Opinion: THE PERILS OF A POLITICAL OFFICE HOLDER – CHINEDU NWOGU

Your name becomes honourable, Chairman, Onye ishi… and these names are supposed to be serviced with your hard earned money; most times money earned outside politics for those whose morality and spirituality bind them to legitimacy in their dealings.

When it’s time for WAEC enrolment in the village your phone rings severally, your kinsmen fall sick, your phone rings, even in the church, you are recognised and every naming ceremony, new building launching, harvest program, book launch, development union project launch etc, you are either the chairman or the chief launcher. And when you do what you can without impressing, you are both stingy and wicked.

From Government House gate to the gate of your final destination, Chairman, Chairman rents the air and you must drop for boys. Funny enough the society views all political office holder as a thief of some sort, as though their are no exceptions within the fold (which is big, fat lie because there are this sizeable numbers who has never and will not bow to baal), that’s why your old friends will tell you to observe table manners as in shut up because you are chopping. In reality though, the political space is replete with hustlers and scavengers but…

Meanwhile your legitimate take home pay hardly takes you home and except you have plans A, B, C and even D, you are doomed from day one. And the next time you ask them for political support of any type, they will abuse you and call you names.

Our society encourages evil and destructive tendencies; looting, over- invoicing, money laundry, delivery of poor quality work to maximise profit as to meet up with the “boys” and socital demands. At the airport, you are accorded a preferential treatment at a cost and so it is everywhere else, as soon as you come out of your gate on daily basis, it is expected of you to have a bag of money (raw cash) in your booth that your share around everywhere you go (like MTN) or else you have failed the society… where are we supposed to get that kind of money from except to steal and loot.

We had this Prof in UNN then, his trousers and the ground were serious enemies, infact he invented the now fashionable jumpee trousers and he “got lucky” and was appointed to head the electoral institution in his state, he came back few years after with his old clothes and everyone called him a fool, that was a man who will not accept bribes and gratifications to change the figures in favour of the highest bidders.

Our society has become both amoral and immoral that’s why the other day I read of an alleged Yahoo kingpin arrested in Umuahia and the comments on the thread I read was unbelievable, some said why harassing him after all the money he stole was not from Nigeria, others said after all he invested it and gave employment, another group even said he is persecuted because he was pro-IPOB.

I overheard a lady the other day telling someone that she cant befriend any boy except he is a Yahoo boy, that she cant kill herself.

Hardwork, dreams and pursuits of them are now out of fashioned. Our sisters, brothers, wives, kinsmen are pushing us hard to loot and bring home as national cake, the same people are abusing governments of poor infrastructures and not doing enough.

My advice to all political office holders and aspiring politicians is please have a 2nd, 3rd or even a 4th address outside of government house, build something for yourself and see politics primarily as service otherwise you will succumb to the pressure of Nigerians who want to have their cake and eat it.

Politics is not a career, it’s even expected that you garner experience elsewhere and then deploy same in service of your community and constituencies as it were, not this striving to jump from SUG president to President of Nigeria with Alooter (sorry Aluta) mindset as your only CV, bottomline build an experience profile, build your personal economy outside politics, it helps you to stand your ground when you must, it helps you not bow to unknown gods, it helps you call the bluff when you must!

And again no mind them, bleed as you blood reach for after looting and sharing to them, when EFCC picks you, they will be the first to jeer…

He that has ears let him hear!