The Politicians We Love But Hate, By MacDonald Ebere

It is pertinent that if Nigerians demand good governance, we must inculcate a positive and healthy mindset to understand that the success of a nation is not only about the government of the country and the politicians but also the collective responsibility and general attitude of the people, as to their role in each government in service.

Basically, in most democratic dispensations, politicians are usually responsible for all the vices of these societies. In other words, politicians become scapegoats, regardless of the guilt of others. However, the concept of the scapegoat is quite popular, with its story stemming from Jewish Yom Kippur (a solemn and religious holiday of the Jews, when the Jewish community seeks to atone for their sins and seek reconciliation with God).

A popular reading of the scapegoat can be taken from the Bible in Leviticus 16:7-10, where the high priest was to present two goats at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and cast lots to determine which of the two goats would be sacrificed as a sin offering and which one would be sent into the desert as a scapegoat.

The term later evolved to mean one to be blamed for the sins of others. The Encyclopaedia of Social Psychology describes scapegoating as "the tendency to blame someone else for your problems".

Nigeria faces security issues, high prices, adulterated goods, poor services, corruption, nonchalant attitude towards work, lack of maintenance, poor attitude towards government-owned properties and facilities, indoctrination, loss of morality, and other vices that rob a society of existing to its full and positive potential.

In every small community, town, market and institution full of vices, it is Nigerian politicians who are always held responsible for failures and shortcomings; even those defects which should be well treated by the ordinary citizen through the patriotic and nationalist spirit.

Even when criticism is voiced, most criticism does not do so in a democratic spirit to help the government in its duty of governance. It often seems that criticism is done simply to pass harsh and unfair judgments, especially when there is little to criticize.

The mindset seems to proclaim: "we need criticism for the decadence around us (including personal decadence), why not make Nigerian politicians the scapegoat?"

We have citizens who seem to overlook the fact that good governance goes hand in hand with the participation of the whole population in the role of governance, through active participation in community organizations, which would help to achieve governance objectives, and the development of public policies, through the payment of taxes and obedience to the laws of the land. To be altruistic and above all, not to be a tool for spreading false information (especially in the age of social media where we can have anonymous and faceless informants), which would undermine the government in place, lead to tension and create 'anarchy.< /p>

It is pertinent that if Nigerians demand good governance, we must inculcate a positive and healthy mindset to understand that the success of a nation is not only about the government of the country and the politicians but also the collective responsibility and general attitude of the people, as to their role in each government in service.

The lesson is obvious. Stop criticizing for fun. Stop scapegoating politicians for fun. Be the change you want to see. It can be very rewarding.

A healthy spirit is of great importance to a community and a sick spirit is a danger to the community, as it not only affects one individual, it contaminates and endangers all who come in contact with it.

A famous John F. Kennedy quote says, "A...