A
typical CV of these politicians would read: ex-Personal Assistant,
ex-Minister, ex-Senator, ex-Governor plus a string of other exes and
political appointments. For these privileged individuals, being in
government is “until death, do us part”. They move from one political
office to the other “sharing the money”.
Also numbered among Nigeria’s ruling elite are shakers and movers in the civil service, traditional rulers, retired senior military personnel, influential academics and captains of industry who wheel and deal in the corridors of power.
For the majority of these individuals, involvement in government in one form or the other, is not about serving the people but about their own interests. These “Ogas at the top” have crafted a brand of democracy in Nigeria that can best be described as the government of the elite, by the elite and for the elite.
They preside over a system of governance in Nigeria that is based on patronage, not merit. You must get that vital introduction from these godfathers before you can get a job in the public service; and you must carry the right party card to get that vital government contract. This brand of governance has created a society of the privileged few that have everything and a docile majority that scramble for crumbs from their tables.
In a starkly divided society of the haves and the have-nots, or as some have put it, “the oppressor” and “the oppressed”, the oppressed must take their share of the blame for their plight. It is incredible, from debates in the social media, the number of people that actually supported the President’s pardon of ex-Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha. Some even expressed sympathy for Alams, using phrases like “He has suffered enough”, “it is not only him that stole” as if this justified the crime. These are the same oppressed that would have had better health care, better roads, and better schools if this man had not stolen from them.
Also numbered among Nigeria’s ruling elite are shakers and movers in the civil service, traditional rulers, retired senior military personnel, influential academics and captains of industry who wheel and deal in the corridors of power.
For the majority of these individuals, involvement in government in one form or the other, is not about serving the people but about their own interests. These “Ogas at the top” have crafted a brand of democracy in Nigeria that can best be described as the government of the elite, by the elite and for the elite.
They preside over a system of governance in Nigeria that is based on patronage, not merit. You must get that vital introduction from these godfathers before you can get a job in the public service; and you must carry the right party card to get that vital government contract. This brand of governance has created a society of the privileged few that have everything and a docile majority that scramble for crumbs from their tables.
In a starkly divided society of the haves and the have-nots, or as some have put it, “the oppressor” and “the oppressed”, the oppressed must take their share of the blame for their plight. It is incredible, from debates in the social media, the number of people that actually supported the President’s pardon of ex-Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha. Some even expressed sympathy for Alams, using phrases like “He has suffered enough”, “it is not only him that stole” as if this justified the crime. These are the same oppressed that would have had better health care, better roads, and better schools if this man had not stolen from them.
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