Councillor beats up ward chairman over bag of rice

POLITICS in Nigeria can be rough, rougher in Lagos, and roughest in election season. A councillor of a local council has taken his party chairman to the cleaners after sensing foul play when it was time to share a booty. 

The councillor representing Ward F in Surulere Local Government, Lagos State, physically assaulted the ward’s chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC) when he was denied a share of some bags of rice delivered to party members. 

A couple of punches, combined with a scintillating slap, and a crushing kick left the party chairman bleeding. It took strong arms to deliver the ward chairman from a larger part of the councillor's wrath. 

Ajibola Ajala, the councillor, complained about how the ward chairman, Ishola Ali, always tried to sideline him when the time came to share "gifts" from federal and state lawmakers representing the council to the ward. The councillor felt he was entitled to a portion of such manna from above and so he decided to challenge his chairman. 

This is the reality of party politics in Nigeria. Conflict is often reconciled with intimidation, physical and verbal assaults, and embarrassing antics. The 100 bags from the federal representative –who also happens to be the Speaker of the House of Representatives– Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila was an opportunity for his local representative to make his grievances towards a party leader known.

In a pitiable existence of political sycophancy and begging, grown men will come down to blows just to secure a scoop of rice or gallon of oil. If the party leaders are so unabashedly undignified, how much more will the party members grovel to eat the crumbs from the table of Abuja?

This is a window to the political vista in Nigeria as we approach yet another significant time in the Fourth Republic. The 2023 election is being previewed by the comical, yet not-so-funny, shows of shame amongst our so-called political elite that we cannot really see the silver lining in the approaching dark clouds.

Representatives in government are already angry at not receiving rice, old clowns are parading themselves as ideal presidential candidates, and the electorates remain unwilling to critically decide which way to go at such a critical time in Nigeria's political history.

It's more like a rhetorical question begging no answer now but, Nigeria, which way?