* Invited Guest Speech at the Joshua Generation Summit organised by the Town Hall Meetings Project (THMP) and Timeless Magazine held on Saturday 26th June 2010, Lagos, Nigeria.
† Global Coordinator, Champions For Nigeria International
‡‡ I owe a very large part of this section to Dr Femi Ajayi’s paper titled “Nigerian Politics-Past, Present, and Future” Presented at the 46th Independence Anniversary of Nigeria organised by Nigerian Association of Southern California, Colton, California and published in Nigeriaworld.com, 30th Oct. 2006. (I feel I do not have to reinvent the wheel)
1. Introduction
On Wednesday 16th June 2010, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu declared in Ibadan that the nation’s misfortunes stemmed from placing the leadership of the country in the hands of “mediocrities, felons of unimaginable crimes and erstwhile beggars who now live in benumbing opulence”. He said the fortunes of the country have been, and is being frittered away by “profligate impostors”, and that the activities of the leadership continued to threaten the very existence of the country.
Mr Akeredolu has captured my thinking and the thinking of many right-thinking, patriotic Nigerians – we do not have leadership; they are not worthy; they are criminals; they are extremely greedy thieves; they are charlatans and impostors; they are mediocre pretending to be geniuses; they are wolves in sheep clothing.
While thanking Timeless Magazine, George Ashiru and Town Hall Meetings Project for the opportunity to dialogue on "Nigeria - Past, Present, and Future", I would urge that we should not waste much time in debating the past, but should focus on the future, using the present day events as indicator to measure the future.
2. What shaped the past? What characterized our past? ‡‡
Nigeria is, according to the controversial 2005 Census, a country of about 150 million people comprising of over 250 ethnic groupings, with more than 4, 000 dialects, either by accident or design, came under the British rule. Obtaining Independence over 49 years ago, October 1, 1960, and a Republic in 1963, with a federal structure and three regional governments based on the compass points of north, east, and west, Nigeria is still very split along ethnic and religious lines. Thanks to Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida for this leaky pact.
‡‡ Historically, the then colonial master, Great Britain’s mixing of different groups and calling them Nigeria, could have been a blunder. However, when life made lemon, you make lemonade out of it. This mixture obtains almost everywhere in the world, and most countries make the most of it, hence the phrase, Unity in Diversity. The attainment of independence through the combined activities of Dr. Nnamidi Azikiwe, Eastern Region Premier, the First Nigerian President, a journalist, was best remembered for his commitment to the Nigerian nation; Alhaji Sir Tafawa Balewa, First Nigerian Prime Minister, a teacher, was widely admired for his simplicity and humility. Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Western Premier, a lawyer, an unyielding advocate of federalism and socio-economic programs; Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, Northern Premier, known for his efforts to bring the North along side the Western Education, are appreciated by Nigerians.
Ahmadu Bello once said, at least for the likes of religious and ethnic zealots to take note:
"Here in the Northern Nigeria we have people of many different races, tribes and religions who are knit together to common history, common interest and common ideas, the things that unite us are stronger than the things that divide us. I always remind people of our firmly rooted policy of religious tolerance. {Underlined mine} We have no intention of favouring one religion at the expense of another. Subject to the overriding need to preserve law and order, it is our determination that everyone should have absolute liberty to practice his belief according to the dictates of his conscience…"
Religious tolerance should be a binding 'string' for Nigerians.
The efforts of Nigerian founding fathers to keep Nigeria united were thwarted by the Military in 1966 with the conviction that the regional Premiers deviated from the unity efforts. Military interference lasted till 1999, with divine intervention.
Aguiyi Ironsi struggled for Nigerian Unity, but unfortunately, had no time. His colleagues showed him the way out of power and then this world in a swift reaction to his policy of Unitary Government.
A very young Yakubu Gowon picked up the pieces from late Ironsi, and saw Nigeria through a 30-month civil war, with made-to-believe of no winners, no losers, and declared the three Rs to unite Nigeria: Reconstruction, Reconciliation, and Rehabilitation. Gowon moved Nigeria from the regional partition to Statehood, with the creation of 12 States.
While Gowon pled with Nigerians to allow his ruling Team to have their breakfast after nine years of Military rule, Murtala Mohammed, told him, in the Military language, to go and have the breakfast someone else. Some hardcore Military officers did not like being stopped from taking their breakfast; they took Mohammed out of this world, like they did with Aguiyi Ironsi.
Mohammed and Obasanjo, ruling together, further divided Nigeria into 19 smaller states, further polarising Nigerians. Mohammed’s short reign had a major impact on subsequent developments in the Nigerian nation. On assumption of office, he reformed the civil service and other major institutions. His government outlined a political program that included the creation of seven more states, the drafting of a new constitution, and the organization of state and national elections as a prelude to a return to civilian rule on 1 October 1979. he it was who also changed the Federal capital from Lagos to Abuja. His government also ran a dynamic foreign policy.
A reluctant (so they told us) Olusegun Obasanjo continued Mohammed's reforms. Nigeria changed from the British Parliamentary system to American Presidential system in 1979 - a system that is so encumbered with corruption, if there were no 'shock absorbers' to control its operations and fraught with dangers. Obasanjo handed over the baton to a controversially elected Shehu Shagari, denying Obafemi Awolowo the chance to transmute the magic he performed in the Western Region to the national level. What we could attribute to Obasanjo's military administration was the handling over to the civilian since the Military took over in Nigeria, in 1966. That was a legacy.
Shehu Shagari, a morally upright person, however could not control his ministers and allowed them to wallow in the mire of corruption. The Military came back in 1983, as he was about to settle down for his second term, as a civilian President.
Muhammed Buhari, with Tunde Idiagbon as the second in command, struggled to instil some discipline in the Nigerian society, especially against the drug dealers. Its popular slogan was "War Against Indiscipline". Unfortunately the discipline journey in Nigeria was cut short by another Military intervention, this time with the coup architect, Ibrahim Babangida.
Ibrahim Babangida administration, with seemingly good support and enthusiasm from the Nigerian public after the heavy-handedness and discipline of Buhari/Idiagbon, and with apparently great ideas for statehood, progress and development was however destined to falsehood and deprivation: the devastating Structural Adjustment Program, SAP; the obvious destruction of our education and the middle class; the total collapse of Nigeria infrastructure; the “institutionalisation” of corruption; the promotion of another brand of economic sabotage, the popular "419"; and finally the annulment of the most credible election in Nigerian History, June 12, 1993.
Sometime ago, when Babangida allowed himself (or perhaps was duped by his many sycophants and followers), to join the fray to become a civilian President, he said he cancelled the 1993 election, but he did not annul it. Some of you who understood English better than me could tell Babangida the difference between "Cancellation" and "Annulment".
Babangida is once again, as he did in 2006 on the trail of coming back. The most sickening part of his Presidential ambition is for some Nigerians supporting him to come back to continue his ethnic and religious divide of Nigerians after his eight years of failed administration. He stepped aside in 1993, was forced to abandon 2007, and now wants to step in, once again, come 2011. What we need now are leaders not rulers.
Earnest Shonekan was positioned to readjust the Military next step through an Interim National Government which eventually ushered in Sanni Abacha, the most notorious public looter of the Century, according to former EFCC Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu's findings.
I will not talk about the dead. Of what use is talking about the dead man that is defenceless. All we know about Abacha is what you all know about Abacha. Right? You be the judge on Abacha's case.
Abdul Salaam took over after Abacha's death to complete the Divine Intervention when he organized an election that ushered in another Military man in a civilian dress, as the new Nigerian President, President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Olusegun Obasanjo became Nigeria’s 12th Head of State in 1999 amidst a lot of hope and goodwill for the country. In fact a lot of Nigerians were convinced that what with what Obasanjo went through in the hands of Abacha, who was about to execute him, and the fact that he had been a Military head of state, he came with a lot of experience and knowledge in governance, he was the Messiah we were waiting for. He started very warily and slowly, perhaps trying to get re-accustomed to democracy. His Vice President was almost the one ruling the country.
He was brought in to pacify the South for the annulment of the 1993 elections. Obasanjo spent the whole of his First Term studying the situation and then 'forced' himself on Nigeria in 2003 through massive riggings. That gave him the opportunity to do whatever he did, taming his fellow rogues. If Nigerians had allowed him the Third Term, he would have put all corrupt officials in jail, not killing them like Rawlings did in Ghana. ‡‡
I will confess that initially, I was a great fan and supporter of Obasanjo. I really believed he could move Nigeria forward and save us. Later, especially with his surreptitious Third Term attempt and possible personal greed and corruption, I quickly lost any respect or love for him. However, for his bold step against corruption, the man deserves some kudos. His was not an ethnic or religious fight; Corruption has no ethnic or religious inclination. The fight against corruption is a current challenge to Nigerians at home and abroad. The end result determines the future of Nigeria and Nigerians.
‡‡ One good thing that I love about Obasanjo's fight against corruption is with individuals in the highest position of authority. Some schools of thought might take his corruption crusade to be selective, this is debatable. I have not seen any of our past leaders that have attempted to do that, even among the Military circle, which claimed to restore Nigeria image. The message from Obasanjo to Nigerians is that “fellow rogues; we are not going to steal people's money any more, enough is enough”. ‡‡
However, Obasanjo, despite his many achievements as a civilian President of Nigeria (and truth be told, they are many and he laid many foundations) succumbed to the dizzying whiff of power and got himself derailed. His Ministers, his Aides and Special Advisers went on a looting spree, which he himself seemed unable to control and joined in, (so they say). The fact that he rigged himself in for his Second Term also testified to his failure.
Then on selecting, and virtually forcing the now late Umar Yar ‘Adua (who was really unwilling and too ill to be the President) to take over from him in 2007, Obasanjo lost any remaining claim to Statesmanship that he had. It was a shameless rigged election in 2007, and even the emerged President, Umar Yar ‘Adua admitted that his own election was flawed.
