Control the input
The citizen, the system, and the leader are trapped in a loop. If none can easily be fixed from the inside, where does change begin?
A system cannot enforce itself
A system cannot enforce itself; it requires human operators. But what happens when those operators bend the system towards their own goals, gains, and biases?
Frank argues that the only way to control this is by controlling the input: controlling how these operators are chosen.
Users in a broken workflow
I have argued that we, as citizens, are terrible people. No, I am not wrong, but I have come to realise that this is a flawed perspective. We are just users in a broken workflow. Would I rather wait three months for a passport, or just pay someone to get it in three days?
The system is broken—intentionally, at that—to serve the whims and caprices of a select few. A working Nigeria is a threat to some. You heard it; I heard it: one man saying he prefers Nigeria the way it is.
A three-pronged problem
Now back to my question. How does one solve this three-pronged problem? Remember:
- You cannot easily fix the citizens because the system forces us to cheat to survive.
- You cannot easily fix the system because our leaders actively sabotage it.
- You cannot easily fix the leadership because we citizens are too busy surviving to hold them accountable, and the system for choosing new leaders is already compromised.
Control the input
Frank’s solution is to control the input. Control who gets to power. It is the easiest of the three. I cannot fix the system because I do not have the power. I cannot fix the citizens because who’d listen to me? But I can choose who I want to rule me.
Pheewww. I dunno.