t cast ballots. People do; and if they choose to ignore the torrent of negative or positive ads because they have a good idea of who is best to represent their interests, no matter the amount of money poured into the airwave, it wouldn’t matter.

    A bagful of special interest money couldn’t undo the self-inflicted harm that Romney’s “severely conservative” credential caused in the Republican primary. Exit polls showed that the majority of voters made up their minds on who would get their votes back in September even before the first debate. For the sophisticated ones, the debates must have revealed another unflattering side of the candidate when he bold-facedly presented himself as a severe moderate on all issues.

    The one percent lost the election. But they are not going out without a fight. And when they still hold the purse string of the economy, they cannot be written off in the harm they are capable of wrecking. The day after the election, with teeth clenched, they gave a hint. The stock market was down by more than 300. Ouch! That was our retirement portfolio taking a thumbing. Still it is in our hands.