Spiritual values and Nigerian politics

BY IKECHUKWU UNEGBE

All the problems currently bedeviling the country, Nigeria, are man-made; and took years of leadership and citizens’ collective selfish ways to arise. We have dug pits and holes everywhere, and are falling into them headlong. Yet, a unique ability of man (woman) is the capacity to turn around and change his course or destiny. Destiny is the result of cumulative acts (thoughts, words, and deeds) carried out over eons; it is not an imposed order which may be exorcised by wishful thinking, praying and fasting. Nigeria can work again if only we follow spiritual principles in our dealings with each other. It may well be ‘to your tenths O’ Israel’ if the subversive actions from all sides continue much longer.

We are once again back to the season of intense politicking. Those whose career paths have led to national governance and leadership call themselves ‘politicians’. Under the umbrella of this name tag so much that haunts the imagination and conscience obtains. The average politician seeks to establish his/her own rules of engagement which should be seen as typical for ‘politics’. The issue of genuine service to humanity, which should inspire governance and leadership, is largely absent. Then, there are ever-present hangers-on, cheerleaders, who applaud at everything and never speak truth to their ‘benefactors’.

Politicians of the Nigerian brand gleefully talk about ‘no friends, no enemies, but permanent interests!’ For that reason, they often shamelessly crisscross one political association or party to another. That ‘philosophy’ would have been a noble disposition if the ‘permanent interest’ is one borne out of deep inner altruistic conviction and not just mere selfish interest. The so-called ‘permanent interest’ often lacks the spiritual ingredients for genuine nation-building. Rather, there is always another hidden (sometimes bare faced destructive) agenda. The agenda to grab power, authority, influence and amass resources, even if to the detriment of the very nation which the politician pretends to serve, has always taken the lead.

Interestingly, these politicians have also come close to the recognition that ‘all powers come from The Almighty Creator, God.’ So, they mouth these words to support their claim to cling to power, without understanding what ‘power’ entails. To be certain, all powers flow from The Creator, but not in the sense we seek to interpret political power.

The power in question here is and refers to the up-building developmental neutral divine power flow which streams into all that exists from the Divine and Spiritual realms. This power is released in pure neutral forms, and man/woman is given the ability to then transform the ‘Power’ for good or bad purposes. Once it is transformed it may bring upward or downward developments according to the expressions in thoughts, words and deeds of the human beings. So, it is not political power that flows directly from The Almighty Father, but those who wield political power are making use of power from the High Source, to which they remain answerable and accountable.

In the case of Nigeria, (like other countries) therefore, all of us citizens partake in shaping the destiny and future of Nigeria, according to the spiritual order just explained. We influence the direction in which the Power from on High may work; whether positively transformative or destructive!

However, the politician and persons in leadership positions in various agencies do have special obligations with regard to this power. This obligation arises from the fact that they occupy positions of high influence, and do affect millions of human beings through policies and decisions they make each second of the day. Our minds should go to the position of a president, governor, legislators, judicial officers, and security agencies, immediately.

Most occupants of these offices proclaim one religious faith or another. In particular, the career politicians carry the name of The Almighty Creator on their lips every second, and use Him to campaign for political offices. They claim He has anointed them, and ‘spoke’ to them to embark on their political careers. They also acclaim their worship of the One Almighty Creator. They even claim that they strive to fulfill His Will in all their actions. When eventually elected or appointed, they do take oaths of office which lay claim to such abidance. They soon forget, though, that an oath to serve humanity is a sacred covenant which must not be handled carelessly.

But in truth they exhibit double standards. In every day politicking they apply mostly ungodly evil principles which proclaim ‘the end justifies the means’! Their conscience is locked (bottled) up, and nothing matters except the ambition to grab power, political office and associated perks. They could indulge in rituals, occult practices, back stabbing, manipulations, lies, insincerity to get to their ends. In Nigerian politics all spiritual principles seem to be kept at bay.

For instance, in Nigeria, virtually everyone knows that the 1999 Constitution is a product of our military regime, which got infused into it, as expected, unitary political structure. Many conferences and academic workshops have been convoked to address this constitutional anomaly, and clear positions articulated; yet, those in political power continue to maintain dubious silence. One such proposal is the need to restructure the political space, as a way of giving the geo-political zones the freedom to expand and progress according to their inherent values and needs.

This includes both true federalism and true fiscal federalism. Despite the merit in this line of proposition, many political figures, that otherwise lay claim to fulfilling the wishes of The Creator, refuse to actualize it. They rather prefer the situation where an ‘all knowing’ central government controls most affairs that ought to be handled by federating units. They prefer a country derisively described as the poverty capital of the world; where millions of youths are unemployed due to the suffocating maladministration of resources at the centre. They prefer a state of pervasive insecurity instead of pushing for regional or state policing arrangements, as done in most other civilized climes!

Next, there is the overwhelming need to wholly heal the country and banish, forever, the ghosts of the civil war. Despite the vaunted ‘no victor, no vanquished’ mantra promoted by General Yakubu Gowon, immediately after the civil war, facts show that the ‘war’ has continued to be waged against the Igbos by Nigeria through other means. The Igbos have been strategically marginalized and left to remain outside the core governing structures of Nigeria for many years. A political solution called ‘zoning’ now presents a great chance to reconcile the Igbos of south-eastern Nigeria with other Nigerians, and fortuitously the rotational arrangement presents the position of the president at the door steps of the south-east. What do you find? The very same political class, who profess to cherish justice, equity, and fairness, suddenly jump out from other geopolitical zones to seek to scuttle the chances of the Igbos of the south-east to produce the next president come 2023.

Typically, fanciful excuses are manufactured and circulated, seeking to justify a clearly unjust act. Many now talk about power shift to the south, and become shy to mention south-east. South-west, south-south, northern candidates have started showing interest.

Some suddenly remember that there was civil war in 1967, and in their dubious interpretation of the war, it was Igbos that waged the war. Yet, the civil war was fought, among brothers, on principles of true federalism, and nothing more. Is Nigeria, as a country, not still bogged down today by those same principles over which the civil war was fought? Let us be sincere with ourselves, and agree that there is no true unity in Nigeria today.

Unity is lacking because we have abandoned spiritual principles in our dealings with one another. Let genuine lovers of Nigeria speak up now. Let us embrace in honesty the high values we ought to uphold as true citizens of one united country? Why are we no longer afraid of the repercussions that flow from the spiritual law of karma! After all said and done, one goes round ultimately comes around.

IkeChukwu U. Unegbe, Esq, can be reached via 0803-320-1244 and [email protected]