Any one who had not achieved an objective political awareness by October 1960 would not be said to have experienced Nigeria. This group includes everyone up to sixty years of age, the group that invariably constitutes the vast majority of the country’s population, which did not experience and therefore not able to relate to the nation’s past before the civil war. Available records of the past are manipulated to suit political expedience as influenced by ethnic and religious loyalties of the period. Therefore the only resources for researchers are the various accounts of the same event, presented to suite the sponsors, guided by ethno-religious sentiments. This is the grossly inadequate base from which those who care much about the truth must extract relevant deductions, if at all, to piece together a near wholesome account. So, the nation is being denied the basic truth, that should help heal the past and bridge the social divides, since the crucial facts appear to be deliberately suppressed as if to protect those who had been directly involved at the time. It was either that they had performed so poorly or had been involved in such dirty games at the expense of the nation, and were ashamed to declare the truth. However, as God lives, there was nothing hidden under the sun that remained hidden forever; therefore the hope that has kept this country might yet manifest the miraculous revelation.
A very liberal estimate of life expectancy for the country could be posted at an average less than sixty and this may have been worsened by the ongoing war on terror against religious radicals. Most people motivated by the current Christian revolution often rationalize this state of existence by the biblical reference to three scores and ten, being a rule prescribed for man; therefore some hopelessly consider life beyond seventy years of age as extra time. Needless to say that this was borne out of poor appreciation of the meanings on biblical teachings. Should the system allow this myopic view to cloud the aspiration to a better and longer life, a possibility that could be achieved through more efficient social and health care delivery? It was perfectly possible to live longer but the countrymen have the penchant for short cuts in order to avoid the bitty input required to achieve the dreamful reality and in any case who has said that the bible had not been prescribing the minimum life expectancy for man?
The majority of our Lawmakers have no idea of the good Nigeria and what it had been like; no matter how much one might have read or watched in media recordings, none could really know without having experienced it. Past politicians had very little to handover to their successors who therefore lost the advantage of hindsight as regards policy formulation. The current politicians who were mainly in the second generation after independence had actually been delinked with the past, so what seemed to matter had been the much touted oil money and how to get to it and cart it away. None would ever wonder what could be done for the country they all called their own. The curriculum developers should have built this concept into the educational system to raise young citizens for the country; unfortunately though, the young men and women had been trained to pass the British and American examinations, whose underlying principles had no applicable links to the circumstances at home. People in government must appreciate the need to consult more widely and research more deeply, to convert to the individuals the nation would rely on in the journey forward; not just a group of people who have acquired how to make the First Class degree in a British or an American university. Sometimes really, that was all they knew, with the next step in the expectation ladder being how much money he should make; mark you, he had not even bothered to inquire about the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of the job in question. The right thinking individual ought to want to know these details before worrying about the remuneration, since these details rather than the examination scores determined the wage package.
Until impunity was relegated and thoroughly shamed, the hydra headed worm of corruption would continue to hound the polity. In a disciplined environment every one appreciated order, therefore responsibility was allocated according to status in a system that has the state at the top of the hierarchy. In essence therefore, no one was higher or larger than the state; every office including the highest office in the land was responsible to the state. Every one served the state and the power of state rested with the people, hence the supposed leaders ought to see themselves as servants of the people. What did obtain these days was, loyalty to the individual in charge who must be aware of the undying fidelity, which once so recognized, gave the individual access to absolute authority and he need not fear reprisals for any abuses he might perpetrate, since he was assured absolute protection from the top, a culture imported from military protocol and assimilated into the Civil Service, perhaps as a result of military incursion into politics. This fact did render the civil service career very insecure since none knew just how much longer he would last, so he tended to justify exploiting his position to obtain his needs. If as a consequence he got to lose his job, he would not leave empty handed; thus would be his consolation.
