"...Politicians are not born, they are excreted" Marcus Tullius Cicero.
The above quote for all its worth could have been made by Cicero this morning considering how true it does ring in present day politics.
It is well that we all seem disillusioned by the state of affairs in Nigeria, it is also well that we have watched and listened with increasing dismay the dire state of affairs our beloved country finds itself in. Watching with almost choking concern as the buffoonery of one politician is played against the outright hooliganism of another at the expense of a Nation being crippled by the strangling arms of corruption, manufactured sectarianism and poverty.
The situation has become rather bleak and with each passing day the tiny wriggle room seems to get smaller. The sad truth is that these men in power do to an extent reflect the average state of mind of the populace. They are the excrement that has emanated as a result of the corruption, poverty and inferiority complex we have so eagerly ingested over the years.
Like many democratic States around the globe ours is anchored on three arms of government one of which (the Judiciary) should be populated by bright minds, strong moral values, people with ideas and the power of thought.
While the Legislative and Executive arms of government are populated by anyone with money and guts enough to convince, deceive or cheat his/her way into being voted into office. As it so happens, that is what we have now.
With this structure of government the excesses of the Legislature and Executive ought to be regularly curbed and curtailed by the intellectuals in the Judiciary with of course at their disposal the power imposed on them by the sanctity of an established constitution and law.
We now find ourselves laying the blame of a dysfunctional government at the foot of the Judiciary whenever we hear about rouge politicians being released from prison, or corruption being supported by the judiciary who have time and again failed to convict and imprison government officials who have been accused of looting public funds.
Here is indeed where the problem does lie. If we are unable to prosecute thieves and corrupt officials then we have a huge problem because there is no deterrent, which ultimately implies that anyone in government is free to carry on as usual.
Our politicians have come to realise that with a fully functional Judiciary it would be considerably harder to be convicted or found guilty of stealing. Given the fact that our Police force and other allied law enforcement establishments are largely dysfunctional hence the significant lack of credible personnel capable of investigating any said infringement or suspected infringement. So, with the present state of affairs all that needs to be done for the status-quo to remain is for the Judiciary to do their job effectively.
We take to social media to denounce these judges and say all manner of things about them but the truth is more often than not they seem to be the only part of the country that functions at above average their capacity. They are the only arm of government truly functioning.
Our cries and wails of derision about injustice and corruption directed at them usually is a cry for them to join the gung ho attitude of the rest of us and disregard their oath. We would have them disregard due process and jail any government official we send their way accused of theft and corruption.
Now should they go ahead and jail these (obviously guilty) men regardless of the lack of evidence or the sorry state with which the investigation was conducted coupled with the inadequate nature of the case against them or should they stick to the letter of the law and carry out their duty and hopefully wait for the rest of the country to right itself and catch up with them?
Though we do have a third of the government fully functional with the other two arms eaten up by decay it is a dire situation indeed.
Do we damage the third leg of a three legged chair to make it stand or do we fix the other two legs?
Fixing the two broken legs would seem the better option, and it so happens that every four years we are given the opportunity to do this. And every four years the two broken legs of this arrangement seem to get in the way. We take bribes to keep them there, we sacrifice the promises of the future for a few perks now.
We have one day every four years to make this right, we have four years to make up our minds, when we fail to do so we spend the next four years laying the blame at the foot of the Judiciary and corrupt government officials.
The Judiciary are sworn to give justice in the name of justice as prescribed by law not in the name of conscience or weak here-say.
We vote thieves (literally THIEVES) into office. Somehow we hope that by some miracle which should take place in the government house and the corridors of power, these thieves and hoodlums ought to be transformed to vibrant philosophers and guardians of the people with halos about their head, fervently fighting the good cause. When they fail to transform into these fine beings we seem disappointed and turn our anger on the Judiciary accusing them of corruption. This circle goes on to the joy of the few and chagrin of the many.
So, I place the failings of the government firmly at my feet. I look in the mirror and firmly tell myself "I did this" by my actions or inaction. I let this happen. The good thing is every four years I should have an opportunity to right this wrong. You should look in the mirror, ask yourself some questions.
Do you know who your Senator (State or Federal) is? Do you know who your Rep in the house of representatives is? A lot of us do not know and we don't care, all we care about is to wail and whine while brigands, thieves and hoodlums scheme and plot to confiscate your inheritance and subject you to four years of hardship and irrelevance.
It is your time to make a difference, the ocean is only a collection of millions of drops of water, your vote and ideas count. The question is are they relevant to you? Are you too busy living that you are giving up the opportunity to live right? Well it is your right, do as you will and please. Make sure you cook what you are prepared to eat and build what you are prepared to live in.
The good Lord has given you life, the power of thought and speech, even blessed you with objects to think and speak about. Most of all He blessed you with the gift of free will. If He makes the decisions for you of what good is the gift He has so blessed you with?
Think, research your elected officials or aspiring officials, who are they? What do they do? What do they stand for? What are their plans and motives? Make an informed decision. Your happiness and the future of your children are what is at stake.
Indeed politicians are a bye product of the communities they live in. By our actions or inactions we have managed to excrete the worse kind and placed the future of our country in their hands. What do we expect them to do? Sober up and become refined minds? Well, obviously that miracle has not worked. It's time to do the right thing.
