Role of Political Parties in Extinguishing Terrorism in Nigeria

This is a quick attempt at analyzing the last election. This SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis will give us clarity to where internal terrorism actually kicked off into full blown phenomenon in Nigeria. The SWOT analysis of the last campaign has proven how irrespective of their sizes or victories, political parties have a major role in reforming the nation. 

At times, it seems that it is only in Africa, we fail to evaluate elections. We need to see what went wrong and how we can not just remedy it; but even avoid that same error in the future. Somehow it seems that the last election has a subtle affinity to the present terrorism we now experience in Nigeria. 


The trends show us that when terrorism began in Nigeria, it was gradual and at a point when the election was drawing closer. What the naïve will later call a religious war can actually be traced back to a political crisis. So, the way to reform a political crisis is not to shut our eyes to the root cause of it. By calling a spade a knife is silly. This is why I strongly believe that the unrest we are seeing presently can be calmed if the political parties can come together at some point.

The need for a round table discussion, and dialogue towards the way forward in terms of national reform must be mutually worked together. There is need to strategize towards  peace and unity in Nigeria. This is just one of the least good deeds these political parties can do for us as a nation. Another role the political parties can play among several is to consider incorporating opposition into reform processes in Nigeria. 


The plethora issues facing the nation require more than one ideology. There is no unity if the extinction, exile and excommunication of the opposition is all that is advocated by the ruling party. It is sad that when a political party lose in Africa, they don't want to have anything to do with the winning party and vice versa. The winning party rules without considering opposition party as partners who they can work together with in reform process of the nation. This is why implementation of laudable policies has been difficult because some people are not in support. 

In considering, the roles of the political parties in quenching unrest of terrorism in Nigeria, we must evaluate the last electoral process to realize how we got here; and avoid the repetition of similar error in the future. Firstly, this SWOT analysis of our last election reveal flaws in the selection process of the gubernatorial and presidential aspirants. Let us consider them step-wisely: 

The strengths: 
Many prospective aspirants trooped out that we did not expect. There was diversity in terms of the attributes and origins of those aspirants. We saw elites, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and even clergymen showing interests in rebuilding the nation. Since, that diversity reflected what we normally see in the West, we can say that in some aspect, Nigeria is moving towards development. Although, the pace of development seems slow, but we are getting there gradually. 


 The Weaknesses: 
We saw major components missing in terms of what it takes to rebuild a nation. One of the most glaring was the criss-crossing of aspirants regardless of the differences in their values-system. This evidently reflected in how the minority parties could not win where they might have won. The candidates were paired up based on ethnicity rather than their values, vision and victory records. 


In bid to do justice to the Geo-political zones and demands for ethnic-balance, the selection of candidates was totally flawed. So, what was the outcome? Some people saw those "mismatches" and felt that we are not there yet. Others were not discouraged along that line; but obviously the two schools of thoughts voted in frustration. Candidates who would have negotiated and made successful alliances were unable to do so because of that same mismatch of aspirants. So, the masses were not the only people who were confused at some point but the aspirants also were confused concerning who to form alliance with. This resulted in the way the electorate voted. Most people were forced to re-vote their incumbent leaders. Some did not vote at all. 

The landscape of our national politics, allow the electorate to culturally prefer the old to the new; especially where the new seems undecided. So most preferred the devil they knew to the angels they were about studying. The consequence of this was seen months later in wrong timing of the oil subsidy and some other socio-political issues. In terms of whether or not the country chose the right leader? The answer may not be audaciously stated. Why because the terrorism that ensued tells us that the nation may have done well if the present leadership were to operate within 100 percent cooperation of all the opposing parties.


The fact that we have chosen a seemingly "wrong" candidate, in a seemingly wrong time tells us that we need to start considering timing in choosing our next leaders. For history has proven how important it is, to discern the right time for candidates; especially when it comes to minority aspirants. Although, minorities may be advocating for their turn in rotational leadership pattern Nigeria has chosen, the timing may not be right. As we can see how many lives have been lost to terrorism in our nation?