Besides these sorts there are those who must kiss up to authority in order to buy security and some stability for the situation they found themselves in. So it was not surprising to find a person appointed as State Commissioner and confirmed by the State House Assembly prostrating before the Governor’s wife as a demonstration of loyalty in order to keep the appointment. The unfortunate thing however, was that some of these elected officers of state actually draw gratification from this shameful act. Governor’s wife deserved respect but not the mockery of ridiculous worship, so a commissioner who engaged in this practice had not been worth his salts even if he kept his job beyond the end of his life for pleasing his masters. It could be seen therefore that pleasing the boss was more than doing the job right but those who must please, such as the commissioner, must of necessity remember that they were working for the people, so the only way to do the job right was to serve their interests even if such might not be aligned with those of the governor. The People and the State must take precedence over the executive who was in position only for as long as the people wanted him there; not forgetting that such a stance by subordinates had saved many an executive from embarrassment. A good and objective executive will allow the subordinate the room to sometimes disagree as this often served as a warning that he might be erring.
People often shortchanged the state when the thoughts were about filling their pockets, forgetting that they were within the state, which, if so undermined, could crash and take every thing down with it; a situation likened to sabotaging one’s own ship in the high sea while still in it. Wisdom dictated that their every act would contribute to protecting the state; the sovereign umbrella but human nature abhorred independence, so every situation was subjected to control via checks and balances that had become necessary to constantly remind them of that which they know and ought rightly to do well.
There were days when the Tenders Boards were part of the administrative management process. This had prevented the unilateral contract awards by those who were prone to overstepping boundaries of responsibility. These boards scrutinized and awarded contracts following the practiced due process. This meant that all stake holders including consultants and Board Members were present to analyze all the bids and determine the best qualified. Today, due process was a written phrase used to cover up the abuse perpetrated by those who peddled impunity in the name of governance. The country and its people are suffering for it today and they were all witnesses to the rot; all the executive jets, the mansions, exotic cars and fabulous show of luxurious living had very little net value because, all it amounted to could be dismissed by the simple phrase;
‘He is one of them, the corrupt government officials of Nigeria.’
The concept of empowering people was grossly misunderstood in government circles; politicians after winning the mandate often embarked on the second phase of the project, which was to propagate cheap popularity. This again was a short cut designed to bypass the more authentic and consolidated projects aimed at lifting the community out of neglect and poverty into substantial enlightenment. It was a well-known fact, that an enlightened polity was a hot ground for the politics of deceit; so these men and women empowered a few praise singers and moved on, rather than embark on time-tested alternatives, hence the polity remained stagnated. It would remain that way until the people were able to identify what they needed and worked towards actualizing it.
The youths were increasingly frustrated and prone to manipulations by human traffickers patronized by the markets in Europe and the Gulf states. If the minimum provisions were made, this market would be stemmed and a viable work force would be retained at home. It did not require the supper expert to know that the power sector held the key to economic emancipation but it remained a wonder that successive governments had played politics with power for nearly twenty years in the money syphoning game. In this game the old power system had existed as the syphon for the corrupt players as was the game of private airlines. Where government influence had been deployed to obtain the necessary documentation and approval to justify the purchase of machines and spare parts. When it came to the Power and Aviation industries, gas turbine generators and airplane engines do not come cheaply. The documentation permitted the transfer of humongous number of millions of dollars abroad for the purchase of some supposed equipment, which of course never came but the money had gone anyway. At home in Nigeria, the media came to refer to this as capital flight. Of course, there was creativity in the land and it only needed to find positive expression such as only good governance could provide.
If Zak were in the Customs and Immigration Services, he would not worry about any devices or products genuinely manufactured in Nigeria (outside the items categorized under artifacts and treasures), going out. Chances were that a Nigerian product being taken out, as long as it was not contraband, represented a potential trade multiple, good sense therefore demanded that the trend should be encouraged. A diligent check on items coming in was in order but here again there was a difference between applying the law and abusing it on the part of law enforcement. It could not be assumed that a woman returning from holidays abroad who had two or three suit cases because she shopped for family and friends should now be treated as an importer who should pay import taxes and the like, simply because the officer in charge needed to impress his superior regarding some target returns – promotion or the like.
The law was made to guide and should be applied with a human face; in just the same manner, people in government were there to serve the public and should not in any case, see themselves as masters. As the nation moved into the future let nationals focus on mutual respect and for all practical purposes learn to banish fear as they strove to make the nation stable once more. Fear drove all negative impulses, bred suspicion and helped to rationalize corrupt practices.
