OPINIONS: THE DEGENERATING GENERATION OF BENUE by Abraham Orkuma.

Politics is a very serious undertaking and needs people with credibility whose presence in the political arena can bring good values to the political process.

So you see, our self-inflicted misery was what we celebrating. All young people think life is easy and crooks think politics is a getway to richness.

Politics is not a “dirty game” that should be left to the scum, crooks, thieves, prostitutes, liars and so on and so forth. Politics is a genuine way of being at the service of others for the integral development of the society. participation in the political life must be guided by good values and respect for human dignity, human rights, common good, social justice, equity, honesty, humility, solidarity, integral development, special concern for the poor and non-violence in resolving conflicts.

Look at the people who rule us, who govern the affairs of our communities, of our state! Look at the type of people who dominate our politics! From Chiefs all the way up.

The political leadership of Benue state in most cases, seems to attract the worst among us in every sense of the word. If you look at the business people who enter our politics, it is often not the most honest, ethical and professional of them.

It is often the most dishonest, the most crooked and selfish of them who enter our politics. It is often those who have made a fortune at our own expense by crooking government and other state agencies in all sorts of business deals, tenders or contracts, privatisations, sale of government fiscal policies and so on and so forth. With the money they have amassed at our expense, they enter politics and make it very difficult for those without money to compete with them.

They become the main financiers or sponsors of all meaningful political activities in the state. Even for you to become a councillor, a member of state house of assembly or Governor, they have to sponsor you. Politically, nothing happens without them. If they don’t directly lead, they become the sponsors of those who lead. For what? To make more money. It is not for the heck of it. They will tell you that they are already rich and don’t need a government salary, car or house. This is true. But they need more than a government salary, car or house. They need total control of government business.

Don’t be deceived or allow yourselves to be deceived. There is no businessman in Benue too rich not to want to make any more money. We don’t have billionaires or even multi-millionair. We don’t have the Dangotes here. What we have is a comprador bourgeoisie, that is small capitalists fronting for big capitalists.They still want to enrich themselves at your expense. But to do so, they need state power to enable them control government business. And these are the people controlling your politics.

Look at most of those with high education, the academics, the professionals who enter politics! The great majority of them are not our most honest and ethical intellectuals or professionals. Most of them are simply crooks who have used their higher education and professional skills to manipulate things, politics in their favour. And look at what they do when they are in power! They are the most corrupt. They are the ones given tasks to manipulate legislative processes and other laws.

Look at the majority of our religious people who join politics! While there are some very good religious people in our politics, it is often not the best of them but the worst in the moral, civic, political and professional sense that enter politics. Look at the behaviour of some of them! You can’t believe that some of these people were once preachers standing on the pulpit.

Look at how crooked they are! Listen to the lies they tell! Look at how violent they are in their politics! Look at how dishonest they are! The same with the so called activists, the worst thieves, crooks and spies now are in politics. I won’t even start on women. While there are some very good women who join politics and who should be encouraged to stay in politics, most of them are the worst of our women in the moral, ethical, integrity and indeed in every sense of the word.

Look at our youths, students and other young people who join our politics! All over the world, it is young people who are actually involving themselves in the struggle to eliminate injustice, oppression and exploitation. They are the ones who most quickly identify with the struggle and necessity to eliminate the conditions that exist. But unfortunately for us, the great majority of our young people who are in politics today are nothing but mercenaries being hired by those with money to do all sorts of wrong things. They are the ones hired to perpetrate violence against innocent people, whose only crime is to belong to a political party of their choice or to challenge those who have hired them. Can most of our young people in politics today be said to be the best of our youths, students in the moral, ethical and honest sense?

Again, let me emphasise that not every business person, academic or intellectual, professional, religious person, woman, youth or student who is in politics falls short of the expected moral, ethical or civic standards. We do recognise the good ones and we should celebrate them. But our politics is today dominated by the worst of these. If the best of them dominated our politics, the situation of our state and our people would be very different.

Now, we have only one state and we are responsible for its future. Wake up Benue, start choosing leaders on merit not on sentments, money.

By Abraham Orkuma.