But the shameless Obasanjo, who had egg all over his face, would never agree. He and his Chief Rigger, Prof. Maurice Iwu (Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission) presided over arguably the worst elections ever held in any part of the modern world. To the end, they never admitted they were flawed.
In came the reluctant and obviously sickly Yar ‘Adua in 2007. Touted as Nigeria’s first graduate President and Commander in Chief, a lot of Nigerian hopes rested on him, probably out of pity and the fact that he was really a good man. But the fact remains that it is impossible for a sick man to effectively rule a country of 150 million people. Lacklustre, uncharismatic and manipulated easily, he was always a puppet to some greedy and evil cabal, including his inordinately ambitious wife. His sickness and his absence created a dangerous power vacuum in Nigeria. On 24 February 2010, Yar'Adua returned to Abuja. His state of health was unclear, but there was speculation that he was still on a life support machine. Various political and religious figures in Nigeria had visited him during his illness saying he would make a recovery.
I do not need to recount what Nigeria and Nigerians experienced from November 24, 2009 to the time he died on 5th May 2010.
Now enter Mr Goodluck Jonathan, Yar ‘Adua’s former Vice-President and former co-Governor. Again I do not need to recount how, after some farcical intrigues and opportunism from so many interested parties, he eventually assumed the mantle of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 16 May 2010.
3. The factors responsible in our past for our present dilemma.
If we look and examine it long and hard, the intervention of the military in the governing affairs of Nigeria has been largely and mainly responsible for the predicament we find ourselves today. Since the abolition of the regions by General Yakubu Gowon, in 1967, our history has never been the same again. Our past has been characterized by nepotism, corruption, rigging of election, and lack of strong and independent working institutions. The most sufficient factor being the rigging of election which has been ongoing since 1960, seconded, if I may use that word, by the glaring lack of independent working institutions. The solution to those patterned rigging of election was found in the ingenious introduction and use of option A4 electoral system in the June 12, 1993 election; an election that was adjudged the freest and fairest in the annals of Nigeria’s history, but was sabotaged by it creator, IBB.
Nigerian politics was shaped by the British colonial presence. Before independence in 1960, we had the Action Group, the NCNC and NPC and other minor political parties. Regionally, the Action Group was in control of the Western region; the NPC, the North and, the NCNC, the East. At that level of political formation, I think the regional government had fared better. I believed that if the NPC/ NCNC coalition, which formed the National government, had stayed as a coalition without trying to interfere and manipulate the political processes in the Western region, the parliamentary system would have stood the test of time to this day.
Tribalism, religious intolerance, nepotism, selfishness, greed, corruption, incompetence, also represents major factors responsible for our problems today. We have discarded our traditional African community spirit and abandoned the Biblical “Love thy neighbour”. It is now everyman for himself. Vagabonds rig themselves into political positions, even with the connivance of some of the people whose lives we trying to make better.
4. Nigeria today- Responsible factors.
Since the creation of modern public administration in the country, there have been cases of official misuse of resources for personal enrichment. The rise of public administration and the discovery of oil and natural gas are two major events seen to have led to a litany of ignoble corrupt practices in the country. Over the years, the country has seen its wealth withered with little to show in living conditions of the common man. The late Chief Obafemi Awolowo raised a salient issue when he said, since independence, our governments have been a matter of few holding the cow for the strongest and most cunning to milk, under those circumstances everybody runs over everybody to make good at the expense of others.
Some writers have posited about the different potential causes of flagrant and pecunious graft that exists in the country: many blame greed and ostentatious lifestyle as a potential root cause of corruption. To some, societies in love with ostentatious lifestyle may delve into corrupt practices to feed the lifestyle and also embrace a style of public sleaze and lack of decorum. The customs and attitudes of the society may also be a contributing factor. Gift giving as expressions of loyalty or tributes to traditional rulers may be fabrics of the society. Also, a political environment that excludes favours towards elites or wealthy citizens may also be influenced by corruption. Wealthy elites may resort to sleaze in order to gain power and protect their interest. However, the bottom line surmised from the views of most Nigerians is that corruption is a problem that has to be rooted out. Other causes of corruption are ethnicity and pressures on officials by friends and kinsmen. Friends and kinsmen seeking favour from officials may impose difficult strains on the ethical disposition of the official. Many kinsmen may see a government official as holding necessary avenues for their personal survival or gain
The solution to fighting corruption was also partly founded and built around the EFCC. Above all, the government needs to allow institutions to strongly evolve. The Police, the judiciary and other law enforcing agents should be made independent. There is too much interference from a few who feel that these instruments of the STATE are meant for their selfish use. Here again comes before us glaringly, the issue of class and class consciousness. Is it better to analyze Nigeria from the social class perspective? Again, it all depends on individuals and their ideological disposition. I am easily disposed to using the class angle if I do not want to fall into tribal, regional, and religious traps. The manipulation of religion in Nigeria has since reached its Olympian height likewise are tribe and region.
Allow me to borrow from Gbenga Olumekun’s article “Truth: The Greatest Casualty Of Our Time” written at the height of the chicanery that was played on Nigerians when late President Yar ‘Adua was sick.
“The devious contraptions that are daily shoved down our throats by those residing in the corridors, sitting room, or bedroom of power are doing incalculable damage to our national psyche. The citizenry needs to be mobilised in the drive to spur them unto nation-building but the responses are determined by how believable the stories they are fed with. That is why the modern Nigerian society is a failed one. Never mind those who will refuse to see the reality of the situation. Never mind those who will rise up in arms when a concerned statesman tells us of our failings as a nation. There is now no sense of belonging nor is there any semblance of nationalistic fervour left in anyone except those who derive pecuniary benefits from concocting all kinds of lies in defence of falsehood. That is why all the prodding for petroleum subsidy withdrawal and belt-tightening fall on deaf ears. We know they are liars! Who wants to die when these pathogenic human beings are getting fatter and fatter by the day at the expense of the rest of us? These pathological liars have turned all Nigerians into veritable cynics, no better than St. Thomas who must see, touch and appropriate before he or she can believe. How then are we going to mobilize the citizenry, how then are we going to ask for national commitment and sacrifice when we see and read on the very faces of our leaders and hear in their voices lies, lies and lies, all the time?
In the unfolding events in contemporary Nigeria the real victim is truth. Falsehood is now pervasive in the police, in the military, in the National Assembly, in the seat of power and most regrettably on the pulpits. Unfortunately truth is the greatest ingredient for nation building. It is the mortar by which the building blocks are joined together. If this is absent, what manner of contraption are we building? Are we not doomed as a country?”
Please do not get me wrong. There is no absolute clean country, clean individual, or a saint anywhere in the world, including the religious leaders. Na lie be dat. However, the openness of corruption in Nigeria is very disturbing. It has to be reduced into its barest and manageable level. Part of the medication to cure Nigeria will come from Nigerian youths.
5. The way forward – exploring various sectors.
The way forward is multidimensional. There is no one way approach to these problems. But I believe that the starting line is for us to convoke a genuine sovereign national conference (not a manipulated one), where all the ethnic groupings would sit down and say what and how a true Nigerian nation can evolve.
It is quite clear that even if we want to fall back on regional government, it is no longer going to be three. Over the years, the contradictions inherent in the Nigerian system have succeeded in throwing up six regional arrangements and not the former three. I have listed this over and over in my write up and some other Nigerian writers have done same too. These six regional typologies are: the West or Oodua region, the East or MASSOP region, the Niger-Delta region or Opobo region, the Middle belt region, the North East or Adamawa region and the Far North or Dan Fodio/ Sardauna region. The Federation should stay but the regions should take charge of their destinies.
Going hand in hand with the above is to reduce the present needless and money guzzling 36 states arrangement into six states or region. State creation has not helped to reduce poverty, election rigging, unemployment, nerving corruption, crime and other social vices; rather it has helped to aggravate them. There is therefore the need to go beyond state creation and look at other social variables.
Is the creation of more states the solution? No. From 3 to 4 regions, to 12 states to 19, and now 36, tell me, how many of these states are viable or productive or contribute anything to the economy of the nation? Many states today are in financial crisis because of the flagrant corruption of their Governors and other politicians. Most cannot even pay teachers’’ or civil servants’ salaries as and at when due, relying on the Federal allocation every month. And yet it is not because these states cannot sustain themselves, it is because their Governors are not only clueless as to what governance is, but most importantly because they went there to steal all they can in the first place.
So why are we then agitating for the creation of more states? To create wealth for some selected people! To create political kingdoms for some people! The more states, the more alienated we are; the more bureaucracy; the more problems we will have; the more drain on our already eroded resources; the more corruption we will have and the higher the level of poverty. Look at the history; the more states we have been having in the past 50 years, the higher has been the corruption, and hence the poverty.
The third option is for the people to rise and take their destiny into their own hands. But how do we coordinate that? Who would lead? Though, people like Prof. Pat Utomi, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Femi Falana, Bamidele Aturu, Festus Keyamo and your likes, can really take the bull by the horn but how do we coordinate with the North? How do we reach out to make the majority of the oppressed North believe in our intention? Those whom we want to liberate and free, do they really want to be liberated? They are so entrenched, emboldened, and overwhelmed by their oppressed that it is difficult to divorce that unjust social marriage (the support demonstration in Zamfara state by female Moslems against the public outcry on the marriage of Yerima to an Egyptian teenage girl is a typical example).
Our youths and other well-meaning, sincere Nigerians should be actively involved in the process of democracy, politics, governance and policy making. Get involved - sponsor credible candidates to replace "Fools" and "Vagabonds in Power". Sponsor some legislation; otherwise Nigeria will continue to run the affairs of Nigeria by "Execu-thieves", “Excellent-thieves”, “ Legis-looters”, “Sena-thieves”, “Dis-Honourables”, “Damaging Directors”, etc. What do we expect from a fool, more than thoughtless decisions? As long as Nigerians allow them to keep on occupying the positions of authority, nothing would ever change for good in Nigeria. We do not have to be looking for an immediate reward with this exercise. It is going to be expensive, draining, and rewarding if done right.