 This is not to state that a particular leader was not good enough; but misjudging the timing for such leader to lead the nation might be critical. Leaders come in different forms. Some are natural pioneers, others are managers. It takes wisdom to discern what kind of leader, the nation need per time. And that goes beyond making ethnicity and tribes as a variable for selection. It may be the turn of your region, but if your region cannot present the kind of leader the nation needs, it is better we pass to another region and still live together in peace. 

Our primacy ethnicities have drawn us into more national problems than we can ever imagine. It has led us into errors in our electoral process. Among several other weaknesses we also observed that some missing part of the puzzle during the last campaign and election was: the lack of wisdom, inattention to the need for speed, the absence of strategy, absence of foresight, Inability of candidates to pay full attention to details.


Time would fail me to pick these points one after the other. But mainly, these are the missing link in most of the last presidential and gubernatorial aspirants we saw in the last Nigerian election. So, the ability to know what to do next; which we can call wisdom was a missing puzzle. 


It is not enough to be excited about joining the political race. It is vital to understand where does the road lead next? Many aspirants were just angry about the status-quo without actually presenting a better strategy that can change the status-quo. Some were just happy to be part of the political debates, just to prove a point that they are part of the national issues. 


These "me-too-aspirants" made the electoral process more complicated. It is much more important to know why, when, where and who leads the nation next. It is a mark of honour to see greatness in others and celebrate it, without blindly competing against them. Some people were just competing out of insanity!

 We also see that a lack of idea and absence of vision seems to be disturbing many of the aspirants. Some old leaders who re-appeared had nothing new to say. The challenge for crowning leaders who are at their wits-end is that we will be expecting a change, when in actual fact no change would be coming in a long time. So what role does the masses, the church and the youths play in all these? In ameliorating this kind of experience? We need youths who understand political intelligence. We need those who understand cutting edge governance as a matter of wisdom, vision, leadership, timing, development, strategy, and more.


 So, how can you come in? You can start getting diligent in your sphere of influence and field of practice so that you can support the future leaders in all ramifications. We have observed that lack of information is adversely impacting our nation. There are no reliable data-base systems, records that are substantiated with facts and figures. There are no cutting edge statistics that can support developmental reforms. So, when such components are missing, the aspirants have already failed ever before their campaigns started. Not to talk of when they get into office. 

 Another vital issue was that as we followed some of the political aspirants online, there were those who had no websites. Some were not even known except within their geo-political region. There was no deliberate maximization of the new social media. The internet was still held at a distant from the electoral process. We could not track the results of the election online, immediately they were counted. We were kept in the dark as the ballot boxes were trooping in. 


So, technology like we saw in the western elections was not maximized. If I was asked that do you think that the absence of details made the last election from campaigns to manifesto and eventual election not convincing enough such that the masses were unable to trust the results. As a result, it has led in part to the present violence and terrorism, we now see as a nation. I will say yes.


 This is why we must start looking forward to the next election now. It is not too early to prepare. We saw the absence of preparation in the last election. We saw how urgency was missing in the manifesto of most aspirants. We saw how goals were set without deadlines. In points of fact, there were no goals in sight for some aspirants and what they were proposing to do. How do you think such error can perpetuate trend in African politics? 

What are the opportunities? 
I hate to be one of the doomsayers. There are lots of opportunities awaiting our nation. The opportunities in Nigeria lie in the population. There is strength in our number. We have intelligent minds in our nation. Nigeria is one of the well-traveled nations of the world. We can bring the endowment of experiences and expertise of our travels into the governance of our nation. In addition, we can tap into the momentum we saw in the last election. The entire world was watching Nigeria. We saw international observers sat in our presidential debates. This was not a joke.


