WHEN an accomplished professional returns home from the Diaspora to contribute his quota to the development of his country, it ought to be seen as an act of patriotism and compassion. Against this background, the conference on the role of members of the Diaspora, which took place recently, in Abuja, must be aptly situated as a deft strategic move by government to mainstream the vast human resource outside the shores of this nation hitherto excluded from developmental calculus.

The story of Sam Omede, a member of the Diaspora community turned-political activist in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State, depicts the experience of most members of the Diaspora community, who silently travel on the ravine path of Nigerian political space with grit and determination.

At the inception of the Fifth Republic, Omede and a host of his kind felt satisfied with their hold on the proverbial Golden Fleece and decided to return home to join the renewed effort at nation building.

With flickers of fireballs in his eyes and spurred by unbending conviction that the socio-economic fortunes of Nigeria could be turned around for good in a short while, given her humongous human and material endowment, he wasted no time in engaging the political class in consultations. In practical terms, he became a political entrepreneur dealing in favours, handshakes, baby kissing and promises. He reached out to the weak and needy, piling up goodwill and building support base to service his political ambition.

Indeed, he became the centre of his network of influence. Driven by raw passion and energy, he courted party leaders and achieved a reasonable degree of bargaining power with them.  Thus, in 2001, he decided to run for the Chairmanship position of Oredo, the premier local government council in Edo State.

The government in power under the new democratic experiment at the time in question did not seem to share the sense of urgency, passion and vision of the American returnee. On campaign grounds, the common refrain of the highly motivated and energetic Omede was that oil resource was not the greatest asset of Nigeria but  human resource.

At the heart of his programmes was free education for the increasing number of young persons who were out of the school system and dangerously roaming the streets. Furthermore, he canvassed the idea of providing one free meal for school children, not only to improve their nutritional intake but to attract the children who were in the streets to go back to school.

These set of ideas and programmes, lofty as they were, were at variance with the belief and motivation of government functionaries at the time. Like water, Omede tried to adjust to the form and flow of the authorities, wooing them to buy into his vision. It soon became quite clear that what mattered to government leadership was the creation of structures that would entrench a culture of manipulation, exploitation and sleaze. Omede did not fit into the scheme. In a swift move by the masters of shenanigans and malarkey in power, they entrapped and snookered the polity.

And with a bemusing somersault, government announced the postponement of local government elections, opting to put an interim administration in its place. Omede was curiously appointed as Care-Taker Chairman, Oredo Local Government Council.

The appointment was either a trouble shooting master stroke or a test of his willingness to play ball. From every angle it was a landmine! But his super- charged sense of moral indignation rejected any form of condescension and compromise. During his short tenure, he out-rightly rejected, at his peril, sundry incriminating demands and compromising pressures from high quarters.

He could not simply fall in line and in less than two years of inauguration, the Care-Taker structures were prejudicially pulled down and Omede was again caught in the storm. He vainly fought hard to return through the ballot box but the behemoths in power had long perfected their plan to install their proxy in his place through a charade of an election that was primitively executed.

Omede realised that his intoxication with transformational ideals impressed no soul in government. The oddity of his ideas and his person in the midst of government functionaries and hangers-on was eternally irreconcilable. The powers that be had planned to systematically suffocate his ambition as they dissembled their intentions and poked their noses mockingly at him. In reality, he ran into a notorious patronage system that was hostile to sound development initiatives and long term plans. The system that was in place in Edo State at that time was inherently corrosive.

In order to sustain it, the government manipulated the mechanics of the party in such a manner that barricades were erected on the way of outsiders. Only accomplices and cohorts of the powers that be were appointed or supposedly elected into positions. For the vast majority of the masses, they were pauperised into submission; happy to be mere onlookers and praise singers of their rulers, struggling over the crumbs that fell from the master’s sumptuous table. The crumbs not only kept them alive, but it prepared grounds for their continued exploitation and pauperisation.

Propelled by the energising belief that the people possess the power to change their government if it becomes oppressive or fail to achieve the purpose of setting it up, Omede jumped the compromised ship as the vicissitude of the political situation dictated.

The only option, going forward, remains to continue to fight for political space, to inspire other men of goodwill to join in the crusade and to remain a beacon of hope for the up-coming generations!

Goaded by can-do-spirit, he took the struggle to the masses party – The Labour Party, hoping to galvanize them into playing more active role in the polity. After all, the labour party is for the working class and the suffering masses. The Labour Party, in his calculation, could fly if committed leaders and activists join hands together to forge a new direction for it. He enjoyed the excitement that comes with mass movement and enterprise, and always gratified, by the sacrifice of personal concerns for the good of the society. Due to the zeal and commitment that Sam Omede brought to bear on the party, he was soon after taken up membership elected the State Chairman.

On assumption of office as State Chairman of the Labour Party, he met deep-seated internal discontent and schisms and a tendency to fly apart. He brought the party together as a united force across the State losing only a handful to a do-nothing but self conceited past leadership. Meanwhile, he had become more familiar with the political intrigues of the day. Playing the role of a broker, he negotiated a coalition agreement with the new government in power, yielding here and there, as found expedient and playing some rivals against others in order to consolidate his position. The coalition agreement was made possible because the state governor was a product of the Labour Movement and more importantly, because the government was working and responding to the developmental needs of the masses. But he seemed to have expected too much from such unwritten expectations and obligations and ended up scorched again by disappointments when reward for their support of government became a mirage. He may have learnt lately that rewards for political cooperation are received upfront in cash or kind. He may have realized also, that political relations are fleeting and expendable and that temporary political allies are mere bridges for crossing political gulfs.

For most members of the Diaspora community, the experience is the same. As it is commonly said, the source of knowledge is experience itself. The returnees found out that once you are estranged by distance for a reasonable period, the system tend to close up on you. You need to be a master broker to break into the mainstream of politics in immature democracies. It is not enough to be the torch bearer of hope or the purveyor of a new dawn.

Driven by patriotic fervor, Sam Omede did not only refuse American citizenship but has remained a proud Edo son who taught his children Edo language in America. To say that he believes in Nigeria more than Nigerians resident at home is to say the obvious. Never has his flourishing business in the United States lured into giving up. The only option, going forward, remain to continue to fight for political space, to inspire other men of goodwill to join in the crusade and to remain a beacon of hope for the up-coming generations!

Mr. Aiyevbekpen Osakue , a public commentator, wrote from Benin City, Edo State.