The last and maybe, unsavory option, is to hope that one day a Rawlings may come to redeem us and enforce that which we all cherish. Today, all of us are proud of what is going on in Ghana. Ghana now has very strong institutions, thanks to Rawlings and, to the good works of Koffi Annan, as a former UN Secretary General. Annan used that position to garner and promote the good will of his country; invited and saw to the influx of foreign capital and investments into his country and helped to promote internal democracy through the use of ballot boxes. However, I cannot see Rawlings approach happening any longer because of global trend of events. Military actions are no longer appealing. The International Community frowns against such actions.
6. Conclusions.
In all, I think our destiny lies in our hands. The international community can come to help build our country to the standard we want it to be or, they would come in to help us disintegrate or destroy it, both of which depends on the taste bud of Nigeria’s internal collaborators.
Allow me to close by borrowing from late Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, and the First Premier of Northern Region on Independence Day, 1960, he said:
"The eyes of the world are on Nigeria now and there are many friends who hope that we shall be the leading nation in Africa. Let me say with all the emphasis at my command that we shall never attain this goal if there is suspicion and mistrust among the peoples of Nigeria. Such an attitude cannot benefit anyone and can too easily lead to strife as has been the painful experience of other independent nations in Africa and elsewhere. Let us not forget our dreams of national unity in Nigeria cannot be realized without honest hard work and the respect for one another's views and peculiar ways - be they customs or traditions. The different tribal groups in this country must learn to accommodate members of other tribal groups."
Ladies and gentlemen, I appreciate this opportunity to share my thoughts with you on "Nigeria - Past, Present, and Future". I have to say that although things have been looking bleak for the past 50 years since our independence , nevertheless, in my opinion, the future of Nigeria is bright, but, and a very BIG BUT, if we only take our destiny and future in our own hands. But it will be a big fight. Things are worse than we think and the MAIN problem, as you would have assumed from my presentation is CORRUPTION. And when you fight corruption, it will always fight back even more ferociously, more savagely and more lethally than you. So think about it, for the love and sake of this country and our future generation.
If we cannot see a better and progressive Nigeria in our time, because it may be too late for us, at least let’s do it for our children and our children’s children.
Congratulations and appreciations to the Timeless Magazine, Mr George Ashiru of the THMP for hosting this summit, and the patriotic and committed ladies and gentlemen who helped organise this event.
And to all of you, thanks for listening.
God bless you
References
Dr Femi Ajayi, 2006 “Nigerian Politics-Past, Present, and Future”. Presented at the 46th Independence Anniversary of Nigeria organised by Nigerian Association of Southern California, Colton, California. www.Nigeriaworld.com 30th Oct 2006.
Gbenga Olumekun, 2010. “Truth: The Greatest Casualty of Our Time”. www.championsfornigeria.org 1st May 2010.
Friday, 25 February 2011
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
NIGERIA FOR SALE: The Insult Of Babangida/Odili And Saraki Presidential Ambitions
In the opening paragraph of my article, “We Really Must Be Really Scared Now!” written in June 2009(http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com ) I wrote “I am scared for myself, my family, my people (all Nigerians), Nigeria itself. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not going to let Nigeria kill me. I am just sad and scared because idiots are getting away with murder, literarily. I am scared because I might die outside Nigeria, with my family scattered all over the world, not wanting to have anything to do with their fatherland. Lord, am I scared?”
It is the morning of 14 September 2010, and I am still as scared as ever about events in our country, Nigeria. I woke up to disturbing (at least for me, because in Nigeria, such sentiments depend on which side of the fence you are or which side your bread is buttered) news, namely:
1. Former military ruler, Ibrahim Babangida, is in advanced talks with Peter Odili, former Governor of Rivers State, as he closes in on a running mate for the 2011 Presidential Elections, and secondly,
2. Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki, on Monday informed President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice-President Namadi Sambo of his desire to contest the presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party.
These two pieces of news sent me into a depression. Of course it has been in the news a long time that Babangida wants to contest to come an pick up what he forgot in Aso Rock, the depressing news (and incidentally, became good news, after settling down a bit and letting my brains work and get the better of me) is that of Odili being considered for his running mate.
Odilii was said to have been recommended by no less a person than the irrepressible Raymond Dokpesi, chairman of DAAR Communications, and director general of Mr. Babangida's presidential campaign. The two men (Odili and Dokpesi) had reputedly beneficial business dealings which, in our dear country, translate into stealing state funds, bribery, embezzlement and other fraudulent uses of state funds. Also, Dokpesi was the director general of Odili's campaign when he tried to run for president in 2007. At the time, Odili was alleged to have invested N400 million of funds taken from the Rivers State treasury, into Dokpesi's company. The EFCC, under Farida Waziri, quizzed Mr. Dokpesi over the money, but no charges were ever brought against this sacred Nigerian cow.
Odili, a medical doctor by training, was governor of Rivers State from 1999 to 2007, completing two terms. His tenure was marred by human rights violations, insecurity, violence and widespread fraud. He was the alleged “godfather” of some of the now notorious Niger Delta militants, who he used as political thugs to rig and win elections or do his other nefarious bidding and then dumped them, causing them to act on their own because their source of funding had been withdrawn by their Godfather.
During his governorship, Rivers State was, in theory, one of the wealthiest states in the country owing to its enormous oil revenue, but Mr. Odili instituted relatively few improvements. Instead, the former governor is on record for acquiring a South Africa-based hospital, and two Brazilian jets.
In November 2006, Peter Odili announced that he would run for president in the 2007 election under the ruling PDP. However, a day before the PDP's presidential primaries, Odili stepped down from the contest, paving the way for fellow governor, Umaru Yar'Adua, to emerge as the party's flag bearer. Reports say Mr. Odili (who was initially, President Obasanjo’s choice for President) was forced out of that contest when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) led by Nuhu Ribadu, barged into then President Obasanjo’s office and slapped down thick files containing reports implicating Odili in fraud, mismanagement of state funds, money laundering, and abuse of office. Obasanjo had to call Odili and told him to look at the files and asked him politely to step down. It was also said that Odili was made to return over 30 billion Naira he was alleged to have stolen or he would go to prison. I heard that on the eve of the PDP primaries, Odili had booked every hotel room in Abuja. It was said that he salted away over 250 billion Naira during his tenure as Governor of Rivers State. I will believe that, if you dont.
Odili filed a suit challenging the powers of the EFCC to probe his administration. The court, in his home state of Rivers, granted him an indefinite injunction stopping any investigations into his finances, describing it as a breach of his civil rights. (Only in Nigeria)
Till today, Odili is still walking round in Abuja a free man, looking up his ill-gotten investments in South Africa, probably flying in his jets just around Nigeria on ego-trips but barely going to Port Harcourt because he has been declared persona non grata by his people. He could only sneak in under the cover of darkness without the usual fanfare and then sneak back out the following morning or lay low until darkness comes again.
So my take on this? Please forgive my bias, but as a CORE anti-Babangida’s return to Aso Rock, this is indeed positive news. At the beginning of this article, I said I was depressed by the news; but as I write this article and let my brain wake up from the lethargy generated by this news. I also recollect Abraham Lincoln’s words: “A statesman is he who thinks in the future generations, and a politician is he who thinks in the upcoming elections” Odili and IBB are both politicians, corrupt ones at that and they cannot think in the future. It is impossible. The bank balance of these two rogues is probably enough to provide uninterrupted power supply in Nigeria; two treasury looters united by ambition. As thick as thieves, they say.
Of course they have every right as Nigerians to contest for any position they so desire, but the good news is that, their coming together is going to do more damage to their ambition. Babangida apologists, who have always challenged Nigerians to bring out any evidence of Babangida’s corruption and other allegations, are even now squirming in their seats at his choice of running mate, who was easily and unquestionably one of the biggest treasury-looter in Nigeria under the tenure of Obasanjo.
Again, Nigerians need not fear an IBB/Odili ticket; they have had it before they even started. Their combination has confirmed the fears of Nigerians that they are going there to loot again. Also, we should rejoice that Babangida has again played into Obasanjo’s hands, who it was who terminated his Presidential ambition in 2007 when he (Obasanjo) sent a plane all the way from Abuja to Minna and presented him some hard evidence which compelled him to withdraw from the Presidential race, saving face by saying the late President Yar ‘Adua was his “brother”.
Problem is they have money and if we let them get there, Nigeria’s treasury will be emptied in no time, there will be genocide. We will be taken back to the 70's when there was no visible infrastructure, and by time they finish with us, or the treasury, we will be grateful for the few ones we have now. I am not crying “wolf” here. Look at my previous articles on several issues.
A digression: On an interview on the highly condescending Alistair Soyode’s show on BEN Tv, there was one of of IBB’s apologists, in his fifties. How did he defend Babangida’s qualification to come back and be President of Nigeria? This man said IBB qualifies to be Nigeria’s next President because he (IBB) married a woman from the East and speaks the 3 major languages in Nigeria...what does one say about such thinking?
Now, Dr Bukola Saraki, incidentally another trained medical doctor (like Peter Odili), who was never known to have practised his medical profession anywhere before. He simply went straight to his father’s (another medical doctor who hardly practiced medicine to fulfil the Hippocratic Oath of doing good for mankind) then- thriving banking business immediately he came out of university entering the bank first as a director and later the vice chairman, second only to his father. That bank, Societe Generale (SGBN), collapsed some years ago, and along with it went the money of innocent depositors. But it was not an ordinary collapse, because the Directors of the bank, that is, the Sarakis’ personal fortune went up shortly after the collapse. Obviously, the depositors’ money went into the Sarakis’ pockets.
According to SaharaReporters “It was that their family owned bank - Societe General Bank of Nigeria (SGBN) - whose fortunes had been on the downturn since 1995 while the personal fortunes of the Saraki's, particularly, Bukola was on the rise, had gone completely under. According to a copy of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) Assets Declaration forms obtained by Saharareporters - filed and signed by Bukola Saraki on every page- Bukola's personal fortunes only sky-rocketed while depositors lost huge investments in the SGBN which eventually went out of business in 2003 shortly after the Sarakis won the controversial elections into the senate and governorship seat in April 2003 and were sworn-in as the Governor of Kwara State and Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria respectively”.