Another opportunity can be harnessed in terms of pulling the aggregates of our diversity in building our nation irrespective of our different alliances with political parties of our choice. Although, most aspirants will think that this is foolish, but I strongly believe that many of those who came out to contest can still pull the same resources, manpower and energy together towards reform. It should not be in who got the accolades so far the job is done. This will even boost their integrity towards the next season of election. The masses can see how fair you have played despite your losses, and support such candidates based on their strength of character. 

 What are the threats? 
Delay-culture is one of the threats to our national development. We lack the sense of urgency when it comes to time. What we observed during that last election was that we did not act until it was too late to make a reasonable progress. We saw the die-minute attempt of some political parties towards alliance. This was what they ought to have done immediately they started their campaigns. So, coming into the eve of the election and confusing the electorate is a threat to our national progress. 


The archaic methods of politics of the 80s and 90s must be done away with. We can no longer wait for the last hour before preparing the electorate for the Election Day. This fire-brigade, fire-fighting culture has not helped our nation at all. It reflects not just a weakness in our political transitions but it generally poses threat to our national lifestyle. Other threat that has already graduated into a risk is in the unrest and violence that erupted since that last election. 
Immediately the election was over, you will assume that sleeping dog would lie; but no! Among several, we saw the loss of lives, businesses, plummeting of our Naira in foreign exchange market. We saw how expatriates are scared of coming to invest in our nation. We saw the loss of international trades. We saw how the nation has become seemingly ungovernable since then. 


The implication?
You may ask how all these impact our national development? The violence and terrorism has driven many Nigerians out of their country to neighboring countries like Ghana, Chad, Benin, and Cameroun. These people are crossing borders to resettle. Many of them will re-marry, have children and make mix-blood descendants. 

The implication is that, there will be fewer full-blooded Nigerians in the next generation. 


Besides, another impact of this exodus to the Nigerian economy is that our national economy will continue to dwindle because the active workforce is being lost to other nations. People who are supposed to actually build the nation will be building another nation. The increase in this rate of loss will require that we invite strangers in form of immigrants, to sustain our country in the future. The sad awakening question is who will love to immigrate into "unsafe" zone? The threat we are now facing is not mere lower level of our national development; rather, it is even the national brand that we are impacting. We are writing our national history unconsciously.

Is it okay for a Clergy to run for Political office?

I was studying very recently and i came across some mind-blowing stuff concerning the connection between this Faith thing and the world system. What some people dont understand is that: this thing called Christianity is not a religion or a mere organized system of worship. It is more than mere dancing, shouting and clapping hands on some Sunday mornings! 
Talking about the need for the church to transcend her four walls in influencing the world system. It is a mandate! It is very crucial. It is a role that we are called to play. If we are not doing that, we are just fooling around! This Faith thing is beyond the four walls of any church location! We are the body which Christ uses in acting upon the earth. 


There are two important things worth noting here. We call them:
the knowledge of the glory of God; 
and there is another thing called: 
the knowledge of the wisdom of God.


Without understanding these two concepts, we cannot bring down the glory of God to bear on earth. For God wants his glory to be revealed. And this has to be done through His sons and daughters here on earth. So, in bringing down the glory! The prophet said in Habakkuk 2:14 
For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
 There is a connection between the heavens and the earth. And we must acknowledge that. We must not bring a disconnection through religion. These two realms depends on us. These two realms cannot connect without our deliberate bold steps. 
Psalm 19:1 said that: The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
 The heavens declare the glory of God. The earth has to be filled with this glory of God that was declared by the heavens. One of the ways these can happen is through the knowledge of the glory of God. The world system dont read up our Bible. The word has to become flesh in us first. So we are the epistle that men are now going to read. How can the world read us if we dont go out to where the world system are hidden? How can the earth be filled, if I do not contribute my own quota in the earth? For in this earth, I am the representative of God. I am meant to bring down the glory of God! I am supposed to bring into manifestation what is hidden in the mind of God. I am meant to arise and shine for the glory of God. It is through my idea, through my ideologies , through my works, projects and vocations that i can achieve this! This is where i can bring down His glory!  The glory of God must be revealed! All flesh must see it. The unbelievers have got to see that glory!  I must bring down this glory by all means! 


