Oluwatosin Dotun Adeyemi: THE COST OF HAVING A PARADIGM SHIFT IN 2023
“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything” says George Bernard Shaw. The cost of paradigm shift is quite high and radical if true change must be effected and effective in the Nigerian political milieu. Having gained independence from colonialism in the 60s tends not to be the healing balm to our rotten sores; rather, it exacerbated it. The independence gave way for new governance that ought to suit the Nigerian people not one run in proxy. The agitation for self rule did not ameliorate our national challenges; rather, it aggravated it.
In retrospect, neocolonialism and kleptocracy are the results of the fight for freedom by our heroes past as Nigerian leaders have over and again put the citizens into political and economic dominant- subservient dichotomy. The leaders or rulers are recycled from generation to generation rotating power within their cycle with the same old political ideology that has plunged the country into the crisis it is at present. The present reality in Nigeria is as a result of bad, selfish and kleptocratic governance in the hand of few embezzlers tagged political reformist.
What is the cost of saying “enough is enough”? What is the worst case scenario for an agitation for a radical paradigm shift in 2023 elections? A shift in the present political dispensation, first, has to be initiated in the mind of the led before it is transferred into political reality in the next election, a period that will either make or mar the future of the country and probably shake its presupposed unity in diversity. A shift in paradigm will mean the present political dispensation must be eroded and the crop of leaders holding the country at ransom must be flushed out for Nigeria to thrive and regain its international integrity. The few who “rule” the country are gerontocrats and kleptocrats that have not only destroyed the economic structure of Nigeria, but also put its political structure in a state of perpetual instability. These kleptocratic leaders have continued to rotate power within their same small circle feeding fat on national resources and implementing selfish policies that enrich their personal interest at the expense of national development. Bad leadership has driven many to the extreme of fighting for survival and in the process; the country is left with a tarnished nomenclature- one associated with corrupt predilections.
For a paradigm shift in the 2023 election to be foreseeable, there must be a transition in the mental frame of the led to wipe out the totality of the small ruling kleptocratic elite that have hindered Nigeria’s moves to the right development path. It is expedient that the shift will be instigated in the mindset of the electorate and their proposed representatives for reformation through a total political overhaul that heralds national development. The electorate must reject the impoverished mentality of vote selling during election for instant and short term gratification. The electorate must truly pursue the change mantra that brought the present government into power and also shun voting based on political parties rather than individual’s performance ability. Representatives who have recorded a level of success in his political profile should be considered for political posts; a capable representative quite patriotic and would not compromise on national development, and the people’s favoured candidate through a fair electoral process should be presented to hold positions in the forthcoming 2023 elections.
To attain this paradigmatic shift, Nigerian youth must be an instrumental and germane consideration for political leadership in the upcoming election where Nigerian youth must seek massive takeover of governance from kleptocrats and political elite. The youth, they say, are the future of a nation and for this future to manifest, there must a paradigm shift from old political dispensation to a new and youthful dispensation. The youth should not just complain about the situation of the country with folded arms, but go head to agitate and initiate a change by taking over the leadership of the country as responsive and responsible generation debunking the baseless utterance that Nigerian youth are lazy. Youth that will drive the economy and politics of the nation forward must arise in 2023.
Any candidate that is beyond 50 years of age should not be elected nor appointed to any political office. This is a paradigm shift from the present crop of leaders who are 60 years of age and above. The shift is the agitation for a better administration that will flush out the administration of these kleptocrats for an influx of corrupt-free leaders intentional about the development of the nation. Thus, the electorate must select their leaders carefully and do away with the current leadership crisis that Nigerians are subjected to. Repeating our previous mistake of leadership choice will be of grave consequences on the citizens so, there must be a change from the political elite monopolizing the country. It cannot be overemphasized that the current Nigerian reality is enough to force an insurrection in the 2023 elections.