Yet despite this obvious lack of business acumen and poor financial or fiscal management, the younger Saraki went into politics and was elected, or rather, selected as the Governor of Kwara State.in 1999. Of course it was the visible hands of his powerful father, who had, and still has a very strong grip on Kwara politics. He had been dictating who will be the Governor of Kwara State for the past 20 years or so, if not more.
But the news of his interest in becoming the next president of Nigeria is my concern here. According to Olurotimi Adeola in Transparency For Nigeria (www.transparencyng.com ) “What is he (Bukola Saraki) bringing to the presidency that he couldn’t showcase in Kwara where he has spent the last seven years administering? Or maybe he believes his father who is the great political oracle of Kwara state have extended his sphere of influence to the entire country this time around. It’s an open secret, that Dr. Olusola Saraki, the father of Governor Bukola has manacled the people of Kwara state politically in the last three decades. He alone determines the ‘soul’ of the state; in spite of this, one cannot point at any tangible benefits to the malnourished masses of that state in his over thirty years of control. Governor Bukola Saraki is a beneficiary of his father’s conquered political sphere no doubt; without the elder Saraki, Governor Bukola would never have won a councillorship seat in his state. Little wonder his sister Senator Gbemisola too is gunning to replace him……What would be Bukola Saraki’s leadership credentials if he finally enter the race for presidency? Is he going to show us, how he has created employment opportunities in Kwara and prove that most Kwarans are now gainfully employed as a result of his pragmatic stewardship in the last seven years? Is he going to showcase to Nigerians, how lives and properties are now so secured and safe in Kwara State, and that all residents go to bed with their two eyes closed? Or present to Nigerians, a Kwara State where water supply and electricity run for twenty four hours without interruption; where public hospitals are well equipped and manned by qualified and satisfied staff; where public schools meet required standards; where there are good network of roads, good public transport, standard markets etc; and finally a grateful and appreciative citizenry? If these are not the credentials Bukola Saraki is bringing to the race for president, then he has no business seeking the presidency of Nigeria”.
According to some reports, Bukola Saraki bought 15 luxurious cars including a Ferrari, all of which were worth N240 million between 1997-2003, a period described as most critical in the life of the SGBN while he was the Executive Vice Chairman of the SBGN. (I saw that Ferrari in Ilorin – Imagine driving a Ferrari on Nigerian roads, madness) I also heard that the Sarakis physically went into the vaults of the bank and carted away every penny they could find to finance the 2003 elections that gave them double victory in Kwara State as well as another victory of constitutional immunity from prosecution by the relevant agencies of government
My advice is that now is the time for depositors and investors who were cheated of their life savings by the Saraki dynasty to take necessary and appropriate legal actions to retrieve their investments with accrued interests. The resulting bad publicity and outcry should be enough to put a permanent stop to this inordinate ambition by a so-called aristocratic dynasty to foist themselves on Nigerians and continue the treasury (and indeed, bank vault) looting they started in their state.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that Bukola Saraki is above the laws of the land. Obasanjo refused to commit himself to a probe of how SGBN failed, because Saraki Senior himself was bigger than Obasanjo, and Obasanjo dared not probe him and his family. Saraki is now one of the most powerful Governors in Nigeria. Incidentally, he’s hardly in his home state of Kwara. He’s always swaggering around in Abuja and ruling Kwara State as an absentee landlord. He has got a lot of people in government – via political appointments, civil service, Foreign Service, police, immigration, henchmen and hatchet men, etc - who are very loyal to him.
The politics of powerful connections and father/family towering influences should be exorcised forthwith in Nigeria politics.
Please let us not allow Babangida/Odili and Bukola Saraki to even get their names on the ballot paper, and if they do, LET US REJECT THEM OUTRIGHT.
This is the time to sensitise the Nigerian electorate to the risks in electing Babangida-Odili to even act as road-diggers or dog-catchers for Nigeria. Open your eyes; use your ears and use your brains!
This is the more reason why we need to embark on public enlightenment and education campaigns to ensure that the voters know competent candidates with track records this time around, not just opportunists, charlatans, pretenders, the corrupt and the corrupters and people who think ruling Nigeria is their birthright.
The TRUTH has to be said always.
It is the morning of 14 September 2010, and I am still as scared as ever about events in our country, Nigeria. I woke up to disturbing (at least for me, because in Nigeria, such sentiments depend on which side of the fence you are or which side your bread is buttered) news, namely:
1. Former military ruler, Ibrahim Babangida, is in advanced talks with Peter Odili, former Governor of Rivers State, as he closes in on a running mate for the 2011 Presidential Elections, and secondly,
2. Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki, on Monday informed President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice-President Namadi Sambo of his desire to contest the presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party.
These two pieces of news sent me into a depression. Of course it has been in the news a long time that Babangida wants to contest to come an pick up what he forgot in Aso Rock, the depressing news (and incidentally, became good news, after settling down a bit and letting my brains work and get the better of me) is that of Odili being considered for his running mate.
Odilii was said to have been recommended by no less a person than the irrepressible Raymond Dokpesi, chairman of DAAR Communications, and director general of Mr. Babangida's presidential campaign. The two men (Odili and Dokpesi) had reputedly beneficial business dealings which, in our dear country, translate into stealing state funds, bribery, embezzlement and other fraudulent uses of state funds. Also, Dokpesi was the director general of Odili's campaign when he tried to run for president in 2007. At the time, Odili was alleged to have invested N400 million of funds taken from the Rivers State treasury, into Dokpesi's company. The EFCC, under Farida Waziri, quizzed Mr. Dokpesi over the money, but no charges were ever brought against this sacred Nigerian cow.
Odili, a medical doctor by training, was governor of Rivers State from 1999 to 2007, completing two terms. His tenure was marred by human rights violations, insecurity, violence and widespread fraud. He was the alleged “godfather” of some of the now notorious Niger Delta militants, who he used as political thugs to rig and win elections or do his other nefarious bidding and then dumped them, causing them to act on their own because their source of funding had been withdrawn by their Godfather.
During his governorship, Rivers State was, in theory, one of the wealthiest states in the country owing to its enormous oil revenue, but Mr. Odili instituted relatively few improvements. Instead, the former governor is on record for acquiring a South Africa-based hospital, and two Brazilian jets.
In November 2006, Peter Odili announced that he would run for president in the 2007 election under the ruling PDP. However, a day before the PDP's presidential primaries, Odili stepped down from the contest, paving the way for fellow governor, Umaru Yar'Adua, to emerge as the party's flag bearer. Reports say Mr. Odili (who was initially, President Obasanjo’s choice for President) was forced out of that contest when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) led by Nuhu Ribadu, barged into then President Obasanjo’s office and slapped down thick files containing reports implicating Odili in fraud, mismanagement of state funds, money laundering, and abuse of office. Obasanjo had to call Odili and told him to look at the files and asked him politely to step down. It was also said that Odili was made to return over 30 billion Naira he was alleged to have stolen or he would go to prison. I heard that on the eve of the PDP primaries, Odili had booked every hotel room in Abuja. It was said that he salted away over 250 billion Naira during his tenure as Governor of Rivers State. I will believe that, if you dont.
Odili filed a suit challenging the powers of the EFCC to probe his administration. The court, in his home state of Rivers, granted him an indefinite injunction stopping any investigations into his finances, describing it as a breach of his civil rights. (Only in Nigeria)
Till today, Odili is still walking round in Abuja a free man, looking up his ill-gotten investments in South Africa, probably flying in his jets just around Nigeria on ego-trips but barely going to Port Harcourt because he has been declared persona non grata by his people. He could only sneak in under the cover of darkness without the usual fanfare and then sneak back out the following morning or lay low until darkness comes again.
So my take on this? Please forgive my bias, but as a CORE anti-Babangida’s return to Aso Rock, this is indeed positive news. At the beginning of this article, I said I was depressed by the news; but as I write this article and let my brain wake up from the lethargy generated by this news. I also recollect Abraham Lincoln’s words: “A statesman is he who thinks in the future generations, and a politician is he who thinks in the upcoming elections” Odili and IBB are both politicians, corrupt ones at that and they cannot think in the future. It is impossible. The bank balance of these two rogues is probably enough to provide uninterrupted power supply in Nigeria; two treasury looters united by ambition. As thick as thieves, they say.
Of course they have every right as Nigerians to contest for any position they so desire, but the good news is that, their coming together is going to do more damage to their ambition. Babangida apologists, who have always challenged Nigerians to bring out any evidence of Babangida’s corruption and other allegations, are even now squirming in their seats at his choice of running mate, who was easily and unquestionably one of the biggest treasury-looter in Nigeria under the tenure of Obasanjo.
Again, Nigerians need not fear an IBB/Odili ticket; they have had it before they even started. Their combination has confirmed the fears of Nigerians that they are going there to loot again. Also, we should rejoice that Babangida has again played into Obasanjo’s hands, who it was who terminated his Presidential ambition in 2007 when he (Obasanjo) sent a plane all the way from Abuja to Minna and presented him some hard evidence which compelled him to withdraw from the Presidential race, saving face by saying the late President Yar ‘Adua was his “brother”.
Problem is they have money and if we let them get there, Nigeria’s treasury will be emptied in no time, there will be genocide. We will be taken back to the 70's when there was no visible infrastructure, and by time they finish with us, or the treasury, we will be grateful for the few ones we have now. I am not crying “wolf” here. Look at my previous articles on several issues.
A digression: On an interview on the highly condescending Alistair Soyode’s show on BEN Tv, there was one of of IBB’s apologists, in his fifties. How did he defend Babangida’s qualification to come back and be President of Nigeria? This man said IBB qualifies to be Nigeria’s next President because he (IBB) married a woman from the East and speaks the 3 major languages in Nigeria...what does one say about such thinking?