Think for one moment that everyone had a secure employment, good home, good education, unhindered access to good health care delivery and comfortable transport and communication facilities; he would hardly be troubled by fear of failure as nearly everything would be available on demand. He would not be distracted at work and would evaluate objectively without fear or favour, hence by extension, the nation could end up having a clean society simply by ensuring that the average individual was secure. Make the nation great and the nationals would benefit from the dignity and respect so derived; the only requirement was for each and everyone to do the little bit that was his share with diligence, honour and pride.
This country needs good leadership to develop a socio-political system, which recognizes every national as a citizen, must de-emphasize religion, ethnicity and culture by leaving them out of national politics, give a measure of autonomy to the states in order to stimulate development and effectively counter the activities of those bent on exploiting differences in the polity by taking advantage of the more homogenous structure of the states.
Lawmakers need to look into certain traditional and cultural situation and proffer solutions by enacting constitutional provisions to guard against extra-religious and extra-cultural conduct, which allowed the unscrupulous to exploit perceived loopholes and lapses in the system. Extremists hide under the cloak of religion or ethnic culture to perpetrate criminal activity. Religious and cultural practices must conform to state regulatory standards, moderated by individual or sectorial considerations, guarded in the principle of live and let live and subject to the social and physical realities of a given environment. If religion forbids participation of sorts, the individual or group should have the discipline to abide by the dictates within the law and restrain from involving others.
There is enough to share in every sphere of life, so why does any one group want it all for itself except for greed. At the moment politicians exploit perceived differences rather seek the benefits of common aspects of the geographical expression or space called Nigeria. Therefore driven by greed, members of this class thrive on discrimination; one group against the other and within the groups, the members discriminate against each other on the basis of status, ethnicity, religion and even educational background. For the distance that must be covered, the intelligent Nigerian needs touch with reality and honest consideration having regard to National history and culture and the need to give the positive direction.
Perhaps the most courageous venture in any administration would be to restructure the country’s existing six geopolitical zones, into a six state structure. The obvious advantages would be an administrative cost lowered by close to fifty percent, since the number of governors would be reduced to just six instead of the current thirty-six. The six state legislative houses could be so constituted as to have the total number of state legislators reduced to less than half of what they are now. The number of senators could be further reduced to generate more savings. The difficulty in this is the fact that no member of the national assembly is going to part-take in a process that might negate his relevance.
Very important also was the fact the State Executive Council would be very trim and more efficient, providing Nigeria with yet more gains in every conceivable sphere. The dividends of democracy do not reside in the number of states or the size of the collective legislative units but on the wisdom and loyalty of every serving unit and the efficiency of the institutions that run and regulate government and business services. A trimmer government body would reduce corruption as any bad egg would likely stand out like a sore. Those who clamour for the creation of more states cannot prove that they mean well since the existing structure has states, which are not viable. The days of sharing oil money at Abuja were over and the need to look more keenly inwards had come.
The six states structure, here suggested must be made into truly federating units to make the job of the governor more tangible and involving, regarding the knowledge of the environment and the people within his jurisdiction. The governor should be seen more amongst his people, not in the Federal capital jostling, bowing and scraping, cap in hand to obtain funds to pay his workers. He should be digging into his state, looking for the means to improve the local economy thus generating what was required and necessary to run the state. Current governors live more in Abuja and have very little idea what their home citizens might be going through. A system with the federating units are virtually autonomous would rest responsibility squarely on the governor and eventually eliminate the frequent excuses always hinged on delayed federal allocation. This autonomy would allow state legislature determine executive remuneration on the basis of available resources. It will discontinue the reliance on federal allocation and in any event, make the state house less attractive to a good many gluttons. Better that it should be so since citizens need only those willing to serve.
Written by Zak Vegha, an aviation consultant having spent most of his adult life in Nigeria. A retired Commercial pilot, he writes from Lagos. His recently published book “The Odds of Our Times” gives insights about the peculiar aspects of Nigeria’s political evolution.
