British politicians are amongst the most heck led, harassed in the world. Their constituencies, the voters and other citizens don’t give them breathing space. Every action they take is minutely examined, analysed and criticized when necessary. Take for instance, what happened recently when the Prime Minister, David Cameron made a trip from London to Edinburgh by train. Nigerians not used to their way of life might wonder why the leader of one of the most powerful and richest nations on earth will be travelling by train instead of presidential jet. This is afterall, the country that conquered about a quarter of the world (including Nigeria) and still has a firm grip on a large part of the earth’s landmass and resources.
Well, that is their style; their leaders make use of the same public utilities that the ordinary citizens use. They don’t live separate from the common people or fly around in private jets, helicopters or other means of elitist transport our leaders here use regularly.
Anyway, on the trip, perhaps tired from the rigours of state affairs or the harassment from the citizens, he decided to take a nap. Nothing wrong with that for afterall body no be wood; the body needs to be refreshed with sleep from time to time. Someone, maybe a fellow passenger, took a snap of the sleeping PM and within a short time, the picture went viral on the Internet.
Trust the Brits. Some commentators began hackling him, calling him names such as ‘Dozy Cam’ with one stating that the PM sleeps ‘even when he is awake!’ What annoyed another citizen was not the fact that he was sleeping ‘on duty’ but that he travelled by ‘First class! To her, the PM should have been in the Third class compartment so that he will have a taste of what ordinary Britons experience daily.
Na wa for these oyibos, you might say. A PM travelling by train is not enough for them; he should have been in the 3rd class section of the train before they will be happy. If you have ever taken a train in the UK, especially the Tube (or Underground), you will know that there’s not much difference between the 1st class or 3rd class sections apart the privacy the former gives.
Anyway, you might think the British citizens’ demands and expectations from their leaders are a bit excessive and harsh. But the fact is that it’s such attitude from the people that has turned their societies into what it is today, one that we somewhat admire and want to emulate. Whatever issues you might have with the oyibos, one thing you can’t take away from them is the way they have been able to ‘tame’ their environment to make life better for their people.
And they didn’t get there by chance; it took years of struggles, sacrifice and sweat to get there. And active citizen participation was crucial in their journey of emancipation. Something which unfortunately we lack here in this part of the world. Our leaders here are the least harassed in the world. We let them do whatever they like, taking solace in the saying, ‘God will judge them!’ No wonder they treat us with such impunity and disdain and get away with all kinds of atrocities they commit.
Some observers have blamed this phenomenon on the African leadership culture which could be referred to as the ‘Oba syndrome’. You know, the thinking that the Oba can do no wrong, is always right and should be respected whether he’s doing well or not. Well, nothing wrong in respecting the leaders as African culture demands that. But I believe such respect should be deserved, based on the leader’s personal qualities. There’s something wrong and even stupid in giving respect to a local government Chairman, for instance who steals public funds meant to develop the community and uses it to build private estates both locally and abroad, besides other investments. Such a person, to put it bluntly is a thief and should be treated as such.
By next week, Nigeria will clock 53 years of independence. It’s been a very long, hard journey to this point and the way ahead looks even bleaker. Some have written the country off, calling it a ‘basket case.’ Since even baskets can be mended, Nigeria can also be fixed. But let’s not look up to the present crop of leaders (both elected and otherwise) to do that as they have too much to lose if the country is well structured and organised. What we need is more robust civil society institutions and eagle-eyed citizens that can demand accountability from their leaders so that Nigerians can get a fairer deal from their collective patrimony.
