I have often wondered: what exactly is it about political power in Nigeria that can turn otherwise accomplished, intelligent and independently successful men into grovelling underlings before other mere mortals?
I genuinely struggle to understand it.
Desmond Elliot is someone I admired and liked a lot when I was actively involved in the entertainment sector. He was already a successful actor, producer and public figure long before politics.
That is precisely why watching the video of him go on his knees before Femi Gbajabiamila, begging for forgiveness over the political fallout between them, was deeply sad and sobering for me.
I mean, this was an elected public official publicly kneeling and apologising to a more powerful political figure, calling him his political mentor and “daddy,” in the middle of a serious political struggle affecting his future within the party.
That is what troubles me.
Not because there is anything wrong with apologising when you believe you have offended somebody. There is actually strength in apologising.
But there is something deeply uncomfortable about a political system in which accomplished adults increasingly appear to have to abase themselves before political power brokers in order to survive.
There is a difference between respect and public self-abasement to appease another human being.
There is a difference between recognizing higher political leadership and submitting your dignity and Go-given will to another human all in a bid to be relevant in politics.
There is a difference between apologising for wrongdoing and publicly begging for political survival.
There is a difference between party loyalty and surrendering your personal dignity before another man because he has influence over your political future.
And Nigerian politics seems to blur those lines far too often.
I have watched lawyers, professors, businessmen, entertainers, doctors and otherwise highly accomplished people enter politics and gradually become people I hardly recognise.
Men who commanded boardrooms suddenly begin speaking in trembling tones before political godfathers.
People who built successful careers through their own talent suddenly behave as though another politician holds the key to their destiny.
People who would never kneel to their professional colleagues somehow enter politics and discover an endless supply of “leaders,” “fathers,” “daddies,” “ogas,” “principals” and “benefactors” before whom political survival apparently requires perpetual obeisance.
And that is the part I find tragic.
Why should an elected representative have to fear another politician more than he fears disappointing the electorate?
In a functioning democracy, the most important people in Desmond Elliot’s political life should theoretically be the people of Surulere who elected him.
But our political structure often appears to invert that relationship.
The politician looks upward instead of downward.
He looks Upward to the godfather.
He looks Upward to the party hierarchy.
He looks Upward to whoever controls the ticket.
Upward to whoever can make one phone call and determine whether his political career continues or ends.
And once political survival depends on the pleasure of powerful individuals rather than primarily on the judgement of voters, this kind of spectacle becomes almost inevitable.
That is why I actually feel sorry for Desmond Elliot in a way.
Because I don’t believe he suddenly became an unintelligent or worthless man overnight.
I think we are watching what a deeply hierarchical political system can do even to accomplished people who enter it.
And Desmond is certainly not alone.
We have seen governors bowing before godfathers.
Ministers treating presidents like emperors.
Legislators praising political patrons with language ordinarily reserved for royalty.
Successful professionals entering politics and suddenly becoming glorified errand boys.
At some point, one has to ask: What exactly are people gaining from political office that makes grown, accomplished men willing to surrender so much personal independence just to remain inside the room?
There must be some kind of spirit in that space. 😂
So my close friends—and you know yourselves as you read this—please consider this my advance authorisation:
If I ever wake up one morning and announce that I am entering Nigerian politics as presently constituted, or accepting a political appointment that requires me to start kneeling, crawling, singing somebody’s praises and calling another grown man “my daddy” just to remain relevant, please hold me down and flog me mercilessly until whatever political spirit entered me comes out. 😂😂
Some opportunities are simply too expensive if the admission price is your independence and dignity.
I wish Desmond well. I genuinely do.
But watching that video reinforced something for me:
Let politicians do their politics o.
If you are already successful in your profession and you voluntarily put your head inside that political ecosystem, whatever your eyes see there… you have to take it like that. 😂
Dr Ope Banwo
Mayor Of Fadeyi
Founder, Naija Lives Matter