How Constituted Authority of Today Manipulate the Minds of Nigerians

Constituted Authority of Today

Special thanks to Governor Ajimobi of Oyo State for bringing to limelight the longtime coinage "constituted authority". He has indeed justified the prestigious seat, the power inherent in it and the attitude portrayed by people of the seat. Noticeably, the constituted authority in Nigeria of today is the ‘All Progressive Congress’ operating at all levels - federal, state and local with an ideology to change the then limping economy.

As Medical Doctors rely on their surgical tools and instruments, and the Judge's pronouncement is incomplete without a gavel (say hammer), then the Constituted Authority cannot but operate with the aid of certain elements for running its affairs. At this juncture, one should reason about the elements used and how they prevail.

The elements in question here are the three P's - Politricks, Press, and Propaganda which work for the benefit of the government. The elements highlighted above work inter-relatedly and inter-dependently by manipulating the minds of Nigerians to maintain the status quo.


POLITRICKS
The arrow head of all the elements discussed here is “POLITRICKS”. This concept simply means the tricks and the gimmicks in the game of polity engineered by the ruler against the ruled. In Nigeria's dispensation, the gimmicks surface during and after the electoral process - registration, voting, and declaration of results. During the electoral process, “stomach care” in form of money and other items are channeled towards the poor wards in the society (because their votes count in winning the preferred position).

After the declaration of result, the constituted authority now demonstrates its will through several agents - criminal justice system, press, propaganda. The criminal justice system (police, court system and prison) is excluded from this discussion because it does not aid the manipulation of Nigerian minds but rather a mechanism for unequal treatment of the rich and the poor. Political office holders, therefore, use press and propaganda to keep rolling the affairs of the nation.

PRESS
The press is arguably an instrument of the state which relays the minds of the state to the general public. Press operations, therefore, manifest through the TV, Radio, newspaper and internet sites owned by the federal government or private individuals. Most importantly, private-owned media (TV, Radio, blogs) are boxed to a corner to propagate the truth. 

Government-owned press mediums help to propagate only what the government in power wants people to hear - for instance, the APC government have been exposing the looters of government treasury, where they hid the funds (cemetery, abandoned buildings, soak-away e.t.c.), blaming the past administration for the current economic situation and so on.

PROPAGANDA
Newscasting is another medium used by the government of today to maintain status quo and manipulate the minds of citizens. Majorly, news is expected to be what actually happened to a particular person, group at a particular time and place but surprisingly government in power oftentimes sponsor various news either to ridicule past government or to propagate the goodwill of their government.

Propaganda stands the test of time in Nigerian present government through various means. What is glaring in the activities of today’s government is the unexpected money found here and there. While some believed it is the truth, it could also be propaganda just to receive the praises of the general public.

I beseech you to reason with the news you hear and rub minds with the intelligential so as not to be fooled.
#God Bless Nigeria

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