David Odey|7 November 2015|6:14am
It was Niccolo Machiavelli who argued that the best (strongest) rulers were those who were willing to kill, deceive and betray others in order to maintain power, and ultimately, the stability of the state. A concept many have come to associate with as realism or real politiks.
A case in point is in the citing of Agathocles of Syracuse who though born to a lowly potter in 361 BC, joined the army, rose through its ranks and in his position as Praetor assembled the Senators and men of affluence in Syracuse under false pretense, murdering an estimated 10, 000 Citizens with the aid of his Carthaginian conspirators, and thus made himself master of Syracuse.
History remembers him as a tyrant, for which Machiavelli succinctly express in the Chapter VIII of his ‘The Prince’, thus:
'It cannot be called prowess to kill fellow-citizens, to betray friends, to be treacherous, pitiless, irreligious. …Still, if the courage of Agathocles in entering into and extricating himself from dangers be considered, together with his greatness of mind in enduring overcoming hardships, it cannot be seen why he should be esteemed less than the most notable captain. Nevertheless, his barbarous cruelty and inhumanity with infinite wickedness do not permit him to be celebrated among the most excellent men.'
Many of such story abound from the Parricide of Oliverotto da Fermo on Giovanni Fogliani and the people of Fermo, and back home to a place and time not too distant. The example of Jerry Rawlings of Ghana whom together with his men after the overthrow of General Akufo’s government, embarked on what was termed “house-cleaning”, an experience that led to the disappearance of over 300 Ghanaians, including top military commanders and the Justices of the Supreme Court brings to mind how far men will go and how much could be sacrificed in attaining political power.
Though such atrocities and barbarism plaques our nation’s political history, starting from the 1966 military coup, to the civilian administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo when the death of 10 most senior commanders of our armed forces was rumored to be connected to his third term agenda; these have not sadly been enough lessons for Nigerians to draw from.
To effectively drive home the point rather than beat about the bush, it is clear that Nigerians have allowed themselves to be stabbed in the back by the APC and their change mantra. But unlike Julius Caesar, lack the moral grounds to cry… “Et tu, Brute?” This is so because from the onset, discerning minds free from sectional or/and religious sentiments ought to have seen the empty-people-driven ambition for power schemed by the APC and her cohorts to ride to political power with no intention to deliver practical dividends of democracy to the people. We shall continue to wait upon the implementation of such campaign promises ranging from bringing the naira to par with the dollar, payment of the 5, 000 Naira to unemployed Nigerian youth which had earlier been roundly voted against by the APC Senators.
To save face however, the leadership of the party had given a press release on the 6th of November, 2015 that it will commence the implementation when it is subsequently captured in next year’s budget…not for unemployed youths anymore as earlier promised, but to 25million most vulnerable Nigerians. The matter arising however is what criteria will be used to adjudge who falls amongst the most vulnerable… Perhaps the bulk of them will come from Duara.
Although Olisa Metuh may have spoken from a party’s point of view after the 5, 000 Naira saga in the Senate, of the APC showing “Monumental hypocrisy”, and getting into power by means of deceit and false promises, Nigerians must not rest on their oars to see that the APC realize their promises. But to whom do we seek returns on democratic dividends when all we wanted was a change that further promoted the status quo of corruption, ethnic affinity especially reflected in the appointment of H.E. kin men from Duara to fill most sensitive positions in the center in the guise of appointing trusted folks; while jettisoning and reinterpreting the concept of federal character?
Governance was birthed within the framework of the social contract theory wherein the legitimacy of State authority over individuals and groups according to Thomas Hobbes, necessitated the consent of the governed to give up certain rights in order to guarantee the protection of other rights by the state without which society could be in a state of constant flux.
Although the spirit of the social contract had inspired the formation of various forms of government like democracy which we practice, the question of the natural rights of equality, right to life and association among others as argued by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and other liberal scholars are greatly lacking in Nigeria where for instance, all past political office holders not of the ruling APC are considered corrupt and daily haunted and hunted by the “consequences of their past actions”, and the anti-corruption institutions like the EFCC, whereas their colleague are enjoying fresh political appointment after they had been beatified by the Nigerian Senate.
The Judicial arm of government and her role is increasingly been compromised and circumvented to favour the ruling APC. All of these further alienates the ordinary Nigerian, without any faith in the institutions of the state, the average Nigerian will be favourably disposed to brain washing for whatever cause there is to follow, including terrorism against a repressive system. This is suggestive of a country sitting on a powder keg that could explode at any time. With these in mind, it is not out of place for major political actors in the country to expect a unfair field of play as we approach the forth coming elections especially in Rivers, and Bayelsa States. The battle line is therefore been drawn and I pray the fear of another round of blood bath in the name of politics and election do not manifest itself.
At the end of the day, most Nigerians are witnesses and knowledgeable of the political culture in Nigeria. It is therefore difficult to conclude even when it seem glaring that Buhari’s APC succeeded in deceiving the Nigerian people. It was the extreme gullibility to sift practical campaign promises from mere deceit that had landed us deep in this quagmire.
David Odey
Is a Historian, Public Affairs Analyst & Social Commentator
