By Rev Fr Gerald Nwafor
The common opinion was that the proverbial chicken standing with one leg is a JJC (Jonny Just Come). In some clans, the chicken will be called a newbie or a new arrival. It was understood that the new chicken is checking out the new environment to see if it is a comfortable place or a dangerous place. It will take the chicken a while to acclimate to the place and put down the second leg. There may be other impressions about the new chicken in town, but the common one is the one I narrated above. The people who lived in a culture where they do not see or raise chickens domestically do not get the proverb, so they asked me what if the chicken had no legs at all? I was shocked that we never thought about a legless chicken. The new chicken is supposed to be careful and shy. The discussion was based on new leaders and how they manage the industries and communities they find under their leadership. I believe it will take a while for a new leader to make an impact and get the situation under control. But what do you say when the new leader is taking so long to start, or has no idea about the situation, is that not a legless chicken?
The leadership of Nigeria by democracy is only 26 years old. In a sense, it is still young, and people are learning a few things by the day. Democracy in Africa is a recent invention; there is no African country that can boast of 100 years of democratic leadership. I was thinking that with time, the second leg of the chicken will come down, and the chicken will start a new life in a new environment. I may be wrong if the chicken is legless because there would be no leg at all to put down.
Few events make you worry. If you look at the democratic process in other countries of the world compared to Nigeria, you will wonder what we are practicing. It is not a monarchy; it is not a democracy; nor is it communism. Maybe a new name will be fashioned for the system of government the Nigerian public is practicing. I want to say that a government where the lawmakers are dancing to the whims and caprices of the executive is not fully democratic. On the other hand, the executives have the judiciary in their pocket; meanwhile, those three are supposed to be separated in a democratic system of government.How do we get the system working?
We were all happy in 1999 when the military handed power over to the civilians in a democratic process. Although, there has never been a smooth election since 1999. The elections have been marred by violence and rigging. But since the arrival of the new chicken, the growth has been stunted, and progress has been very limited. Most of us were hoping that by now the new chicken must have put down the second leg and begin to enjoy the benefits of the new environment. What we are seeing today is a total departure from the dream handed over to us by the masters of the democratic traditions and precepts. There is a thing that we see today in Nigeria that begs the question, “What are we practicing?” Do you know that in the Nigerian democracy, the president can suspend a governor whenever he wants? The president can go to London for a medical checkup and stay for six months, and his cronies will tell us to our faces that the president can govern from anywhere. Do not think that this impunity is limited to the president alone. The governors are the demigods themselves. If a local government chairperson is not from the same party as the governor, he may not be allowed to visit the government house. If the assembly member is not from the same party as the governor, their input in the congress is not considered. All these facts are not folklore but have happened, are happening, and will continue to happen because there is no clear plan to stop it. (The chicken has no legs to put down).
If there was a leg in 1999 when the fourth republic was born, now there is no leg at all. The problems and vices of 1999 have multiplied tremendously. Although the 1999 set of politicians were not saints, there are things they cannot do because it was inimical to democracy and would create distrust between the political actors and the public. All those cautions have been thrown away, and impunity is the order of the day. The governors who did not kowtow to the central government and promise with their lives to support the president see their federal allocation reduced to such a minimal level that they would struggle to pay salaries.
In a democracy, are states not supposed to be independent? I think we need to start looking for a new name for the kind of politics we play, and give our government a new name that is befitting of it, that has nothing to do with democracy. Today, on the state level, all the elected local government chairmen are from the party of the sitting governor. If the governor did not align with the president, a state of emergency would be imposed on the state, and the governor would be removed. The president will impose a military sole administrator on the state, and the sole administrator will dissolve the previously elected local government official and conduct a new election, and put the president’s thugs in the position. If you shout blue murder, they will tell you, “Go to court.” And some arrogant cronies of the federal government will tell you to your face that they will do it again, and heaven will not fall. We have seen in recent times that they can repeat it, and nothing happens.
The president has been outside Nigeria from January 2025 to September 2025, not less than 15 times. Please, who took away the chicken legs? We are in a deep crisis. The government of Nigeria, under this democratic process, has lost everything democratic. Now I know that some chickens have no legs to stand on; they are just rolling on the floor and would soon die if care is not taken, and the consequence will be anarchy and chaos. So, my brother, the proverbial chicken who arrived in a new environment and was standing on one leg, may be legless if not properly guided by the custodians of the community example, the Nigerian government.
