We Won’t ‘Calm Down,’ Nigeria Must Breathe by DAVID EDREMODA
“The more things change, the more they remain the same.” – Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr
At the commencement of the Fourth Republic in 1999, Nigerian politicians promised citizens the ‘dividend of democracy.’ Today, 20 years after, nothing has changed despite the appearance of Change, which is an interesting paradox in nation building. Today, Nigeria still grapples with insecurity, incompetence, widespread corruption, hopelessness, unhealthy rivalry among government officials and a clear absence of accountability in governance. Worse is that the unravelling yet sordid stories of massive corruption in high places, are not only disappointing but are indicative of total loss of control by those we elected to lead us to the Next Level.
Case study 1: the secret trial of Ibrahim Magu, the suspended Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). This is a dispiriting commentary on a government that came to power on the mantra of anti-corruption and due process. It is ironic that Magu, the major driver of Nigeria’s crusade against corruption was investigated and questioned on allegations that bordered on abuse of office and financial malfeasance here and abroad. But this matter would probably never have come to light in the public sphere without the power play in the corridors of The Presidency.
Whilst Magu’s suspension may reassure the international community that war on corruption is still being waged by Mr. President, the taint of corruption on the head of EFCC has further exacerbated the problem of credibility suffered by the body. Arguably, EFCC last enjoyed good credibility rating under the leadership of its pioneer Chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
Unfortunately, Ribadu triggered EFCC’s credibility crisis by allowing himself to be used as a battering ram against perceived political opponents of the then incumbent President Olusegun Obasanjo who appointed him. The crisis was later heightened by the manner of his disengagement in December 2007 by President Umaru Yar’Adua who succeeded President Obasanjo. Thereafter, the predictably unceremonious sack of successive EFCC Chairmen made the anti-graft agency a laughingstock.
In 2011 Farida Waziri, who was appointed Chairperson in May 2008 by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua was sent packing in the ‘national interest’ by former President Goodluck Jonathan. Ibrahim Lamorde, Jonathan’s appointee, was kicked out on November 9, 2015 by President Buhari. No gift of clairvoyance is required to tell that global investment capital inflow to Nigeria would be negatively impacted by the serial dismissal of EFCC Chairmen. Which investor would be encouraged to bring his money to Nigeria if the organization charged to protect his investment is a painted sepulchre?
Case study 2: the corruption cesspool at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). In 2000, the Federal Government established NDDC to facilitate “the rapid, even and sustainable development of the Niger Delta into a region that is economically prosperous, socially stable, ecologically regenerative and politically peaceful.”
Regrettably, NDDC in 20 years has yet to become an interventionist agency. Rather, it has been regenerating corruption with successive managements of the Commission working hard to outweigh one another on the scale of corruption. The list is long, unedifying and ludicrous. Samples: in 2008, the Chairman of the agency, Ambassador Sam Edem, allegedly expended N1bn to procure spiritual fortification. In 2015 the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation uncovered N183bn scam that did not draw any sanction. Water Hyacinth Emergency and Desilting Contracts were inflated from N2.5bn to N65bn. In 20 years, the Commission still pays over N300 million per annum as rent for its headquarters building in Port Harcourt; has 12,000 abandoned projects across the nine states of the Niger Delta and has over N3trillion liabilities to its contractors.
Reasons for the malfeasance are not far-fetched. Cairo Ojougboh, NDDC’s Executive Director of Projects, says “once you have a contract in NDDC, it is like you have won a lottery.” The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, also said as much: “The budgeting process in NDDC has been warped. I think people were treating the place as an ATM, where you just walk in there to go and pluck money and go away.” Given these known facts, who then would arrest and prosecute the culprits? Or will the looters be allowed to go scot free? Rather than answer these and other questions, the forensic audit ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari and investigations by the National Assembly have merely served comic reliefs to Nigerians. Today, our lexicon has been enriched by phrases like “Hon Minister, it’s okay”; “please, off your mic,” ad nauseam.
The tardiness with which the nation fights corruption speaks to what our country has now become in the international arena where Nigeria is the biggest loser. The situation may even deteriorate further if citizens refuse to mobilize soon to halt the trend of extremely poor leadership. It is now evident that propaganda can only work for so long. Now, everyone is aware of the true state of governance in Nigeria. This awareness has begun to make citizens to trust government less and this should worry those in power.
As Prof. Femi Odekunle, a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) once advised, the President, needs to “wake up to the ongoing shenanigans of power players that are working from the inside against his anti-corruption fight.”
The painful truth is that we are all going to live with this unpleasant reality until 2023 even as there are strong indications of brutal power play ahead by politicians who have already taken positions without delivering on their current promises. But the good news is that 2023 is long enough time to address the challenge of leadership and lay the foundation for future leaders who would be ready to serve.
And what does it take to do that? First is knowing that it is not up to your neighbour or a civil rights activist to fight your cause. More important is how you scrutinize public office candidates for visionary leadership the way you would critically appraise where to keep your money. If we do not sort out these disorders and take our chances now that it is still daylight, we may live to regret our actions or inaction.
To save Nigeria and make her breathe, we must all get involved. This is the time to start. Let us refuse to ‘calm down.’
Edremoda, a public affairs commentator, wrote in from Lagos.
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