Friday, August 24, 2012
Next Batch of Corrupt Officials
Corruption is a common name in most if not all households within this geographical contraction called Nigeria. It originated from the Latin word ‘Corruptus’ meaning to abuse or destroy. So literarily, engaging in corruption is synonymous to abuse of whatever one is corrupting or destroying. Undoubtedly, everyone has in one way or the other experienced corruption. To this end therefore, Corruption has defiled one single meaning; it means different thing to different people, in different location and in different perspectives, but all possessing a common core of negative connotation. For example, in Philosophical, Theological or Moral discourses, corruption relates to spiritual or moral impurity. In the domain of Economy, it relates to the payment for services or materials which the recipient is not due. Politically, it involves dishonest behaviour or conduct in position of trust. Hence, embezzlement, dishonesty, extortion, misappropriation, nepotism, tribalism, bribery, rigging etc. are quintessential manifestation of corruption.
Interestingly, these are the varied ways in which people involve in corrupt practices. It is not limited to any group or institution even though there is a preponderance of it in the political class particularly in Nigeria. For instance, when ordinary citizens, so to speak, lie when they give testimony in court, it is corruption; when a judge declares the guilty innocent and the innocent guilty, it is corruption; when a police officer fabricate evidence in order to favour a particular person in return for money, it is corruption; when a doctor puts his patient in jeopardy for whatever reason, it is corruption; when an academic plagiarises, it is corruption. Also when pastors and imams lie to their followers in order to get respect or favour, it is corruption; when a teacher or lecturer demands sexual gratification to pass a student or when monetary demands are made on student before they pass their exams, it is corruption. The lists are endless; we can go on and on. All these exemplified the wide and multifarious range of corruption around the world in general and Nigeria in particular.
Every state deserves honest public and private officials who are guided by the principles of integrity and patriotism. The growth and development of any nation rest squarely on all, but most especially on public and private office holders who above any other thing put the interest of the country first in their daily routine. Most (if not all) developed societies are as a result of collective responsibility engineered by honest and patriotic leadership. To a large extend therefore; the quality of leadership in a particular country determines the level of development of that state. They provide the much needed enabling environment and infrastructure. Needless to say therefore, that leadership is like a spur that propels a nation forward.
With no intent of enjoying calling anyone names, anyone in full possession of his faculties will not dispute the fact that Nigeria’s leaders are a bunch of corrupt officials who are nothing but a conglomeration of political mistake and misrepresentation. That the problem of this country stems from the problem of leadership, is not just an act of proclamation; it is a fact. And that if corruption and all or most corrupt practices are eliminated, the country will have its lost glory restored, is also not just an assumption. Whatever mess this country has fallen into emanated from the very fact that Nigeria was not and is still not fortunate to be manned by upright people who understand the social contract that binds them with the electorate. The leadership is a horrific monster that devours what belongs to all. The magnitude of the qualms is grandiose as nothing is going well in the country from electricity to pipe-borne water, to employment, to road, to transportation, to education, to health, just name it; everything is in a state of limbo. Everything has been incapacitated by them so they can decide on almost everything that goes around. These characters can not even get one thing to be running efficiently; what a shame! And these are people that are supposed to uphold the dreams and aspirations of the people. They are expected to act in consonant with the deepest yearnings of the people that bestowed them with their mandate. Attention should have been directed toward what the people really want. However, much to their credit is the grossly mismanaged country that is left to be standing on one leg with heavy loads. Of cause, this is as a result of the series of batches of corrupt officials that find their way to public offices and wasted our human and natural resources and they are still wasting. Alhaji (Dr) Yusuf Maitama Sule, Dan Masanin Kano explicitly captures the state of being in the Nigerian state when he asserts that ‘There is corruption in the system, frustration in the people and lack of creativity in the leadership who are suppose to exhibit honesty, integrity and tremendous sense of responsibility’.
