As the 2019 general elections approach, the social political space has begun to play host to all mannersof political theatricals. Those whoplayed havoc with the nation’s development potentials and left the countrywretched are congregating to stage a return. The thought of these same people strutting the political space and mobilizing to come back leaves me impatient. They chatter ceaselessly about the current government’s inability to fix the country’s many problemsit inherited in less than four years, but remain silent orfeign ignorance oftheiralmost16 years ofplunderand wasteful reign.
Hadthe People’s Democratic Party (PDP) established the country on a solid ground in the many year of its rule, it would be impossible for the impact of its achievements to vanish within two years of the coming of a different administration. It is naïve and abdication of rationality to expect a relatively new government to undo the ravages of many years of bad leadership in just four years in a complex, overpopulated, unindustrialized and technologically poor society with a cantankerous makeup. Not even the most adroit administrator can achieve that at a micro level, for example, auniversity. In other words, even the most gifted vice chancellor cannot resuscitate a university that is in rot in just four years, much less a country as complex as Nigeria that lapsed into the agony of development quagmire many years ago as a result of misrule.
The nation was in the grip of the PDP and their associates for nearly two decades;they luxuriated in their assets and privileges, and boasted of how many years they would rule.None thought of how to replicate half, or even a quarter, ofthe story of Singapore in our clime. None! It is not in their character.No one should toy with the destiny of this country by contemplating handing it back to a party that is peerlessin the waste of the nation’s resources in the country’s recent history.
There are no compelling reasons to become too weary of the present administration. Many people continue to harp on the unequal exchange rates between naira and the US dollar as a major sign of failure of the current government as if that is where the problem lies. In the first instance, enormous pressure has been on the naira for a long time, andthe pressure will remain still for a long time to the extent that the economy remains import-based and subject to the vagaries ofthe prices of global commodities, especially, oil.Thesame pressure was responsible for the devaluation ofthe naira against some world currencies, notably the US dollar, in 2008. However, the problem of Nigeria is not unequal exchange rates, but lack of productive and industrial capacity. South Korea isan industrialized nation with a robust economy and productive base. The country’sGNI Per Capita Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) is $38,260,while Nigeria’s is $5,680. Life expectancies in South Korea for male and female are respectively 79 and 85 years, and Nigeria’s are 53 and 54 years. The country’s infant mortality is 2.8 per 1,000 live births, Nigeria is 67. South Korea is 82% urban, while Nigeria is 50%. Yet, one South Korean Won (© 1) equals 0.32 Nigerian currency – about32kobo. One US dollar to the naira is about ¦ 364, while $1 equals 1,129.70 South Korean Won (© ); far below the naira!Still, South Korea dwarfs Nigeria in all indices of development. The problem is not exchange rate, but the country’s inability to produce and manufacture what it needs, evensomething as simple as toothpick.
Nigeria’s lack of industrial capacity is not natural, but the result ofmany years of poor governance and lack of visionary leadership. Successive governments had been merciless in toying with the country’s future. While politicians balloon in personal wealth, the nation was starved of investment for productive development. It beggarsbelief that one particular political party was in power uninterrupted for 16 years, and we cannot point to something that they were able to fix and stabilize for the country. There was no foundation to stir the country on the path of progress. The roads are in very bad shape, poor electricity supply, no functional refinery, and many communities lack potable water,among others. Even worse than theseanomaliesarising out of leadership failure is the contamination of societal values.Theiravarice,the exuberance of materialism, lavish lifestyleand lack of modesty polluted and ruined the society’s moral and cultural landscape, and gave rise to all kinds of rebellions against long-standing societal values of hard work, respect for human life, self-disciplineand patience. Today, we dwell in a society where political thugs have morphed into armed robbers, terrorists, ritual killers and kidnappers lay siege at every turn.It is unfortunate that ours is a country where the masses venerate their oppressors instead of asking them question and demanding accountability. What sent former Brazilian President, Lula da Silva, to prison recently is a child’s play when compared with what former Nigerian leaders did and get away with in strut.
It will amount to willful blindness to accept the current assemblage of PDP members as the solution to Nigeria’s development crisis. The masses should not make that mistake. Many of them are propelled by inordinate desire for power and fame. The APC government has not faired very satisfactorily; and reports on some statesare quitedisturbing.But with all its imperfections, at least, it is more responsible than the PDP in attitude towards public treasury at the federal level.All governments are corrupt, but some are more corrupt and brazen than others. From recent experience, the PDP lacks what it takes to pull the country out from stagnation. If it were not so, we will not be here.
It is a manifestof limited memory and impatience on the part of the masses to consider going back to PDP. Social and economic prosperity do not come overnight. They are products of painstaking planning, dedication and probity. World over, there are unprecedented crises, the kinds that have triggered migrants caravans from countries with smaller population sizes in South America; and many countries are working hard to put themselves back on track. Anything less than what Nigeria has now in terms of attitude towards public fund will spell doom for the seventh most populous country in the world.What is at stake is the nerve of the Nigerian nation.The return of PDP will mean a return to ruthless looting; a return to uncompleted projects for which money had been paid; and a return tonational decay.Sixteen years is enough to know what people can do. Einstein was once asked what madness is. His answer: “By repeating the same experiences and experiments with the same tools and expecting different results”.
Look at the charactersthat are gathering themselves;what is the difference from what the country has seen all these years? They will resume the open plundering of the treasury and the nation will witness an increase in the number of billionaire politicians and their associates, to the detriment of the welfare of the masses. No doubt, Nigerians deserve something better, but they should not contemplate reinstalling the PDP for now. It has not changed. It is aparty with a preponderance of political bandits. As it were, many of those parading themselves on the PDP’s platform again do not actually belong anywhere. They move in drove from party to partyand desert as soon as they perceive a resistance to their calculations and attemptsatgrabbingthe system’s apparatus for the allocation of wealth and privileges. They cannot stand on their own because nobody will follow them for lack of ennobling character. So, from time to time, they leverage on a platform’s need for support, mount their loud speakers and trump up the country’s most visible problems – unemployment and insecurity –for which they were responsible.
All said, while we hope for a better alternative, with all its flaws, this government seems tobe a lesser devil than the PDP in attitude towards public treasuryand the commitment of national resources to public good and infrastructural development.The masses are now faced with a choice between proven “fantastically corrupt” andone with unclear path with the promise of change. The nation is at a crossroad.
- Eborka, PhD, is of Department of Sociology, University of Lagos.