ibrahimdauda:
VESTED OR SELFISH INTEREST: THE ROLE OF THE MASSES IN BALANCING THE GAME OF POWER

The saying goes that what define a successful man are money, fame and power which can have negative or positive impact to him and or the people around him. But the question is how much money or power is enough? Many people think that power is all about authority, but, capital is power, knowledge is power, influence is power, authority is power, but information is the most important tool in the power circle if managed properly. The more information we have the more opportunity and power we have. Positive action converts dreams to reality.

Action is what produces results and in order to succeed one must remain consistent and to remain consistent one has to define his intentions and forecast the outcomes of his dreams. Taking the right actions and steps is what turns our dreams into reality. But not every action taken transforms our dreams the way we want. If our actions are not producing the desired results then, we must look at the process.

So in order to succeed we must first of all define our targets, objectives and a well-structured plan, then take the right actions to achieve the targets. It is also part of the success process to study what others have done in order to learn from their mistakes and their achievements. In so doing, one needs to be flexible in order to adapt to positive change in behavior and actions.

As humans we have the capacity to do anything as long as we believe in ourselves and are ready to muster courage and the will to remain consistent on the path we believe on. And to remain on the path of achieving our objectives, our vision must be driven by passion set on a clearly defined strategy of delivery and clarity of values and ethics, free flow of energy and bonding power that binds vision and passion, mastery of communication, information and human resource management.

One of our greatest strength as humans is to adapt or simply put to CHANGE. This word may seem very ordinary but, in it lays the basic line that separates success and failure. There are no any successful people or nation that has not gone through one struggle or the other in order to attain greatness. And in doing so, they must have done lots of trial and error before attaining perfection. The words trial and error connotes the ability to agree that what one is doing is not working hence the need to change. This however does not come without pains as time, money and lots of effort must have gone in to the system. So, the saying that there is no gain without pain comes to bear. Therefore, to succeed means to constantly change and adapt to new innovations and developments and by learning from mistakes we and others make.

Part of our problems as Nigerians, is our inability to adapt to realities of time and make sacrifice in embracing pains in the present in order to gain and save the future from pains. It is agreed though that in order to sacrifice as a people, there must be a strong commitment and will from the part of the leadership in terms of integrity, clarity of vision and focus on objectives and goals. It is simply a case of give and take. Government is a mirror of its people. If the people believe in and give government the maximum support, the government in turn delivers quality service to the people. But integrity on the part of the leadership is what earns a leader the trust of his people, which is the balancing factor in maintaining the good will of the people. So the question is; why are we not getting to where we are supposed to be as a country and as a people? I may not have all the answers but will attempt to from the perspective and context of the diversity of Nigeria categorize my answers in to;

a. Political interest
b. Tribal difference
c. Business/economic interest

All these can be summarized as vested interest. Which according to the Cambridge dictionary means “a strong personal interest in something because you could get an advantage from it” and according to Merriam-Webster it is “a special concern or stake in maintaining or influencing a condition, arrangement, or action especially for selfish ends”
This means that the only reason a person or a group of people will refuse to reason along the path of reality is because of vested interest. If we apply it to the categorization (a to c) above, it can be explained thus;

a. Political interest.
Because of political differences, no good may be seen in the intentions of the leaders no matter the level of their integrity, will and credibility. This difference may be intra or extra-party. Now the question I would ask at this stage is; what are our national interests as a country? By national interests I mean those things that are non-negotiable irrespective of party affiliation or interest. These are;

1. National security and protection to lives and property
2. Freedom of speech, human right & ensuring of justice for all
3. Provision of equal opportunity to all citizenry
4. Strengthening the economy and provision of jobs
5. Education, health and food for all
6. Defend and project positive image of the country globally

Irrespective of political interest or party affiliation, every Nigerian should make 1 to 6 above a non-negotiable priority. That is what is obtained in most developed and developing countries of the world. But in our own case in Nigeria, we tend to deliberately sabotage and compromise our own national security, sabotage policies and project implementation and destroy national assets and investment. Yet we blame the leaders for the crimes we individually commit. No nation survives while her citizenry frustrates and sabotage government effort. In Nigeria patriotism and national interest means little or nothing to but only a few.

So as long as one is not in the ruling party he or she finds it not important to project, defend and support national interest. Rather they find ways of thwarting any effort made to that effect. This trend is the same irrespective of which party is in power and must stop if we are to move forward.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) have seven (7) kingdoms (Emirates) but yet they have been able to define their national interest, objectives and priorities. They have their differences but when it comes to national interest, they unit and stand together. So is USA, UK etc. what is wrong with us in Nigeria?

b. Tribal deference
Tribalism and nepotism are yet other problems hampering our national development. The attitude of; family and friends in appointments, scholarships, admissions to institutions etc is a major setback which reduces the public and private sector to self-serving rather than national service. This is also a part of vested interest. Unless and until we put Nigeria’s interest first before personal interest, we will just be making a mockery of the word “national”.

