Deceit of Affluence, docility of citizenry and the scourge of an unimaginative Government.

Adekunle Theophilius… Few weeks ago, as i strolled  past Government house, Ilorin with its well laid out porches,  gargantuan structures, aura of opulence, air of  lavishness and well watered lawns, I could not but marvel at three complexities that have perpetually bogged down Nigeria, Nigerians and indeed the Blackman and placed them at the nadir  of global socio-economic development.

 

The first is the deceit of affluence that is preponderant among and dominates the thinking of people  (occupying public positions at all arms and tiers) who lack the basic perceptiveness, prescience and the desired cosmopolitan mentality required for their respective offices. It is ludicrous squandering scarce resources on government houses when majorities of people live below poverty levels and are massively unemployed. To make matters worse, majorities of graduates in Kwara are occupying low-skill jobs with paltry wages, demeaning work conditions, degrading employment terms and minimal future prospects. Again, Kwara Government house has constant water supply for its well trimmed lawns and lush flowers, but more than 90% of Kwarans do not have access to water of any kind. Any situation where elected officials are living in unspeakable luxury in the midst of massive electorate poverty  can be classified as deceit of affluence and antithesis of democracy. I have visited state and national complexes in diverse nations like Slovakia, Slovenia, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands and Germany and few are as bogus in its demonstration of a clear disconnection between the status of government officials and people like is obtainable in Nigeria and Kwara state.

 

The second is the presence of dysfunctional and unimaginative governments that lack simple understanding of the basic tenets and constituents of democracy and crucial ideas about how to formulate programs and policies that can enhance the lives of people. The prevalence of voodoo politics has made decent Kwarans to withdraw in despair and resign to fate , while governance has devolved into cataclysmic states leading to what Giroux called the perversion of  the ideals of modern liberties, economic empowerment , freedom, social justice, common good, societal advancement and paroxysm of  critical thinking.  We see Governments that have not created good climate for robust engagements, that view constructive criticism or even divergent opinions with disdain resulting in the virtual collapse of democratic public spheres into narrow orbits of cabalism  – One consequence is that it has become more difficult for people to debate, engage and question government  and widespread misery for the generality of Kwarans. The inability to make their voices heard and the absence of viable representation reveals the degree of democratic deficit is existing in kwara state   Such is the unbelievable low depth that Kwara State , an envy of Nigeria during the golden days of Governor George Innih has sunk to under the past two civilian ‘‘slaveministrations’’ whose notable achievement is the total enslavement, colossal immerization and massive pauperization of kwarans. In western climes, the robust nature of a thriving democracy is measured through the quantum of citizen engagement and focus on people welfare. Frederick Douglas  once said that  “Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one’s thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist. From this perspective, we can argue that liberty and democracy might be meaningless in kwara?  Ignorance , religiosity and poverty mentality has been deployed  to enslave the already subservient and gullible Kwarans who are increasingly finding exercising the simple rights to freedom of dissent , expression and critical thought  quite herculean

 

Lastly, an inexplicably docile, inexorably differential and seemingly vanquished people who are unable to offer the simplest acts of protest or resistance in the face of monstrous abuse of their rights.  Nowhere is the above more obvious than in Kwara state. Kwarans are longer seen as central to governance, thus they  have been firmly shut out of governance and government. They do not have any idea of what is going on in government or what this government does. It is as if they are like coolies in a post independence American cotton plantation, suffering immense psychological, physiological and economic hemorrhages. The resultant servitude mindset is promoted and supported by the false claim that it is generally acceptable and ingrained in the social and political terrain.  Invariably, all this makes the subtle and inferred charactherization of kwarans as slaves indubitable.

