Special to USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, the first Africa-owned, US-
“An Idiot is an idiot. Two Idiots are idiots. Ten thousand Idiots are a political party.” — Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka’s satirical observation rings true in the tragicomedy of Nigerian politics, where the inversion of roles between the electorate and their elected officials mirrors the absurdities of a Kafkaesque nightmare. Here, the electorate, who should play the role of employers overseeing their hired politicians, have not only lost the plot but, through docility and idiocy, have allowed their supposed employees to become tyrannical lords, lording it over them in shameless displays of corruption and treasury looting.
In this tale, the Nigerian electorate, instead of demanding accountability, often end up worshipping their oppressors, surrendering their powers willingly like lambs to the slaughter. The dance between the governed and those who govern has become a tragic reversal where employees dictate the terms to their bosses, and the hired rob the vaults blind, leaving crumbs for the masters. Welcome to Nigeria’s Kafkaesque political theatre.
From Electorate to Idiocracy: The Rise of the Political Class
In theory, democracy is simple: the people choose their representatives and hold them accountable. The electorate is the employer, and the politicians, elected to serve, are the obedient employees who should scuttle back to their masters, awaiting further instructions. However, in Nigeria’s political landscape, this democratic ideal has been flipped upside down. The “employer” has not only forgotten its power but has abdicated its responsibility. In place of an employer-employee relationship, we have a surreal world where the employees wield whips, crowns, and private jets, while the employers cheer them on in a collective stupor, blissfully ignorant of their own demise.
How did we get here? It’s simple. Franz Kafka might say it best: one idiot is an idiot. But when you have ten thousand idiots, you have a political party. The problem is that the “idiots” – a euphemism for the unquestioning, complacent electorate – have formed their own party: the party of indifference and complicity. Elections become little more than ceremonies where the rogues are celebrated, and the real issues are buried under waves of ephemeral promises and token gestures.
Treasury Looting as the Ultimate Scam: When the Wolves Guard the Henhouse
In Nigeria, corruption is not just a side dish to the political meal; it is the main course. The politicians, like wolves in sheep’s clothing, have elevated looting the public treasury to an art form. With masterful sleight of hand, they invent new schemes of public fund appropriation, ranging from bogus government contracts to inflated budgets and unexecuted projects. In fact, if Kafka’s metaphorical “idiots” in political parties were to create a manifesto, looting would likely be their primary agenda item, thinly veiled under the guise of governance.
Take the subsidies that were meant to cushion the impact of rising fuel prices on the common man, for example. These subsidies have become nothing but elaborate Ponzi schemes for the political class. Year after year, billions of dollars disappear into the pockets of a few, while the masses, the proverbial “employers,” bear the burden of skyrocketing prices and dilapidated infrastructure. And still, these “employers” clap when the looters return to beg for another term, to “serve” again.
Here, idiocy is not just about ignorance; it’s about willing complicity. The electorate, cowed by poverty and promised paltry handouts during election cycles, forgets its position of power and submits to the rule of corrupt oligarchs. They are like chickens gleefully inviting the butcher to dinner, unaware that they are the main course.
The Political Circus: Where Democracy Becomes a Farce
When ten thousand idiots form a political party, what you get is a circus, not governance. The Nigerian political space has become a theatre of the absurd where political parties exist not to serve the people but to loot the state. Public office has become the quickest route to wealth, and policies are crafted with one eye on the treasury and another on the offshore bank accounts of those in power.
The antics of politicians – from their grandiose lifestyle to their blatant disregard for the rule of law – are often reminiscent of clowns in a circus, performing for a docile and distracted audience. But unlike the circus, this tragedy is real. While the people struggle with failing public services, massive unemployment, and insecurity, their elected officials are busy distributing oil blocks to cronies and erecting personal mansions that tower over the ruins of the state.
The voters, meanwhile, seem content to watch this show from the stands, clapping at the acrobatic corruption and waving flags for their favorite clowns. They may grumble and complain but come election day, they file obediently in line, ready to vote for the same band of kleptocrats. It’s not that the electorate is unaware of the looting — they just don’t care anymore. Perhaps they believe it’s the natural order of things.
A Cycle of Stupidity: Elect and Re-elect the Same Wolves
One of the most tragic aspects of this political comedy is the cyclical nature of the tragedy. Every four years, the electorate lines up to re-elect the same individuals who have plundered the country dry. The docility of the masses has led to the perpetuation of a political elite that thrives on mediocrity, corruption, and outright theft.
But why do they keep electing the same rogues? It’s because, as Kafka’s quote implies, stupidity begets more stupidity. One idiot, left unchecked, will multiply into a mass of idiots, all following each other into the abyss. Politicians understand this well. That is why, during election campaigns, they dish out bags of rice, make empty promises, and launch illusory development projects that never see the light of day.
The electorate, fed with crumbs from the political table, becomes conditioned to expect nothing more. In this cycle of low expectations, idiocy becomes normalized, and politicians, the once obedient employees, become untouchable gods.
The Solution: Awakening from the Nightmare
Breaking free from this Kafkaesque nightmare requires a radical awakening of the electorate. The people must realize that their role is not that of passive bystanders but of active participants in democracy. The ballot is a weapon, not a tool for reinforcing the status quo. Accountability must be demanded, and political office should be viewed as a position of service, not personal enrichment.
The electorate must also recognize that governance is not a spectator sport. It is time for the “employers” to reclaim their rightful position and hold their “employees” accountable. Until then, Nigeria will continue to exist in this tragic farce, where the wolves rule the roost, and the chickens cheer them on.
Kafka’s words speak volumes about the state of Nigerian politics.
The country’s electorate, through idiocy and passivity, has allowed its elected officials to become lords over the very people they were meant to serve. Until the electorate reclaims its power, the tragic comedy will continue to play out, with the political class laughing all the way to the bank.
