By Ken Ugbechie
In his epic novel, Animal Farm, George Orwell ( real name Eric Blair) painted the picture of an animal family which badly wanted to free itself from the shackles and bracelets of humankind. The animals protested what they perceived as man’s unkindness towards them. They till the earth, they manicure the lawn, they plant and pull the carts at harvest but greedy man takes all the spoils home. And when they age, the same greedy and shylock man slits their throats and cook them as condiments in his animal-flavoured broth.
This must stop, they reasoned. So, all the animals conspired (some were actually cajoled) to chase humans out of their(?) farm and take possession of their heritage. The conspiracy to oust man from the farm was successful but as the plot continued, some of the animals realised to their chagrin that victory from bondage was not yet won. The elite animals (dogs and pigs – politicians in the farm -) in this instance seized the moment to assert authority and embark on a mindless ego trip. Ego collided with quest for power and control of the animal kingdom. At the end, the lower animals (the masses) suffered as they were denied basic food and their fundamental rights which the elite animals promised to restore from greedy man were brazenly trampled upon.
At the end, moral animal transformed to morbid beast complete with all the tendencies of medieval tyrants. While the lower animals toiled and tilled in painful animation, the elite animals popped champagne, clinked glasses and took the form of wicked man. The Orwellian plot may be about animals but it vividly depicts the Nigerian political narrative. Nigerian politicians have carved out for themselves a kingdom of their own; a kingdom of opulence and affluence while the rest of the people are consigned to a lower kingdom where squalor collide with pain on the streets.
Nigeria is another Animal Farm with two kingdoms. And as was the case in the Orwellian classic, both kingdoms are split along sharp lines. The elite animals, the politicians, too drunk with power, money and the dainties of life, have massed to the stage in a dance of shame. From the polarized Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the formless All Progressives Congress (APC), there is no abatement in the devious manifestations of politicians at this critical time of the nation’s life when the masses of the people, abused and debased, pant after good governance.
I watched with amusement the latest monkey-dance in the PDP. Things have fallen apart in Africa’s biggest political party (a ‘feat’ they trot out with pride as if being the biggest political party translates to biggest enterprise). Before then was the comic show from the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) where the simple act of casting ballot, tallying the ballot (for only 35 voters) and announcing the result took the form of what only David Copperfield, the world acclaimed best magician, could do. Before we could spell ‘Governor’, two factions have emerged and the people are as confused as the lower animals in Orwell’s Animal Farm. Till this day Governors Rotimi Amaechi and Jonah Jang are tenaciously clutching to their exalted seats as Chairmen of the Forum. A good 35 adults, all parents, a few grandfathers, failed to teach their children the virtue of winning with pride and losing with grace, that’s the hard lesson from the NGF debacle.
In Orwellian Animal Farm, every moment throws up its peculiar scene. The nation’s political stage mirrors this. The recent implosion of the PDP at one of the most enchanting stages in the country, the Eagle Square, which borders the axis of power – the Three Arms Zone – draws Nigerians closer to the reality that George Orwell may have envisioned a Nigerian state far ahead of its time. In Orwell’s Animal Farm, the mantra was: ‘All animals are equal’. This would later change to ‘All animals are equal but some are more equal than others’.
Believe it or not, some Nigerians are more equal than others. Nigerian politicians have consistently demonstrated that they are above the law, above the people and unaccountable to no one. They are like the Pigs in Animal Farm – muck-raking and raking the muck at the same time. They are like Napoleon, adjudged by the lower animals to be always right. Of course they are always right. And it is their right to politic with the destiny of the multitude. The great Nnamdi Azikiwe, one man who fought the white man, matching him intellect for intellect, for the independence of Nigeria, would be writhing in pain in his grave. His brand of politics of logic, soundness of mind and meritocracy has been torn to shreds. In its place, the modern day Nigerian politician has raised a tainted banner spangled with mediocrity and fervor of primitive looting. Yet, while they politic, governance suffers and so do the people.
Nigeria may have won independence in 1960, but that solitary event has also put them in further bondage, this time, in the hands of their own people …the politicians. It is a rehash of the Orwellian script: painful and sad.
