I guess the idea of a media chat was perceived to be the perfect tool in the on-going search for the most potent instrument to hold the Nigerian government accountable, but for a lot of people like me the enthusiasm to participate or even listen-in is dead!
One of the reasons being that it’s appropriateness in terms of providing a platform for real debate and a one on one engagement between the “Leader” and “the Led” is no longer cogent
Unable to tune into the most recent media chat with the President myself, before he headed for the D8 meeting in Pakistan, I relied on tweets on my phone to give me the background as well as the main issues the ordinary man was pursuing.
There was so much talk about the failed Lagos-Ibadan Expressway contract, the effect the floods that wreaked havoc in the middle belt areas of the country might have on the availability of food as well as Mr. Presidents opinion on the outcome of the American election.
However, but then a friend of mine put everything in focus, when he tweeted this: I always wait for the punch line and for me the punch line was “I never promised to reduce poverty, I promised to create wealth!”
I will be cynical enough to point out the comedy material that this provides for, although in my defense, my statement isn’t to deride Mr. President’s remarks in any way, but to commend his insight!
I say this because on reading my friend’s tweet, three things took center stage for me, the economy, the “stakeholder” and the individual; one tweet even said immediately he made that pronunciation, he dashed the hope of a hundred million people. However, it is at this stage that I would like to declare how much we overrate or misuse the idea of democracy.
Many consider it a borrowed concept but systems of government like many other things are adopted and adapted to suit peculiarities I think in simple terms I can liken it to a situation where as a woman I see a fellow woman wearing a dress or a beautifully tailored material and I simply go to the same shop and
In as much as we view democracy as a platform for political freedom as well economic growth and prosperity, I think that certain inevitable variables come to play in each society for true democracy to reveal itself, and in some cases it could be as basic as the ability of a family at the very bottom of the income grid, to provide itself with three square meals.
People often cringe when the media, the western media in particular is flooded with news, views and pictures of “Poor Africa”, malnourished children as well as dead pasture and in arable lands.
It is in the light of such reasons, that I am assuming the promise of “Wealth Creation” might have been Mr. Presidents style of metaphorically acknowledging the country’s gross misappropriation of wealth.
We know Wealth to be the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions; that everyone wishes for whether as a group or individually.
In a bit of academics, Adam Smith who is often regarded as the father of Economics says it is, “the annual produce of the land and labor of the society, at its simplest, that which satisfies human needs and wants of utility”.
If we want to avoid using poverty to describe the lack of human needs and utility it is ok. But it is also important to point out that wealth was created even if poverty was not reduced. However it is important to seek it out. Hence I ask, “Wealth where art thou?”
Originally Published in Premium Times Newspaper
