By Prof. Protus Nathan Uzorma
In one of his great books (Aesop’s Fable), the great philosopher Aesop told a story of some mischievous boys and some frogs. The story goes thus, “Some mischievous boys were playing on the edge of a pond, and catching sight of some frogs swimming about in the shadow water, they began to amuse themselves by pelting them with stones, and they killed several of them. At last one of the frogs put his head out of the water and said, “Oh, stop! Stop! I beg of you, what is sport to you is death to us”.
The above story is a big lesson to Imo people. What appears to be a political fight, the battle of right and wrong, the game of intension and above all, fight for the realization of ambition which to all politicians is a justifiable political sport is leading to our ‘death’. One of the rules of St. Benedict in leadership is, “Let him (the abbot) always think of the account he will have to render to God for all his decisions and his deeds”. Bearing this in mind will enable the leader keep constant guard over the actions of his life. Today in Nigeria, politics has become a thing of do or die affair. Why? The answer is obvious, everybody wants to lead. The world loves a leader than a follower.
Criticism is a disinterested endeavor to learn and propagate the best that is known and thought in the world. As a renowned social critic, I wish to state here that my criticism is informed by my desire to see things done the right way. As Christian Nestle puts it, “The legitimate aim of criticism is to direct attention to the excellent. The bad will dig its own grave, and the imperfect may safely be left to that final neglect from which no amount of present undeserved popularity can rescue it”. Franklin Roosevelt concludes, “A radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air”. And I am one! Always ready to say the truth to my generation though he who understands (this single truth) is a lonely man.
I am here to say the truth which many including the opposition group can attest to. Like Lenny Bruch would say, “Liberals understand everything except people who don’t understand them”. Yes, I am most gladdened when I am misunderstood on the basis of the truth because there are two times in a man’s life when he should not speculate about things; the first is when he can’t afford it while the second is when he can. In the words of Elbert Hubbard, “The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can’t be done is usually interrupted by the man doing it”.
Now and based on conscience, Frank Crane enthuses, “Out of action, action of any sort, there grows a peculiar, useful, everyday wisdom. Truth is rarely found by the idle. Nor is it the result of deep and long study. It is a sort of essence that is secreted from a concrete deed”. For St. John Bosco, “Cheerfulness, study piety-that is the programme of action that will bring you happiness and great spiritual merit”. Yes, doers get to the top of the oak by climbing it. Dreamers sit on an acorn, not ready to appreciate any good work particularly when it comes from an enemy. Ben Franklin confirms the above when he asserts, “All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable and those that move”.
Our leaders must learn a bit of human kindness and like Shakespeare, “Yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full o’ the milk of human kindness”. William Penn supports, “I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again”. For Mahatma Gandhi, “I live in the hope that if not in this birth, in some other birth, I shall be able to hug all humanity in friendly embrace”. Having constructively criticized various political administrators, I wish to appreciate the fact that human nature is usually embattled by ferity.
I will not be as those who spend the day in complaining of headache, and the night in drinking the wine that gives it. Gratitude is the least of virtues, but ingratitude the worst of vices. In the words of Ausonius, “Earth produces nothing worse than an ungrateful man”. Samuel Johnson infers, “A man is very apt to complain of the ingratitude of those who have risen far above him”. According to Shakespeare, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child”.
It is always good to be disciplined; only in the matter of personal conduct is the need for discipline questioned. But if politicians believe standards are necessary, then discipline certainly is needed to attain them. Emmanuel Kant says, “Man must be disciplined for he is by nature raw and wild”. Therefore, those wishing to run for elective position in 2023 should know that discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes ability. Our present day politicians need a stern course of self-discipline, self-simplification, a rearrangement of character, a launching anew on a higher level of spiritual aspiration. It is only when this is done that humanity shall begin to appreciate progress.
Today in Imo state, many people are defecting from one political party to the other; in fact, the most shocking, being that some members of the State Working Committee of PDP recently left the party and joined APC. As a true Nigerian, I am not against this because it’s their constitutional right to do so. What I can’t explain is the moral justification for such decision. Is it that the same people who came out on different electronic and print media and openly castigated Gov. Hope, have suddenly realized that he is not a failure as they claimed? They called Chief Uzodimma all manner of names and further went ahead and issued a statement after APC won the entire seat in Imo House of Assembly election condemning same as electoral fraud, the same people finally are singing political doxology for Gov. Uzodimma, is this political madness, or have they seen what the other opposition parties have not seen? How did they all abandoned the man who has been assisting them, paying their official bills (Distinguished Sen, Samdaddy) and treating them with love in such manner? Oh, Imo Politics!
Is Gov. Hope using his best political dexterity and magnetism to win the hearts of ndi Imo? Is he working political magic or miracles? Gov. Uzodimma, you should tell Imo people how you have suddenly become a center of attraction to some people. Is your Nicodemus political approach working out? Rumor has it that very soon some political parties and their governorship candidates will be endorsing you as their sole candidate, Gov. Hope, why are you doing this? You are seriously building bridges now, is it because you need our votes, or are you very sincere in making Imo better? Gov. Hope, are you a failure? My sincere appeal to you is to make Imo is stable in terms of security. Our youths are dying on daily basis; kindly make more effort in this regard.
Is Gov. Hope truly a failure? If he is, how come people are suddenly tilting towards him? For me, I will suggest that we need to be patience with God and watch as things unfold in Imo. Miracle must take place! Money politics will soon die natural death in Nigeria and all those leaders who create poverty and later return to influence people with pecuniary power, shall soon know that the superiority of falsehood over truth is but for a moment.
I am not praising Gov. Hope not at all, but I am saying that something more than the eyes can see is happening. So many people who called our governor a failure have come back to say “Hope is Good.” Ha, ha, ha! I just laughed in Swahili and Tianjin. Let every soul be sincere to this administration!! We need a good Imo and I pray the good must continue to overcome the evil. We are together!
In the words of Homer, “No man of woman born, coward or brave, can shun his destiny.” Yes, no one can shun his destiny! We truly need to come to the full recognition of the fact that we need socio-economic change in our country and in doing so we must be guided by rules and principles. We need political growth in the right direction and those who want to lead us should be sure that they are properly in the right conscience.