God and politics
SIR: Let me start with a confession to the effect that if people can be branded, then it would be correct to describe me as a 'Jakande product'. What this means is that I attended one of the secondary schools established by the Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande a.k.a Baba Kekere during his tenure as Executive Governor of Lagos State (1979-1983).
His critics then described the schools as 'poultries' due to the manner the structures were constructed. Alhaji Jakande is a highly respected journalist and politician of our time. An Awoist to the core. It has been widely acknowledged by public policy analysts that but for the December 31,1983 coup led by the duo of Buhari/Idiagbon, the achievements recorded during his tenure are yet to be attained by his successors to date be they military or civilian.
The turning point however, in Alhaji Jakande's political career was his appointment and his acceptance of an appointment to serve as a minister under the administration of the late General Sani Abacha in 1995. There would, ordinarily have been no adverse consequence to this appointment but for the fact that the June 12 1993 election annulment by President Ibrahim Babangida was still very fresh and very much on the public discourse agenda.
Many Nigerians, and I am one of them, viewed his acceptance as a disservice to Nigerians who participated and voted massively for late Chief MKO Abiola in an election widely accepted as the fairest and freest in Nigerian history. Alhaji Jakande was not alone in this category. There were others like Chief Ebenezer Babatope. Like a bad dream that refuses to go away, many public appointees of this era have been trying to rationalise why and how these appointments were accepted. At least, one can readily point to Chief Ebenezer Babatope's book in this regard. It was the considered view then and now, that had Alhaji Jakande rejected the Abacha appointment, the sky would have figuratively been his limit politically.
Alhaji Jakande's acceptance of the appointment was tantamount to political harakiri. We all remember vividly how having succeeded in tainting the political career of majority of his appointees who would have joined in the opposition to his government, General Abacha and his cohorts dumped them in a cabinet shake-up some months later in the manner popularly referrd to as 'use-them-dump-them', At this time, many admirers of Baba Kekere never ceased to wonder what or who convinced him to accept the appointment. Moreso, as Alhaji Jakande abstained from making any public pronouncement after being booted out by General Abacha.
One was therefore taken aback to hear recently that Alhaji Jakande finally spoke about this issue and he attributed his acceptance of to a 'voice from God'! Will somebody for God's sake tell me what God has to do with politics. The name of God has been invoked in virtually all spheres of human endeavour and there is nothing ordinarily wrong with this, afterall, even wars have been waged in the name of God. People have also been known to kill in God's name and we have a rebel group in Uganda called the 'Lord's Resistance Army'.
What, however, befuddles the mind is the incessant and nonsensical manner our politicians in particular have been using God's name. Please, remember that this abuse of the use of God's name actually started under the IBB dictatorship. Asked as to whether he would complete the then transition programme, he replied using the phrase In-Sha-Allah interpreted to mean �By the Grace of God�.
More recently, when President Olusegun Obasanjo was being interviewed towards the end of his first tenure as a civilian president in 2002 whether he was considering contesting for a second term in office, his response was that he was 'consulting God' and that as soon as he hears the 'voice of God', he would inform we, the lesser mortal, of what God has said concerning this matter.
This allusion to God at every available opportunity is to say the least rather opportunistic and unnecessary. Politics has been described as a dirty game and so it is; not with the numerous politically motivated and unresolved murders, double standards, endemic corruption and many more in this democratic dispensation. There is a quiet re-awakening amongst Nigerians, which our politicians do not yet seem to notice and that means that we are more discerning politically than we used to be. Politicians should be wary of using God's name in political matters because God is completely averse to the form of practice of politics as what is being done is 'do-as-I-say, not as I do'.
It is high time that adequate steps were taken by our politicians to ensure that they match their words with actions. That Alhaji Jakande attributes the acceptance of his appointment under the Abacha dictatorship to God is insulting to the intelligence of Nigerians and we deserve an apology for that statement.
Aramide Adeogun,
Lagos