Now, Dr Bukola Saraki, incidentally another trained medical doctor (like Peter Odili), who was never known to have practised his medical profession anywhere before. He simply went straight to his father’s (another medical doctor who hardly practiced medicine to fulfil the Hippocratic Oath of doing good for mankind) then- thriving banking business immediately he came out of university entering the bank first as a director and later the vice chairman, second only to his father. That bank, Societe Generale (SGBN), collapsed some years ago, and along with it went the money of innocent depositors. But it was not an ordinary collapse, because the Directors of the bank, that is, the Sarakis’ personal fortune went up shortly after the collapse. Obviously, the depositors’ money went into the Sarakis’ pockets.
According to SaharaReporters “It was that their family owned bank - Societe General Bank of Nigeria (SGBN) - whose fortunes had been on the downturn since 1995 while the personal fortunes of the Saraki's, particularly, Bukola was on the rise, had gone completely under. According to a copy of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) Assets Declaration forms obtained by Saharareporters - filed and signed by Bukola Saraki on every page- Bukola's personal fortunes only sky-rocketed while depositors lost huge investments in the SGBN which eventually went out of business in 2003 shortly after the Sarakis won the controversial elections into the senate and governorship seat in April 2003 and were sworn-in as the Governor of Kwara State and Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria respectively”.
Yet despite this obvious lack of business acumen and poor financial or fiscal management, the younger Saraki went into politics and was elected, or rather, selected as the Governor of Kwara State.in 1999. Of course it was the visible hands of his powerful father, who had, and still has a very strong grip on Kwara politics. He had been dictating who will be the Governor of Kwara State for the past 20 years or so, if not more.
But the news of his interest in becoming the next president of Nigeria is my concern here. According to Olurotimi Adeola in Transparency For Nigeria (www.transparencyng.com ) “What is he (Bukola Saraki) bringing to the presidency that he couldn’t showcase in Kwara where he has spent the last seven years administering? Or maybe he believes his father who is the great political oracle of Kwara state have extended his sphere of influence to the entire country this time around. It’s an open secret, that Dr. Olusola Saraki, the father of Governor Bukola has manacled the people of Kwara state politically in the last three decades. He alone determines the ‘soul’ of the state; in spite of this, one cannot point at any tangible benefits to the malnourished masses of that state in his over thirty years of control. Governor Bukola Saraki is a beneficiary of his father’s conquered political sphere no doubt; without the elder Saraki, Governor Bukola would never have won a councillorship seat in his state. Little wonder his sister Senator Gbemisola too is gunning to replace him……What would be Bukola Saraki’s leadership credentials if he finally enter the race for presidency? Is he going to show us, how he has created employment opportunities in Kwara and prove that most Kwarans are now gainfully employed as a result of his pragmatic stewardship in the last seven years? Is he going to showcase to Nigerians, how lives and properties are now so secured and safe in Kwara State, and that all residents go to bed with their two eyes closed? Or present to Nigerians, a Kwara State where water supply and electricity run for twenty four hours without interruption; where public hospitals are well equipped and manned by qualified and satisfied staff; where public schools meet required standards; where there are good network of roads, good public transport, standard markets etc; and finally a grateful and appreciative citizenry? If these are not the credentials Bukola Saraki is bringing to the race for president, then he has no business seeking the presidency of Nigeria”.
According to some reports, Bukola Saraki bought 15 luxurious cars including a Ferrari, all of which were worth N240 million between 1997-2003, a period described as most critical in the life of the SGBN while he was the Executive Vice Chairman of the SBGN. (I saw that Ferrari in Ilorin – Imagine driving a Ferrari on Nigerian roads, madness) I also heard that the Sarakis physically went into the vaults of the bank and carted away every penny they could find to finance the 2003 elections that gave them double victory in Kwara State as well as another victory of constitutional immunity from prosecution by the relevant agencies of government
My advice is that now is the time for depositors and investors who were cheated of their life savings by the Saraki dynasty to take necessary and appropriate legal actions to retrieve their investments with accrued interests. The resulting bad publicity and outcry should be enough to put a permanent stop to this inordinate ambition by a so-called aristocratic dynasty to foist themselves on Nigerians and continue the treasury (and indeed, bank vault) looting they started in their state.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that Bukola Saraki is above the laws of the land. Obasanjo refused to commit himself to a probe of how SGBN failed, because Saraki Senior himself was bigger than Obasanjo, and Obasanjo dared not probe him and his family. Saraki is now one of the most powerful Governors in Nigeria. Incidentally, he’s hardly in his home state of Kwara. He’s always swaggering around in Abuja and ruling Kwara State as an absentee landlord. He has got a lot of people in government – via political appointments, civil service, Foreign Service, police, immigration, henchmen and hatchet men, etc - who are very loyal to him.
The politics of powerful connections and father/family towering influences should be exorcised forthwith in Nigeria politics.
Please let us not allow Babangida/Odili and Bukola Saraki to even get their names on the ballot paper, and if they do, LET US REJECT THEM OUTRIGHT.
This is the time to sensitise the Nigerian electorate to the risks in electing Babangida-Odili to even act as road-diggers or dog-catchers for Nigeria. Open your eyes; use your ears and use your brains!
This is the more reason why we need to embark on public enlightenment and education campaigns to ensure that the voters know competent candidates with track records this time around, not just opportunists, charlatans, pretenders, the corrupt and the corrupters and people who think ruling Nigeria is their birthright.
The TRUTH has to be said always.
Thursday, 2 September 2010
Wole Soyinka’s “The Avoidable Trap Of Cultural Relativism”* – A Comment
I think in order to discuss Wole Soyinka’s speech, as above, it is necessary to understand what Cultural Relativism implies. The first use of the term, “Cultural Relativism” was around 1924 when Alan Locke described Robert Lowe’s “extreme cultural relativism”, and since then there have been numerous debates between cultural relativism and universal human rights.
It is normal to assume that any intelligentsia from the so-called Third World will find the philosophy of cultural relativism abhorrent and definitely unacceptable. This is because it is the principle that an individual human’s beliefs and activities should be understood in terms of his or her own culture. Some school of thought also believe it to be an undeniable fact; moral rules and social institutions evidence a surprising cultural and historical inconsistency.
However, there is a conflict with those who hold universal human rights very dear, and this is evident from the Wole Soyinka’s treatise. However, the Nobel Laureate made no attempt to reconcile the competing claims of cultural relativism and universal human rights, and indeed is wary of the claims made by the proponents and promoters of the former.
The eminent, Nobel Laureate Professor also outlined the issue of “Cultural Diversity” of the human, which is of course an undeniable and acknowledged fact. Human beings are diverse and hence we have for example, blacks and whites, Africans and Asians, and even amongst Africans, we have Nigerians and South Africans, and furthermore, within Nigeria, we have Yorubas, Igbos and others.
To acknowledge other people’s diversity is a good thing and this, as is increasingly evident to all, should ultimately bring about the peaceful co-existence of diverse cultures and people in the world. However, the danger, as Wole Soyinka pointed out, is in the usurpation of the cultural diversity by the proponents of cultural relativism, despite the fact that they are mutually exclusive philosophies.
This has then led to a distortion of the principles of universal human rights, even as imperfect as it is. And perhaps, it is because of this imperfection that cultural relativists have been able to exploit the weakness
Furthermore, the essay pointed out the how the philosophies of cultural relativism could be distorted to endorse certain human differences which are inherent in this world, and then used to justify certain barbarisms which we have experienced since the beginning of time. But then, we know that all ideas, philosophies and religious creeds could be so distorted even by the most devoted of practitioners of these creeds. We know how the holy books of The Bible and The Koran have been distorted for largely personal reasons, or to justify hatred, killings, etc. It is the same way that cultural relativism has been, and is still being warped today, and will probably continue for a very long time.
The essay again asserted that cultural relativism has created an environment in which diverse views or opinions on various cultural, or rather socio-cultural issues in the society are refused or totally ignored, such that dissent is not permitted. This has therefore led to dictatorship, discrimination and even state-sanctioned genocide. An example of the latter that comes to my mind is the “ethnic cleansing” that happened when the former Yugoslavia broke up.
Diversity of culture and human rights are better presented without the baggage of cultural relativism. All humans, as the essay/speech pointed out, have rights by virtue of their humanity and those rights cannot be conditioned by gender or national or ethnic origin. Also, we know that human rights as it exists universally are the highest moral rights, so no rights can be subordinated to another person (e.g. a husband) or an institution (e.g. the state). This is in diametric opposition to the philosophy of cultural relativism.
One could therefore see the antagonism of human rights proponents and supporters to the theories of cultural relativism.
Personally, I believe, and this is also reflected very visibly in the essay/speech, that cultural relativism, if we are not careful, is leaning more towards accepting the inequality of the races as a natural phenomenon, and therefore promotes racism. The essay also presupposes that it is this doctrine that could have been responsible for ethnic and religious problems and occurrences we are having all over the world today, and whose proponents are vigorously trying to push down our throats, especially in the so-called Third World or developing countries and economies of the world.
My own take on this is this. I am definitely not a fan or follower of the ideals or philosophy of cultural relativism. However, with a little bit of research to get more knowledge about the topic, I have come to realise that it is possible that both sides of the debate on cultural relativism and universal human rights are manipulated to be made reciprocally exclusive and both sides make claims that are not only valid but reconcilable.
From the point of view of someone whose people are always on the receiving end of injustice, discrimination, inequality, etc, (that is, Africans), Wole Soyinka is right to be wary of a doctrine which instead of promoting equality and dignity of the races (that is Human Rights), seems to be doing the opposite while couching the deed in a way that seems acceptable to everybody, and in fact is being promoted in high places around the world.
However, the fact remains that Human Rights, as we have it defined today, are not universal, but predicated on Western moral values which might not necessarily be adaptable to, say, someone in Botswana or Thailand, and therefore should not be imposed as model on non-Western societies in disregard of those non-Western societies’ historical and economic progress and in disregard of their cultural differences and perceptions of what is right and wrong.