One can not in all sincerity quantify the magnitude to which corruption has gripped the country. One requires a kind of revelation to discern the extend of corruption in Nigeria as introduced by the leadership and uphold by other public and private officials. No parastatal, ministry, company, industry (that’s if we have one), school and institution that is left out. Even market women and men are partners in progress. Churches and Mosque also share in it. The entire country is undermined and the problems keep piling-up with no easy solution in view. One can argue that whatever is given them the afflatus to engage in corruption is not unlikely to be symmetrically adjacent with greed, selfishness, and poor moral standards as well as zero consideration for others among other factors. It then baffles anyone with a sane mind to wonder why an innocent, rich and beautiful territory like Nigeria is hijacked by such strata of officials who are completely insensitive to the simplest yearnings of the general public. Indeed, this is a disgusting reality that lacks common sense.
The resultant effect of all these is that the country is jeopardized and left vulnerable to sustainable backwardness because the youths who are later going to ascend to those positions are corrupted by the leadership of today. Today, the average youth believes that he has to cheat in order to succeed. He believes that he has to bribe his way to the top. Integrity, diligence and patriotic zeal to the nation are not in the repertoire of what they believe. This implies that the emerging future leaders will end up constituting nothing but the next batch of corrupt public and private officials. The environment was highly subjected and is still being subjected to dishonest comportment, poor moral values and a primitive desire to amass more than enough for a very few. The youth are keenly watching and learning, this is why it is going to be like trekking from Lagos to Johannesburg to resist the craving temptation to act likewise. It hence becomes imperative that the future of the nation is secured by making concerted effort to properly guide the youth toward diligence, integrity and patriotism.
This country deserves leaders with good intention and patriotic enthusiasm; leaders who are driven by the desire to operate within the dictates of the rule of law and act for the interest of all. Otherwise, the country even in its ‘sorry status’ will continue to see nothing but more of setback. Our dare country can be liberated and taking to great height by her youth, but being at close proximity with corrupt leaders will make them acquire diabolical ideas that will corrupt their young souls to act dishonorably in office. For this reason our young up coming leaders should be allergic to any of such influences. They should look for good role-models with honest demeanours to help shape their thinking and actions. They should look else where (since the home front is corrupted) for inspiration and good leadership skills from leaders that will fumigate their minds with honest principles and patriotic zeal. I strongly believe that for the youth to be the kind of leaders Nigeria needs their mindsets require rehabilitation. What they think, how they think and what they believe are as important as Greece getting out of its financial crisis. Preparation toward a life of purpose and vision do not begin with what one has or can do, but with what one believes. A youth that believes in cheating will work with that mindset. A youth who believes he has to bribe his way to the top will operate within that frame work. Likewise, a youth who believes in commitment, integrity and diligence will live and conduct his affairs with that mentality. This is so because whatever one believes forms a kind of basic principle that guides the person’s conduct.
Time is more than ripe for the youth to get initiated into a life that will help them become great leaders of their followers. Every youth should have a good and positive opinion of him. One day in one way or the other the youth will have to take a decision that will either perpetuate the corruption culture or renounce it. Whichever the youth chooses will depend on what he believes. The youth are not only leaders of tomorrow, but of today because they lead their lives in the direction they want to follow. A youth who cannot lead himself right; cannot possibly lead others right. I believe we don’t require a seer to tell us that simply replacing the old leaders with new ones (as suggested by some people) will not amount to a necessary common sense action to get out of the unfortunate state because it is not about the old and the new; it is about the disposition of their mentality. If the new ones believe what the old ones believe and we merely substitute them, what have we done? It will mean that we just replace a lion with a hyena in a den of goats.
I raise my case.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Political Investment.
