Nigeria practices the presidential style of democracy fashioned after that of the United States. However, there is a myriad of structural differences in the two systems. Somehow, the elected representatives of the people in the executive and legislative arms seem not to be held accountable by the people and the system. That is why campaigns in the United States are more expository of the character and professional competences of politicians.On the other hand, the Nigerian political system is flawed in some key areas; the political party structure, the electoral system, party leadership style, campaign funds and lack of accountability by the elected and appointees. The political parties seem to lack definable ideological convictions making it difficult for the people to really align committedly with any political party as a development agenda. Most partisan party members are in it for the socio-economic expediencies they will get after election victories.....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE
Most Nigerian politicians easily swing between the political parties depending on which side they feel their bread can better be buttered. There is hardly any identifiable sense of patriotic verve that motivate most politicians in Nigeria. This lack of patriotism manifests in the ways they handle their public service. Most are in it for their egos as can be seen from their attitude in offices. Immediately after elections. They often forget their promises to the people and literally fence off the voters.
The lifestyles of many politicians in offices spell luxury and arrogance. Many are in it for the opportunities for self-aggrandizements that accrue from certain positions and influence peddling. Immediately after elections, it is often a ‘we vs them’ attitude as the politicians tend to live in a bubble feigning ignorance of the challenges the citizens face. This is not the best of democracy. There is an aloofness that Nigerian politicians show that any little action by them is seen as a favor to the people and they make media song and dance over things that ought to be insignificant and ordinary.The fact that Nigeria is battling with more than 133million citizens living in multi-dimensional poverty, more than 20million out-of-school children, more than 10million children chronically malnourished with the attendant consequences of mental and physical retardation amidst the resources and human capital since independence shows that the Nigerian democracy has not paid off as expected. The political class has over the years failed the people.
Curiously though, the Roundtable Conversation has observed over the years that most politicians love the limelight with their tokenism to the some of the people. They invite media attention when they renovate schools, build infrastructure, give scholarships to deserving students, give out palliatives or assist some indigent people in dire need. It is even worse with the advent of the social media. The moment certain pathetic cases of some individuals are highlighted in the media, some politicians jump on the bandwagon possibly for the visibility and media attention that would give them.
Recently, a young lady who is described as content creator in the social media made a video showcasing her mother living with mental health challenges. It attracted mixed reactions from Nigerians. Some commended her for being sincere and caring for her mom who apparently is on the streets uncared for by no one except possibly her children one of who damned a very judgmental society that stigmatizes mental health issues to bring her mother’s challenges to the media space.The Women Affairs Minister, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye upbraided the young lady for filming her mentally ill mother, “for personal gain and social media content”. While the minister might mean well with her comments, the young lady might possibly have done that in desperation. Given how mentally health cases are treated by society, that young lady must be commended for her courage and tenacity. Yes, if it was for personal gain, what in the world would be better than attracting attention to possibly help one’s mother? Yes, it is for a personal gain but the one worth every effort. In a society whose healthcare system for even regular illnesses is in shambles, mental illness is often shrouded in many superstitious beliefs and patients are often left uncared for. We suspect desperation to get help for her dear mother and hopefully help others.Yes, mental health issues are global in nature but it is for governments to create room for their care to the best of their ability. There are mentally ill people on the streets around the world but there are more facilities like rehab homes, therapy and social welfare agencies and psychiatric institutions. The essence of governments is to see to the welfare of the people to the best of their ability.
While the Women Affairs minister might be correct in admonishing citizens not to exploit vulnerable individuals especially those struggling with mental health issues, we feel the young lady might just have taken the bull by the horn to bring government attention to the challenges she and her family are facing over their mother. We however commend the minister for seeking more information on this case and promising to ensure proper care for the woman.A few days ago too, one 22 year old Grace Udeme Esenowa, a mother of four who dropped out of high school due to teenage pregnancy was in the news. She is a farm house worker who fed her four kids with chicken and fish feeds. Her employer, one Pastor Uzoma had taken interest in her case and escalated her story to his social media influencer daughter who put up Grace’s story on Instagram. Grace’s partner had previously been beaten to death because he allegedly stole some potatoes.The wife of the Akwa Ibom state governor, Pastor Patience Umo Eno had on reading the story demanded a mental evaluation of the young lady while offering to rehabilitate her with accommodation, sponsorship for skills acquisition and other forms of assistance. That is very commendable. However, Grace is one out of millions of young ladies whose lives are distorted by teenage pregnancies. So tragic that her partner passed while possibly trying to provide for the four children they had together. We believe that governments in the country must do better not necessarily to eradicate certain social ills but to minimize them.
The beginning of Grace’s sad life is her teenage pregnancy and parental rejection that forced her to go live with a man that had violated her innocence at 16! How serious does Nigeria treat such sexual abuse of young girls? It is possibly only Lagos state that has a very functional Gender-Based Violence Agency that is very diligent and tries to prosecute conclusively sexual predators. Many of them have been jailed in the recent past.What is the Akwa Ibom state
government planning to do to address teenage pregnancies? What is their school curriculum like? Did the young lady realize what it meant to have sex with a man if it was consensual? What counseling agenda does Akwa Ibom and other states have for young ladies and their parents in cases of teenage pregnancies when they inevitably happen? It is not enough to stigmatize the young lady, in many ways, the state had failed her and her ilk.She went to live with her violator because she had no options. Her life trajectory is enough to induce mental health issues. Feeding her children with animal feed must have been an act of desperation. She possibly had no option in a situation where caring for the kids had become her responsibility given the death of her partner which was enough to induce some mental health issues too.
The Women Affairs Minister and the First lady of Akwa Ibom State through their actions narrated above have not broken any laws. Their actions are commendable. However, the Roundtable Conversation believes that governments in Nigeria at local, state and federal levels can do better. There can be more efforts at making policies and laws that can help the citizens better and reduce the often media glitz that comes with certain isolated cases of human needs. There is no perfect system anywhere in the world but we all know that Nigeria often lacks the political will to plan properly for a functional society that can reduce poverty and give more dignity to the human person.Most politicians in Nigeria treat citizens as one mass of needy group who must be eternally grateful for the little given every once in a while. We cannot continue to be a country of pity parties. The 22 year old might not have been in the news if the society cared better for the girl child. Caring for the girl child does not mean waving the magic wand and abolishing teenage pregnancies, it is more comprehensively about planning for the welfare of the different demographics.Policy and law makers must work together to develop more functional systems that address social issues that make life difficult especially for the vulnerable in the society. Sexual offences against young girls are not treated with the seriousness it demands. There must be serious plans to institute social nets that can cushion the vagaries of life to avoid all the spontaneous acts of isolated philanthropy that merely puts government officials or their spouses as some Mother Theresa to a tiny percentage of the deprived in the society.
Make no mistake about it, the Roundtable Conversation is by no means implying that assistance by public officials to those who need them is wrong, we just feel that a society is not run sparks of seeming humanitarian acts. There must be a deliberate attempt to build a system that fundamentally takes care of certain basic issues to minimize spontaneous rescue missions. Democracy in Nigeria must be truly government of the people, by the people and for the people. That way, we can address the core illnesses not the symptoms that exert palliatives that are not far reaching.
