When a suspected criminal is made a federal minister and if the case is not an isolated incidence but a trend, then you have the Nigerian politics-which is largely a government of the criminals, by the criminals for the criminals.

A Savage Mark

By Adeola Aderounmu

When a suspected criminal is made a federal minister and if the case is not an isolated incidence but a trend, then it may not be unreasonable to state that Nigeria is ruled partly by criminals. What is more saddening than this is the obvious reality that the situation gets worse by the day.

Exactly 2 weeks ago l wrote an article titled A Savage Situation. It was to join the protest against the re-nomination of Mr. Obanikoro as a minister in the cabinet of Nigeria’s lazy and corrupt ruler Mr. Jonathan.

As it stands now it appears that Mr. Obanikoro was approved by the senate.

The fact that the name was not thrown out as soon as it appeared in the senate is also a confirmation that the Nigerian National Assembly is a den of touts and criminals.

The lawmakers who are opposed to the approval of suspected criminal Mr. Obanikoro and thereby staged a walk out during the deliberation process may feel hurt coming under a general classification-den of criminals. But it is not far from the absolute true situation.

To this day there are no clear information as to the several millions of dollars that is earmarked for the Nigerian National Assembly and the House of Representatives monthly. The general perception is that these houses are the most expensive to run in the world.

In the type of democracy that is practised in Nigeria the Nigerian National Assembly is a complete waste and so far a part of the embarrassment that befell Nigeria’s laughable and ridiculous democracy.

Which sane National Assembly will harbour a failed executive government for 6 years? Which National Assembly will look away with all the impunities, illegalities and extreme corruption in the land? It has to be the one with the same mindset.

It must take a corrupt National Assembly to tolerate a corrupt executive and to look away at the extreme rot in the land.

The man who heads the Nigerian senate has been around for a very long time and he has done a lot to contribute to the destructions of several institutions in Nigeria. Now he appears to have moulded the senate into a criminal-approving organ.  This is not the first institution he is poised to destroy.

David Mark’s name will be indelible in the history of Nigeria. This generation will remember him for the expression-telephone is not for the poor. After the reckless statement one of the treasured possessions of the middle and low-income earners in Nigeria, the land telephones became historic and disappeared from millions of homes!

David Mark staged-managed the approval of Mr. Obanikoro, a suspected criminal despite the strength of the opposing voices. In Nigeria this means that Ghana-must-go bags containing raw cash (probably in dollars) has left the presidency or central bank and emerged in the houses of most of the senators or their bank accounts.

This is an aspect of the Nigerian politics-which is largely a government of the criminals, by the criminals for the criminals.

The people of Nigeria, I mean the ordinary citizens constituting about 90% of the population who are living from hand to mouth and unsure of the next meal are long forgotten in the political equation in Nigeria.

There might be elections in Nigeria at the end of this month. The coast is not clear. Both the ruling party and the main opposition party are moving around with wardrobes full of guilt and rotten skeletons.

Mr. Jonathan has literarily emptied the Nigerian treasury during his recent relocation to South West Nigeria. He’s been holed up in the region doling out monies as if it comes from his personal inheritance. Such is the height of corruption and stupidity in Nigerian politics.

Mr. Buhari is back from the UK, has not spoken much at the campaigns in Nigeria and is funded by unexplained wealth.

Now Nigeria remains at the point where appointing a criminal into a government is normal because it is assumed that there are no saints in government or that we who are politicians are all criminals. It is amazing that the citizens are quiet as the impunity continues to reach record levels.

The ordinary people are in real trouble. The future is so uncertain. Bandits have taken control of governance almost all of the years after independence. There is nothing happening today that is new.

The probability that ordinary Nigerians will get a better life out of any government under the current arrangement is very slim. The chance is narrow under a system that is designed to oppress and suppress.

Change is not only getting rid of the criminals in all political offices and public institutions, it also means that the political structures of Nigeria and the various institutions at the federal, state and local levels need to be reassessed for their functionalities.

Change is when people look in the mirror and see whether they are ready to shed evil for the common good of all.

Many concerned citizens and organisations continue to argue for regional government or true federalism.

If change does not come from the ruling party and if change does not come from the opposition, the category of Nigerians describe above will one day learn that they have to take their own destinies in their hands.

Ironically both fear and hope have hindered the Nigerian revolution.

It always appears that something will happen in the positive direction, but after a while hopes are always dashed. In recent history hope was dashed in 1993.  In 2007, many people were dumbfounded because it was not EUREKA. In the last 6 years Nigerians have learnt many new lessons as hopelessness and evil overshadowed good and happiness.

The fear factors were well analysed by the late Afro-beat legend Fela Anikulapo. It is one of the biggest hindrances to freedom for ordinary Nigerians.

The downtrodden Nigerians need to get organised. They need to be formidable. They need to conquer their fears and rescue themselves from the wolves.

It does not look like the wolves are going away soon if a David-Mark senate approves a fellow criminals back into its fold at the executive level.

I don’t think the wolves and the oppressors are going away if they continue to empty the treasuries for one or two accomplices, for the selfish royal families, for the religious rulers, for themselves and for their families without any consequence.

The wolves cannot depart for as long as it is possible to gallivant with stolen and unexplained wealth.

To the 90% Nigerians suffering from the over half a century of political looting and economic suppression, your future is in your hands. A savage mark can only be erased by force and popular revolt.