Politics is a phenomenon with multitudes of definition. To some it is a way of life and to another group it is a mind game. Unfortunately, an average Nigerian sees politics as a dirty and a dangerous game. For that reason, politics in this part of the world is regarded as exclusively reserved for the brave, the strong, the corny, the clever and sometimes the desperate. Apart from its fierce nature, it is also a unique kind of game, it’s a game of numbers and a game that is personality based. It however becomes beautiful and interesting when different personalities with their individual peculiarities come together to achieve one and the same goal by serving a common interest.
To this end the success or otherwise of a political organization is not dependent on the compatibility or incompatibility of the different constituent personalities but by their commitment to the organization’s common interest. This simply means no matter who the players are, what matters is the common goal they share. A little wonder we can have people like our present President, Muhammadu Buhari and an obviously directly opposite Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in the same party, pursuing the same goal despite their differences in personality.
In present day Nigerian politics, there seem to be a loss of identity because majority of Nigerian politicians now assume the same personality, which has erroneously been tagged “politician’s personality.” Many people now believe there is a definite pre-determined personality that one must assume before he or she can succeed in politics. That is why you will hear people use expressions like “Birds of the same feather,” “six and half a dozen,” among others to generally describe our politicians. Many exceptional professionals, famous technocrats and even well respected clergy have been entrusted with the people’s mandate based on their personality but once they enter the office, they quickly shed their original personality and start playing to the gallery transforming themselves into who they were not. This accounts for the reason why a handful of politician in Nigeria have been able to carve a niche for themselves, endear themselves to millions of Nigerians, stay relevant and make headlines all year round. Those handfuls are politicians who have retained their original personalities, despite being neck deep in politics. In present day Nigeria, only a few political gladiators fall into this category, but for the purpose of this piece, I will only mention 3 of the few; President Muhammadu Buhari, Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo and Gov. Peter Ayodele fayose of Ekiti State.
Every honest Nigerian can testify to the fact that President Buhari won the 2015 general election, which was his 4th attempt, based on his personality and not his party or even his reputation. Despite being an introvert who is not given to much words, he has over the years been consistent because his personality is yet to be tampered with. This gives Nigerians the assurance that he can deliver the change he promised, if he does not compromise all through his days in office. Unlike PMB, ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo and Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose are one and the same, one of a kind, more like father and son, they are both extroverts, to the admiration of many Nigerians and to the disgust of a whole lot of others. But one undeniable fact is that over the years, they have refused to alter their personality, they have not changed a bit, the candour of office and executive life has not been able to wash off their personality and that is exactly why they are winning and having a great influence in their territory.
Olusegun obasanjo fondly called OBJ has ruled Nigeria twice, so we can conveniently refer to him as a National politician, which accounts for his popularity and enormous influence in all the nooks and crannies of this country. His personality over the years can be easily predicted. He loves being in the news and he knows well not just to jump in ongoing events but he successfully generates news and give the whole country something to talk about for a long time, which has earned him the title of a ‘trouble maker.’ I believe you can all remember his 18 page open letter to President Jonathan, the tearing of his PDP membership card among others. Apart from this, OBJ is famous and well known for his public display of ‘ordinariness.’ By this I mean things you will never expect from a Politician of his calibre, things like; dancing, tying wrapper, drinking gari (cassava flakes) on video, going to school and most recently leaking ice cream at a public gathering among others. All these things have earned him the reputation of a grass root man, a man of the people. Another popular trait of OBJ is his craftiness, both in words and in action, when dealing with other politicians as well as his ability to stand up for whatever he believes in through thick and thin, and he is always unapologetic when trying to get his desires. With all these peculiarities OBJ has successfully stolen the heart of the grass root who happens to be the majority in Nigeria.
Like father like son, Governor Fayose of Ekiti State is just like a carbon copy of OBJ, they have similar personalities and that is why they seem not to be getting along because it has even been scientifically proven that like charges repel while unlike charges attract. Governor Fayose, just like OBJ is a ‘troublemaker’ in the dictionary of many Nigerians, he has successfully mastered the act of waking the sleeping tiger, his campaign adverts against President Buhari is still very fresh in our minds, his London pictures of PMB, his legalization of stomach infrastructure and recently his humiliation of some late coming civil servants among others are there to show us that just like OBJ, Fayose knows how to generate news. Still like his ‘father,’ Fayose has stolen the heart of the ordinary man in Ekiti State and beyond through his public display of ‘ordinariness’ by eating in a road side restaurant, patronizing roadside traders, driving a tractor, riding on an okada (a commercial bike), singing and dancing in public are all pointers to the fact that he is equally a grass root man. Thus, he has been able to successfully identify with the masses of his state, no wonder they call him the people’s governor. Still like OBJ, Fayose is crafty, corny and clever at the same time, he knows when and how to pull his publicity stunts and how to use his influence with the masses to his advantage against his political rivals. He knows how to tickle their fancy, recently he appointed a 72 year old carpenter as a Local Government Chairman, he awarded a contract of 1.2 Billion Naira to local carpenters in the state among others. Likewise he has shown that he is not scared of standing against the world with his unrelenting criticism of PMB and his administration, he is also unapologetic when articulating his points.
To many Nigerians, these men are crude and sometimes uncivilized, but the truth is that considering their background, that is who they truly are. Obasanjo is a son of a farmer from Ota and Fayose was a danfo driver. What has really made them prominent is their ability to retain their personalities and not trade it for the paparrazi of executive life. In a similar vein, we have people who are not from humble background but who have been able to retain their personalities, such people include; Governor El-Rufai of Kaduna State, former aviation minister, Femi Fani Kayode, Gov. Rochas Okorocha of Imo State. These are politicians people refer to as being charismatic; therefore being charismatic means being you and being result oriented at being yourself. Do you know it takes a rich and robust sense of humour to be yourself at all times? One can then safely conclude that Sense of humour is an integral part of self confidence. Therefore if you know someone who is battling with inferiority complex, the best thing you can do for him or her is to help him or her discover her funny bone and develop his or her sense of humour. Humour is the cheapest ticket to Long Life and Prosperity.
Written on the 4th of September 2015
A.K. AFOUDA SAMUEL LLB (Hons), BL
No comments:
Post a Comment