Government and politics are twin variables fashioned by man to arrest the chaotic condition of their state of being for a more humane, more civil, and more productive society.
In other words, it involves the articulation of various facets of ‘societal needs into a whole, that can be coordinated and controlled for the overall benefit of members of the society.
In this context, therefore, politics serves as the vehicle by which change occurs in society while government is the institutional framework that provides direction in the administration of the society.
And because the interests and needs of individuals in society are dynamic, politics and government must of necessity be the forerunner of change.
It is in light of this, that we see the various initiatives being introduced by the present administration particularly at the federal level in our socio-economic and political spheres, indeed at whatever platform as a welcome development, more profoundly the war against corruption and the withdrawal of petroleum subsidy.
The same measure holds for other states in the federation including Cross River State.
As it were, change as a constant phenomenon has both positive and negative impacts on the society in which it occurs depending on which side of the divide, members of the society find themselves.
Change, according to Fredrick Angele in his dialectics of nature does not end in the transfer of power from one government to another, but in the switching of the feeling of despair in a people to that of hope.
Undeniably, this is what the present administration craves to attain as could be gleaned from its activities and policy pronouncements.
In every situation in which change occurs, there is no denying the fact that some people feel the impact of such change directly and may not wholly embrace this new phenomenon.
While this is not the issue in contention, what is important is adaptability to the new situation for the fostering of the development of society.
Adaptability is the desire of an individual to conform to or make himself suitable and useful within the system.
It spells tolerance and patience and, in part a measure of understanding of the prevailing circumstance and mutual relationship between the leadership and followership.
This is what Cross Riverians need to do to the present state administration to enable it to continue to make available to the people of the state the best in its storehouse.
Our political history significantly shows that we enjoyed this sad privilege in the past of having more people distancing themselves from the government rather than collectively making inputs into the system.
This time around there is a need for a re-orientation of our collective thinking as we stand to gain nothing by sitting on the fence or becoming armchair critics instead of being active participants.
This has become imperative, particularly with the growing ugly trend in which the constant flow of criticism within the media on most government actions and inaction has even begun to undermine the consensus necessary for our democracy to continue to thrive to an enviable level.
Therefore, let us resolve today not to refer to the government and its top functionaries as “THEY”
Let us see government as “OUR OWN” and the unity of Nigeria as our project.
Finally, let us see the affairs of the government as our own and the current changes in the machinery of government as not only normal but also desirable in the belief that it would certainly change despair to hope for a greater majority of the people.
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