THE CIRCUS CALLED NIGERIAN DEMOCRACY- BY ADAIAH

‘Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance........It is the worship of jackals by jackasses.......Democracy is the art of running the circus from the monkey cage'  -H.L.Mencken

        I must state that I do not agree with most of the views expressed by this American satirist however on this particular opinion of his, I imagine Mencken catapulted in a trance to the Nigerian amphitheatre with our democracy being the spectacle of the night; and awakening, he must have summed up his observation in the opinion expressed above .Well Mencken if ever he did enjoy circuses, would have watched his last nearly 6 decades ago an so cannot confirm my suspicions; however, I having had a glimpse of the spectacle of our democracy would seek to expound the dramatis personae in this spectacle of monumental proportions

THE RINGMASTER

In the rowdy circus of the Nigerian democratic experience, picking out the ringmaster(or perhaps ringmasters)can be quite tricky. However, a keen attention to the show will reveal one which i would call the Umpire. The umpire is a good ringmaster , minimally interrupting activities in the circus but giving some form of control; announcing times for performances and which performers were to take centre stage but rescinding quickly and unable to control the circus. Although he has rehearsed this performance severally, he always muddles up everything much to the chagrin of spectators who pay quite a fortune to watch this spectacle; and does he improve over time?

THE CLOWNS

Colourful and easy to spot, they dominate the stage, they are the most noticeable jumping from one tent to the other, speaking from both sides of the mouth, making unrealistic and outrageous promises, often pathetically trying to impress. They paradoxically control the ringmaster often making him dance to their tune.Most noticeable about them is their unreliability and unpredictability. They have one goal in mind – To be given a rousing applause( in kind of course).

THE CONTORTIONISTS

These are my most beloved characters in the Nigerian circus; they are often the most erudite and formal( maybe because it is part of the requirements for distorting facts).Their sobriquets in the Nigerian democratic circus range from political spokespersons, media publicity advisers, publicity secretaries, information managers and so on.Their main function however is to rationalize, support and explain the many ineptitude of the clowns that strode the circus and in a bid to do this, often become like their employers but much to their credit, they seem to have kept the clowns in business.

DAREDEVIL STUNT ACTS

These are becoming more noticeable; funny personalities with outright psychotic tendencies, they specialize in all forms of intimidation, threats and outright violence. Employed by the clowns, they often become uncontrollable, further causing chaos in the already chaotic circus.

FLEA CIRCUS

These are the sycophants in common parlance; flocking wherever they see crumbs of all kinds, whether physical bread crumbs or attention and recognition. The sole aim of the flea circus is to serve its own purpose by whatever means possible and of course at the expense of whoever is willing to have an ego massage.

SPECTATORS

In the amphitheater called Nigeria, almost everyone is an act (even the spectators) –The rowdiest of all acts, they range from those who look through prisms coloured by religion, ethnicity and outright ignorance to those disdained by the performance who grimace and complain to anyone who gives a listening ear and finally those who have chosen to dispassionately watch the whole spectre hoping that it would one day end.
                                                                                                                                                                                                         .....to be continued