By Msonter Anzaa
The people of Nigeria are not new to summits. Summits are the language of government. Whenever there is a problem, government does not see or hear it, or at least it doesn’t seem to do so. Then when the problem is almost irredeemable, government would suddenly jump to its feet and call a summit. So I wasn’t actually surprised when in early October this year, the Federal Government called an education summit. It may be too early to express my skepticism about it including the approval for nine more federal universities, but if the summit is the same language government speaks, then I’m sure it’s nothing but one of those things.
Whatever was or was not discussed at the summit, is not the subject of this piece. This is Nigeria. We play politics with everything. If government is going to execute a project, there must be some political motives. We are aware that sometimes, out-going executives delay the execution of projects till the twilight of their tenures. Then they begin to point those uncompleted projects out as the reason they should be given a second or even a third term. Politics in Nigeria is hardly obout service. It is about the politicians and their interest. The public interest, if identified at all, is served only when, where and how it favors the greater private interest or guarantees a political point. Where no such benefits exist for the politicians, they exhibit an amazing luke warmness towards public interest. The motivation to work dies, but strangely, the motivation to hook and remain hooked unto power gets stronger.
