Challenges with Misunderstanding the Concept of Governance. Part 1

Mike Ihezuo

One of the fundamental challenges of governance we face in this nation and Africa is that most of our people in government don’t understand governance and the purpose of government. They presume and assume they do. They confuse governance cum being in government with politics.

This is irony, a disaster of taking politics to mean governance. Politics is what you do to get the seat to govern ie the seat and machinery of government. When you get the seat, you’re in government, what you do is called governance, you drop politics and begin to govern (concentrate, and focus on business of governance).

Please governance globally is business, business and business, not paddy, paddy, frivolity and frivolity!
Politics is a recruitment program to get elected/recruited (enlisted) into government. Politicking is the process in the politics.

When you want to be your people’s president, governor, legislator, chairman, union/club/association EXCO, you start selling you, your ideas, strengths, ideology/values (where it exists, but mostly not here) by any means [that’s why it appears propagandistic] legitimate to convince electorates using posters, billboards, bulletins, profiles, meetings, etc. You may be required to join a political party, interest group, camp, flank and lineup or ever align.

You are also required to play along diplomatically (appear and speak well even when evil), campaign, shout and talk as a sheep in wolf’s clothing. You are seeking for votes from voters. D-day is the voting day.

This is recruitment exercise/program to get elected, or appointed if one fails the election, knowing s/he gets a structure s/he can divert to the appointer (the winner). This is called politics.

+ Parallel arrangement exists for clubs/union/association elections.
+ Similar process exists for organisations’ employees.
They sell their strength, knowledge, certificates, and abilities to employers through similar engagement processes involving putting up a CV, sending them to hundreds of organizations for interviewing appointments, posing to ‘sabi’, contacting persons/God, etc.
This is called job searching/hunting. In government it is politicking: you remember?
Decision day here is interview day.

In all these group, it is only the political man (politicians), [my late uncle used to call it “polotician”] that has problem, at least in our clime.

– The Job seeker immediately employed stop job searching and focus on the employment (work).

– The unionist stop shouting and over-criticizing and focus on union leadership (activism).