“One men” to build Nigeria

In October 2014 I led a group of Nigerian pilgrims to Rome and other places in Europe. There was this particular man in the group. He was the utility person. He was tall, huge and available. He carried our flag and made it taller than any other country’s flag in the places we needed to […]

In October 2014 I led a group of Nigerian pilgrims to Rome and other places in Europe. There was this particular man in the group. He was the utility person. He was tall, huge and available. He carried our flag and made it taller than any other country’s flag in the places we needed to fly our country’s flag. He was always smiling, useful and available to move difficult and heavy objects for every pilgrim. They gave him the name, “ONE MEN”. Ikem Owoh is a comedian that I love to watch any day. In one of his movies, he was quarreling with a lady who was really big and he told her; ‘Any man who marries you is already a polygamist”. She was too much for one woman. He was referring to the woman’s size. At the moment, Nigeria needs such ONE MEN!
Ideas that move a country to greatness come from the drive of one leader and have never come from the policies of one political party. America has always been run on such premise as they found out long ago that party politics only serves the interests of party men. From President George Washington who won the presidency on a non-partisan basis from 30th April 1789 – 4th March 1797, every other president has always been elected on partisan basis. But what is instructive is that except for some few cases, American voters do not allow one political party to dominate for more than two terms.
Religion, state of origin and ethnicity are no issues. Remember that party politics lost its grip on Americans a long time ago. They are listening to individuals and taking them by their plans and manifestoes. America and the rest of the world are looking for ‘super human beings’ the ‘ONE MEN’ in my analogy to lift their countries up from clutches of poverty and problems.
Taking the Nigerian experience into consideration, it is clear now that party politics cannot help our case. It is a recycling of the same kind of people. Those who were in APGA last year, are in PDP today. Those who were in ANPP last two years are in PDP today. Those who were in PDP last year are the party elders in APC today. The yea men of yesterday are the nay men of today. The villains of yesterday are the virtuous men of today and the saints of today will become the sinners of tomorrow. Neither PDP nor APC can save this country because human beings are the souls of the parties and if the souls of the party men and women are evil, the party will be considered evil. And in Nigeria, politicians have the same mindset and soul compositions. It has been movements of opportunists. A few examples will illustrate.
Prince Ọlagunsoye Oyinlọla, during the administration of General Ibrahim Babangida (1985-1993), was either a staff officer or a commander of an armoured unit.  He was appointed the military administrator of Lagos State from December, 1993 till August 1996, during the subsequent administration of General Sani Abacha. He retired as a Brigadier General in 1999. In 2003, he was elected governor of Osun State on the platform of PDP. He was re-elected for second term in 2007 but his re-election was challenged in the tribunals and courts by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. The case dragged in court for over three years until November 2010, some few months to the end of his tenure, when his election was annulled and Rauf was sworn in as governor. Four years later, when Rauf was seeking re-election, the table had turned and Oyinlola was on the campaign train of Ogbeni Rauf, singing his praises to high heavens. He told anyone who cared to listen in Osun that Rauf was the best thing that could happen to the state of Osun. He had changed party. He was in PDP, but now in APC. 
Mr. Peter Obi, drove the economy and life of Anambra state for eight years on the ticket of APGA. He also became chairman of the board of trustees of the party. But in the build up to the 2015 general elections, he not only dumped APGA but worked against its interests and candidates in favour of the PDP, the party he had decamped to. He became the deputy director general of the presidential campaign organization of PDP in 2014.
The truth of it is that you cannot study French language in Togo and come to Nigeria to behave like an American. It is not possible.
The stories of some of the men and women who are occupying positions today as federal ministers and legislators depict desperation and betrayal. There is a particular person whose own story is more weird than others. She has being to almost all the political parties since 1999. She was a member of the Federal House of Representatives on platform a party, left to contest governorship of the state. She lost the election and came back to the House of Representatives. She tried again on the platform of another political party for governorship and lost again. She eventually contested for senatorial seat under PDP and she was declared winner. She was sworn in but the case went to the tribunal and courts. She lost it at that level. She decamped from PDP to APC to seek nomination because it was clear that PDP would not give her the ticket again. APC denied her ticket to return to senate. PDP candidature had issues with INEC and the case went to court and the court ruled in favour of PDP. They can now present candidates for the senatorial election. Now this person is back in the courts asking that she should be declared the authentic candidate of PDP for senatorial election. Haba!
Nigeria is in dire need of serious men and women to drive her policies and not opportunists seeking to be noticed. The change agenda of President Mohammodu Buhari may elude Nigerians for lack of men with the will power to achieve them. The nation is in need of people who are ready to sacrifice for the good of the nation and not those who believe that their egos have to be massaged. Not those whose personal desires cannot be actualized in a particular political party and so, jump camp and begin to sing a new song.
A lot of people are feeling disenchanted with the happenings at the political turf and they are yeaning for the yesterdays before the 2015 elections. Those who think and desire such are not patriotic Nigerians enough. We were all witnesses to the collection of cankerworms that were eating the fabrics that held the nation together. We need to build a nation not a political party. We are not interested in party politics and their ideologies that have failed the world many times. We are not looking for a nationalist party but human nationalists that have interests of the nation at heart.
This is why President Mohammodu Buhari should be the ONE MEN.  Many people bought into the change agenda because they thought it was Buhari’s agenda, not a political party’s agenda. When many people stuck out their necks in the wake of the elections in 2015, it was not for the sake of a political party succeeding another, but that Nigeria needed a change from the old ways of doing things. We were tired of being told the same story every time. When PDP was boasting that they would rule this country for the next 60 years, we knew they were bluffing. And I would like to inform the leadership of APC that Nigerians are watching and searching for this ONE MEN who will drive the real change agenda. We know how many of the people in the change wagon behaved before they decamped to APC, and so we do not expect too much from them. But we hoped and still hope and desire that the ‘Buharimic’ charm will not be a fake one.
In conclusion, let all the Agbada and other traditional attire wearing politicians know that the real change is coming to town. The next general elections may be a test of what Nigerians want. It will neither be the broom, nor umbrella. Nigerians will vote according to the character of the person. Then we shall separate the wheat from the chaff.  
Rev. Fr. Ojaje Idoko, Director, Pastoral Affairs Department, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria