Is Liberalism Under Trial?

It is now that I appreciate the classical wisdom of Ibn Khaldum when he averred that the most permanent phenomena in human existence is change. To him, change is not only eternally permanent, but historically transient. Man, overtly or covertly must appreciate this reality if he should maintain his humanity. As a transcendal being, man should navigate his life on the ocean and horizon of this eternal and dynamic force of existence. Within the prism of Thermo-dynamic realities of human life, man is nothing but a molecular unit of value in a quantum of continuum sailing on the waves of time. And since time is an endless cyclical movement in a spaceless horizon, we must find our right places and positions in this historical vacuum of transcendality.

In the past, we were endlessly inundated with a lot of literatures as to the efficacies of the liberal theories and principles. Right from Adam (Gauntung) Smith's Book, The Wealth of Nations, where gullible and stupid men were deceived into believing the fallacies of the doctrine of the market forces to the present era of globalisation, capitalism and all the evil forces behind it never gave us a breather on the indispensability of economic liberalism. Concepts such as privatization, commercialization, reformation, market forces, lazier fair, etc were forced down our throats. But today, things are changing fast. Trials, transformations, reforms, challenges, doctrinal suicides, compromises in economic principles etc are awash on our global scene.

In America today, time and its related companion, change, is dealing a deadly blow on the structural fallacies of liberalism. Within a spade of no time, the institutional structures of this system came crashing in New York and Washington DC. As a dream, the realities of this change caught both the American government and the neo-conservatives pants down. For over a century, they lied, deceived, cajoled, misled and misinformed the world about this concept. But last week, in the middle of the empire this concept boomeranged and global financial octopuses came tumbling to the ground. They were humbled by truth, justice and common sense in scientific voyage of time and change. Fannie Mae and Freddie Marc came crashing like packs of wool in a hurricane wind. Not done yet, Lehman Brothers went AWOL (absent without leave) and is desperately seeking liberation from the clutches of liberal policies. America and American institutions in America, are now preaching the concepts that they spent over one hundred years destroying all over the world. Today, the American government, and a Republican one for that matter, is opting for a state controlled economy; a state intervention using tax payers’ money to underwrite a huge financial burden of a private enterprise. What a shame and what a pity!

What is paining me now is the fact that, since April 1985, Nigeria joined this economic religion and assumed a central position in its wholesome application of its policies, principles, conditionalities and deceptions. We mortgage our national assets and surrender our national heritage to them. Through these policies, we were enslaved, imprisoned, confined and caged in an economic hoopaloola of liberal institutions. I hope and pray people like IBB who selfishly swamp into this ocean of lies and deceptions is now alive to its staggering realities. I equally hope and pray that he still has some little degree of conscience to regret and remorse over his decisions to sell us cheap to this lot of liberal dung heads. Where is OBJ and his economic team - the Okonjos, el-Rufais, Ezekwesiles, the pretty dumb Nenadis etc. Today their spiritual economic shrines are being blown to pieces by time and change. Where is Soludo who gobble this concept in the morning and worship it in the night? Time has disgraced them and change has humiliated them in an ignominious manner. America has gone state controlled economy. Their holy scripture is on trial, and is failing and falling all over.

I hope our national leadership is watching these events keenly and seriously. What is happening in America is a trial for them if at all they are men given to right senses and wisdom. President Umar Yar'adua, the National Assembly as well as the rest of us must take these lessons with all the seriousness that it deserves. In governance, service to the citizens is sacrosanct. Government is all about the people, not profit. Welfare of citizens is measured by governmental magnanimity to them, not by private posting of profit yearly. The public should not be sacrificed on the alter of private gains. This is the wisdom time and change is teaching us in America, and I hope we are good students of change.