Each time I look at the activities of an average Nigerian politician, I see a man or woman burdened with so many things. I see souls drawn in-between two things – value and human drive to orgies.
I see beings with so much expectations, demands and pressure around them, trying to keep up with the Joneses.
They stretch themselves, get involved in so many awful things once there is a guarantee of fame, riches and relevance.
I have heard tales of some politicians who sold their souls to deities and shrines either to get power or to sustain it.
They threw caution to the wind and slid into the den of the vampires, eating and drinking at the expense of their serenity and the peace of their soul.
Each day comes with its “wahala” though in affluence, enjoying the nice and choicest things the world and its exquisiteness can offer, however their mind is constantly in guilt for those whose conscience is still sensitive.
Once I visited a friend whose adventure into politics was meteoric. He grew from the low level of the hoi polloi to the height of the bourgeois.
Entering into his lavishly furnished lounge, the sight that I beheld was sore and despicable.
Curled around his huge body frame, was the wife of one of his friends , a politician too, though in dire need of financial help at that time and severally made request to him for help .
Maybe, what I saw was the outcome of the help, trade by barter arrangement.
Each time I tried to engage him on the bad side of such acts, he treats it with levity, with a rationalizing posture of “that is how it works here”.
Though a short sentence one dare say, it is however by all standards a summary of the ordeal and dilemma of those around politicians, what they see, hear and do are often times off the threshold of decency.
Show me a politician who is faithful to their God, constituency, spouse etc and I will show you a person who isn’t crazy and obsessed about power, fame and riches.
We live in a world where class, position, power, authority etc are treated with an utmost majestic reverence.
To get them, guard most times must be lowered and to maintain them guard often times must be lowered the more, compromise on values and principles a done deal.
Such sight as the one I saw at my friend’ house is a common recurrent decimal among majority of politicians.
Though privy to this ugly narrative by hindsight, the reiteration of it by my friend however made it more of a fact than a dangling rumors it has been for me waiting for verification before now.
He sat me down days after the ugly sight and made some scary revelations on the activities of an average Nigerian politician.
He called them “classic and executive fun players” whose boundaries of play is quite limitless.
They shoot their shots, being concerned only for the satisfaction of their orgies, desires, whims and caprices no matter whose ox is gored.
No permanent friends for them, their enemies in broad day light with all the drama and throwing of tantrum are often their besties at night where humors amidst conviviality are their trademarks.
When power and riches reside in one category of people, the weak and the impoverished become a self willed prey, ready to do cocktail of bad and the ugly just to be helped.
They go with escorts, hiding behind a heavily tinted SUV, while the poor masses truckle, fetching and carrying for them just for crump.
The deeds and dirt of most Politicians if not all are fanned and encouraged by us the masses. We give them the steam and the fuel they run with, running over us sometimes, when their acceleration and momentum are in an over drive mood.
We make them feel like the demi god they are not, oftentimes doing the unimaginable, the unthinkable and the most senseless things to remain relevant.
They loot, they steal, they inflate contracts, pocket the money, from it give out handouts and lavish the rest on ostentation, while the roads and hospitals meant for it remain undone.
Still we hail them and “carry their matter for head” during elections like orange sellers.
Recently a Nigerian politician whose aspiration to become the president after years of holding the resources of his state hostage was seen acknowledging sycophantic accolades of “Mr President” from praise singers who rather would have addressed him as Mr presidential hopeful.
Some will still “carry his matter for head” like gala seller during elections
Their dirt is too much and the baggage of impunity and showmanship alarming, still “we carry their matter for head” during elections like gala sellers.
Many of the rots and killing we have in our society today, the immoral, the unethical etc are all side effects of dirt and bad politics of our politicians.
They poor masses are used as pawns on their chess board, and as claws of the monkey for hits and dirty deals, exposing them to life threatening danger, while in cosy and warm comfort of their homes their household basks
The fire, the heat, the mayhem and bloodletting in the East, the massacre and annihilation in the North, the kidnapping and rape in the west , the poor and inhuman condition in the South etc are all fall outs of bad politics of our politicians.
Everything is politics for them. They heat up the system to their advantage and clink glasses on their advancement and success while the poor masses whose blood is wasted sulk and die in penury.
Die for a Politician in their stink, dirt and ostentation you would have died a wasteful death.
Nigeria would have been a peaceful place, if not for politicians. Road, Hospitals, basic infrastructural development etc would have been the rule and norm than an exception, but for the dirt and stink of politicians .
They are terrible set of conscienceless breed of humans. Selfish, manipulative and unarguably kleptomaniac.
They are the cancer that have eaten deep into the colon of this nation ,gradually moving towards the ovarian, while the prostrate is long over grown.
Until we get Christians and Moslems who are politicians not politicians who are Christians/ Moslems, the cancer will continue to spread.
My last line: “In the country of a stupid nation, the nation works for the politician’s pocket. In the country of a wise nation, the politician works for the pocket of the nation”!
(Mehmet Murat ildan)
Which one describes us as a nation?.
Grace will help us!
