To avoid criticism do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.
--anon.
In _Photo-era magazine: The American Journal of Photography_, vol. 23 [1909]
Censure is the tax a man pays to the public for being eminent.
--Jonathan Swift (1667—1745)
Anglo-Irish poet and satirist.
_Thoughts on Various Subjects_ [October 1706]
--Jonathan Swift (1667—1745)
Anglo-Irish poet and satirist.
_Thoughts on Various Subjects_ [October 1706]
All over the world, everybody knows that Presidential seats are hot seats, except perhaps the village idiots and the ditto-heads in our midst, who do not know their backsides from their elbows; who rush in where Angels fear to tread.
Undoubtedly, the main reason why the seats are so blazing hot is the barrage of criticism (constructive or otherwise) that the occupiers get from the public, especially from the blowhard oppositions, civil rights organisations and many self-acclaimed political pundits. And, from what I can scoop from the public domain, this criticism most and generally arise from failed expectations and extinguished hope.
For instance, in Nigeria, within weeks or months of a President's inaugurations, he is expected to perform miracles on the economy, wave a magic wand that would stop infant and childbirth mortality, crank out employments from his brainwaves, make the country an investors haven and holiday destination. If he fails to fulfill all these people-centered expectations within their time frames, the public, most notably, the pundits descend on him like vultures and begin to rip him apart.
Well, do you blame the people at all? Everybody wants a President that would hit the ground running. Nobody wants a slowpoke (a go-slow) who uses almost forever studying a situation before coming to grips with it. Given the insensitivity of the past administrations to the grinding hunger, the degrading poverty and the horrific suffering of vast millions of (Nigerian) citizens who live daily on less than a dollar, one would expect a new President to be down to earth, wrap his brain around the matrix of issues bedeviling the nation and spring into action pronto!
Frankly, it is kind of a head scratcher as to why a sitting President, in a democratic setting, would pick a bare-knuckle fight with political pundits. As far as I know, it would only draw more attention to their criticisms, elevate their status and the President, at the end of the day would come across as a thin skinned, run-of-the-mill autocrat. An image that's not too good for the party he represents and the country he presides over. After all, free speech and plurality of opinion form parts of the canons of a flourishing democracy. Moreover, if the President cannot stand the heat, let him sprint out of the kitchen!
A friend of mine, apparently referring to a spiky relation of his, on his Facebook wall, said "This sort of flippant commentary gives a view to the problem of Nigeria, we don't analyze things, our collective thinking is on auto-pilot, it has become fashionable to abuse the President, so we must all indulge in it without thinking". He went further to say, "He is standing up to you all and saying he is his own man, that his style is different. Get used to it or relocate to Ghana". Still talking, he said "Anyway, it's not surprising since you people were eager to put us at the mercy of a despot and your idea of nation building was to create a police state". He ended his post by saying "There has hardly been any other leader that has been as articulate and inspiring, go and read his speeches if you are capable at all not making flippant commentaries while glossing over the kernel of what is being said".
Of course, my reactions to his post went thus: " Arigbs Baba, I don't know if you voted for him like I did o! But all we are saying is: GEJ, wake up and smell the coffee. Enough of empty rhetoric and sophistries. We have had leaders before him who were all sizzle and no steak; all mouth and no trousers! We don't want him to join their ignoble lists! And what are we asking for 'self'? Decisive action on these terrorists and at least 15 hours of electric power everyday. I don't think these are too much to ask by people who queued in the sun; in the rain to vote him into Aso villa. Thanks".
I actually brought out my friend and I Facebook conversation to highlight the fact that criticism is part of democracy and it is even part of life. Just like the Quotation above rightly points out, "censure (criticism) is the tax a man pays for being eminent". Nobody would derisively mention my name or blame me at any local bar for the problems of Nigeria. Why? I am not Mr President! I don't even serve in his cabinet. The buck stops only on his table!! Truth is, since he's the de facto President, everybody blames him for the ills of the society (just like he would have cornered all the praises if things were going well). As a matter of fact, some men who could not get it up or enjoy a night of steamy passion with their wives (maybe due to power outage ) would still go ahead and blame the President for their bedroom woes!!! So, there goes the blame game again. But the President has no one to blame!
