Let me start this article with the preamble that language would have been robbed of its beauty if certain words are not differentiated by their opposites. That is why every language has a way of distinguishing between man and woman, male and female, good and bad, light and darkness and others.
Unfortunately, this linguistic dichotomy that enables people to communicate well in language has become a source of labeling. In Nigeria, this linguistic distinction of words has been taken to a ridiculous level by our politicians. We know or are made to know that there are two breeds of Nigerian politicians: the “saints” and the “sinners” as if these are absolute terms. They say it as if a saint has no sin or that a sinner has no virtue.
Hitherto, such classification used to be between the conservatives and the progressives. In the 70s and 80s when Marxism was in vogue all over the world, it used to be between the “leftists” and the “rightists.” Later, it morphed to a confusing nomenclature of “a little to the right and a little to the left” paradigm. In other words, such a politician is not completely “leftist” or “rightist” in his political ideology. Members of some political parties in the West have always seen themselves as being in the “progressives” camp since Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s defunct Action Group that held sway in the First Republic as if others are devoid of any progressive features.
The major political parties in the North and East, the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) and the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) led by Sir Ahmadu Bello and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe respectively were regarded as conservatives. The NPC was seen by some southern politicians as reactionary party while the AG is synonymous with action.
Despite these confusing binaries of identities, all the three major political parties competed and fared well in their domains. The developmental strides of the then three regions were phenomenal even without oil and gas.
Before the 2015 general elections, some political parties and individuals from the North, East and West came together and formed a merger of some political parties into what is today known as the All Progressives Congress (APC) to unseat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The APC came to power on the mantra of “change.” Perhaps they want to change what the PDP has allegedly done wrongly. Majority of Nigerians embraced the “change” message and the rest is now history as we say in local parlance.
But, since the inauguration of Muhammadu Buhari as President over two months ago, have Nigerians got the change they want? The answer is beyond the yes or no alternatives. The answers will be varied and depend on who is providing them as well.
To majority of APC people and their supporters, Buhari has done marvelously well since assumption of power. To them, his visit to the United States is a clincher as well as his fight against corruption. Some say electricity supply has increased but nobody has cared to verify if the improvement is as a result of what the past government put on ground in reforming the power sector or that we are in rainy season where water at Kainji Dam is at its peak. Whether the visit to the US yielded some goodies or not, the APC regards it as the highest in Nigeria/US diplomatic relations so far.
Even when some well-informed Nigerians are criticizing the way and manner of Buhari’s anti-graft war and insisting on due process and fairness, the APC cheer leaders urge him on. Even when Governor Rochas Okorocha has boasted that the APC will rule Imo State for 24 years, the party chieftains applauded him. They forget that a certain PDP chieftain from Abia State made a similar sinister and unfulfilled prophecy in the past.
Even when one Dr. Junaid Mohammed, an APC sympathizer and unrepentant Igbo-hater that derides the South-East on any issue including an innocent submission on unfair distribution of Buhari’s appointments, so far, by former Anambra State governor, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, the APC leaders nod their heads, clap and dance in agreement.Buhari has ruled Nigeria alone since inauguration for over two months without ministers and key officers of government and the APC is singing aloud that all is well and fine.
Now that the government is probing only former president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and his aides, all is good and fine to the APC even when concerned Nigerians are opposed to selective probing. Nigerians had wanted an all encompassing probe that will go back to 1999 when the rot started but Buhari and APC will never hear that.
To the APC, all PDP politicians are “sinners” while those in APC are “saints.” That is why the alleged Nigeria’s missing billions of naira or dollars are stashed in PDP members’ houses. Nobody cares if some APC “holy apostles” house some of the loot. Since Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State resolved to probe the administration of his predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi, the APC has cried blue murder as if we are not in a season of probes.
Buhari should muster the energy to probe certain APC chieftains that some Nigerians are pointing accusing fingers at, on corruption allegations. He should also probe some APC states, where the opposition parties are alleging monumental corruption and probe anybody alleged of corruption irrespective of party affiliations.
As I have earlier reiterated in some of my recent articles, the current probe should go beyond the Jonathan’s administration. It should not be allowed to distract from real governance for which Buhari was voted into power. It should also go beyond the “saints” versus “sinners” dichotomy.
I say this because the sainthood chanters in APC are not entirely free of corruption too. It is not in doubt that saints and sinners abound in APC and PDP. Labelling any PDP politician that has not been convicted of corruption charges, corrupt, is stereotyping.
The shout of “ole”, “ole” belongs to the lynch mob and should be discarded in defining who is a rogue among our politicians. The story of corruption in Nigeria and who is corrupt, should not be told by APC alone to avoid what Nigerian novelist, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, regarded as “the danger of a single story.”
There are many sides to the corruption tale in Nigeria. For the fight against corruption to be effective, all corrupt politicians, whether in APC or PDP should be investigated.
Like the renowned Ghanaian writer, Ayi Kwei Armah, rightly predicted in his novel, The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born, the morally upright (saints) among our politicians are still in the womb.