Universalism holds that more “primitive” cultures will eventually evolve to have the same system of law and rights as Western cultures. Cultural relativists hold an apposite, but similarly rigid viewpoint, that a traditional culture is not changeable.
This then reflected what I have pointed out above that universalism is modelled after only the Western viewpoint, disregarding other cultures and in fact denigrating other cultures as inferior. This is racism of the highest order.
As again pointed out in the speech by Wole Soyinka, cultural relativism has great problems and potential for abuse, however, I submit that universalism or universal human rights in its current state is not the ideal solution. Why, for example, if we have an African King, who has an advisory council of 12 senior chiefs, this system is any less representative than the supposedly more liberal Western societies?
I think the challenge to moralists and proponents of both concepts is to “marry” the two viewpoints or philosophies or ideologies to find an ideal solution or a common ground for the betterment of the society at large. We still need to take into consideration such issues as efficacy of international laws, international system of human rights, promotion and protection of human rights, and state compliance.
However, if cultural tradition or cultural relativism alone governs State observance of international standards, then widespread disrespect, abuse and violation of human rights would be given legitimacy, and these I think, is the crux of Prof. Wole Soyinka’s essay.
*Wole Soyinka, 2008. “The Avoidable Trap Of Cultural Relativism”. Speech on the occasion of the second edition of the Geneva Lecture Series, Geneva, 10 December 2008.
It is normal to assume that any intelligentsia from the so-called Third World will find the philosophy of cultural relativism abhorrent and definitely unacceptable. This is because it is the principle that an individual human’s beliefs and activities should be understood in terms of his or her own culture. Some school of thought also believe it to be an undeniable fact; moral rules and social institutions evidence a surprising cultural and historical inconsistency.
However, there is a conflict with those who hold universal human rights very dear, and this is evident from the Wole Soyinka’s treatise. However, the Nobel Laureate made no attempt to reconcile the competing claims of cultural relativism and universal human rights, and indeed is wary of the claims made by the proponents and promoters of the former.
The eminent, Nobel Laureate Professor also outlined the issue of “Cultural Diversity” of the human, which is of course an undeniable and acknowledged fact. Human beings are diverse and hence we have for example, blacks and whites, Africans and Asians, and even amongst Africans, we have Nigerians and South Africans, and furthermore, within Nigeria, we have Yorubas, Igbos and others.
To acknowledge other people’s diversity is a good thing and this, as is increasingly evident to all, should ultimately bring about the peaceful co-existence of diverse cultures and people in the world. However, the danger, as Wole Soyinka pointed out, is in the usurpation of the cultural diversity by the proponents of cultural relativism, despite the fact that they are mutually exclusive philosophies.
This has then led to a distortion of the principles of universal human rights, even as imperfect as it is. And perhaps, it is because of this imperfection that cultural relativists have been able to exploit the weakness
Furthermore, the essay pointed out the how the philosophies of cultural relativism could be distorted to endorse certain human differences which are inherent in this world, and then used to justify certain barbarisms which we have experienced since the beginning of time. But then, we know that all ideas, philosophies and religious creeds could be so distorted even by the most devoted of practitioners of these creeds. We know how the holy books of The Bible and The Koran have been distorted for largely personal reasons, or to justify hatred, killings, etc. It is the same way that cultural relativism has been, and is still being warped today, and will probably continue for a very long time.
The essay again asserted that cultural relativism has created an environment in which diverse views or opinions on various cultural, or rather socio-cultural issues in the society are refused or totally ignored, such that dissent is not permitted. This has therefore led to dictatorship, discrimination and even state-sanctioned genocide. An example of the latter that comes to my mind is the “ethnic cleansing” that happened when the former Yugoslavia broke up.
Diversity of culture and human rights are better presented without the baggage of cultural relativism. All humans, as the essay/speech pointed out, have rights by virtue of their humanity and those rights cannot be conditioned by gender or national or ethnic origin. Also, we know that human rights as it exists universally are the highest moral rights, so no rights can be subordinated to another person (e.g. a husband) or an institution (e.g. the state). This is in diametric opposition to the philosophy of cultural relativism.
One could therefore see the antagonism of human rights proponents and supporters to the theories of cultural relativism.
Personally, I believe, and this is also reflected very visibly in the essay/speech, that cultural relativism, if we are not careful, is leaning more towards accepting the inequality of the races as a natural phenomenon, and therefore promotes racism. The essay also presupposes that it is this doctrine that could have been responsible for ethnic and religious problems and occurrences we are having all over the world today, and whose proponents are vigorously trying to push down our throats, especially in the so-called Third World or developing countries and economies of the world.
My own take on this is this. I am definitely not a fan or follower of the ideals or philosophy of cultural relativism. However, with a little bit of research to get more knowledge about the topic, I have come to realise that it is possible that both sides of the debate on cultural relativism and universal human rights are manipulated to be made reciprocally exclusive and both sides make claims that are not only valid but reconcilable.
From the point of view of someone whose people are always on the receiving end of injustice, discrimination, inequality, etc, (that is, Africans), Wole Soyinka is right to be wary of a doctrine which instead of promoting equality and dignity of the races (that is Human Rights), seems to be doing the opposite while couching the deed in a way that seems acceptable to everybody, and in fact is being promoted in high places around the world.
However, the fact remains that Human Rights, as we have it defined today, are not universal, but predicated on Western moral values which might not necessarily be adaptable to, say, someone in Botswana or Thailand, and therefore should not be imposed as model on non-Western societies in disregard of those non-Western societies’ historical and economic progress and in disregard of their cultural differences and perceptions of what is right and wrong.
Universalism holds that more “primitive” cultures will eventually evolve to have the same system of law and rights as Western cultures. Cultural relativists hold an apposite, but similarly rigid viewpoint, that a traditional culture is not changeable.
This then reflected what I have pointed out above that universalism is modelled after only the Western viewpoint, disregarding other cultures and in fact denigrating other cultures as inferior. This is racism of the highest order.
As again pointed out in the speech by Wole Soyinka, cultural relativism has great problems and potential for abuse, however, I submit that universalism or universal human rights in its current state is not the ideal solution. Why, for example, if we have an African King, who has an advisory council of 12 senior chiefs, this system is any less representative than the supposedly more liberal Western societies?
I think the challenge to moralists and proponents of both concepts is to “marry” the two viewpoints or philosophies or ideologies to find an ideal solution or a common ground for the betterment of the society at large. We still need to take into consideration such issues as efficacy of international laws, international system of human rights, promotion and protection of human rights, and state compliance.
However, if cultural tradition or cultural relativism alone governs State observance of international standards, then widespread disrespect, abuse and violation of human rights would be given legitimacy, and these I think, is the crux of Prof. Wole Soyinka’s essay.
*Wole Soyinka, 2008. “The Avoidable Trap Of Cultural Relativism”. Speech on the occasion of the second edition of the Geneva Lecture Series, Geneva, 10 December 2008.
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
A Democracy Of Profligacy And Outright Treasury-Looting
Quote (Elombah Perspectives): “President Barack Obama's salary is $400,000 per annum. A Nigeria Senator collects ₦48 million per quarter. At the end of the year, each senator's haul will be in the neighbourhood of $1.7 million. Each of the 360 members of the House of Representatives will receive ₦35 million, that's $300,000 per member per quarter. At the end of the year, each member of the House would have collected a cool $1.2 million”.
Past surveys of salaries and benefits of public office holders from the Baltic to the Bahamas, the Americas and the Far East and everywhere else, has showed that Ministers and Federal Legislators in Nigeria are the highest paid in the world, despite the country being among the poorest in terms of per capita income, security, social provision and living standards. On the other hand, Nigerian workers are one of the lowest paid in the world.
The Nigerian Minister earns more than his American, British or German counterpart, and of course enjoys pecks of office those ones cannot even dare dream of - for doing next to NOTHING!!! This is a wasteful, reckless, licentious and decadent system of governance.
Due to space, I will not highlight the data and facts associated with the earnings of both our leaders and lawmakers, but suffice it to say that this democracy that we practice in Nigeria is really a form of fraud and scam committed against the Nigeria people. No wonder then that, as ex-president Obasanjo put it in 2007, politics is a “do-or-die” affair for many potential politicians in Nigeria. It is obvious that the reason why most people decide to go into politics is motivated by greed and personal aggrandisement; not to serve the country and the people, but really to serve their pockets, and to be served by the people of Nigeria.
A large chunk of the annual budget ends up as salaries and allowances in the pocket of this small percentage of Nigerians. For example, out of the 2009 annual budget of N3.1 trillion, N1.3 trillion or 42% ended up as remuneration for 17,500 individuals in a country of 150 million people. If this is the case, what is left for social and economic development? What is left for constructing roads, improving education and healthcare, providing water and electricity, regards to the health of the economy and welfare of the people, etc?
And don’t omit various other incomes accruing to these shameless, jobless individuals, law breakers, the 419s, paedophiles, murderers and election riggers. If we add constituency projects (in the US, it’s called PORK BARRELS), add the inflated contracts plus the wheeling and dealings over appropriations, rubber stamps of the executives and junket jamborees. Compatriots, we're looking at almost 90% of GNP.
According to reports, “each Senator will pocket 720 million Naira in four years, while each House of Representative member will get 540 million Naira. These sums do not include the approved pay by RMAFC which they also collect. Apart from being illegal, it is obscene, in a country where a huge chunk of the population lives on less than 1 US dollar per day. Senate President David Mark gets 250 million Naira per quarter; Deputy Senate President Ekweremadu 150 million Naira; and each of the eight remaining principal officers 78 million Naira. It is no wonder that Nigerians are yet to see the dividends of democracy, over 10 years later! Ours must be the most expensive democracy on earth, and if nothing is done quickly to stem this looting tide, it may come to a time that there will be no money to run the government beyond paying the bloated salaries and allowances of our public office holders,'' rightly said the Action Congress party.
