DEMOCRACY FOR THE RICH

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The rich always have the advantage; they go to the best schools, live in the best environment, and have the luxury to enjoy the best amenities there are in the state. These neighbourhoods are better protected having the rich enjoying even better peace and serenity, while the poor have a crowded and dirty neighbourhood with high rates of crime. Sometimes, these neighbourhoods lack basic provisions of security needs like a police stand or station. And where there is a police station, they are sometimes extorted and mistreated by those meant to protect them.

Some events have occurred both in Africa and even in Europe, where issues affecting society but not directly affecting the rich are neglected, and the poor suffer for years in such conditions. But once the problem affects the rich, that is when the government will take action to solve the problem. Somewhere in Europe during the 1800s, waterborne pollution was killing people and making the poor sick. The poor were living in that situation. There were various reports concerning the problem, and it was not solved for decades. But as soon as the issue was getting close to the rich, in no time, there was a solution to the water pollution, and the problem was resolved at the earliest time.

It is no news today that a problem that does not affect the poor in my country is not regarded as a serious problem, in the same country where we have a large number of the population complains about low supply of light, we have areas of the rich where there is a better supply of light, a country where we complain bitterly about insecurity, we have the rich sleeping comfortably in their houses because the problem doesn’t affect them, a country where there is high cry of hunger, yet the government are doing nothing about it but will rather ask the poor populace to bear the hardship as it is but for a while.

The rich are always at an advantage, not just from the state government, but also among their fellow rich people and even from the poor. Government policies will affect the rich only very slightly, but any bad call by the government always has a strong impact on the poor. For someone who has a couple of million naira in his account, for instance, the removal of the fuel subsidy will not be felt by such an individual, in comparison to someone who has little to nothing to his name.

It is the government of the rich because the laws of the land are designed to protect the rich; some of these laws were written by the rich when they were in power. Many government officials are either businessmen or have business affiliations, and as such, will always create laws that favour their businesses. For favours, the government will do anything just to be on the good side of the rich and influential because these are the ones who have put them there in a corrupt world.

Thank you for reading. My name is@rishagamo, and this is my response to the Hive Learners weekly Featured Content Week 202 Episode 02: “GOVERNMENT OF THE RICH”.