“If the words don’t add up, it’s usually because the truth wasn’t added into the equation”
Politics and of course leaders are (in) famously known for lying. One curious concern though is why do leaders lie?
One of my favorite books in recent time is “Lying” by bestselling author and neuroscientist Sam Harris. He states: that although there may be life and death situations that require a person to lie; ethically superior, noble people don’t lie. He contends that lies cause irreparable rifts in relationships, causing us to distrust those on whom we had relied. So, to lie is to sacrifice our integrity, and to place the possibility of deep and meaningful bonds with fellow humans at risk.
How much more then do citizens get hurt by their leaders that lie to them and distorts facts and figures much more when such leaders bear the title of Gods servant and are supposed to be of the highest intellectual pedigree?
The role of a leader is to set the vision and guide their people in the direction they believe is right for them. Sounds accurate, however once you factor in the unknown challenges that show up – leaders are often found at a crossroads in terms of what’s the best next course of action. Their role requires both keeping their faith and the spirit of their followers as they push forward. All of this pressure can cause good people to (do and) say bad things.
Speaking in New York earlier in the week, vice president Osinbajo had claimed that, “As at 2010, Nigeria had about 112.7million people living in extreme poverty. Nothing in place, there was no Social Investment Programme, there was no social security, no way of taking people out of poverty.”
These are lies and are controvertible by the least of us based on available data.
According to the United Nations and the World Poverty Clock, Nigeria overtook India as the world headquarters for extreme poverty on Tuesday, June 26, 2018, when her population of extremely poor people ‘INCREASED’ to an unprecedented 87 million people. If, according to both the United Nations and the World Poverty Clock, Nigeria’s population of extremely poor people hit an unprecedented number of 87 million people in 2018 under President Buhari and ‘pastor’ Osibanjo, how is it possible that there were 112.7 million people living in extreme poverty in 2010?
If that were true, then Nigeria would have overtaken India as the world headquarters for extreme poverty in 2010, because as at that time, India did not have such numbers of extremely poor people.
According to the annual Global Hunger Index published by the US based International Food Policy Research Institute, whereas hunger increased in other parts of sub Saharan Africa, for the first time since records were kept, Hunger reduced in Nigeria by 20% in 2013 under the Jonathan administration. Those are enough punctures to the lie before it becomes a comparison between the bad and the worse. Not like Jonathan’s administration did well enough for Nigerians.
With over four years spent under the administration of a president and vice president who blatantly ignores facts and makes up their own narrative, it’s time for all of us to acknowledge that the occupants of the Aso rock Villa are habitual and consistent liar. Their comfort with lying, without regard for consequence or accountability, is only one of the many reasons that we are where we are as a nation.
While past administrations have resorted to varying degrees of spin to defend their records and promote their policies, none have come close to the tsunami of falsehoods that the Buhari led administration has unleashed. Leaders lie. Good leaders lie too. They have their reasons. Not all of them are the right ones. But some are and such to a large extent define the character of such leaders.
The job of a leader is to point the people in the direction he believes is right for them. And then plow forward in that direction, regardless of the challenges that are thrown in the path. They should know that things aren’t always going to go right, there will be setbacks. But the people need encouragement and assurances that they’re doing the right thing by following them. They want to hear promises without been lied to. They crave to hear the confidence in the voice of their leaders without unleashing falsehood.
There’s a fine line between deception and truth that a leader has to walk. But every great leader has walked this line before. As long as a leader believe in his heart that the intentions are right, there is no basis to distort facts.
Nigerian leaders have not yet come to terms with the corrosive effect lying has on our political discourse, and on our democratic system. As Buhari and Osinbajo litter the news with such falsehoods, it becomes increasingly difficult for the people of Nigeria to properly assess his record for the failure that it is.
We need to discuss the disturbing rise in crimes of banditry, kidnapping and insurgence across the country. We need to reveal how our skyrocketing levels of wealth inequality are about to be supercharged by another likely recession. We need to discuss why power is still a mirage despite promises and proclamations by this administration. We certainly need to talk about how his agenda is actually hurting so many of his own political supporters.
Our democracy like every other in the world depends on the public’s ability to remain accurately informed on our state of affairs. Every day that the presidency lies to the people and is allowed to get away with it, he interferes with this dynamic, and erodes the foundations of our system. And as the media lets him continue without punitive rebuke, they set a dangerous precedent regarding where the limits of acceptable presidential behavior are, or are not.
Let him that comes to equity come with a clean hand.
AYODEJI OLOGUN is a political analyst, a public speaker and a broadcast Journalist.
He can be reached via emmanologun@gmail.com
