November 6, 2008
‘Success has many parents while failure is an orphan’—Anonymous
Mr Barack Obama, an Aborigine of Kagelo , a tiny village in Kenya, in east Africa, made history, Nov. 4, 2008, when he was overwhelmingly elected (not selected), as the 44th president of the United States of America, which arguably remains the most powerful country in the world.
Interestingly, nations around the world as well as individuals have been pouring encomiums on this agent of change. Here in Nigeria, it has been round of applause from all quarters. President Yar’Adua in his message to the US President elect, solicited for a more robust bilateral relationship between Nigeria and the US. Apart from Yar’Adua, the Senate also gave a standing applause to Obama during their plenary, on Wednesday, Nov. 5. According to the senate, the election of Obama has placed America on top as a true democracy.
While contributing on the floor of the senate, senator Buka Abbah Ibrahim, commended the Republican Candidate Senator McCin for accepting defeat in good faith, urging Nigerian politicians (including himself?) to learn to accept defeat whenever they lose election. Senator Mohammed Bello said; Obama’s victory was borne out of hard work, having started his campaign over two years ago. There is need for Nigerians to always go for the best in shopping for a leader. Nigerians should always go for quality candidates in electing our future leaders completely devoid of ethnicity compromised candidates and godfatherism in our political system’’.
Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu said; ‘American Election has shown that hardwork, quality and merit must be considered as key determinant in choosing a leader.’’ Senator Victor Ndoma Egba, in his submission said that Senator Barack Obama walked through the primary with high ideals and was not influenced by any external factors. He urged Nigerian political class to desist from imposition of candidate under guise of compromised candidate and allow democracy to strive’.
Across the states of the federation governors have been speaking, all hailing the victory of Obama and the advanced American electoral system. Even Prof. Maurice Iwu in his post election comment urged Nigerian politicians to always base their campaigns on ideology and issues rather than sentiments. If the above views and opinions by those who know better, those who are real actors in the dirty game, those who have contributed in no small measure, to moving our democracy from one to zero, those whose political slogan have been ‘do as I say, not as I do’, is anything to go by, then something fundamental is wrong with us as a people, not with democracy as a system.
Democracy, as been practiced in America, Nigeria and elsewhere is the same, as propounded by Abraham Lincoln, but probably what is found in America type of democracy that is lacking in ours is ‘morality’. When it comes to serving America, an average American is fanatical about upholding the image of his country and constitution. American law is regarded by Americans as the final in the service of America and her people. Ideology and Issues are just part of the process but the overriding factor is political morality.
How many among all the distinguished senators who gave Obama standing ovation, actually won election in their villages talkless of their constituencies? How many of the senators can count the number of communities in their constituencies? How many of them have programmes designed to benefit their constituencies? In the first place, how many of them won election to the senate? We know that eighty percent of those sitting in both chambers of the National Assembly today were either selected by their parties or by immediate past governors of their respective states, as compensation for their dubious loyalty.
One of the senators noted that Obama began his campaign two years ago, which gave the American electorate ample opportunity to assess him and his ideologies before choosing him. How come we know all these facts when our political leaders in their insatiable quest for power selected party flag bearers three months to election and impose them on the electorate, the result of which we are witnessing today?
Some of those giving Obama standing ovation as well as giving testimonies on Obama’s victory, were in Europe when elections in Nigeria were conducted but they came back to become senators, through substitution and selection.
Some of the senators urged their fellow politicians to emulate the Republican Candidate, McCin by accepting defeat. That’s true, but one can only accept defeat when there is an election just like what happened in America. In a situation where election did not hold and result were announced, it is impossible for the loosing candidate to emulate John McCin. We were all witnesses to what happened in 2003 and 2007, across the states of the federation at all levels of the elections held.
And even the local government elections conducted by some state governors across the federation this year. So in fairness to purported losers, they have axes to grind, and have every reason to seek redress rather than accepting such daylight robberies.
The truth is that, if the distinguished senators were sincere in their loud and standing ovation, some of them should resign their membership of the upper chamber and apologise to their constituencies and Nigerians for dishonesty. It is said that, the best truth is the truth you tell yourself, so for those of them who knew very well how they got to the senate of the federal republic of Nigeria, if they really think that the victory of Obama is victory for change around the world they should start it now.
There is no need for hypocrisy. If we really desire to be like America, some people must own up, and become history makers. Some people have to tell the people of this country, we are sorry and not only that, they must be ready to repent, especially now that God has proved to be on the side of Africa, for who knows the next country He will visit. As for the governors, most of them dwelled much on the end to racism following Obama’s triumph, they dogged the issue of whether the election was free and fair or not. The reason for that is obvious. He who must go to equity must go with clean hands, how many of them are in government house through free and fair election? As Uthman Danfodio rightly said; ‘Conscience is an open wound only truth can heal it’’.
Ezugwu Benson Whyte, is an Abuja Based current affairs analyst.
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