The Real Political Enemies – Playing The Paymaster Scripts

It is no longer news that politics, in Nigeria particularly, has ceased to be what it used to be but is now entangled with obnoxious events not limited to division among ethnic groups, hatred of one’s kindred, deceitfulness, religious indoctrination, oppression and hands soaked in all sought of evil including bloodbath.

The common phrase, ‘politics is a dirty job/business’ may somewhat define the events we see in Nigerian politics today. Unlike other countries where there are just a few political parties to contest in a poll, Nigeria, despite the recent deregistration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), still has on its ballot 18 registered political parties, all expected to participate in the coming elections.

The problem, however, is not the number of political parties we have in this part of the world, but the atmosphere stakeholders of these parties have created year after year.

It is four months left today for the citizens to again decide by votes a new breed of leaders to champion the affair of the country. Having suffered a series of hardships caused by bad economy, the latest song out there is ‘my candidate is this, my candidate is that, our part is this and yours is that’.

Candidates of top political parties have been seen here and there making promises, each having handy solutions to the problems that have bedevilled the nation.

Are They Our Real Problem?

The politicians, Yes, are they our real problems in Nigeria? The truth is, whatever the intention is, whether to deceive or intimidate the electorate into making a choice they will ordinarily not make, they (the citizens) still hold rights to their individual choices.

Unfortunately, while some citizens understand that they truly own the right to choose whom to vote for or against during elections, their intuitions have been bought with a prize. While money has truly played a major role in buying off the original choice of many, some are ordinarily bought by indoctrination through their religious heads, mentors and those who influence their social life.

In all these, half-education or none at all has also played its way into buying the conscience of the electorates from the grassroots. Many of whom are now made warlords by their paymasters.

Ambitious politicians in this part of the world could go to any length to fulfil their desires, using their well-paid warlords, corrupt religious leaders and even ‘moneyvists’ who parade themselves as activists.

How Nigerian politicians get sound sleep at night after putting the ‘walls’ against each other has become yet another unsolved puzzle. One will only imagine how exactly does their mind work? Do they still hold in them any atom of conscience? I mean, how do people created in God’s likeness become so immune from the good that they now boldly declare black as white, right as left and evil the new good?

Nigeria has suffered already a series of roadblocks to a strong democracy. This goes to all levels of government. The conflict triggered by political competition and communal, ethnic, religious or resource allocation rivalries, all of these posse a major threat to democracy in this part of the world.

However, should all the blame go to the politicians? what about the people? Let’s dig further…

Atiku Abubakar Meets Tinubu At Abuja Airport

Among the top presidential candidates in the 2023 race is former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Traditionally, the two political veterans could be considered as ‘enemies’, especially with the 2023 general elections at the door. However, in what comes as a disappointment to those playing politics blindly, Atiku and Tinubu met on Monday, October 17, 2022, in Abuja.

Naija News reports that the duo met at the VVIP lounge of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. Atiku and Tinubu were seen in a viral video exchanging pleasantries.

Tinubu, who was on his way to Kaduna State for the Arewa Joint Committee Interactive Session, accompanied by his running mate and former Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima and APC chieftains bumped into Atiku who was also in the company of the embattled National Chairman of the PDP, Iyorchia Ayu, and other party stalwarts, on his way to his presidential campaign rally at the Ranchers Bees Stadium in Kaduna.

The development which trended for the day is an eye-opener to many Twitter-born politicians who wake up every morning to banter with their next neighbour in support of their so-called best candidates.

Have You Figured Out Yet Who The True Enemy Is?

Just like Tinubu and Atiku met each other physically with smiles despite political differences, many events have unfolded that should have really lectured some Nigerians that they are been used by their political paymasters who behind the door are all the same.

The political class undoubtedly have been playing the electorates like they play chess games. However, only those with enlightened minds will understand their gimmicks.

Average Nigerians have been made to deem politics as a religion, form partisan warring sides, cursing their loved ones and peer to play out the scripts of their paymasters who are simply playing them as chess pieces (pawns mostly).

