So much Excellence – So little Achievement!

Popular Nigerian music artiste and erstwhile social critic “Falz the Bad Guy” has expressed his extreme displeasure at an Award given to Senator Abbo who recently hit the headlines for his disgraceful antics in a sex toy shop. Falz described the Senator’s acceptance of the Award as; “shamelessness of the highest level!” Truthfully the inconsequential “Icon of Democracy” Award bestowed upon the “Distinguished” Senator is a symptom of the shamelessness and pervasive sycophancy in Nigerian politics. Awards and Honors are supposed to be rarities bestowed for some sort of excellence, or at the end of a distinguished career. In Nigeria the opposite is the case. On an almost daily basis political office holders are photographed gleefully accepting ill-conceived meaningless Awards long before their careers are over and any realistic assessment can be made. The hollowness of such awards is indicated in their nomenclature. Vainglorious titles such as “Governor of the Year”, or “Best Local Government Chairman”, or “Award for Excellence” (in a totally unspecified area), send Nigerian politicians into raptures! The sheer number of these “political awards” bestowed annually might easily mislead the casual observer into believing that Nigeria is a paradise on earth rather than a world center of insecurity, poverty, crime and mass murder! In a nation where the hallmarks of governance at all levels are incompetence, hubris, disregard for the rule of law, corruption and malice towards political opponents, this seemingly endless stream of awards to political office holders is justified by the bar of good governance being set so low. Nowadays nothing of note needs to be accomplished before an award is bestowed. Cynics have pointed out that if former Governors’ who didn’t pay salaries and left their States in debt, could be rewarded for “satisfactory performance” with appointment as Federal Ministers, then surely any Governor who managed to pay salaries deserves an “Award for Excellence”! Of course not all awards are meaningless and undeserved. There are exceptions, but as the saying goes; “the exception proves the rule”! It’s been suggested that Nigerian political office holders smugly accept awards which they know they don’t merit because once in office their mentality alters radically. Excessive praise from subordinates and political sycophants causes functional changes to their brains. These changes referred to as the “hubris syndrome”, are well documented in a book titled “In Sickness and in Power” written by British neurologist turned politician Lord David Owen. The symptoms of this “hubris syndrome” include egoism, a manifest contempt for others, unapologetic displays of incompetence, and an increasing disassociation from reality. Once safely ensconced in political office Nigerian politicians display “Hubris

syndrome” by becoming puffed-up, self-absorbed, susceptible to flattery, and intolerant of even the mildest and best intentioned criticism. This begs the question; what is it about political office which goes to their heads and makes them such self-centered snobs? After extensive studies Dacher Kelter, a Professor of Psychology at the University of California concluded that political power can alter the brain neurologically in such a manner that some people appointed to political office lose the capacities required to gain it in the first place. They lose their ability to empathize, and they become less adept at seeing things from other people’s point of view. This is all too apparent amongst Nigerian politicians who when campaigning make all the right noises. They sympathize with citizen’s suffering and say things like: welfare should be given to the poor, education and health services should be priorities, government should be made leaner and more efficient, and corruption must be fought to a standstill. Their ability to dramatically volte-face is evidenced by their treasury looting antics and total contempt for the poor and underprivileged once they assume office. Such behavior lends credence to the famous assertion by American Historian Henry Adams that; “Power is a tumor that ends up killing its victim’s sympathies!” Political office holders in Nigeria further lose touch with reality as a result of sycophancy by their appointees who ingratiate themselves through flattery. The idea that they are supposed to appoint principled Advisers who don’t fear them, expect no favors from them, have the public interest at heart, and can tell them uncomfortable truths without fear of consequences, is completely alien to Nigerian political office holders. The greatest irony of all their hubris and self-centeredness is that once out of office these previously power-drunk and narcissistic individuals suddenly become normal again! A case in point is former President Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ) who now identifies with popular causes having miraculously regained his lost ability to empathize with citizens and share their pains. He now condemns the abuse of power in spite of doing exactly the same when in office. Paradoxically experience shows that whenever humble former political office holders get back into power, they regain their hubris and revert to type. In Nigeria these days, mass unemployment and shrinking opportunities to make an honest living have caused increased criminality. Accordingly, it’s not really proper to castigate citizens who try to make an honest living by bestowing meaningless awards to massage the egos of political office holders to gain favours. The only lamentable aspect of this burgeoning “Awards Industry” is that at least there should be some solid achievements to evidence all the Awards for “Excellence”!