Lessons From Ukraine's Collapsed Coalition

By Dr. Chuma Wilson

There may be many key lessons to learn in a country like Nigeria, about the recent collapse of Ukraine's complicated nine-month old coalition government. Ukraine is one of the countries that emerged after the collapse of the former USSR. Especially, Ukraine like their giant neighbour Russian are people of Slavonic or serf race. Their languages are similar. Their cultures and behaviors and life pattern are also identical. Ukraine has a common border with the north European country of Finland or as the people of Finland call themselves Suom.

The two actors, who have been tormenting their country with high levels of political intrigues are the Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshnko and President Victor Yushchenko, and his pro western 2004 orange revolution. Instead of concentrating on serious national social and economic, they were very busy with social economic dogmatism in an attempt to please the west. Ukraine, like other parts of former USSR suffered very much during the Second World War. The collapsed coalition government even entered into negotiation with NATO for membership despite the fact that the vast majority of the population were totally against such a move. Ukraine has a developed economy. Its industry is developed, social institutions developed and agriculture developed.

The opposition parties want closer ties with Russian and their brothers in Belorrusian. They are strongly opposed to the government's dogmatic policy of GOLODOMOR. The policy of Golodomor being propagated by the president and the prime minister, simply states that Russian Federation should pay huge compensations to Ukraine for the tragedies and mass violation of fundamental human rights under Marshall Joseph Stalin in the 1930's when many people were banished. But the fact is that the concept of Golomor vanished a very long time ago, even before the second world wars, known also in the former USSR as the great patriotic war. All the ethnic groups, including the Russian suffered from the tragedies of 1930's under Stalin. Marshall Stalin however led USSR to defeat German fascism in 1946.

The interesting lesson about Ukraine's leadership clamour of Golodomor is that power seeking politicians can dig from graves, old prejudices, hatred and bias as a means of sustaining power, especially when such ruling classes are incapable of meeting their people's pressing demands. This is a great lesson for our country Nigeria.

Many analysists believe that Ukraine’s pro-western leaders are trying by clever ways, to benefit from Russia’s huge dollar reserves, from oil and gas by raising issues very outdated and reactionary, to suit their immediate needs. They are not likely to succeed
The soviet head of state during the era of Golodomor was Marshal Joseph Stalin, a Georgian not a Russian. This may also sound very strange to many Nigerian readers that the founder of KGB then was also not a Russian. The father of KGB Felix Dshenzky was a Polish international revolutionary.

The two Ukrainean leaders have become fierce rivals ahead of the impending presidential election, which is most likely to come up much earlier than originally scheduled in 2010. A party, or parties that will come out with a clear out programmes for social economic development, will definitely carry the day in a highly politically and socially conscious society such as Ukraine. The key lesson here is that dogmatism or opportunism may pay in politics but only temporary. They, in most cases always misfire. What Ukraine needs today like Nigeria is a government that will regard people's basic needs as a cardinal agenda.