By Sesan Temitope Olawande Esq
Ado Ekiti.
As thousands of voters would be trooping out today to exercise their franchise; determining their destiny for another four years, I must first congratulate those who sailed through the huddles involved in getting their voter cards. Kudos, it is indeed a battle won.
If man was be to God, I would be part of the angels who will have no second thought to condemn those who failed to get their PVC to hell. They contribute largely to making Nigeria a hell on Earth.
Many people have failed to grasp the real understanding of the definition of Politics as war, and war as politics. For any pedestrian, the meaning is the employment of the instrumentality of force. Well, may be , but No.
The first and the last, let me even say that the major war to fight in any politics that tends to promote peace, tranquility, good governance, security all round as well as actual and somatic development is “IGNORANCE”
How do I mean? Looking critically into Plato’s republic and Aristotle’s definition of Politics, I conclude that a government is meant to make the citizens happy. That is the major reason and responsibility of any government. But the numbers of the handlers of government and the level intellects are very cogent.
According to Plato, there are Five major types of government and lineage of politics: Aristocracy, Timocracy, Oligarchy Democracy and Tyranny. Please read this Icons very well later.
Aristocracy is the best of them all, it is devoid of much ignorance. It is a government of the highly trained, morally sound and intellectual. Timocracy is the son of Aristocracy. He takes over after his father’s death and maintains the track but in a degenerated form. Timocracy gives birth to Oligarchy and it also takes the lane but in a degenerated form.
As new generations are coming in, the standard of knowledge declines while the level of ignorance increases. Oligarchy is also a government of the few powerful warriors but with little education but the impact of the residue of knowledge are still felt in the society even though it is little.
Don’t forget the standard of knowledge are talking as the fathers are dying while the numbers of handlers are increasing.
Oligarchy will definitely fail in war because of the lack of ignorance, then the people will revolt and Democracy is birth. Democracy would have been the best government since it is eradicating leaving government into the hands of the few but because of the wide and wild ignorance of the populace it becomes their own instrument to destroying themselves and giving birth to tyranny.
Tyranny therefore takes the people back to the very condition in the state of nature; war of a against all.
In Nigeria today, is our democracy not tending towards tyranny? A country where there is no security? Where kidnapping is a business, where cybercrime is glorified? Where bestiality is celebrated? Reelihions became vendor and to mention but few.
Are we informed?
Ekiti state is always regarded as fountain of Knowledge, How true? What impact has the numbers of professors we have, has on our human and capital development? This remains the state that has zero industrialization, where politicians still distribute meager amount to buy votes, where young and old unemployed graduates brandish weapons during elections all to get a meal for the day.
Series of governments has claimed to restored our values, we should even first ask ourselves, what are our values? and how valuable are the values? Has there being any restoration? What are the yardstick to measuring our development overtime?
We must again rewrite our history. This is the time re-direct or enhance our path of the current experience. The outcome of today’s poll is the major pointer.
Let me make this clear to all. Let no one sells his or her vote, no amount given to you today by any politician that can wash away your poverty. These politicians only remember you when they need your numbers not your brains or your mouth on key matters.
Is it their faults? Of course neither absolutely YES nor NO. Well, Complex! a sound mind would say.
But Why don’t we make our voice known through our powerful PVC?
Lest I forget, very Importantly, INEC, the electoral umpire must know that history will not be kind on any manipulator. They must eschew whatever pranks that may set the atmosphere ablaze.
Security operatives should also allow the will of the people. They must protect the lives and properties of voters without intimidating anyone.
I want to believe no reasonable youth would allow any political merto continue naming them Saul, Lazarus and tools for political merchandization
I am sure of it that the best of the candidates will emerge because Ekiti people are Now better informed politically overtime.
Good lucks and best time to all of us voters in Ekiti today.
The writer, Sesan Temitope Olawande Esq is an Ado Ekiti based Lawyer.