The term politics has a Greek origin, ‘politika’ meaning of citizens or relating to citizens. Largely the term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs. By virtue of this therefore, it is governmental affairs that necessitated the emergence and act of politics. Indeed what politics does is to facilitate the avenues through which intending public officers will obtain power in order to serve the state; in so doing it involves the people who are the major stakeholders in the democratic process into selecting candidates that will represent them in government. The people then become the only legal and genuine means through which candidates win election in a Democracy. By it self, Democracy is a system (meaning that it is not a haphazard or extemporaneous administrative methodology aimed at making a society free and fair. Rather, it is a well structured set of procedures that targets and focuses on attaining the wellbeing of the populace through conscious and concerted synergy. Everything within the set up is design and engineered to work by the people responsible) of managing human and material resources of a particular locale in the interest and benefit of all and ensures that majority of the people actively participate in decision making irrespective of their class, gender or religious inclination. This leads us into the fact that by theory (at least as far as Nigeria and other nations are concern) that Democracy is government of the people by the people and for the people. This Abraham Lincoln’s view of Democracy is yet to get a stand in our country because the mentality of our leaders from local to federal level is that as it is shown by George Orwell in his famous novel, Animal Farm in the speech of Snowball which declares that ‘all animals are equal but some are more equal than others.’ And therefore nullifies the free and fair and equal treatment of all within the system. Jose Belo Chipenda, General Secretary, All African Conference of Churches (AACC) said ‘Democracy is about a whole complex of rights and duties which citizens must exercise if a government is to be open, accountable and participatory.’ Indeed, free and fair and equal treatment of all is a right given by the constitution to all men and women.
At its inception, hopes were high to the level of crescendo that such social, economic and political qualms the country faced and still continues to face like poor electricity, unemployment, balance of payment disequilibrium, political apathy, water shortage and host of others will be ameliorated if not totally eradicated. However, things have gone worst today and we have the perpetuation of all these and the coming on board of others like the Boko-raham, Fuel Pump Price(FPP) aka fuel subsidy removal, outrageous fall of the education sector and increase depreciation in the standard of living. Today, more than 70% of Nigerians are set to live below $1 a day as reported by UN.
All these provide us with the notion that our democracy was not founded with people who believe in the tenets of democratic processes. Our leaders do not sincerely believe in it to serve as a platform for the articulation of diverse voices for the propagation of majority decisions in making and implementing policies. Rather, they believe in it to the extend that it will give them comparative advantage over others; they believe in it in so far as it will guarantee them certain social status, political power and economic stability for the victimization of their supposed foes. Their faith in democracy only rest on the believe that it will provide them with the avenue to enrich themselves with their kings and queens.
The resultant effect of all these is that the people are angry with the politicians and how they have succeeded in turning Democracy into something that only the rich enjoys. Indeed it may be factual to assert that Boko-raham is as a result of peoples’ agitation against the whole state of affairs in the country as induced by democratic governers. Every pain and suffering of the past has now tripled and so many jobless hands will join in unleashing terror to their mother land. Isn’t the right thing to do, but what do you called an idle mind? I only hope that things will not generate to what Thomas Hobbs describes as ‘a state of nature where life is brutish, nasty and short.’ The avoidance of this is the beginning of democratic intelligence that will lead the country to discover her glory.
In other democracies around the world, it is the people that decide who wins and who lose an election. Unfortunately, same thing can not be said of Nigeria. This role played by people in the political process has been replaced by money. The electorates no longer possess the power to bring a candidate to power, but money. This new status in a baby democracy like Nigeria’s is perilous and it threatens the fundamentals of the democratic processes.
It is with out doubt that politics of money has taken over Nigeria’s nascent democracy. Our political terrain has been turn to stock exchange. Credibility and integrity is no longer the requirement but money. It is large some of money that guarantees joining the political class as against credibility and integrity. Money is the name of the game; the true fuel that spurs the political system. Money is the motivation not service; money is the mobilizer and the aimed target. Remove the high financial benefit and the game is up for this political criminals.
The huge sum of money put into electioneering campaign by these dubious politicians is not directed towards honest desire to represent and work for the people, but towards return on investment. They see the money they put into the whole process as seed money. They connived to make politics a money making venture. Little wonder the country is still lacking behind in all areas of basic amenities.
Politics is now a class thing because the politicians have succeeded in monetizing it just like everything else in a capitalist state so much so that one is automatically excluded from it once he has little money or no money at all. Except of cause where one gets sponsored which does not easily come by.
It is a serious political tragedy brought about by the very people who are suppose to be the custodians of the country’s political system that politics have been subjected into the law of commodity exchange. You have little money or none at all; you are not in the scheme of things. The affairs of the state has now being turned to money whirling business enterprise by these politicians whose ulterior motive from inception was not to actually serve the state, but their concentric ambitions. Today Nigerian politics have been hijacked by self serving money bags who deprived Nigerians of decent living. They spray so much money on the political terrain to get to power and commit heinous crimes against the majority of the people.