Believers should not be scared of going out to influence the world system! The political sectors inclusive! If individual Christians dont contribute their quota in all fields of life? We cannot bring down His glory. By merely warming up benches in our churches on Sunday morning, who will take care of these ruins? For the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it! (Isaiah 40:5). 
Martin Luther King Jr. was a Preacher before he left to lead the human Rights movement in the USA.That changed the Black History forever. Let us get out of religion! Daniel was knowledgeable in all manner of wisdom, (Daniel 1:4) he served under kings.  The Dake translation shed more light on how Daniel was educated in science, mathematics, archeology, history, metallurgy, anatomy, astrology,etc. It was in all manner of wisdom. He read all literature. Little wonder. He was relevant. Moses was trained in the language and the wisdom of the Egyptians (Acts 7:22). Moses understood how the Egyptians perform magic. Yet Moses was a minister of God who led a whole nation of Israel out of slavery onto freedom.  He had to confront the world power of his day. That time, you got to know what you are saying before confronting the king. Then, Pharaoh was like Barack Obama of today.


In bringing down the glory, we need the knowledge of the wisdom of God. Proverbs 24:14 said: So [shall] the knowledge of wisdom [be] unto thy soul: when thou hast found [it], then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off. We really need to search for this knowledge of wisdom in order to get it. That knowledge of wisdom has to be found. Why? Because there are two fold dimensions of benefits once we find it. 
The first is that: there is a reward. 
The second is that there is fulfillment.
Our individual expectations shall be fulfilled. Meaning that we have certain desires that will be fulfilled once we find this knowledge of the wisdom of God. Our dreams and aspirations will come through and true. They shall not be cut off once we find it. 
So, there is a reward coming from God. This is called a divine reward. 
Again, there is another reward. It is the material reward; which is our earthly gain for finding the knowledge of the wisdom of God.  
1 Corinthians 15:19 said: If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. There is still a Hope beyond this present scope of things. There is a hope which we must not lose sight of. It is the hope of glory. We will stand before the Lord to give account of our earthly works. Works shall be tested...passed through fire. Some works will endure while some will burn. 
How can you tell which of your work will endure or burn off ? I believe it is by understanding what God has called you to do. Each one of us has a calling to fulfill here on earth. Not minding misconceptions, controversies, and rejections. You got to find it and run with it! Just following your heart is the key. Answer your call. Read the signs of the time. It is getting late!
 To ask the question again: Is it okay for Clergy to run for Political office in Politics? I will let you answer. Personally, i will say yes! Why not? It does not matter if you win or not. What matters is that you stand out. What matter is that you stood for what you believe in. What matters is that you know what is right. And you did it. It may not be popular. You just choose to stand! Choose to be counted! Differentiate yourself ! Influence your world!

Potential for power shift in Nigerian politics!

Let me start out by saying, I am not a Political party member . I write this piece objectively as a social conscience stirrer. The writer of Proverbs once said: A crown doesn't endure for all generations. There comes a time when change begins. It begins sometimes in forms we least expect. Through the power of just one event, a momentum can pick up that will bring revolution to the whole nation. Through the action of a court of Appeal over a 2007 election that was rigged but rectified in 2010, a change has began. Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was sacked for rigging the Osun state election while the swearing-in of Rauf Aregbesola of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) can now begin. Can you imagine the length of time that took us? But it’s never too late to be right. That in itself may mean that there is hope. Things are turning up for the Nation. Sometimes, great changes don’t occur suddenly. Sometimes, they come in patches, in trickles until they engulf the whole state.

