GOVERNANCE AND POLITICS BY PROXY IN NIGERIA: WHO IS TO BE BLAMED?

GOVERNANCE AND POLITICS BY PROXY IN NIGERIA: WHO IS TO BE BLAMED?
By: Komolafe Emmanuel Dare (KED)

Quote of the Day:
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” - Late Nelson Mandela

In a dire situation in Nigeria where our nation needs a thorough restructuring ranging from political to socio-economic and every restructuring that the Nigerian society can thik about.

Despite our diversities in the area of our culture, ethnicity, language and tribe, it is evident to note that the hallmark of every of our political administration and governance has always been aimed at arriving at the best Nigeria to which we can be.

The main bone of contention lies in what I call ''Governance and Politics by Proxy'' and by this, I choose to paint a scenerio common to our Nigerian society of people holding political class whose worth, qualities and value speak less of the kind of positio they hold politically in ruling the masses. It's not a new thing in Nigeria where someone who hardly passed through the higher citadel of learning and have beneath him leagues of Professors, Professionals, Bureacrats and Technocrats whose high education cannot be anyway compared to what our political officers are known with.

What prompted my view on this is a need to have a paradigm shift in the course of our governance in Nigeria. Comparing and contrasting of what is obtainable on the African continent and the developed world, it is of a surety that most of America's leaders are people who are highly learned and usually saddled with enough proficiency on blueprints of their own ideology on how to better run their economy. But, coming to Nigeria for example, the educational requirement for the position of the President in Nigeria is ''ordinary school certificate'' and this requirement helps the Nigerian people to shape the kind of political leaders we end up having at the end of the day and by so doing having ''Governance by Proxy''.

Through this development, it's successfully helped our nation to have different state where 'our technocrats and bureacrats' abilities are being under-utilized. When the person in the position of a leader in our respective political positions have little drive for the impact of investment in knowledge, it would always reflect in what they do and how to get things done in their own way.

And by this, I can say without mincing words that some of what helped our foremost Nationalists in Africa such as Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Late Sir. Herbert Macaulay,  Kwame Nkurumah of Ghana nd hosts of others was their untold ''investment in knowledge and education'' for most of their schooling was based in overseas and this helped them to penetrate, pursue goals and plans that the people enjoyed. Due to their educational background, it thus helped them to fight and win the war against ''colonialism'' and ''white-men'' rule in Nigeria.

And this is why the need for a clarion call to have sets of people in the next election whose ways and philosophy of governance must be established and shaped by enough education needed to salvage this country from the mess it's found herself.

Going back to the days of President Donald Trump's campaign, he was found saying  that as a result of people's misconception of some of his speeches which was usually been  exposed to criticism usually written by his Campaign Assistants, the time for him to write his speeches were at hand and which this took a new turn when he wrote his acceptance speech himself. But, coming to Nigeria, we have leaders who are acclaimed too busy to do what's needful at times and in that delegates some political assignments to special advisers and bureacrats for them to handle.

Educated and visionary leader will enhance visionary followers and the time where need to have to have accountable and responsible governmental politicians is now! People who would turn the tone of things around and who would completely abolish our Nigerian ''ruling by proxy"

where professionals and competent bureacrats are being hired to pursue shallow minded visions from unqualified political leaders. Enough is enough where we have those whose grades speaks bad of 'em in school but end up being leaders upon qualified and learned people who could have taken the responsibility of doing it much better. We need people whose soundness would be the tone of economic development, people whose integrity would help shape the governance of the Nigerian people. We don't want local government Chairman for example who has little knowledge  about governance but due to his access to money, power and fame,  uses  them all to buy people's conscience and end up recruiting personnels to help him fulfill the dreams he is not prepared for.

It's time to shine our eyes, it's time to make things straight and it's now or never. We are the masses and the power belongs to us and that's why our leaders selection come the next election should be with critical and standardized scrutiny.
It's our responsibility.