From absolute recklessness to absolute insanity

By Chris Mustapha Nwaokobia Jnr.

“He is a confirmed drug lord. He is a confirmed drug user… Everything about him is fake, unreal, and criminal… And I can never work with or for him.”
Heavy and weighty. Were those words mere politics or grave allegations?

Heavy on the character of someone — do we entirely dismiss them as reckless politics? Those were huge issues in every respect: never trashed, never resolved, with the alleger never retracting or recanting them, and with the accused never calling for the ‘truth’.

Or were the words true? What do I know? I may not know much, but I am certain that the entire spectacle, murky as it remains, is utterly reckless.

How will the testimony of the alleger — now a turncoat — be weighed? How credible a witness will he be? What character will be attached to his person and his brief? How seriously will he be considered? But ours is a reckless nation where nothing counts, and everything is politics. Sad.

Even more reckless is the fact that this turncoat, alleger will soon become the face of the nation somewhere, as the cycle of the reckless, the inane, and the insane continues unbroken.

What we say now may not matter to Politrickticans; after all, the Senate is lame-duck and rubber-stamp — they will pass, approve, and validate whatever comes from the President. But will that change the fact that the world will hold the alleger and the country he now represents in derision?

Will an emissary of a “drug lord” and a “confirmed drug user” not be seen as one? I simply cannot understand how we sank so low and how reckless we have become. It now borders on insanity. Come to think of it — appointing a garrulous and loquacious double-mouth, whose own words mean nothing to him, as an envoy of our country — isn’t the insanity absolute? Again, what do I know?

When the First Lady of the nation breaks protocol, undermining the authority of a State Governor in public and threatening to turn off the microphone unless the Governor heeds her reprimand, it speaks not only to the temperament of this Presidency but unveils the signs of things to come. I’m not a hater; I am a Nigerian concerned about the optics and the message it sends. But aren’t we absolutely reckless and absolutely insane?

Quite a number of commentators, lacking in scruples, have struggled to make light of that shameful spectacle which underscores our descent into impunity and lawlessness — where the Wife of the President (a role unknown to the Constitution) walks up to a Governor in public and instructs compliance with her whims. We have interesting times ahead.

This is absolutely beyond politics, and defending that action of the First Lady — whether or not Governor Adeleke dances or sings too much — borders on insanity. But again, what do I really know?

What about hurrying to Benin Republic to “restore democracy” while being unable to guarantee the safety of lives and property at home? Is it a joke, hypocrisy, or have we now become the new first-son of France in West Africa?

Have we chosen to be more Francophone than those who actually speak French in Africa? What about the argument of national sovereignty that government protagonists advanced when President Trump threatened action against terrorists in Nigeria and responded to allegations of genocide against Christians? Is Benin Republic no longer a sovereign nation?

How does restoring a bludgeoning dictatorship in Benin count more than protecting Nigerian lives? Does defending and applauding Nigeria’s invasion of Benin, while lampooning calls for effective military collaboration with the U.S. against terror, insurgency, and banditry, not define absolute recklessness and absolute insanity?

If it doesn’t, what on earth does? How does defending “democracy” as a foreign policy agenda come before safeguarding Nigerian lives? And by the way, what is democratic about the despot in Benin Republic?

And on coups and coup-making — though I vehemently oppose the undemocratic takeover of power anywhere in the world — we must be careful to educate our children rightly.

That unresearched cliché that “the worst civilian government or democracy is better than the best military government” must be challenged and discarded.

Folks, it is incontrovertible history that those who plunged the world into its most brutal wars did not get to power through coups; they were elected. They got to power through the ballot.

Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini will tell you they were elected. So is the man in Benin Republic; so is Paul Biya; so is Faure Eyadéma; so is the man who just secured a 4th term in Côte d’Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara; and so is President Bola Tinubu, who must get a second term by hook or by crook. Conversely, some of the most dynamic leaders of the last century were military men: Lee Kuan Yew, Jerry Rawlings, Thomas Sankara, etc.

If democracy becomes dictatorial, despotic, and authoritarian, it cannot morally or legally be better than a military government, because it clearly ceases to be democratic. I repeat: while not defending military takeovers anywhere, I simply state that COUPS — Cessation Of Underperforming Political Systems — will continue as long as political office holders cater to selfish interests rather than the common good.

It is now widely believed that Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Niger are doing better in rebuilding their nations than many of the so-called democracies.
The people appear unperturbed by the brashness of military rule and seem unanimous in supporting the reforms of the “revolutionaries.” Brashness — whether by civilian despots or military rulers — is reprehensible, and this must be stated clearly.

However, the only way to make coups unattractive is good governance, not strong words or military action. You cannot defend democracy by indulging dictators and despots simply because they “won” elections.

Before I break my commitment to keeping my pieces relatively short and reader-friendly, let me conclude by calling on Nigerians and the government to halt this drift into absolute recklessness and insanity. The trump card, I must say, is truth, forthrightness, and service delivery. Anything else amounts to the wait for Godot.

May Nigeria Be Great Again.

Nwaokobia Jnr; Convener, COUNTRYFIRST MOVEMENT — A Good Governance Advocacy Group.