Mass Defection: Politicians Squandering Their Mandates, Losing Goodwill Of Nigerians

ANA President, Denja Abdullahi

The Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, in the wake of gale of defections that has arrested the Nigerian political space, has said that these ‘prostituting’ politicians have only squandered the goodwill they won in hey days of this administration.

In a statement jointly signed on Thursday by the National President of the association, Denja Abdullahi and his Assistant General Secretary, Maik Ortserga, lamented that instead of reforming Nigeria, these politicians now chose to fight over power, blocking each other’s personal ambitions at the expense of the common good.

According to the statement, the panics caused by politicians rationalizing their conducts, yelling so loudly about biases meted out on them has led many to wonder whether the leadership class in Nigeria will ever get it right.

The statement reads in part: “As the 2019 general elections beckons, the media has recently been inundated with news of Nigerian politicians switching lines, disconnecting and connecting new political cables and raising new convertors to ignite their political luminosities.

“The big question, therefore, remains where do all these leave the people? This question is very apt because one does not need a crystal ball to see that the recent gale of defections and shenanigans coupled with the brazen display of impunity by security services are being done within the narrow confines of individualistic concerns instead of the broader concerns of the people.

“The bad news in all these is that these political inadequacies are stretching our democracy to a breaking point. It is sad that politics in this country is still not in the interest of the people several years after the country’s return to democracy.

“Corruption and impunity are still rife and institutions are still dysfunctional. The current defections are not driven by fundamental ideological consideration.

“Thus the practice of politics by our leaders has fallen short of the standards of democratic governance.
“When an individual no longer feels a sense of responsibility to his society, the content of democracy is emptied.

“As the umbrella body of writers in this country, it is not just important that we point out the non-progressive nature of these defections and shenanigans by politicians.

“We feel bold to remind the actors in these new direction of events in the country to be wary of the anger of the people which has been inflated to a bursting point.

“To borrow Chris Okigbo’s words, ‘…Let them remember thunder when they share the meat.’ They should remember that they are accountable to the masses and that the day of account will soon come in 2019 when they will realize how impossible it is to say no to the thunderous will of the people.

“A word is more than enough for the wise and for those who will listen and act true to the thrust given to them by the masses.”