Former Presidential Aide Laolu Akande has said Nigerians should take complete control of the country’s political essence, claiming that depending on the current beneficiaries of the systemic rot to solve the country’s problems is a futile effort.
During an appearance on Channels TV’s Inside Sources on Friday, he painted a gloomy picture of the country’s political elite and their abandonment of the noble vocation of politics and administration.
“For the most part, the Nigerian political elite seems to have lost the real noble mission of politics and governance,” Akande stated. “That mission of politics ought to be essentially for the delivery of public goods and social and economic well-being of our people. But these days in Nigeria, politics has become an avenue for personal aggrandizement and chicanery.”
Akande’s remarks highlighted the pervasive corruption and self-serving behavior within the political class, which he believes has undermined the fundamental purpose of governance. He cited several examples to illustrate his point, emphasizing the disconnect between political actions and public interest.
“That is why we have stories of godfathers and godsons gone awry. That is why we have Senators who didn’t participate in primaries but are today sitting in the Parliament,” Akande explained.
“That is why we have party direct primaries where votes are simply allocated by party apparatus with no voting in sight. That is why we have indirect primaries where votes are cast by people who are imported to venues, and no one knows who the delegates are except those who have set to pervert the system. That is why we have incumbent governors shielding their predecessors from arrests. That is why politicians are packing into the Electoral Commission with their well-known cronies, and political appointments are on sale as if it is a share on the stock exchange.”
Akande also drew attention to the misuse of power, a phenomenon he termed as ‘power miss road.’
He pointed to recent political maneuvers in Rivers State as a prime example of this issue.
“We often hear of ‘money miss road’ but we forget ‘power miss road’,” Akande said. “The very latest of this political ‘power miss road’ phenomenon is what is going on in Rivers state where a former Governor does not understand that once a godson takes the Oath of Office, the godson has to assert himself because, after all, he is the one to be held responsible. Don’t worry that the godson is treading on dangerous territories seeking to probe a past in which he himself was a suspect.”
He criticized former governors who attempt to retain influence long after leaving office, likening their actions to the ‘Lagos formula,’ where a past leader continues to exert control. Specifically, Akande referred to Nyesom Wike, the former Governor of Rivers State, questioning his ambitions to emulate Bola Tinubu, the current president, who has maintained significant political influence since his tenure as governor ended in 2007.
“Many former governors, especially the most recent one in Rivers State, want to do the Lagos formula, where the man who is the incumbent president continues to maintain influence even after he left office in 2007. If Mr. Wike wants to be the next Tinubu in Nigerian politics, shouldn’t he be more circumspect?” Akande questioned.
However, Akande emphasized that the onus is not solely on the politicians but also on the citizens to effect change. He called on Nigerians to activate what he termed the ‘Office of the Citizen’ and to unify their efforts to reclaim the essence of the country.
“The people of Nigeria must begin to activate the ‘Office of the Citizen’. If they don’t, all of these shenanigans and the socio-economic emasculation of the Nigerian people will not stop. The question is: What can the citizens do? Let’s see a set of options. The citizens must organize to recapture the political essence of this country and recapture the soul of the country. First, citizens need to stop mounting pressures in silos. They must find some level of convergence. It has happened before in this country. Fighting all alone in silos will not pack the required legitimate impetus to bring change. They should engage in lawful public marches. Citizens should support press freedom.”
Akande’s impassioned plea underscores the necessity for a collective effort in confronting and dismantling the entrenched systems of corruption and misgovernance. He remains skeptical of the political class’s ability to self-correct and insists that a grassroots movement is essential for real, lasting change.
“Relying alone on the current beneficiaries of the systemic rot in the land to fix the country is becoming more and more a hopeless exercise. So, we can’t leave politics to politicians alone. I have joined a group of members of the House of Representatives to change the system of government from presidential to homegrown parliamentary system,” Akande concluded.
His call to action serves as a rallying cry for Nigerians to take control of their political destiny and work together towards a more accountable and transparent governance structure.
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