By Dele Sobowale

“For every folly of their princes, the Greeks feel the lash”.
Horace, 65-8 B.C.

And, for every politician who joins the Government of National Unity, GNU, or decamps true democracy is deferred.  President Jonathan won the election, until the courts say otherwise. Every member of any of the opposition parties, elected or not, who seeks appointment under the foolish contraption called GNU should be regarded as an enemy of our fledgling democracy. Jonathan should not even consider them.

Of the lot, the worst, and they are worse than armed robbers and area boys, are those who after getting elected on the platform of one party decamp to another taking the peoples’ mandate with them. If someone comes to us asking for our money in exchange for certain services and he applies the funds to some other purpose, he would be hurled into court and charged with 419.

Yet, after every election, several elected politicians steal the peoples’ mandate, right in front of our eyes, by de-camping to another political party -usually  PDP. One of such discredited politicians was outgoing Governor Ohakim of Imo, who was elected on the platform of PPA. He decamped to PDP; although we learnt from Olusegun Obasanjo, who practices the ethics of an alley cat, that he was planted into PPA in the first instance. From the day he crossed to PDP Ohakim, as far as I was concerned, was a “419 governor”. Nothing good would come.

Unfortunately for me, a Lagosian, the first examples of “419 elected officials” in the Fourth Republic started in my state when, my brother, Senator Wahab Dosumu, elected on the ticket of the Alliance for Democracy, AD, jumped to PDP. He was soon joined by Adeseye Ogunlewe, whose home-town is just 10  kilometres from mine. (It is enough to make one hide in shame). One was rewarded with the post of ambassador to an obscure country, the other, temporarily, Ministry of Works – for their perfidy. Later Musliu Obanikoro also embarked on the same journey to everlasting disgrace. He is now the ambassador to Ghana. I wonder what each of the countries hosting these ambassadors would think of the “Excellency” from Nigeria if they knew he could not be trusted with the peoples’ most precious belonging – their votes.

We are  at the threshold of another tsunami of politicians crossing carpets. The worst hit zone will be the South-West – if ACN allows a lot of “food-is-ready” politicians to join the party…

HABITS OF IRONY – 3
“But what do you say on GEJ’s humility?…..”
I have brought back part of the text message published last week because an important point was raised. Last week, I ended by stating that “the sooner Jonathan discards “humility” and takes on other attributes of leadership the better. The first is to keep his words because great men keep their words. The second is courage. Moral courage allied with quest for justice is so rare that the few leaders who can achieve the two live forever in the esteem of their people.

The closest we have come to this in Nigeria was the brief government of the late General Murtala Muhammed. Perhaps he would have faltered; possibly he would have derailed if he stayed longer. Fate was clearly kind to him. But history does not tell us what might have occurred; it is a chronicle of what happened in the past. As Agathon, 447?-401?, irreverently reminded us: “Even God cannot change the past”. Like it or not Murtala Muhammed remains the top hero of Nigeria.

However, readings in history (remember I am not a historian) have taught that those Siamese twins of attributes of great leaders were best summarized by Jeremy Bentham, 1748-1832, who wrote that: “The greatest happiness of the greatest number is the foundation of morals and legislation”. Permit me to add, and of good governance.

Note that there is no injunction there to please everybody. John Quincy Adams, 1767-1848, the 6th President of the US specifically counselled that, “The great object of the institution of civil government is the improvement of the conditions of those who are parties to the social compact, and no government, in whatever form constituted, can accomplish the lawful end of the institution but in proportion as it improves the condition of those over whom it is established”. (BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p.79).

If Jonathan will do two things in the next four years, namely find out for us what happened to the $13-16 billion taken from the Excess Crude Account during Obasanjo’s regime, and prosecute, without fear or favour, anyone found guilty of corruption in that regard; and if he would rein in the voracious appetites of the members of the National Assembly, he will begin to enter into that hallowed Hall of Fame of great leaders.

THINK ABOUT THIS
“0807-397-3635
I do not blame journalists who take up lucrative political appointments after each election since 1999, as they are sure of being paid at the end of each month and becoming very comfortable in a matter of months and for the rest of their lives …Ifeka Okonkwo”.

It was Thomas Carlyle, 1795-1881, who called the press (and now media in general), the “Fourth Estate of the Realm”. According to him, government is more than the executive, the legislative and the judiciary branches; it must include the press as the fourth estate and a watchdog over the other three.

The questions I have been asking and which have been partly answered by my friend, Okonkwo, is this: what sort of watchdogs are these which depend on the handouts from possible burglars in the other realms to live? Are we, as a nation, not doomed when we allow judges, teachers and professors, religious leaders, traditional rulers, auditors and journalists (and Presidos of area boys), who should show the light, to abandon or subvert their calling for the money chase? Answer me, somebody!!!

67 AND GROWING WEAK
“Life is one long process of growing tired”.
Samuel Butler, 1835-1902
(VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p.131).

Good old Sam wrote those lines when he was my age, 67; a landmark I achieved Sunday, May 8, 2011. In the process of growing tired, I have also set another record by becoming the first male child in my family in over 200 years to reach 67. Will I reach 70? I don’t care. Let somebody else create that record. Each time someone says “you don’t look it”, I reply “But, I feel it”. I have to slow down. However, we have embarked on a new journey with Jonathan as ship Captain; I wish him and us the best of the voyage.

Thanks to those who sent me messages for remembering one of Nigeria’s weekly trouble makers. God bless you. My set, almost as old as me, can receive but not send messages. Otherwise I would have sent back a reply. Still, I appreciate the gesture.