CITY BOYS; INCENDINARY GRENADES TO DEMOCRACY, AND WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION OF POOR CITIZENS – By Chinedu “Samba” Nwadike
They (The City Boys), like Brutus, sold their souls to fame, money in their unquenchable exploration for a temporal crown. They would rather become “Brutus” in transitory period than wear the timeless crown of “Ceasar”
Aristotle in his political theory argued that poor people can neither be good citizens nor good leaders. He went further to argue that the extraordinarily rich cannot be good leaders since they do not know how to obey the law. Hence, he resorted to the middleman to whom he believed has the capacity and ability to live in society as a citizen and rule society not as a dictator but as a leader that is informed and has moral standards. He equally argued that the measure for good or bad citizenship could be decided by the existing constitution.
Hence, in a state of nature that is dictatorial, a good citizen is the person that obeys the rules hence helping the state of nature that is brute to continue. The reverse is a bad citizen who is a non-comformist and so, tougher to be ruled. Obviously, Nigeria as a state may be what Aristotle was talking about then as a state where citizens who are bold enough to ask for good governance instead of allowing the “state of nature” to flourish are the “non-city boys”.
Again, demanding for accountability as a trademark of good governance is marked as opposition. The rich have become feudal lords and practically used the blood of the poor citizens against their will to build the altar of destruction where the altar boys are called “City Boys” coated with cloak of selfishness, adorned with the ornaments of insensitivity, exclusion, and have continued to chant the rhymes of absurdity as if they are singing George Fredick Handel’s “Messiah”.
These extraordinarily rich people are obsessed with power such that the phrase “common good” is alienated to the brain and mind. They would rather create master-slave states than allow freedom and responsibility to be the foundation of the state. They rather have what Thomas Hobbes described as “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” pre-government. These masters feed on this “state of nature” and will resist any demand for good governance. Hence, the introduction of the toxic arsenal, “City boys”. These city boys are programmed with incendiary grenades to continue to burn into ashes the demand for state of freedom, accountability, provision of good road, availability of healthcare system, good education and freedom of worship.
Furthermore, Thomas Hobbes in his political theory based on the need for a government built on law and civic responsibility argued that prior to society, it was a jungle of mistrust, conflict generation, anarchy, oppression of the weak by the strong ones. Indeed, not parallel to the current state of nature called Nigeria. Thus, like Thomas Hobbes, there is urgent need for good government built on accountability and quest for the common good of the citizens that is inclusive, not exclusive. Unfortunately, Thomas Hobbes’ model creates a state of nature of absolute fear. Thus, his leadership model was akin to programmed freedom by the leviathan.
The call for good governance by the citizens of Nigeria is not built on ethnic biases, not on religious divergency, but the call of revolution for a government of the people that is indeed for the people.
Thus in 1600, an English Philosopher, John Locke, unlike Thomas Hobbes, argued that the “state of nature”, though not stable, is not brutish and built on natural right. Therefore, he argued that there is need for an unbiased umpire (government) that will create a society of the people for the people whereby common good overrules personal good. This undiluted umpire has singular role of good governance that will assure the protection of citizens, their properties and their freedom. In his argument the social contract between the government and its citizens is built on the right of the citizens to choose their leaders and to reject them once their freedom is invaded. He went further to argue that incompetence is registered once government cannot assure the protection of the common man, their right to freedom of speech, their right to space, their right to worship, right to good education, right to good health, right to security of property and their right to be.
The only people that thrive in the state of nature like Nigeria are the “City boys”. No doubt, the “City boys” are aliens that unidentified with the existential reality of their space and the challenges of their time. They, like “Brutus”, sold their souls to fame, money in their unquenchable exploration for a temporal crown. They would rather become “Brutus” in transitory period than wear the timeless crown of “Ceasar”. For them, they argue that Ceasar was ambitious for bringing fame to the Roman empire.
They argued that Ceasar was ambitious for speaking for the citizens in the pursuit to securing their property, life protection and ensuring that natural right of citizens is secured. These city Boys are viciously out to make Mark Anthony aphasiac, else he speaks with eloquence of the good history of Ceasar as a governor of Anambra state, his echoing for human empowerment, his competency in economic management as against spending commonwealth on foreign tourism and premium drinks.
No revolution has ever been orchestrated by the feudal lords, instead they have built a loose bridge of divergence for the citizens to be forever slaves. Plato in his discourse on epistemology used the analogy of the Allegory cave to expose that knowledge is bought by alignment with reality. Citizens must come out from the cave of ignorance, unveil their vision from myopic optics, and devoutly demand for their right to good governance. The power of governance is in the hands of good citizens who must use their right to vote to make and demand change. It is a civic responsibility to vote rightly not because of religion affiliation, and ethnic bondage. Thes feudal lords have for ages used this diversity to create chasm between us in pursuit of common good, freedom and coexistence.
Sunny Okosun, a Famous Nigerian musician, once played “freedom is now or never, or we going to leave it forever. Nigeria is now or never or we going to leave it for who?”.
– Chinedu “Samba” Nwadike
Chinedu “Samba” Nwadike is a US-based healthcare professional, a Social commentator and people’s rights advocate.
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