I think it would be delusional for anybody aspiring for the highest office in the land to think that everybody would like him and fall in love with his policies (no matter how benevolent or people's oriented they are) and take them hook, line and sinker. From the day he picks the form signalling his intention to run for the presidency, he should just know that he would be the cynosure of all eyes, the envy of everyone (especially the oppositions) and the very object of criticism and verbal attacks of both the scum and the pundits.
ADEDAYO GABRIEL FATOKI
Undoubtedly, the main reason why the seats are so blazing hot is the barrage of criticism (constructive or otherwise) that the occupiers get from the public, especially from the blowhard oppositions, civil rights organisations and many self-acclaimed political pundits. And, from what I can scoop from the public domain, this criticism most and generally arise from failed expectations and extinguished hope.
For instance, in Nigeria, within weeks or months of a President's inaugurations, he is expected to perform miracles on the economy, wave a magic wand that would stop infant and childbirth mortality, crank out employments from his brainwaves, make the country an investors haven and holiday destination. If he fails to fulfill all these people-centered expectations within their time frames, the public, most notably, the pundits descend on him like vultures and begin to rip him apart.
Well, do you blame the people at all? Everybody wants a President that would hit the ground running. Nobody wants a slowpoke (a go-slow) who uses almost forever studying a situation before coming to grips with it. Given the insensitivity of the past administrations to the grinding hunger, the degrading poverty and the horrific suffering of vast millions of (Nigerian) citizens who live daily on less than a dollar, one would expect a new President to be down to earth, wrap his brain around the matrix of issues bedeviling the nation and spring into action pronto!
Frankly, it is kind of a head scratcher as to why a sitting President, in a democratic setting, would pick a bare-knuckle fight with political pundits. As far as I know, it would only draw more attention to their criticisms, elevate their status and the President, at the end of the day would come across as a thin skinned, run-of-the-mill autocrat. An image that's not too good for the party he represents and the country he presides over. After all, free speech and plurality of opinion form parts of the canons of a flourishing democracy. Moreover, if the President cannot stand the heat, let him sprint out of the kitchen!
A friend of mine, apparently referring to a spiky relation of his, on his Facebook wall, said "This sort of flippant commentary gives a view to the problem of Nigeria, we don't analyze things, our collective thinking is on auto-pilot, it has become fashionable to abuse the President, so we must all indulge in it without thinking". He went further to say, "He is standing up to you all and saying he is his own man, that his style is different. Get used to it or relocate to Ghana". Still talking, he said "Anyway, it's not surprising since you people were eager to put us at the mercy of a despot and your idea of nation building was to create a police state". He ended his post by saying "There has hardly been any other leader that has been as articulate and inspiring, go and read his speeches if you are capable at all not making flippant commentaries while glossing over the kernel of what is being said".
Of course, my reactions to his post went thus: " Arigbs Baba, I don't know if you voted for him like I did o! But all we are saying is: GEJ, wake up and smell the coffee. Enough of empty rhetoric and sophistries. We have had leaders before him who were all sizzle and no steak; all mouth and no trousers! We don't want him to join their ignoble lists! And what are we asking for 'self'? Decisive action on these terrorists and at least 15 hours of electric power everyday. I don't think these are too much to ask by people who queued in the sun; in the rain to vote him into Aso villa. Thanks".
I actually brought out my friend and I Facebook conversation to highlight the fact that criticism is part of democracy and it is even part of life. Just like the Quotation above rightly points out, "censure (criticism) is the tax a man pays for being eminent". Nobody would derisively mention my name or blame me at any local bar for the problems of Nigeria. Why? I am not Mr President! I don't even serve in his cabinet. The buck stops only on his table!! Truth is, since he's the de facto President, everybody blames him for the ills of the society (just like he would have cornered all the praises if things were going well). As a matter of fact, some men who could not get it up or enjoy a night of steamy passion with their wives (maybe due to power outage ) would still go ahead and blame the President for their bedroom woes!!! So, there goes the blame game again. But the President has no one to blame!
I think it would be delusional for anybody aspiring for the highest office in the land to think that everybody would like him and fall in love with his policies (no matter how benevolent or people's oriented they are) and take them hook, line and sinker. From the day he picks the form signalling his intention to run for the presidency, he should just know that he would be the cynosure of all eyes, the envy of everyone (especially the oppositions) and the very object of criticism and verbal attacks of both the scum and the pundits.
ADEDAYO GABRIEL FATOKI
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