Unfortunately, the repetition of these events year after year has resulted in the loss of lives, and bloodbaths and rendered many homeless. Properties worth fortunes have gone down the drain from events caused by the miscreants who have been brainwashed into dirty politics.

A Nigerian author and researcher, Michael Bush in his piece published online early this year said, “Nigeria needs to fix this fundamental dislocation, urgently. Young people need to allow politicians or elders to have their fight in peace.

“Paymasters know themselves and their interests and how to sort out differences backstage. Politicians have a backroom where they meet to share a glass or two of understanding; which explains why two elders you heard cursing each other would later emerge in public hugging and laughing at the rest of us.”

You will at this point agree with me that the people, the grassroots politicians, the electorates are the real problem.

To further establish this, a Nigerian realtor, human rights activist and business consultant, Segun Awosanya, better known as Segalink shared his depth of knowledge with Naija News in this piece.

Here is what SEGALink has to say on who the real political enemy is in Nigeria today: “Our real political enemy is Nihilism and Voter Apathy especially as prevalent in the youth of the nation who are mostly sub-literates, impressionable and highly indoctrinated/opinionated.

“How do you heal the willfully blind who dive head first into needless crisis just to learn the hard way of what not to do?”

I am right, after all, in saying that most people who have been used as warlords by the political bigwigs during elections are less or not learned in any way. The few percentages who are learned and are held in high esteem purposely buy into licking the toe of the political paymasters to feed their mouth and not just for the vibes like many of those in the grassroots.

This Segalink addressed in his contribution by saying; “In cases of the educated, this is easy with the application of the learning experience and one’s enlightenment. But to those whose existential dilemma is ameliorated by their sojourn online…there is very little one can do as they mostly don’t read outside Twitter and social media spaces.”

The Media

The media also get a knock from Segalink who believe that half-truth is what most media outlets bake and feed their audience with. He asserted that many media will choose to turn blind eye to pieces of works containing ‘deep’ truths but will rather put out banters on social media.

“Even the fourth realm of the estate (The Press) have come to realize that their audience live mostly in a bubble and they spend very little time to put quality in gather pieces. Journalistic objectivity is a forgone culture and conjectures and sensationalism is the order of the day. There is hardly any hard truth or work of research you will send to the press that will be published, but they are quick to put out banters on Twitter and Instagram as an Op-ed. this is how decrepit our society has become where it is fashionable to be ignorant,” said SegaLink.

Sharing with Naija News from his archives, Segalink said: “Speakers of the truth were deemed supporters of corruption and a cult of emotional zombies coalesced on a national scale. Ignorance became fashionable without the apprehension of the future.

“These political illiterates were so committed to their ignorance that no relationship survived the onslaught. They forgot that they were being used as pawns in a war against democracy.

“Today the beneficiaries of that war have shown their true intent, but those under the strain of their identity politics of hate (Populism) may be too far gone beyond social redemption.

“We can make excuses for the illiterates but those with academic titles are too proud to admit they were wrong as political illiterates, demeaned, denigrated and relegated in a war orchestrated by strategic halfwits and socially maladjusted felons.

“They have hatched another rhetoric now that seem to shelter their guilt instead of admitting their blunders and seeking penance for their role in the needless deaths of thousands since they stampeded the aberration to power.”

Awosanya, however, charge the younger generation who still enjoy their youth and the luxury of making mistakes, saying “You will one day wake up to realize that youth is gone. If you believe in what you are tweeting, posting and saying, by all means, you can very well stay the course.”

He added: “But I believe you can make a difference by influencing and impacting your world via service to humanity.

“All I can advise is for each and everyone of us to find synchronicity (a lone time where the subconscious and the conscious state of mind have a consensus). This will show you the true inner meaning of your sojourn here on earth.

“This will show you a new paradigm in your struggle for peace, decency, justice, equity and fairness. The truth will always be out there. Let’s make Nigeria One nation bound genuinely in freedom, peace and unity.”

Richard Joshua Ogunsile is a Writer/Reporter with Naija News. Twitter: @JoshuaOgunsile