Another significant thing is that, we should give kudos to the Nigerian Justice System for the verdict of this appeal of Osun state 2007 election . This legal system has improved remarkably. The Judge and his team has made history. We are so proud of them. Can we say things are now getting better in Nigerian Legal system? However, it’s not enough to kick out election riggers from political office. But for wasting the nation's economy and spending such a lengthy time in office based on falsehood, such politicians should be tried at the law. The state should take this one step further. They should pay for their wrong doing. Justice is still incomplete by mere removal of election riggers. They should now pay for their corruption and falsehood!
This is how to stop future recurrence of the same evil.

We can optimistically say that, the Peoples Democratic Party had their season in Nigeria. Their time may be wrapping up already. They remind me of the days of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). The NPN was the reigning political party back then during the Second Republic which lasted from1979 till 1983. But where are all those politicians today? If ACN will maximize this pressure on PDP, they may achieve similar result that was achieved in getting a South-South Vice President shortly after former President Olusegun Obasanjo's tenure . It was pressure from the South that brought that change. If ACN pushes hard enough, they may ride on the power of this one victory in Osun state. Have you ever heard of the power of one? The epidemics of just one victory can set more victories onwards like a chain reaction. ACN should tenaciously go out on the other regions. Mount pressure on all fronts. Based on their new victory, they may divide the Northern camp. Although, they will need to have some buy-in from some influential people of the North. The power of momentum may be helpful in taking over more grounds in Nigeria. Never underestimate the power of one victory and the impact of one failure. Success breeds success.  Sometimes, a failure can be more catastrophic than expected or imagined. The people of Nigeria are fed up of the same old faces and their political deception. Let the power shift now!

Political Transition in Nigeria: Nigerians Awake!

As i peaked through the windows of internet, i peered into the present political transition in Nigeria. I began to wonder. As a speaker, is this the time to speak up? If we are not orientating people in the direction of National change; we may help them to attain temporal individual change, but the policy of the politics will squash that which we have planted in them. Is it true that we may need to review what we are speaking per time based on the immediate societal need? Martin Luther king moved from the pulpit to the Civil right movement..."I have a Dream!".If we sit in our arm chair , hiding in our corner under the guise of fear. We stand to lose all what we got.

It dawned on me that one of the things Nigerians need most at this season is to appreciate the power of standing up and getting counted. You have to stand up for something. And it does not have to be popular. But you got to stand up for something! The question is: Are we standing up at all? And if we are standing up, our stand for something could be our last chance to turn the tide around at this crucial moment. There must be a deliberate move towards democracy in Nigeria which goes beyond who you are standing with.It has to go beyond buying into the common bribery with some Naira notes to win voters' support.It is now a matter of what you are standing for!

I'm just thinking of the power of synergy and what it can create if the new breeds of Aspirants out there can tap into it. We all understand that there is a Global SHIFT. As it happened for Barack Obama & Hilary Clinton in the USA.It can happen in Nigeria beacuse it takes more than one of these New Breed of politicians to chase that devil of disorder & corruption out of Nigeria. I mean our National destiny is about to be shaped and birth afresh. I believe this is an era of the new breeds. There is a global shift in the world's political sphere. Everything that has been like monument is moving...the old order is shifting. It is no longer about the power of incumbency or godfather-ism. It is now about who is the man of the people? Who is that leader with a vision? Who is seeing the change? Who is the Aspirant of the future? And then what am i standing for?
Yes! "Maximus is the son of the future..." (we know according to "The Gladiator") but are we recognizing our own Maximus? Nigerians! Are we seeing the potentials of leadership in our Maximus? Are we identifying the leader with a vision? How are we supporting our Maximus? Do we understand that this impending shift in the global politics must not pass us by? This global phenomenon must rub off on Nigeria, if we don't want to fall in misalignment and out of sync. Going contrary will affect our international trade, economy and more? Hence, we are doomed for the next decade ahead! The moral is: Listen for the Manifesto and follow the leader with a vision. What are you doing to help the new breed of Politicians get into power?