The Gloomy Corollary Of Western Democracy In Africa

What a paradoxical display, featuring the same democracy that works in Western nations as the major source of retrogression in most African nations, which undoubtedly, satisfies the saying that ‘one man’s food is another man’s poison’. 

It will be ignorant to contest the fact that the characteristics of an individual people’s thoughts determine the type of rulership method that will guarantee their positive advancement on the track lane of life. 

In the event of an enlightened society, democracy, which features and buttresses the position of the majority will display a panoramic outcome for the betterment of the society. The postures of the majority enlightened individuals in the society will take the lead and serve as a catalyst for growth and a means for rectifying any possible error in their leadership selections. This is why democracy is functioning in enlightened societies.

But in the case of a society that houses majority illiterates, where the infinitesimal voices of the enlightened are subdued by that of the majority ignoramuses, who celebrate and have adopted the nature of Esau, seeing nothing wrong with selling their glorious futures for morsels of bread; who believe and will do anything to have their kinsmen, friends or same religious faith individuals in power instead of struggling to enthrone the right persons that will guarantee their better tomorrow, there won’t be a substantial head way.  

Democracy in an unenlightened society is a case of the blind leading the seeing. 

The position of the majority illiterates in a democratic society will continue to empower and elect bad people over good ones at the detriment of their collective future. This is why democracy has been a race of a step forward and many steps backward in most African nations, the portion of the world that is worst hit with hunger, slavery, political manipulations and deprivations which are products of colonialists in order to bend and corrupt the mindsets of the inhabitants of Africa and implant in them a slave mentality that would urge them to drag and embezzle any public fortune they could lay their hands on as soon as they assume position of authority. 

A hungry and a deprived man is tagged to be a desperate angry man. And nothing done in anger is ever done well.

Our education system does not appeal to moral behaviors anymore, but encourages desperate measures that benefit self at the detriment of others, which as a result corrupts the produce of our academic factory. 

The more elevated the academic certificate of many of our so called elites, the more corrupt they become. We produce nothing other than elites without light, who are more dangerous than crude illiterates in decision making.

There is no way education can been accepted by the youth as a positive key to progress in a society, where the leading elites have stolen virtually all the available doors. 

Due to the level with which corruption has been adopted as a way of life in virtually every part of Africa, especially in Nigeria, corrupt leaders have become role models to young politicians and to many who aspire to become politicians in future.

Nigeria will not experience a better tomorrow under a democratic culture that allows know-bots who are majority in number to keep electing people who satisfy their seeming immediate pleasures at the detriment of their future treasures. 

A pro-people wise man, in his book, Odion Bosco once opined a system of rulership, which he labeled as Tradocracy, which houses four independent arms of government, The Executive, Researchure, Legislature and Judiciary. A sovereign electoral commission and department of morality are the cardinal structure and institutions of Tradocracy. 

It is time for us to device and adopt a means that will enthrone people on the platform of meritocracy, prevent rulers from abusing the power of authority accorded to them by the public, and that will linger on to guide and guard our political and justice systems towards an exciting future. 

Until we midwife, restructure or adopt leadership methods that will keep criminals and criminality away from the corridors of power, we shall keep building an unsecured empire of pains, inhabited by generations of ‘anyhow’.

• Amb. Ezewele Cyril Abionanojie. The Award Winning ‘Best Columnist Of The Year’ and the author of the book ‘The Enemy Called Corruption’.