Nigeria is not the only country in the world with diverse ethnic and religious divides in fact Nigeria is number 18th on the list of countries ranked by ethnic and cultural diversities (list based on Fearon’s analysis 2003). Papua New Guinea is by far the most heterogeneous country in the world, with hundreds of ethnic groups living within its borders. In addition, more than 820 languages are spoken. (@[NjQyMTgzOTU5MjA4MTA3Omh0dHBcYS8vaW5zaWRlcm1vbmtleS5jb20vOjpEZWZhdWx0:@[NjQyMTgzOTU5MjA4MTA3Omh0dHBcYS8vaW5zaWRlcm1vbmtleS5jb20vOjpEZWZhdWx0:insidermonkey.com]]).

Nigeria has over 500 languages, so if other countries that are smaller and poorer with more ethnic groups and languages can manage themselves why are we finding it difficult to manage ourselves? At the national level we talk of regions, religion and tribes. At the tribal level we reduce it to clan (same tribe different linage). At clan level we talk of family. At family levels we talk of either not from the same mother or the father favours one child over the other as in the case of those from same mother and father. So, when will it all ends?

c. Business/economic interest
This is by far the most dangerous of all aspect of vested interest. It is the cause of almost all the others. The extent Nigerians are willing to go in sacrificing National interest for personal or selfish gain is very disheartening. Outright stealing of public funds, vandalizing of national assets, assassinations etc. we have lost our moral values as a people and all most people think about and do is to make money by hook or crook. And always and as usual we blame government for the country’s economic foes.

One may say that government is just a name, it is people that drive government, but we all know that it takes two to tango. Corruption is a process that involves two or more people. But my argument is on the loss of values by most of our people. This cannot be unconnected with the lost or lack of will on the part of the leadership to do just one thing: apply the “no one is above the law rule” in dealing with anyone who breaks the law or do anything against the state or its people. We lost it long ago when highly placed individuals and their wards commit crime against the state and the people, and are let free just because they are rich or belong to the same tribe or religion with the people in authority. From that day Nigeria was doomed.

People with criminal backgrounds have found their way to sensitive and powerful positions in government, legislature and law enforcement agencies, thereby doing what they know best, to aid and abate crime against the state. If not how did we end up with budget padding? Why is it so difficult to give local government autonomy? Why criminals whom everyone knows have stolen huge amounts of money walk free with impunity? Why is it that it is mostly poor people and less privileged that are languishing in prisons and mostly either wrongly accused or convicted? The list is endless.

From my perspective, we are but a people confused and lost, pretending to be together when we know it is not true.

The solution to this problem is for the upcoming youths to ask themselves some basic questions and take their destiny in to their own hands by remaining united irrespective of tribe or religion. Some of the questions are;

1. What is the percentage of unemployment among the age groups in Nigeria?
2. What percentages of the unemployed youths are from the rich and ruling class?
3. What percentages of the employed youths are from poor background as a ratio of those from the rich or ruling class?
4. What values have the rich and the ruling class in the various communities added to the lives of the poor unemployed youths in those communities?
5. How many children of the privileged once have ever been seen carrying placards demonstrating, carrying files from one office to the other, wrongly convicted or jailed, involved in political violence?
6. How many children of the poor are in executive positions in government or in corporate organizations? Is it that they are not intelligent or hard working?

We know most of the answers to most of these questions. The truth is ethnicity, religious and all other sentiments are artificially created by the 10% who are the rich and the ruling class to create a class barrier between the rich and the poor (the 90%). But foolishly the poor tend to take up the madness more than anyone else.

Coincidentally this same poor unemployed class are the same people who constitute majority of the voters and year in year out they for a token of as low as fifty (50) Naira sell their right of electing one of their own who has integrity and knows their pain to electing a member of the vested interest class who will only enslave them the more. When are our young ones going to learn from the mistakes of our leaders?

The greatest weapon of fighting this social and economic menace is through the ballot. And it is the responsibility of the middle class who come from the same poor background to become role models and guide, support and educate the teaming unemployed youths to shun violence and refuse to be used by the 10% during elections. It is only by electing credible leadership both at executive and at the legislative levels can we do away with most of the groups representing the 10% who manages the vested interest cabal. These is why many attempts made in the past to execute good government policies that will bring succour and create opportunity to the masses are being frustrated. We keep on voting in the custodians of the vested interest cabal in to power and expect miracle? A word is enough for the wise.

DR Ibrahim Bello Dauda
ibdauda09@gmail.com