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Dapo Ogunwusi
I know many people will bristle at my rather lavish perspective. But I set down my opinion against a backdrop of history. High office and its trappings of opportunities and corruption have left us with a lean closet of heroes in this part of the world. We face indeed a future legacy of breeding a race of sub-humans as the fabric of our moral values gets whittled to shreds over time.
Zany wealth and incurable ego have been the veritable leftovers in the custody of those who came to power in this land. Troubling tales of dubious lucre in secret accounts and assets all over the world form the texture of the stories we hear of our men of power. They are often aided by the minions appointed by the state to prevent corruption. Security agents teach them how best to steal and ‘clean their mouths.’ They teach them how to make ‘anticipatory declaration’ of assets on their Code of Conduct forms, while bankers show the way in hiding the loot. It is a grand conspiracy against the realm.
One after the other, the men of power come and go, each expedition leaving us sadder and poorer than the last. The signal impact as we are powerless to do anything about it is that society patents lawlessness as an arm of its law. Indeed, it became unusual for anyone to come to power doing the right things and executing governance without ill motives.
What was wrong became right and what was right became odd. Nobody was expecting anything different. Nobody thought there would be a radical departure from the way things were done. I had trawled the streets at Yemetu-Adeoyo where Seyi hawked token consumables before going to school in a bid to find an answer to his style. Indeed I grew up on those streets too. I came back from my search more confused than before. But I must deal with other issues first.
Days were when Nigerian students were the nation’s last line of defence. Those were days when the nation waited to hear from the ivory tower and labour unions for progressive direction. They were days when promising lives were lost for the ideals of a better society. Today, we see student leaders in the homes of politicians partaking of the feast of infamy served on the burning platters of their future. Student leadership now thrive on dark cultist connections rather than the romantic dream of a better nation. It is just a token sample of how far gone into the abyss we are as a nation.
We lost it all right. Problem is, where exactly?
Then the troubling questions: Are we able to replicate the ideals left by the nation’s founding fathers? If we are, are we really trying anything in that direction? We are all in throes of infinite regression. The past keeps looking better than the present.
Then Seyi Makinde came. Indeed, when he came, it was apparent nobody gave him a chance. Nobody expected him to be better than the past. Nobody saw in him a worthy reason to invest a premium of hope. He was sworn in and then came the avalanche of progressive activism. Seyi rolled back decades of resignation as to the possibilities of power. The night suddenly bright. One positive step came after the other. Brave, nimble of vision and steady of feet, Seyi Makinde stunned the nation. He recalled in many a new glimmer of possibilities. From school fees to Amotekun, he dazzled all.
On the Wednesday, March 19, the Oyo State governor led the PDP in a mammoth rally with all and sundry in beautiful party attire. It was a rally too many as it provoked loud noises from a latent army of opponents and other public-spirited individuals. COVID-19 was in the air, a number of cases had been confirmed. With the nation sporting such slender abilities in dealing with any major crisis, it seemed the last thing anybody would want to do was a huge rally, especially for purely ceremonious considerations. And that is the major crux of this piece.
Seyi Makinde did not indulge in a blame game or try to hype away the error. He came clean and accepted he was wrong. That sort of honesty and humility is another rare commodity in our market of power. He snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat and endeared himself more to people. This fellow is a most usual commodity. There is a lesson to be learnt though.
Seyi Makinde needs to appreciate the fact that he has revived a new dream in the hearts of many. He has showed so many things do not belong in the realm of impossibility. Many people who saw politics as a dirty game are now seeing it is as much less so. We now see how a peasant child from a nondescript suburb could hold aloft the flame of hope in governance. In that he has dispensed himself so creditably.
The silent query in every heart is when next are we having another Seyi Makinde? When next are the downtrodden having another champion in the game of thrones? The burden on Seyi Makinde’s shoulders are greater than imagined.
For that reason alone, he must not drop the baton. His swiftness is oiled by the hope of millions who pray that one day a Makinde will take supreme office in the land. Then the poor shall toil no more and the hungry shall weep no more. I urge the gentleman, Seyi Makinde, to see his race as not finished yet. It has only just begun. And one day when Nigeria rises from its latent slumber, it is people like him we shall look for.
• Ogunwusi, a former editor of The Nigerian Tribune, is a legal practitioner
