The Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) has said that the recent gale of defections and shenanigans by politicians coupled with the brazen display of impunity by security services are being done within the narrow confines of individualistic concerns, This Is Lagos reports.

President of the Association, Denja Abdullahi, and its Assistant General Secretary, Maik Ortserga, made this known in a statement released today.

“As the 2019 general elections beckons, the media has recently been inundated with news of Nigerian politicians switching lines, disconnecting and connecting new political cables and raising new convertors to ignite their political luminosities. The panic sown by politicians rationalising their conducts, yelling so loudly about biases meted out on them has led many to wonder whether the leadership class in Nigeria will ever get it right,” said the statement.

ANA went on to ask, "where does the recent activity leaves the people?"

This question, is stated, is very apt because one does not need a crystal ball to see that the recent gale of defections and shenanigans coupled with the brazen display of impunity by security services are being done within the narrow confines of individualistic concerns instead of the broader concerns of the people.

Further explaining that the bad news is that these political inadequacies are stretching our democracy to a breaking point, the statement said it is sad that politics in this country is still not in the interest of the people several years after the country’s return to democracy.

“Now, the politicians have squandered the credit they won in the hey days of this administration. Instead of reforming Nigeria, they now choose to fight over power, blocking each other’s personal ambitions at the expense of the common good. Corruption and impunity are still rife and institutions are still dysfunctional. The current defections are not driven by fundamental ideological consideration. Thus the practice of politics by our leaders has fallen short of the standards of democratic governance,” said the statement.

ANA said further that as the umbrella body of writers in this country, it is not just important that it points out the unprogressive nature of these defections and shenanigans by politicians, it also feels bold to remind the actors in the new direction of events in the country to be wary of the anger of the people, which has been inflated to a bursting point.

To further emphasise this point, ANA quoted Chris Okigbo who said, “…Let them remember thunder when they share the meat,” adding that the politicians should remember that they are accountable to the masses and that the day of account will soon come in 2019 when they will realise how impossible it is to say no to the thunderous will of the people.

Also quoting Martin Luther King Jr. when he said, “When an individual no longer feels a sense of responsibility to his society, the content of democracy is emptied”, the statement concluded that a word is more than enough for the wise and for those who will listen and act true to the trust given to them by the masses.