Photo credit: Businessday
It’s no longer news that Mr Keir Starmer has resigned his position as Prime Minister of Britain.
I pity the practice in the Western world. That’s because heads of government there neither take steps to perpetuate themselves in power nor seek to play on the people’s intelligence, at least in most cases.
By the way, kabioosi means “he who can’t be questioned” or “he who holds the power of life and death.” Those were the colonial kings, They were even referred to as being second only to the deities.
However, there were quite a few exceptions. For instance, in the old Oyo Empire, the Oyomesi was there to provide some checks and balances to the powers of an Alaafin. Alaafin’s who were found to have committed grave offences were deposed may more often than not be forced to commit suicide.
Also, in Egbaland, the Abeokuta Women’s Union, under the leadership of Mrs Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, deposed the king, Oba Samuel Ladapo Ademola II, in 1949. The British colonial administration and the Egba Native Administration had imposed heavy, arbitrary taxes on the women who were the backbone of the economy and who did not have any representation in the taxing administration. The women resorted to protests, picketing and laid a siege on the palace at the end of which the Alake had to go into exile.
https://youtu.be/w8RgLXnIaEM?si=S0uGC557J1Ferirs
But now, we have a system where, at each level of government, whoever is in power holds the poor people captive by not giving them what should rightly be theirs, the basic commodities. The people are left to a ruling elite whom they employed or should have employed riding roughshod over them after collecting some gratifications (stomach infrastructure) before so-called elections.
The people choose not to remember that whatever they are getting from the ruling elite is theirs in the first instance.
While in power, the rulers, to a large extent, hold the keys to the central bank in their possession. The fact that the centre has so much power isn’t helping issues either. The federating units more or less have to depend on the centre for almost everything. There is little accountability and it is whatever projects the rulers think are good for the people that they embark on.
While the law enforcement agencies are not performing up to standard, we seem to have left our fates in the hands of non–state actors. This might be dangerous.
We are yet to divest ourselves from the disastrous members of tribalism, ethnicity and regionalism.
If Mr Starmer had been a Nigerian, he would still be holding on to his office now, protected by his tribal or zonal affiliation
