The cost of fueling electoral contests in Nigeria is alarming, retrogressive, barbaric and disturbing. It is imperative we digest this direction in order to cut costs and inject sanity into our electoral practices. A country that had drowned, panting to lead the position of the most impoverished nation globally, with diluvian of insecurity menaces would spend huge amount of money to decide who will sit in public office. An electoral processes that lack transparency, security, inclusiveness and credibility would engulf huge public wealth while over 70 percent of the population lack basic amenities.
One of the most damaging acts that has kept us in a sorry state of affair is lack of financial prudency. Our political settings have been negligently designed to fatten private individuals’ bank accounts through financial recklessness by the rulling elites.
Little or no effort is channeled towards nation building while much is channeled towards self-enrichment by political actors. And this abysmal and disgusting posture has mitigated the level of patriotism in the hearts of the public, whose larger population also gun to mooch a portion of the public wealth.
Traitorous activities have occupied the minds of many citizens due to deprivations, austerity, oppression and frustration, birthed by the rascality and the amorality of bad leadership; celebrated and defended by those who profit from the evil, and also, ignorantly by those who suffer from it, possibly planting their myopic support on the sandy soil of tribalism, regional divides, same religious faith, or what have you?
It is appallingly obvious that no country in the world would survive the cost of running governance in Nigeria as over 70 percent of public wealth illegally end up in private individuals’ bank accounts. It is unfortunate that even the assumed Jesuses in our public seat of authority end up being Mahmood (the electoral magician) in executing their responsibilities.
The mind blowing amount of money and bribing materials that cover the cloud during electoral contests, spewing from public purses and private pockets, are more than enough to save Nigeria from indebtedness and build a pillar that would raise her economy above the height of mediocrity. This justifies the reason Africa remains a huge land of refugees. It lingers on to reveal why Westerners live in better conditions than Africans. Viz, the man with sense will surely rule over and live better than the one with just mineral resources.
Our failure to rightly govern ourselves is pointing towards the reason we are tagged developing nations. Nations governed by not fully evolved mentality can never be developed. In the science world, it took over 10 million years for man to evolve from Dryopithecus through Ramapithecus, Australopithecus, Homo Habilis, Homo Erectus to Homo Sapiens before translating into the present genus called man. It is unfortunate that our leaders are not fully evolved thought wise.
In my humble view, virtually all african leaders mental posture are still in the archaic Mono Sapiens’ stage. That is why they remain ‘Money Serpents’ in deeds.
AMB. EZEWELE CYRIL ABIONANOJIE is the author of the book, ‘The Enemy Called Corruption’ ; an award winner ‘Best Columnist Of The Year’, ‘Giant In Security Support’ among other local and international awards. He is the Founder/President of Peace Ambassadors Global.