The last few days in our country have been very interesting ones for many, and particularly for those with keen but natural observatory sense, men and women of immense knowledge, who reason of nationalism have chosen the very onerous task of keeping their eyes and full attention on the gamut of national officialdom in the bid to find out the factors that have made proper development of the country such a very difficult task. Penultimate week our new President dropped his first bombshell. From the blues came the news that the Central Bank Governor, “indomitable” Godwin Emefiele has been relieved of his exalted office; Never mind they called it “suspension” it was actually a sack.
The order came from the «tentative» President of the country, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, no insult or demeaning of his person is intended here by the deployment of that word rather the intentment is very noble, to highlight one of the many ways we initiate acts that end up destabilizing our society and stalling forward movement. Truth is the one standing as President having been “sworn-in as such” by the powers that were at a time and accepted by the populace few months back was a candidate like many others to the office. They had elections which to a huge number of people turned out to be very controversial.
The usual refrain has been «go to court, violence is no option». As committed patriots, those aggrieved by an obvious terrible electoral process have taken their grievances to court. While the cases were yet to commence, one of the contestants is crowned with the immense weight of the the state apparatus by a swearing-in and before the citizens come to terms with what is going on, the beneficiary of perceived skewed process sits pretty strong above all including his fellow competitors issuing orders and redesigning the political, economic and social architecture.
Power on earth is next to God Almighty, both share the characteristics of sovereignty – they keep alive or marshall out death and it will stand. Who wouldn’t fear. Judges are humans after all. The earth around them can be quaking with their looking out of the window at least after all psychologists have long established that the first law of any man is self-preservation. Besides the ability of brazeness to undo judicial capacity to dispense justice, there is the high probability to render the people who are the true sovereignty in any country helpless in task of choice for leadership and keeping them perpetually vulnerable. Nothing hurts a country like the above scenario.
Above knowledge explains in part why so many enlightened sections of our population keep insisting that things in our country be done in order and with decency. Sanitized process is not to the benefit of individuals alone, it is a force that motivates citizens to believe in their society and its progressive growth. It is the exact catalyst inspiring millions in the country to rise and demand that post-elections matters be conclusively done with before the winner can be sworn into office. It makes so much sense. President Tinubu has since added Bawa, the man at helm of anti-corruption war to the list of fatalities with a sack. Now imagine if tomorrow the court verdict turns to say he must vacate office on account of invalid election. Isn’t it a possibility? So what level of harm would have been inflicted on the country and her processes?
How many of us have visualized what the political atmosphere could be like if the trial process was so thorough and at the end the real candidate who won is declared and the swearing in ceremony set to take place. Isn›t it possible thart defeated candidates can find their ways to the ceremonial ground to show strong faith in the entity. Could anyone imagine what that could do to the mindsets of millions of their supporters and what it will implant in their subconscious about their country and her future.
There are truths we must begin to take in at this stage of national development. One of such is the electoral process has had real issues with credibility, fairness and justice; this is a fact. The attitude of the political players to the people and then the country has nothing to write home about. It rests within the circle of condescension. Pure hate and disdain. Our leaders don›t see the people as anything worth serious attention, they see them as drecks of the earth fit for platform to be used, exploited and finally dumped. One outcome of this mindset is seen in our leaders riding of roughshod over them, using various tactics and weapons. There is something many don’t know and those who know downplay: when a country’s leadership either by omission or deliberate negligence fails to properly orientate and indoctrinate her citizens it sets the country up for huge disorder. This is the lesson of history.
When citizens don›t have right perspective to questions of nationhood, when negative indices throw them into cycle of vulnerability, it throws them off balance and renders very them susceptible to every kind of internal and external influences and manipulations. Thw Boko Haram menace is traceable to this. Nothing stalls development as the above phenomenon. It causes the loss of vision and when a people can’t comprehend who they are and can’t see the future before them, the next alternative is deviance of various kinds. Now check our situation and tell the world what you see.
We return to the first matter we were dealing with, which is the question of purity of objectives and process and our first test case is the unceremonious sack of the Central Bank governor. The President came through by way of suspension. He took this path because he is aware he hasn›t been conferred with the power to arbitrarily sack an officer of that rank yet. With the back hand he sought to take what wasn’t his jurisdiction to do. The point being pursued here now is not actually about who is sacked but of impunity in our administrative processes. It is not the first time such will happen, we saw it under President Goodluck Jonathan.
Why is it of interest? Simple, when leaders at any level make nonsense of well laid out processes, they destroy the wheels on which society run. Rules breeds order and promote discipline. It rescues from tyranny of one man or a group as the case may be. The law says if the President must remove the Governor of the Central Bank then it must be via a two-third vote of the Senate. Imagine if they had taken this recourse, whatever may have been aberrations in the operation of the office would have been clear to all. Misgivings won’t arise because no room would be created. Now primordial interpretations have crept in. We know the dangers such portends.
Last week the leadership of the National Assembly was constituted. As has become our pattern vulnerable citizens in their numbers were out to cheer a new set of possible tormentors into offices. Many traveled long distances to be part of various cheer parties. Some died on their way in the bid to do so. These were unavoidable deaths if we were a society that leaves shadow to chase substances. Unfortunately, we aren›t. Let›s look at it this way: in a society of well very serious people they don›t celebrate election or nominations for public duties. Call to public service is akin to a call to a life of suffering and self denial. In sane climes the lifestyle of a public servant hinges on restriction. He loses some portion of his freedom and is dedicated to sacrifice.
Those who undertake to serve the public are in for big time loss, loss of privacy, personal comfort and funds. The know their lives could come under threat. People pity them. In our case, election or nomination is seen as fun time, hour of personal reward. This is why we see cutthroat struggles and competitions following every opening. Personizing public service explains the preponderance of the tendency to steal the society dry by virtually all the citizens. The few that manage to stand of rectitude suffer untold suffocations. This is why some of us rightly insist that getting leaders jailed over corruption matters doesn’t solve the problem. It is a systemic challenge you solve by orientation, value development and sound reward system.
Society should reward only those who pass the integrity test, inside is all a society to develop, principles, right vision, proper relational ethics, effective and efficient work culture.
So when we target perhaps a few deviant leaders and send them to jail, that is no fight against corruption but mere political grandstanding which doesn›t offer much to societal development. Now the way and manner the ruling party went about choosing leaders for various offices is repugnant, anti democratic and very retrogressive. It creates more problems.
Rotation or zoning is not ideal but it could serve as building material especially at the level of development we find ourselves. We are poor, unproductive for now and very underdeveloped so a sense of bonding of the diverse people in the union is vital to the initiation of any progressive push. Right attitude should be never to allow any section piss in. So we ought to zone much early before the election take place. In fact zoning should be made a constitutional matter clearly spelt out that way we do away with interlopers and with their ever changing interpretations of what ordinarily should be very clear processes.
Now it won›t matter outcomes of last electoral contest and who occupies what offices. What has happened is that a section will be pushing the wheels and there will be others who don›t find reasons to be bothered by what is happening around them. This kind of attitude in any society amounts to a release of negative forces. It can hurt the whole that is the lesson of history. Inclusivity when deliberately pursued builds. Its reward is unmatchable. The biggest lesson to take is countries and nations are no hyperstance, they emerge out of deliberate efforts of all citizens of course under the guide of a progressive leadership vanguard.