The greed for power can be very destructive and that's one of the reasons why politics is a terrible game globally. People would do anything to attain power and intoxication sets in after, they start misusing it and do things just for selfish interest.
Being a politician in the world we live in today should be about serving the people but it's the other way around. People choose their leaders and still go on to serve the people who are meant to serve them. During social studies in the primary class, we were taught the qualities of a leader and if we look around today, the majority of those who we put in office don't possess one.
It is pointless to blame the people who voted them into power because people can be very manipulative when seeking power, they make huge promises and end up not fulfilling any after getting whatever they want.
Every citizen of a country who is eligible to vote is part of the country's politics even though we can't refer to them as politicians. The term is used for people who are in power already but the truth remains that a country's politics starts with the citizens because these politicians didn't appoint themselves, the people did.
We did put them there so it all begins with us. Although corruption has eaten deep into the election system and rigging has made votes worthless many times but having one voice can go a long way in helping us set politics right.
Since we have the power to decide who is in the seat, people take bribes and we see different illegal activities happening on election day. Were the ballot paper or box responsible for the problems we experienced on election days? The answer is No. Humans are responsible and just because of selfish benefits, people misuse their electoral power.
Like I mentioned earlier, every citizen is part of the country's politics but there are levels to things in the game.
Aside from exercising my civic right to vote, I haven't gotten involved in politics at any level. After secondary school, someone wanted to help me get into politics. He got interested in me because I recorded meetings for landlords even though I wasn't their secretary.
Immediately he told me about it, I was excited because I thought it would be my ticket to making lots of money but my mom was against it. I remember clearly when she said that my dad was part of the union and he almost lost his life while fighting for the truth.
The man who wanted me to join the political party he was supporting was a bus driver and according to my research, he was just a mere thug used for disrupting the election. I turned down his offer but he wouldn't stop talking about how much money I could make if their party attained power and it became clear why everyone was getting into politics.
Sometimes I wonder if people always have pure intentions before getting into politics and get corrupted or if they always have this terrible mindset of just getting rich with their involvement in politics. If you look deeply, you can hardly pick out a good politician which is very disheartening.
If I had the power to be part of the country's politics now, I wouldn't hesitate to give it a try. It's a huge risk because people who refuse to dance to the beat of corrupt politicians end up being taken out of the system unexpectedly.
We have seen different ways they carry out this operation and the worst of them is assassinating the obstinate people who truly want to serve the people. Honestly, I wouldn't mind being part of the system because someone just has to show the people that there is a life better than how we are living especially in Nigeria.
If everyone is running away from making the change the country needs, these corrupt politicians will always find their way to the seat and the good governance we desire will never come to reality. We have seen how a lot of good people vanished from the system, and it would take the grace of God to see me through with my involvement.
There are a lot of changes I would love to make in Nigeria politics and the first of them is,
Transparency & Accountability in the country affairs.
Nigeria's politics lack these things and it's why our politicians are doing as they wish in power. Money is being embezzled while there are lots of projects that need to be attended to but because there is no transparency and accountability, everyone uses the country fund as it pleases them.
Sometimes ago, a Nigerian politician was arrested for embezzlement while in office. It was a ten-digit figure fraud and instead of the court asking how he spent the money, he was granted bail or half the money he embezzled and that was all. In situations like that, every project claimed to have spent the money on should be investigated and justice should be served but that will never happen.
Despite the wealth a country like Nigeria possesses, it's unbelievable to know that the nation is struggling with wealth and it makes me ask what the country's revenue is being used for when we cannot empower the military to tackle insecurity, build good roads, empower entrepreneurs, build good medical facilities and even quality education for children.
A transparent government won't be involved in corruption because the whole nation is involved. I will change all these closed-door meetings into a town hall meeting and it would be the end of secrecy in politics.
Politicians have successfully given people things to fight about and if we aren't arguing about Tribalism, it would be about religion. The country is like this because we aren't in one accord and one of the things I would do is to make the citizens know that we are one nation irrespective of the tribe or religion.
It would be challenging to get this done but if this can be achieved, a lot of problems will be a thing of the past in the nation.
I know changes like this would takes time and perseverance, but with dedication and the support of like-minded individuals, progress can be made.