Okey Ndibe called it “A Feeding Frenzy”. NEXT's Musikilu Mojeed and Elor Nkereuwem christened it “An Assembly for Looting” saying “Considering that Nigeria's minimum wage stands at ₦5, 500 a month, each senator's quarterly allowance "will pay for 2,909 workers earning the minimum wage." The reporters offered other tantalizing projections. If Nigerians were to fire the entire membership of the National Assembly, the savings would be more than enough to "fund the N88.5billion" Mr. Umaru Yar'Adua budgeted this year for building power plants. Alternatively, we could "fund hospitals and clinics" all over Nigeria, "fix the Benin-Ore Expressway, which has collapsed, or make a significant down payment on the Lagos-Kano railway line”. The Tribune editorialised this perilous trend as “Poverty Inflicted by Profligacy”. Whatever it is, Nigeria cannot sustain or afford this waste.
According to Wikipedia, in ecology, a feeding frenzy is a situation where oversaturation of a supply of food leads to rapid feeding by predatory animals. For example, a large school of fish can cause nearby sharks to enter a feeding frenzy. This can cause the sharks to go wild, biting anything that moves, including each other or anything else within biting range. This term is most often used when referring to sharks or piranhas, due to these being some of the most feared predators. Feeding frenzy is also a metaphor often used in a non-biological sense to describe excited involvement by a group over some focal point of attention. I will take the example of our politicians, especially the so-called lawmakers or legislators (read – “legislooters”). Their feeding frenzy is a result of their excited involvement over the unregulated wealth and resources of Nigeria. There is nobody to control the wealth; it is there for all (actually a very miniscule percentage of the population – less than 0.5%) to take and put in their pockets.
The fact is Nigerian politicians have turned themselves into instant millionaires just for being members of the National Assembly, paying themselves huge, obscene and unjustified salaries and allowances not commensurate with their very low productivity and without doing anything worthwhile for the country, for you and me, or for humanity. They are “Legis-looters”, “Dis-Honourables” and “Execu-thieves”.
Sooner than later Nigerians should march to the National Assembly Complex for a show down with them. I will gladly lead it.
The members of this NASS are of the same ilk...greedy looters of our treasury who are insensitive to the economic situation of the country, and the plight of the general masses.
What visible difference has their representations made in the lives of the represented Nigerians to give them the false idea that they deserve their present salary talk less of a pay rise? Please, someone tell me: how many bills have these odious, greedy and lazy thieves passed into law since 1999? Do we actually know what they are doing except some of them using big vocabularies? What are we getting in return for their large obnoxious salaries and expenses? Why are Nigerians funding their expensive lifestyles, and getting zero in return?
And to top it all, look at their shameless behaviour in the House while trying to remove their Speaker, who is also accused of gross corruption. These are common thugs, mediocre and thieves, men and women, and even the reason for their behaviour was based on the loot. Are these lawmakers we should be proud of? Do we really need these types to make laws for us? No, and this is why Nigeria is going backwards everyday. We have vagabonds in power. We have mediocre in power. And when that happens, no country like that will ever progress.
Reuben Abati in his write-up “Nigerian Legislators!” wrote “I believe that they over-paid and underworked. It is members of the Lower House that are in the news this week, but the Senators are no different. N27.2 million per quarter, and now they want more! And what do they do? The only time Nigerian MPs suddenly become vocal and creative is when they are hustling for jumbo pay and allowances. This is the case not only in Abuja but also in the states, where the members of the Houses of Assembly are perpetually fighting the Governor to give them more money. They insist that no one should blame them because they can see the Governor and other members of the Executive taking “their own share,” so why should they be excluded? In states where there is peace between the House and the Executive, it is usually the case that the Governor, to put it in their language, “knows how to settle.” This is the sad Nigerian story. And yet, so much money for what? What kind of legitimate work can anybody do in Nigeria that will fetch a salary, the type the MPs are asking for in three months? These are the same lawmakers who are mostly absent. Their standard lie is that they are busy with committee meetings, but in reality most of them are busy chasing contracts in government departments or peddling influence around town, or busy harassing companies and MDAs over which they exercise oversight functions”.
“The statistics can be easily worked out with the result that the amount of public funds that has been guzzled by Abuja MPs alone in the last three years, not to talk of since 1999, is enough to fix Nigeria’s comatose railway lines, the federal universities and a number of hospitals (assuming the money does not also get stolen by inefficient contractors!). Nigeria is in a financial mess. The foreign reserve account, according to one report quoting the Minister of State for Finance, which used to be as high as $62 billion in 2008 is down to $38 billion, while the excess crude account which in 2007 stood at $20 billion is down to zero. But our MPs do not care”
There is an unwritten consensus that politicians are only interested in looting the treasury. But Nigeria cannot make progress that way. There must be sanctions for this kind of conduct, particularly from voters in the next election. Where lies Nigeria’s future? Whence cometh the change that we seek?
Nigeria is paying a price continuously for the hijack of the political space by hungry men and women. I align myself with the old suggestion that parliamentary work in Nigeria should be a part-time engagement. Only persons with a visible means of livelihood should be allowed to become lawmakers, and the various legislatures do not have to sit so often. In the alternative, legislative work should attract very minimal remuneration in form of sitting allowances only, with a proper accent on service. That should shut the “legis-looters” out".
This has got to stop. One way it can stop is to reduce very drastically the remuneration of lawmakers and other political offices such that it will be unattractive to potential thieves and looters and that only people who sincerely want to serve will see such small remuneration as enough motivation to contest elections to these office and be committed to good governance and delivering desired results. Right now, we have only self-serving politicians – executives or lawmakers. The obscene salaries and perks are what is attracting thieves to the serious business of governance and lawmaking, and this is why these thieves will always rig elections, commit murder and assassinations to position themselves where they will steal, shutting out genuine and sincere democrats who want to do well for the welfare of their people.
This phenomenon is replicated in the States’ Houses of assembly down to the Local Government Council Chambers.
Secondly, Nigeria does not need a full time bicameral legislature (In government, the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a parliament or legislature which consists of two Chambers or Houses); in other words, we do not need full time lawmakers or two assemblies – Senate and House of Representatives. What is needed is a unicameral legislature (the practice of having only one legislative or parliamentary chamber) that will meet for a maximum of 30 days a year and afterwards, they would go back to whatever their various professions are, if they have any at all. Lawmaking should NOT be a full time career, as we have it in Nigeria. I am proffering a solution which is a part -time National Assembly that sits for no more than 30 days a year. There’s no reason why a country half the size of the State of Texas will have as many legislatures as big as the whole of the United States. Ideally, legislators should be paid sitting allowances and work on a part-time basis. This is what obtains in several states in the U.S, whose system of government we claim to be copying. If the attraction of effortless money is removed, we're certainly to see an enhancement in the quality of lawmakers. The leeches who are in it for the cash will take their game elsewhere.
I will admit that this latter solution is a bit tough because many countries with unicameral legislatures are often small and homogeneous unitary states and consider an upper house or second chamber unnecessary. Nevertheless, we should not make either bicameral or unicameral legislature a full time activity for our politicians.
Those leaders in transient, political power, who had tried to usurp God’s authority on earth, have often faced occasional deprivation. Their regimes were either overthrown or their term of office would eventually end anyway. They become expired politicians, with wrinkles and gray hairs to show for it. Jetting from one political event to another, they pontificate on what should be done; now that they have become “wiser and humbler” (Babangida is an example)
Nigerian politicians do not seem to know that they owe their people economic well-being and good life on earth. Unfortunately, many of our politicians actively and openly corruptly enrich themselves at the expense of the state and the people they are supposed to lead and rule. Through administrative fiats and legislative props, they racket the economy.
A new, strict regime against political, economic and cultural corruption must be put in place: otherwise the “small people” will rise up and overthrow their fake and small kingdoms of evil.
In my article “In A Lighter Mood: The Way We Seriously Feel About Our Leaders” 29th August 2007 (http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/akintokunbo-a-adejumo/in-a-lighter-mood-the-way-we-seriously-feel-about-our-leaders.html), I wrote “Therefore, any new political reform should address this. Legislators must be paid expenses only for their service to the country. The current system is very profligate, expensive and attracts thieves and mediocre. Expenses must be for attendances, cost of keeping constituency offices open, and if they have to be give car, housing and transport allowances, these must be properly allocated, scrutinized, monitored and commensurate with the service provided by these people. Judging from recent revelations on the wastefulness and profligacy of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Senators, etc, the cost of running Nigeria’s democracy is too high, and especially given our penchant for lack of accountability and corruption, this has to be brought under rigid and strict control. Our unscrupulous political class should be discouraged and deterred from going into government to make money. Hence make it unattractive to them".
THIS WASTE AND ILLEGAL DRAINING OF OUR RESOURCES BY A FEW NEED TO STOP NOW.
Let the Truth be told always
Past surveys of salaries and benefits of public office holders from the Baltic to the Bahamas, the Americas and the Far East and everywhere else, has showed that Ministers and Federal Legislators in Nigeria are the highest paid in the world, despite the country being among the poorest in terms of per capita income, security, social provision and living standards. On the other hand, Nigerian workers are one of the lowest paid in the world.
The Nigerian Minister earns more than his American, British or German counterpart, and of course enjoys pecks of office those ones cannot even dare dream of - for doing next to NOTHING!!! This is a wasteful, reckless, licentious and decadent system of governance.
Due to space, I will not highlight the data and facts associated with the earnings of both our leaders and lawmakers, but suffice it to say that this democracy that we practice in Nigeria is really a form of fraud and scam committed against the Nigeria people. No wonder then that, as ex-president Obasanjo put it in 2007, politics is a “do-or-die” affair for many potential politicians in Nigeria. It is obvious that the reason why most people decide to go into politics is motivated by greed and personal aggrandisement; not to serve the country and the people, but really to serve their pockets, and to be served by the people of Nigeria.
A large chunk of the annual budget ends up as salaries and allowances in the pocket of this small percentage of Nigerians. For example, out of the 2009 annual budget of N3.1 trillion, N1.3 trillion or 42% ended up as remuneration for 17,500 individuals in a country of 150 million people. If this is the case, what is left for social and economic development? What is left for constructing roads, improving education and healthcare, providing water and electricity, regards to the health of the economy and welfare of the people, etc?
