18 hours Ago By Guardian Nigeria
There is a seeming consensus that the Nigerian Nation is at its cross road led to it by the obnoxious policies and actions of its major political gladiators. Over the years, the palpable passive nature of the nation’s populace have bred and fattened a crop of political vipers posed to suck the Nation dry of any positive values that still exist in the public space. Lately, these political office holders who were supposedly voted into the various political offices they hold in trust for the electorate, have contrived and launched terror into the collective psychic of the average Nigerian by successive missteps that endanger the continuity of democracy in Nigeria.
In most advanced democracies of the world, political parties are founded and rooted on ideologies that serve as compass in guiding the affairs of the respective political parties. But unfortunately, in Nigeria, political parties are largely rooted in ethnicity and driven by the personal Idiosyncrasies of individuals with the deep pockets. Thus, ab initio, the foundation is consciously or unconsciously laid to foster pebendalism where those who emerge as leaders in the political process grab state power and funds and appropriate them to themselves to foster personal interests and those of their political cronies.
Sadly, there have not been any visible political socialisation process of the citizenry to enable them hold their leaders accountable. Rather, political offices are largely perceived as avenues to promote primitive accumulation, godfatherism, and impunity while the populace are held in perpetual subjugation through the use of state coercive power invested in the security agencies such as the police force (SARS), EFCC, ICPC even the Military forces. The foregoing analysis becomes relevant when juxtaposed against the political happenings lately in the polity.
The three arms of government namely the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary have failed woefully in the test of integrity in the handling of state affairs. The Presidency in particular have demonstrated lack of competence, transparency and integrity in resolving critical issues that impinged on the very foundation of Leadership. The simplest definition of Leadership is “the ability of an individual or a group of people to influence and guide followers or members of an organisation, society or team”.
The Leadership ability of the Presidency was put to test in the festering squabble between a sitting governor and a supposedly godfather who is currently a serving minister of the federal republic. Interestingly, both actors swore to the oath of allegiance to the federal republic in assumption into their respective offices, an allegiance which is literally invested in the person of Mr President who solely is expected to have provided sound leadership and nip in the bud the festering crisis thereby restoring peace in Rivers state. A threesome meeting of the minister, the governor, and Mr.
President with genuine intents; and a terse directive to the feuding parties to sheath the swords would have since laid the issue to rest. The minister would have been instructed by Mr President without mincing words to allow the governor govern his state without the intrusive tactics of the minister and his political allies while focusing on his duties at the FCT. An over weilding peace accord meeting/resolution without clear directives was not necessary.
There seems to have been a hidden consensus from the onset to teach the governor a lesson and that is not statemanship. The legislative arm of the government also crumbled due to the frailty of its leadership lacking in the ability to live above board. The legislative arm of government exists to make laws for the good administration of the country.
The upper chamber, the Senate has come to limelight in a negative sense lately due to the unsavoury attitude of its leadership that take away our pride as a virile Nation. The history of Nigeria since pre and post independence is dotted with men and women of integrity, with sound moral values that won pride and admiration for us as a people both within and at the international fora. It is saddening therefore that the upper chamber has been descending lately from serious legislative duties into frivolous issues of acts of impropriety levelled against the Senate President.
What was in civilised societies should have been the expose of gossip tabloids has emerged to arrest the attention of the entire Nation. And we remained unshockable! All these are happening because of the ‘banana’ nature of the selective process into public offices in Nigeria. It is expected that the men and women who are selected to preside over the legislative arm of government, and indeed all arms of government should be tested men and women of sound morals and integrity with unalloyed respect for law and the due process.
Yet the Senate that in the immediate past legislative assembly, upon a bill sponsored by the then Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo Agege initiated the bill that prescribed stringent punishments for erring lecturers charged with the issues of sexual harassment in our higher institutions. That same Senate, in the current assembly could not come up with appropriate set of measures to deal with the issues of allegations of sexual harassment levelled against the Senate President by a fellow female Senator! Allegations of sexual harassment are not the kind of issues to engage the attention of the legislative chambers in the midst of grave national issues of good governance begging for the attention of our law makers. The appropriate action that should have been taken was to ask the Senate President to step aside and speedily refer the issue to the appropriate committee to thoroughly investigate the allegations and recommend appropriate sanctions against the erring party.
Curiously, that is not being done; rather we are being fed with a Kaleidoscope of a political re-engineering process of suspension and the recall process of the female senator by its constituents. To further test the veracity of the Senate, the opportunity to redeem its image and honour came with the constitutional ratification of the proclamation of emergency rule in River State by the Executive arm of government. The Senate boggled it by failing to adopt an open and transparent debate and voting process on the issue.
The Judicial arm of government has also come up with soiled hands and clay feet in the dispensation of justice at critical moments. Legal juggernauts are currently questioning the integrity of the Apex court in most of its recent legal decisions. No doubt, this moment calls for deep and thorough introspection on the way forward for this potentially great Nation.
The Executive, Legislature and the Judicial arms of government provide the tripod stand upon which any enduring nation’s democracy is built. The inputs and outcomes that are currently being recorded from the various arms of government pose great danger to the development of democracy in our clime. “The man dies who keep silent in the face of tyranny.
..” apology Wole Soyinka.
It’s time to speak truth to power. Let all real men stand up and be counted. Oyiborhoro, a consultant and public affairs analyst wrote from Sapele, Delta State.
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