The world
over, the government of a nation exists, to bring general good to the
generality of the people. What may be argued, however, is whether this is true
of every government. The veracity or not of that statement notwithstanding, it
is expectedly known that every government exists for its citizens, whether good
or bad. What remains debatable is the extent to which the government serves the
people. This is undoubtedly, partly a function of the political awareness of
the people.
Operationally, “political progressivism” here defines an
ideological enclave that believes that the business of governance is the
provision of basic amenities for the people, and they go to any extent to make
these available to the people. “Illiterate voters” here are a group of
politically ill-informed party loyalists, enthusiasts, supporters and
sympathizers who cast their votes based on certain sentiments. To these, it
does not matter who the party’s candidate is. By this definition therefore, the
politically illiterate fellow may be well-read, maybe a Professor, but s/he
lacks some requisite knowledge of the political indices of inter-governmental
relationships and functionalities.
The Yorubas, of which Ekitis are a part, have one popular political
slogan: “omo wa ni, e je o see.” This literally translates as “he’s our child,
whether he qualifies or not, get him/her voted in.” Expectedly, such candidates
got into positions and fumbled to the chagrin of all that voted them into
power. After many such political errors, it seems that the other states in
Yorubaland, the southwestern Nigeria, except Ekiti state, have learnt their
lessons.
The progressive political experiment in Nigeria that began
in Lagos state, the commercial nerve-center of the nation, in no time, engulfed
other southwestern states, including Ekiti state. The rate of infrastructural
development became overwhelming and so, like an angry harmattan inferno, the
entire southwest was eaten up by the progressive flame.
Time ran past, and it was time for another election in Ekiti
state. Lo and behold, the unexpected happened. Rubbishing the achievements of
the erstwhile progressive governor, the candidate, considered by political
watchers, as the least qualified was elected by the people, considered, to be
the most well-read in the country, and therefore should embrace progressivism
as a hobby. As if the gubernatorial election was a magic, the presidential and
national assembly elections’ results were also overwhelmingly won by the party
of this same candidate even when the people of the state knew that the whole
country have decided to go the progressive way. The state’s House of Assembly
election too was worst for the progressives in the state.
To this extent, the progressive group/party in the state is
almost going into extinction. They are fast becoming a voiceless minority. Now,
it’s as if progressivism is an endemic sin in the “Fountain of Knowledge.”
The baffling thing in this whole scenario is how the people of
Ekiti would be happy to be in opposition in a federal system where the lives of
the states depend on the Federal government. Other states in the southwestern
Nigeria, namely, Osun, Oyo, Lagos, Ogun and Ondo, despite the perceived
shortcomings of their progressive governors in governance, for example, Osun
state civil servants are owed six months salary, still went ahead to re-vote
their progressive governors and also gave all their votes to the progressives
in both the national and state assembly elections.
Meanwhile, progressivism is nothing less than a plague, to
be seriously avoided, and it is as good as dead in Ekiti state. What I discover
now is that a good percentage of the voters don’t even want to hear anything
about progressivism. It is as if the last progressive regime in Ekiti committed
an unforgivable heinous crime, and thus, had exterminated and entombed the
party with his exit because even when one is in the leftist party but has
progressive ideas, such is quickly passed up.
What I seem to be missing, however, is the rationale behind
my people’s political behaviour. I had expected that no one would vote a
governorship aspirant, whom was the only one, among all, that had no manifesto.
I had expected that the patronage would wane after he came in and declared that
no physical project should be expected from him. What I seem to be missing is
how a state that is predominantly a civil service state hope to survive without
any federal backings, alleged huge debt profile – courtesy of the erstwhile
progressive governor – and with no other resources aside the IGR.
With a leftist party in the state and a progressive at the
center, and given all that transpired during the electioneering, what becomes of
my state within the next four years is better imagined.