And don’t omit various other incomes accruing to these shameless, jobless individuals, law breakers, the 419s, paedophiles, murderers and election riggers. If we add constituency projects (in the US, it’s called PORK BARRELS), add the inflated contracts plus the wheeling and dealings over appropriations, rubber stamps of the executives and junket jamborees. Compatriots, we're looking at almost 90% of GNP.
According to reports, “each Senator will pocket 720 million Naira in four years, while each House of Representative member will get 540 million Naira. These sums do not include the approved pay by RMAFC which they also collect. Apart from being illegal, it is obscene, in a country where a huge chunk of the population lives on less than 1 US dollar per day. Senate President David Mark gets 250 million Naira per quarter; Deputy Senate President Ekweremadu 150 million Naira; and each of the eight remaining principal officers 78 million Naira. It is no wonder that Nigerians are yet to see the dividends of democracy, over 10 years later! Ours must be the most expensive democracy on earth, and if nothing is done quickly to stem this looting tide, it may come to a time that there will be no money to run the government beyond paying the bloated salaries and allowances of our public office holders,'' rightly said the Action Congress party.
Okey Ndibe called it “A Feeding Frenzy”. NEXT's Musikilu Mojeed and Elor Nkereuwem christened it “An Assembly for Looting” saying “Considering that Nigeria's minimum wage stands at ₦5, 500 a month, each senator's quarterly allowance "will pay for 2,909 workers earning the minimum wage." The reporters offered other tantalizing projections. If Nigerians were to fire the entire membership of the National Assembly, the savings would be more than enough to "fund the N88.5billion" Mr. Umaru Yar'Adua budgeted this year for building power plants. Alternatively, we could "fund hospitals and clinics" all over Nigeria, "fix the Benin-Ore Expressway, which has collapsed, or make a significant down payment on the Lagos-Kano railway line”. The Tribune editorialised this perilous trend as “Poverty Inflicted by Profligacy”. Whatever it is, Nigeria cannot sustain or afford this waste.
According to Wikipedia, in ecology, a feeding frenzy is a situation where oversaturation of a supply of food leads to rapid feeding by predatory animals. For example, a large school of fish can cause nearby sharks to enter a feeding frenzy. This can cause the sharks to go wild, biting anything that moves, including each other or anything else within biting range. This term is most often used when referring to sharks or piranhas, due to these being some of the most feared predators. Feeding frenzy is also a metaphor often used in a non-biological sense to describe excited involvement by a group over some focal point of attention. I will take the example of our politicians, especially the so-called lawmakers or legislators (read – “legislooters”). Their feeding frenzy is a result of their excited involvement over the unregulated wealth and resources of Nigeria. There is nobody to control the wealth; it is there for all (actually a very miniscule percentage of the population – less than 0.5%) to take and put in their pockets.
The fact is Nigerian politicians have turned themselves into instant millionaires just for being members of the National Assembly, paying themselves huge, obscene and unjustified salaries and allowances not commensurate with their very low productivity and without doing anything worthwhile for the country, for you and me, or for humanity. They are “Legis-looters”, “Dis-Honourables” and “Execu-thieves”.
Sooner than later Nigerians should march to the National Assembly Complex for a show down with them. I will gladly lead it.
The members of this NASS are of the same ilk...greedy looters of our treasury who are insensitive to the economic situation of the country, and the plight of the general masses.
What visible difference has their representations made in the lives of the represented Nigerians to give them the false idea that they deserve their present salary talk less of a pay rise? Please, someone tell me: how many bills have these odious, greedy and lazy thieves passed into law since 1999? Do we actually know what they are doing except some of them using big vocabularies? What are we getting in return for their large obnoxious salaries and expenses? Why are Nigerians funding their expensive lifestyles, and getting zero in return?
And to top it all, look at their shameless behaviour in the House while trying to remove their Speaker, who is also accused of gross corruption. These are common thugs, mediocre and thieves, men and women, and even the reason for their behaviour was based on the loot. Are these lawmakers we should be proud of? Do we really need these types to make laws for us? No, and this is why Nigeria is going backwards everyday. We have vagabonds in power. We have mediocre in power. And when that happens, no country like that will ever progress.
Reuben Abati in his write-up “Nigerian Legislators!” wrote “I believe that they over-paid and underworked. It is members of the Lower House that are in the news this week, but the Senators are no different. N27.2 million per quarter, and now they want more! And what do they do? The only time Nigerian MPs suddenly become vocal and creative is when they are hustling for jumbo pay and allowances. This is the case not only in Abuja but also in the states, where the members of the Houses of Assembly are perpetually fighting the Governor to give them more money. They insist that no one should blame them because they can see the Governor and other members of the Executive taking “their own share,” so why should they be excluded? In states where there is peace between the House and the Executive, it is usually the case that the Governor, to put it in their language, “knows how to settle.” This is the sad Nigerian story. And yet, so much money for what? What kind of legitimate work can anybody do in Nigeria that will fetch a salary, the type the MPs are asking for in three months? These are the same lawmakers who are mostly absent. Their standard lie is that they are busy with committee meetings, but in reality most of them are busy chasing contracts in government departments or peddling influence around town, or busy harassing companies and MDAs over which they exercise oversight functions”.
“The statistics can be easily worked out with the result that the amount of public funds that has been guzzled by Abuja MPs alone in the last three years, not to talk of since 1999, is enough to fix Nigeria’s comatose railway lines, the federal universities and a number of hospitals (assuming the money does not also get stolen by inefficient contractors!). Nigeria is in a financial mess. The foreign reserve account, according to one report quoting the Minister of State for Finance, which used to be as high as $62 billion in 2008 is down to $38 billion, while the excess crude account which in 2007 stood at $20 billion is down to zero. But our MPs do not care”
There is an unwritten consensus that politicians are only interested in looting the treasury. But Nigeria cannot make progress that way. There must be sanctions for this kind of conduct, particularly from voters in the next election. Where lies Nigeria’s future? Whence cometh the change that we seek?
Nigeria is paying a price continuously for the hijack of the political space by hungry men and women. I align myself with the old suggestion that parliamentary work in Nigeria should be a part-time engagement. Only persons with a visible means of livelihood should be allowed to become lawmakers, and the various legislatures do not have to sit so often. In the alternative, legislative work should attract very minimal remuneration in form of sitting allowances only, with a proper accent on service. That should shut the “legis-looters” out".
This has got to stop. One way it can stop is to reduce very drastically the remuneration of lawmakers and other political offices such that it will be unattractive to potential thieves and looters and that only people who sincerely want to serve will see such small remuneration as enough motivation to contest elections to these office and be committed to good governance and delivering desired results. Right now, we have only self-serving politicians – executives or lawmakers. The obscene salaries and perks are what is attracting thieves to the serious business of governance and lawmaking, and this is why these thieves will always rig elections, commit murder and assassinations to position themselves where they will steal, shutting out genuine and sincere democrats who want to do well for the welfare of their people.
This phenomenon is replicated in the States’ Houses of assembly down to the Local Government Council Chambers.
Secondly, Nigeria does not need a full time bicameral legislature (In government, the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a parliament or legislature which consists of two Chambers or Houses); in other words, we do not need full time lawmakers or two assemblies – Senate and House of Representatives. What is needed is a unicameral legislature (the practice of having only one legislative or parliamentary chamber) that will meet for a maximum of 30 days a year and afterwards, they would go back to whatever their various professions are, if they have any at all. Lawmaking should NOT be a full time career, as we have it in Nigeria. I am proffering a solution which is a part -time National Assembly that sits for no more than 30 days a year. There’s no reason why a country half the size of the State of Texas will have as many legislatures as big as the whole of the United States. Ideally, legislators should be paid sitting allowances and work on a part-time basis. This is what obtains in several states in the U.S, whose system of government we claim to be copying. If the attraction of effortless money is removed, we're certainly to see an enhancement in the quality of lawmakers. The leeches who are in it for the cash will take their game elsewhere.
I will admit that this latter solution is a bit tough because many countries with unicameral legislatures are often small and homogeneous unitary states and consider an upper house or second chamber unnecessary. Nevertheless, we should not make either bicameral or unicameral legislature a full time activity for our politicians.
Those leaders in transient, political power, who had tried to usurp God’s authority on earth, have often faced occasional deprivation. Their regimes were either overthrown or their term of office would eventually end anyway. They become expired politicians, with wrinkles and gray hairs to show for it. Jetting from one political event to another, they pontificate on what should be done; now that they have become “wiser and humbler” (Babangida is an example)
Nigerian politicians do not seem to know that they owe their people economic well-being and good life on earth. Unfortunately, many of our politicians actively and openly corruptly enrich themselves at the expense of the state and the people they are supposed to lead and rule. Through administrative fiats and legislative props, they racket the economy.
A new, strict regime against political, economic and cultural corruption must be put in place: otherwise the “small people” will rise up and overthrow their fake and small kingdoms of evil.
In my article “In A Lighter Mood: The Way We Seriously Feel About Our Leaders” 29th August 2007 (http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/akintokunbo-a-adejumo/in-a-lighter-mood-the-way-we-seriously-feel-about-our-leaders.html), I wrote “Therefore, any new political reform should address this. Legislators must be paid expenses only for their service to the country. The current system is very profligate, expensive and attracts thieves and mediocre. Expenses must be for attendances, cost of keeping constituency offices open, and if they have to be give car, housing and transport allowances, these must be properly allocated, scrutinized, monitored and commensurate with the service provided by these people. Judging from recent revelations on the wastefulness and profligacy of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Senators, etc, the cost of running Nigeria’s democracy is too high, and especially given our penchant for lack of accountability and corruption, this has to be brought under rigid and strict control. Our unscrupulous political class should be discouraged and deterred from going into government to make money. Hence make it unattractive to them".
THIS WASTE AND ILLEGAL DRAINING OF OUR RESOURCES BY A FEW NEED TO STOP NOW.
Let the Truth be told always
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