In this regard I will like to talk about how The Independent National electoral commission (INEC) and the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) are partly responsible for this mess. INEC has outrageously place a heavy price tag on those seeking public office from local government councilor up to the president. Today, registration of candidates by INEC requires hundreds of thousands and millions of naira. With this kind of serious money being demanded from candidate they have their attention focused on how to retrieve their money plus interest once they get to office. They are not willing and ready to sacrifice so much in ‘vain’. A case that easily comes to mind is the Ngige and Chris Uba saggar. Chris Uba who is supposedly the sponsor of Ngige declares war on Ngige’s government because he feels that his monetary investments were being threaten. As long as huge monetary commitment is required by those who are willing to serve the people faithfully, the system will hardly be sanitize.
RMAFC on her part pours so much riches to political office holders even when majority of them are not contributing to nation building. Over 60% or so of the annual budget is allocated to public officers salaries. Politicians in Nigerian earn too much for doing too little or nothing, I mean they are over-paid for dosing up on duty. Without fear of contradiction, it is this substantial financial blessings that is causing this nightmare. Clearly, these characters operate by the principles of ‘cause and benefit analyses. With so much money to get including so much freedom to steal more and the inviting allowances here and there they do not mind spending anything to get to power. RMFC should as a matter of urgency have a downward review of the emoluments of public office holders. A lot of pressure and problems would have been done away with from the system. This will create the opportunity for honest people who are sincere in serving the people to come on-board. Or else we will continue to have the kind of corrupt and lazy money concern politicians who lack the initiative to do the simplest thing in office.
I believe you can remember the slogan, ‘bow and go’ in the senate during the ministerial nomination by David Mark. That is frankly annoying and it shows the level of indolence and lack of interest by the so called representatives to do what they are elected to do. They simply lack the questions to ask these ministerial nominees or what? Can you imagine this colossal national aberration! Compare this with how US senate drills their nominees. Hillary Clinton, former first lady and two times senator was nominated as foreign secretary of state, but you need to see how she was drill to the pops by the house as if they never knew her. Have the same situation in Nigeria and David Mark will declare immediately madam foreign secretary of state steps into the podium, ‘madam we know your records, you are one of us, we believe you will do your job well; so just take a ‘bow and go’.’ what a comedy! What an insult to the sensibility of our common intelligence! This should have being the opportunity to access her competence into her new responsibility. The responsibilities and duties of a senator certainly is not the same with that of a foreign secretary; it requires a completely different approach. Little wonder lots of square- pegs are always put in a round hole in this country.
Conclusively, there is need to divorce so much money from politics because having the two will always produce the twin brothers, corruption and poverty and our innocent country will be forced into perpetual impoverishment. The political immorality we see today is the product of their co-ordinated miscalculation and misappropriation! INEC and RMAFC should urgently redress their position on the state of things in the country’s polity so as not to continue to suffocate the arteries of true democratic order. Without doubt, the liberty given by Democracy is so as to benefit all and not some few people. The concept of freedom in a Democracy is such that an individual’s liberty ends where that of another begins. In other words, one’s right must be exercise in consideration of those of others. All these are geared toward the creation of ‘social good’ which is the product of co-ordinated intelligence. ‘Social good’ is in a way, the avoidance of misery to the accomplishment of happiness. And all human beings deserves happiness not some individuals. The foundation of Democracy in ancient Greek was to the accomplishment of this very fact. The Greek founded Democracy on the principles of patriotism, honesty, integrity, accountability and tremendous sense of responsibility. However, the Nigerian situation has taking another dimension contrary to what it is obtained from the founders. Alh. (Dr) Yusuf Maitama Sule, Dan Masanin Kano captured it thus: ‘The syndrome of everybody for himself and God for us all, the devil takes the hindermost has relegated our natural responsibility of being our brothers keepers.’ If anything needs to be done is NOW. I raise my case.
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