 

With the hindrance of citizenry participation, evisceration of any viable sense of agency and  removal of public service philosophy from its goals ,  successive civilian regimes from 2003-2015 have only served to perpetuate a system of exclusion and subjugation instead of improving people’s lives. The truth is that there are more kwarans living in poverty and oppression now than in pre 1960 Nigeria.  Thievery, enslavement and mediocrity are now kwaran ideal and ethos celebrated in the effusions of people and workings of the state.  Under such circumstances, injustice, vanity and inanity have replaced the values of compassion, social responsibility, selfless service and common good. With kwarans  more or less succumbing to this insidious shift in their daily lives, there is nothing to prevent widespread indifference to the growth of a  culture that refuses to stand up to oppression and slavery. Not even the so called change mantra and pretense to sophistication could stir the consciences of the occupants of positions in an unimaginative and totally mendacious government

 

Even Gazans are freer than kwarans in terms of protesting against injustice and asserting their rights.. Like residents of one big open air slave camp, Kwarans have become watchful of displeasing the master, ogling to scrap the dustbin , careful to avoid offense, desperate for the crumbs and largely unwilling to be labeled as opposition . The result is a state where people have lost the penchant to think anymore and have been reduced to a cowering citizenry—mute, helpless and powerless before ‘s’elected  and appointed  public officials who now lord it over the people.  Kwarans have ‘s’elected officials who refuse to represent them, advance their interests or articulate their needs, but owe maximum allegiance to the slavemaster . Under such conditions, an overlord-driven view of society is created which turns its back on the idea that social values, public trust and communal relations are fundamental to a democratic and prosperous society

 

English Novelist George Orwell believed that the sheer goodness of human nature is sufficient for individuals to develop modes of collective resistance, but he never imagined the continued existence of slave camps in the 21st Century. Nothing illustrates the magnitude and pervasiveness of hopelessness, despondency and despair in Kwara state than the outcome of the March elections.  Despite cries of end to slavery in Kwara, Kwarans still (seemingly) voted for their oppressors.  Despite the massive poverty and existence of a totally inutile and effete government in Kwara, Kwarans still (amazingly) refused to send the old order packing. Incomprehensively, this lecherous, oppressive and locust like system retained a viceroy like grip on Kwara. Unlike what happened in Benue , Plateau and Niger states, when people rose up to send the then current malignant systems to the dunghills of history.

 

If ‘democracy’ connotes effective popular participation in the crucial decision making,  adequate representation by elected officials, governments that are sensitive  to the needs of people, responsiveness and presence of honest and innovative public officers , we can affirm that democracy is totally nonexistent in Kwara state. Nothing will change unless people begin to take seriously the subjective underpinnings of oppression in Kwara state and the essence of voting the unimaginative,  insensitive and banal cabal at all tiers, arms and levels out of office. Fundamental to resisting the conversion of kwara into a full blown 21st century slave camp is how the individual and collective dispositions and capacities of people can be shaped to be willing or resistant agents    ‘Enough!’ to a corrupt political, and economic establishment that has hijacked  kwara’s resources for itself… sabotaging the rule of law, subverting democracy, thwarting the people’s will and installing an . antithesis of the reality and ideal of a just society.

 

Kwarans must rise up to take Kwara back and lift it to the lofty heights it was from the 70’s to the mid and late 80’s.  Kwarans must resolve to challenge the power of those individuals, groups and organizations working for the slave master that has singlehandedly hijacked the state. Kwarans must struggle and fight for the development of public spaces and spheres that will produce a formative culture that can enthrone true democracy. Kwarans must wake up from this deleterious lethargy by reinventing themselves through building alliances, casting aside all forms of differences and shunning all divide and rule methods to truly, tenaciously and stridently seek their rights and entitlements.

 

Finally, let’s put an end to this deceit of affluence and scourge of a totally inutile and unimaginative government of lies, propaganda and artifice. It is not enough to simply complain about what is wrong in Kwara, Kwarans must think of themselves as stakeholders and not slaves and energize themselves to do something about it. We must inculcate the culture of dissent, protests and demonstration against the actions and policies of the slave master and his gang. The wealth and resources of Kwara is not for assuaging the demands of the slave master, it is not for constructing opulent, but meaningless structures and buildings, it is not for servicing the greed and lavish lifestyles of elected officials, but it is solely for improving the welfare, quality of life, standard of living and human development indices of KWARANS. And this should lie at the heart of the NEW KWARA, forged, promoted and actualized by KWARANS.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now