Radical change is key to good governance in 2023 elections and to annihilate the corrosive effect of corruption in governance in Nigeria come 2023. The new crop of young leaders must have a mindset to make policies that will foster prosperous economic development that will be beneficial to all and sundry in Nigeria. The watchword of the new dispensation will be a leadership that will be all inclusive to both the elite and the masses; and will be reputationally enshrined in transparency and accountability. Lack of accountability in the present day political leaders has given way to poor administration and corruption at the political cum administrative sector of the nation today where public funds are blatantly siphoned into private pockets of these “money politicians” whose power drunkenness has caused obsession for public offices. How on earth will growth and development be pursued in an environment riddled with corruption? Thus, there is a need to resist and oust embezzlers being disguised as reformers.
The paradigm shift in 2023 for a new dispensation must come with the patriotic mindset of administrative plans to transform the country completely. For this paradigm shift to be effective in 2023, radical transformation must occur in the electorate to vote for a better country and not for “stomach infrastructure” of vote selling. The electorate must unify to reject the “political sharks” from taking advantage of the impoverished masses at the expense of their future. The masses should place value on performance and not instant gratification; only then can true political paradigm shift be achieved in 2023. Our present political reality has made us to question our leadership selection and the way forward is to harness the power of the youth to change the leadership in the next election. If 63% of the Nigerian population is below 25 years, then chanting a cause for leadership overhaul of the old political system is visible. If drastic action is not taken, in the next ten to twenty years when these gerontocrats are no longer active to rule anymore, there will be no country to rule by the youth judging by the rate at which the present government is recklessly drowning the future of the youth with recurrent debt. A paradigm shift is at a cost, but a worthwhile rate to proactively seek the governance and leadership we deserve in Nigeria- a people driven representation.
Chanting a new cause for paradigm shift in 2023 elections will be irrelevant if solution is not proffered to the Nigerian recurrent political and economic problem. The present reality in Nigeria’s economic system is not beneficial to the entire populace because all the policies implemented only benefit the kleptocratic elite, a fraction of the Nigerian population. A paradigm shift will definitely readdress the exploitative economic system from a capitalist-oriented government to a socialist-oriented one which may likely be a foreseeable solution to the problem of bad governance because the functionality of any government is based on its economic strength to drive a government that is all encompassing. The new crop of political leadership that will rise in 2023 should run with a blueprint for transformation from capitalist economy to socialist economic system that ensures an equitable distribution of wealth.
Without economic consideration in the paradigm shift, a significant change in the new leadership cannot be recorded as the youthful dispensation is likely to repeat the mistakes of the old. If there is no solution to the economic and political bottleneck hindering national development, pursuing a paradigm shift becomes irrelevant as it goes beyond the age of the “change messiahs”. Hence, it is quintessential for the agitators for good leadership to draw reformative blueprints that will enhance equitable distribution of wealth to bridge the gap between the political elite and the masses and by extension, a panacea for poor governance is provided. For the observant, the same set of leaders that have championed the fight for independence and ruled us since post-colonialism has been recycled over and again wielding economic and political power. Meanwhile the same political ideology has been implemented over the years and it is a case of old wine in an old bottle; the taste remains unchanged.
To champion a paradigmatic shift in 2023 elections, young people with innovative energy and ideas to lead and initiate policies that will sustain the economy and enhance good governance is necessary. There are young political leaders driving the force of good governance in non-African countries, so Africans need to emulate these young ones and have a paradigm shift from gerontocracy to a youth-driven leadership. For instance, the Prime Minister of Finland, Georgia and New Zealand are all in their youth and saddled with the responsibilities of driving their nation’s economy to foster growth. Why is the reverse the case in Nigeria? Why is the future of the youth taken over by financially reckless old men? Why is Nigeria recycling its leaders since post independence? Why are youth ranting on social media rather than actively redressing the situation? Why are the game changers shying away from their responsibility? Why are the youth not bold enough to confront their national problems? Why are the gerontocrats and kleptocrats not held liable for maladministration? The answers to all these whys must provoke a paradigm shift in 2023 elections irrespective of the cost. It becomes bad first, before it gets better.
Oluwatosin Dotun Adeyemi is Political Analyst
