This essay is a way of delving into the political situation in Nigeria in relation to the Nigerian Electorate's quest for good governance. This essay will examine how their thirst for good governance affects their choices.
THE NIGERIAN POLITICAL CLASS AND THE PEOPLE's QUEST FOR. GOOD GOVERNANCE.
What is a political class?
According to Wikipedia, a Political class refers to a relatively small group of activists that are highly aware and active in politics and from which the national leadership is largely drawn. There are three levels of political class in Nigeria; the Federal level, State and Local government levels. The federal level houses the ministers, members of the house of Representatives, senate, Vice President and President. The state level encompasses the commissioners, members of the house of assembly, the Deputy Governor and the Governor. The local government level then includes the Local Government parastatals such as commissioners, vice chairperson, and the chairperson.
From the Nigeria political classes, we often choose the people whom we deem most eminent as our leaders. This political may contain a lot of people, some of whom the electorate believe do not belong and others whom the electorate believe actually belong there . The Nigerian political class is however not a single unified body but divided into segments which are known as political parties. These parties present candidates anytime there's a political office to be filled. The members of these political parties may not be known to the electorate except when they are contesting for public offices. This trend is one that is unhealthy to the political health of a country.
On the idea of the people's quest for good governance, it's is important to know that most adult Nigerians have some political philosophy or the other. Every government will be criticised by its citizens and even the opposition parties. Criticism can be positive or negative, constructive or deconstructive. But criticism puts the government on its toes and aware of their actions at all time. This is not to say that tyranic, totalitarian and unfair governments do not arise from time to time. The interesting thing however is the fact that even the tyrants often have their own loyal subjects. Perhaps out of fear or out of genuine respect, we can observe that they have their own fan base. This idea brings to mind the character named Boxer in George Orwell's "Animal Farm" who despite all obvious oddities, defends Napoleon's actions loyally.
It is natural for humans to crave good governance as a good government could result to a lot of positive things for the society. There now remains the question of how to get the desired good governance. Governments have come and gone, each promising heaven on earth before getting elected but then falling severely short of the promised standard each time. The people's hopes rise and fall like the inflections of an opera. It is in a Bid to put a stop to this that some discussions have taken place and some schools of thought arisen. Some schools of thought believe that the best part of the society that should provide the leader is the lower class as it is their believe that a person who has not experienced poverty cannot Really sympathise and empathise with the people. The other school of thought believes that an ideal leader Should be from the upper class as he would have the good experience on what to do with societal resources.
In my humble opinion, both schools of point might have a point, but isn't it important to have leaders from all walks of life? There are more than one political offices to be filled in the government of a nation, it is important for citizens to vote according to their intuition and emotions. Not religious, ethnic or even association sentiments.
But of course this laws only hold in theory, it is not the case with many Nigerian societies as there are numerous ethnic groups and a vivid division of interest along tribal lines. This makes it somewhat difficult to actually have a popularly loved government.
But like every other civilisation, Nigeria has come to that point where social or ethnic identity means little or nothing! The people have realised that good leadership has no direct link to tribe or religion. And that the best way to get good governance is to judge intelligently and without bias. Nigerians' quest for good governance has been brought about by the realisation that good governance is key to moving the nation forward. It is however unfortunate that it is impossible to vote without political party bias. Political affiliation might influence a person's decision, such that they vote for the repute of the party rather than the character of the candidate. Indeed, the people's loyalty to political parties are the main factor behind political violence as the people become divided behind the lines of political parties' association. Political parties do have their own pros; they provide political ideologies, political manifestos, criticism of the party in government etc. But isn't there a way of achieving all these things without political parties? Are the functions of political parties worth the price that nigerians have paid, and are still paying? Nigeria is already divided by circumstances that cannot be controlled; tribal differences. Do we have to create another platform for division?
In conclusion, it is worthy to note that even though change is important, and more notoriously inevitable, it also comes at a cost. The Nigerian population might have to sit down and decide just what aspects of their lives they want the change to affect, how far they want the change to go, how fast they want it to happen and for how long their chosen form of change would have to reign before another form of change is needed. Maybe the change that we need is to be found in us, already there and waiting for us to put it into effect. The change that external forces have to offer may be beneficial, but how long can we go before yearning and questing for another? Political parties ensure that the mantle of government gets exchanged from hand to hand and from time to time, this robs our people of a sense of stability and trust. But without them, we would be left with no platform from which to choose our leaders. The quest for change should not become a form of chains, rather let's make the quest for change a way to brace ourselves and adjust our ways for the betterment of our individual communities.
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