Recently, it could be observed that anyone who doesn’t want to sing from the same hymn book or pray for the success of Buhari and the APC-led government is prone to be labelled unpatriotic. This is a very clever and seductive piece of propaganda. Obviously, no one wants to be seen as unpatriotic… However, this seeming clever piece of propaganda is an unpatriotic stance given that it undermines the essential element of the diversity of views inherent in democracy by attempting to homogenise views, goals, and ambitions in a single party or an individual. This may work for theocracy or feudalism, but not for democracy.
Sentiment works in Nigeria. Politicians and media pundits know and use it well. They are usually unsentimental and unapologetic about it. It works. It wins support. It is pragmatic. But what does that do for our budding democracy?
Democracy is not about agreements. It is usually far from it. It is also not about prayers. Democracy is more about disagreements, struggles, contestations, etcetera. It produces winners and losers. It is a game of numbers, which gives preference to the majority and marginalises the minority.
But the fact that many people prefer something doesn’t necessarily make it “right”. The minority can also be “wrong”. As such, democracy becomes an amoral space for the triumph of the many (the majority) over the few (the minority). As an amoral space, and the tyranny of the majority over the minority (according to Churchill, a former UK prime minister), where then does prayer come into it?
Although “praying” has become a defining characteristic of what it means to be a Nigerian, nowadays, one of the main differences between Nigeria’s brand of democracy and those of civilised and advanced democracies, is that in the latter, the disagreements, struggles, and contestations inherent in democracy seem to be “constructive” and civil. They are often geared towards, and anticipated to lead to, the betterment of society and the nation at large.
Unsurprisingly, democracy, as a system of governance, produces its surprises and weaknesses, which are largely beyond the State to address. This could be classed as “State failure” in the classic sense of a “Market failure” – i.e. where the market leads to some negative outcomes or is unable to produce some positive outcomes. The recent global financial crisis, for instance, is largely seen as a manifestation of both market and State failures.
In that regard, the failure of democracy through the State apparatus may necessitate other forms of complementary (if not supplementary) governance mechanisms – e.g. organised civil societies. One clear example is the case of the emergence of “food banks” in the UK created by the third sector and local grass-root movements to counteract the negative impacts of the austerity measures unleashed and orchestrated by the Conservative Party (a majority party). It is important to note that these austerity measures are not supported by all. There are some people, albeit the minority, who do not accept the assumptions made by the Conservative-led government of David Cameron in the pursuit of these measures. But that’s democracy for you.
In other words, democracy is not without its strengths and weaknesses. These strengths and weaknesses will obviously manifest in the All Progressives Congress (APC) led government of Nigeria. Some people will legitimately focus on the strengths, while others may choose to focus on the weaknesses – most opposition parties do this very well – in order to sustain the reproduction and strengthening of democracy in Nigeria.
“Shine your eyes” and unleash the positive energy within for positive outcomes. Asking everyone to pray for President Buhari to succeed is, unfortunately, not the solution but the problem.
The idea of singing from the same hymn-book, and for everyone to be praying for the success of the APC-led government in Nigeria, which seems to be the new mantra in town, as if this was not needed in the past, is nonsensical, bizarre, anti-democratic, and unrealistic. It is at best hypocritical, manipulative, and flamboyantly naïve.
Recently, it could be observed that anyone who doesn’t want to sing from the same hymn book or pray for the success of Buhari and the APC-led government is prone to be labelled unpatriotic. This is a very clever and seductive piece of propaganda. Obviously, no one wants to be seen as unpatriotic.
However, this seeming clever piece of propaganda is an unpatriotic stance given that it undermines the essential element of the diversity of views inherent in democracy by attempting to homogenise views, goals, and ambitions in a single party or an individual. This may work for theocracy or feudalism, but not for democracy.
Whilst President Buhari will be there for the next four years, anyone who doesn’t like the views of the APC party or President Buhari’s style should find creative ways of coping with them. That’s the danger and reality of democracy. You can also try alternative modes of governance – e.g. grass-root movements and the civil society route – to address some of the things you consider, or perceive, to be the shortfalls of the current government.
The quest for a better society cannot exhaustively be pursued and attained through the State, as a governance apparatus. That’s one of the grand mistakes we make in Nigeria, where the State is everything and all things for all.
Faith without good works is dead. The same applies to praying for President Buhari and the APC party to succeed – or being cajoled to do so – without contributing your quota of governance through other means. There is power and governance everywhere and outside the State.
“Shine your eyes” and unleash the positive energy within for positive outcomes. Asking everyone to pray for President Buhari to succeed is, unfortunately, not the solution but the problem.
Kenneth Amaeshi is a member of the Thought Leadership Forum (TLF), Nigeria, Visiting Professor at Lagos Business School, and an Associate Professor (Reader) in Strategy & International Business at the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Twitter handle: @kenamaeshi
