Prince Justice Faloye
Nigerian political elite are only driven by political ambition – ‘will to power’, using their cultural identity for Emilokan or to agitate for states, regions and political structures, to bring power closer ONLY to themselves for elite Prebendalist exploitation of the commonwealth.
A Machiavellian ‘will to power’ and authority with no responsibility, as they refuse to constitutionalize the very cultural institutions that are the source of their cultural norms and mores. Cultural unhinged, morally corrupt, fooling themselves to be Universalists/Modernists,.
They only wear the cultural toga to move up the sociopolitical and economic ladder, but are not interested in the cultural mores, philosophical foundations or economics. They even demonize the most important elements of the culture they use to climb, like Esu and partake in our epistemicide, killing of our cultural knowledge systems.
It all goes back to the psuedo independence, with the skin color of the colonist changed, but not the institutions of colonialism. After learning the colonizers language and colonization methodologies, in order to takeover political power for self centered reasons, they convinced the masses to back their push for independence, which was just a grab for power, without the moral responsibility of the cultural sphere that they claim to represent, so we ended up with more corruption and deprivations than the white colonists dared.
The armies eventually overthrew them, claiming it wasn’t about the skin color but the uniform of discipline or lack of it, but still didn’t change the colonial institutions, and failed to satisy the people they claimed to save from corrupt politicians. The political elites once again convinced the masses that if they can get back the peoples power as a democracy, the people shall be in paradise. Once again, they got back power, only to leave the people disappointed.
Tinubu, one of the leading pro-democracy agitators, was to turn Lagos into his personal fiefdom for 24yrs, before getting enough money and power to subject the entire Nigeria and whip us into line with the same colonial beliefs and institutions. Just like in the slave camps, the people were not to eat the fruits of their labour.
Never again shall we agitate for power without asking more than change in power holders, as it is not the color of the enslaver but the system of slavery. The political elite want the whip of the slavemaster, but keep their people in the plantation economic system.
The colonizers usurped our governance to colonize us, then claim they were giving us independence but with the structure of coloniality in place.
We demand not only political restructuring to make our political elites in control for representative democracy, but a social contract that includes economic restructuring to afford the common man food, housing, education, employment and health, and cultural restructuring to input and sustain our moral values, starting from our traditional institutions infusing our cultural values in INEC and other political structures.
Only then can we talking of true freedom, not only for political elite but for all.
Prince Justice Faloye President ASHE Foundation
