By Umar Ardo, Ph.D
Clearly things have deteriorated in Nigeria in the past decade, rather rapidly. Take every facet of the country’s national life and you cannot invalidate this assertion. The economy has now collapsed, evidenced by the exchange rate which keeps on falling inexorably. All across board businesses have been crumbling and investors pulling out of the country. Inflation, high cost of living, low wages and unemployment have created mass poverty, hunger and destitution in the people.
Similarly, state authority has waned as armed insurrections have escalated all over the country, and nobody obeys any law any longer. There is no more patriotism nor loyalty to the nation as separatist tendencies and groups keep on widening. Unable to form a coherent national armed resistance against the country’s establishment, pockets of armed groups of all sorts have sprouted in varying degrees in all parts of the country, taking forms of their peculiar cultural roots.
Corruption has become endemic as public servants of all categories have virtually personalized for themselves public finances and public property entrusted in their care. From the Deziani to the Dasuki to the Emiefele and to the Betta scandals, and so many in-between them, the level of corruption episodes of public officials and institutions are mind-boggling; resulting in the prostration of public institutions, infrastructure and social services such as education, healthcare, housing, power and transportation. The situation is even worse in the states. Citizens, thus left to cater for themselves in all aspects of community life, have become distrustful, disillusioned, disappointed, disobedient and disinterested in public affairs, and hateful towards public servants. Consequently, what we have left as a country today is just but a wreckage.
It is thus apparent that our society has collapsed as governance has become ineffective by reason of structural and operational/attitudinal deficiencies in the following three areas:-
i. Absence of authority and responsibility at the community level;
ii. Concentration of powers, duties and resources at higher levels of governmental units; and
iii. Absence of moral authority to enforce law and order by most lawful holders of public authority.
And in spite of all the rhetorics of successive governments, the general situation is only getting worse. And from all indications, this government too by itself and on its own, is clearly incapable of addressing the problems. Given how deeply rooted these issues are, I believe only a high level consultation as a National Conference/Dialogue can comprehensively discuss and proffer enduring solutions to the issues. The interaction of many minds in virtually all aspects and sections of the country in a national conference of this nature will certainly be more illuminating than the intuitions of few advisers and cabinet members, with many of whom lacking knowledge of the real issues at hand. In a discourse representing different backgrounds and diverse points of view, there is a greater likelihood of hearing alternatives, of exposing errors, and of challenging assumptions.
The National Conference/Dialogue should aim to achieve the following:
i. Accommodate and reflect on our diversity and heterogeneity as a nation-state;
ii. Set authoritative higher law over discords of tradition and politics;
iii. Transcend disagreements and settle arguments;
iv. Create and enhance social and ethical order in society; and
v. Evoke deeper sense of patriotism and purpose in citizens.
To resolve these deficiencies, strengthen and stabilize our system, therefore, the National Dialogue must also undertake the following;-
i. Devolve power, responsibility and resources in a top-bottom progression down to the communities, being the foundation and bedrock of society; and
ii. Raise high moral standard for all public officials, and for society.
Since it is now obvious that our political and administrative systems at all levels do not provide the desired results of good governance for which they were created as current constitution gives almost all powers at the centre to the detriment of the periphery, restructuring, readjusting or repositioning the system is necessary. This means instituting the following:-
i. Devolution of powers, responsibilities and resources down to the community level, beyond States and LGs, as a defined and organized level of governmental system emanating from communities in a bottom-up progression;
ii. Establish a general framework of a community-based federal system, with the community serving as a chief unit of local administration, taking into account the peculiarities of our diverse heterogeneities. This way, federating units and territorial divisions will be localized according to peculiar circumstances of our people. This way, communities will become organized, engaged, active, cohesive and good. Because communities will be running their own affairs participatory democracy would thereby be engendered;
iii. In essence, governance should be made to start from the COMMUNITY LEVEL where each community will be entrusted with certain basic responsibilities, powers, authorities and resources for the purpose of securing, developing and maintaining itself;
iv. To enhance economic viability of communities, there shall be structured community-based budgeting processes and procedures reflective of community needs and aspirations.
The benefits of this reform are enormous. First, communities will become trained and organized, in that each member of a community understands where their governance, success and failure begins and ends. Second, citizens will be very much engaged and active in the political process, making them major stakeholders, and not spectators, in their own affairs. That will reduce the role and power of political merchants. Third, community will become enlightened and cohesive, a factor that will ensure societal security, peace and stability.
The literature in Nigerian political economy, history and political theory all point to the fact that the problem with Nigeria is both of the vehicle and the driver. The eminent professor of literature, Chinua Achebe, once said that the problem with Nigeria is squarely that of failure of leadership. In my opinion, formed based on years of practical experience in public service and partisan politics, the operation, and therefore the operators, of our system is as much the problem as the system itself.
It is without doubt that the system needs rebalancing, as expatiated above, but that will be insufficient without equally amending the selection of the system’s operators. This, in our opinion, is akin to a brand new vehicle operated by a novice and an old car operated by a good driver. Both two scenarios are problematic, although the latter is more preferable. Thus, our position is one that seeks both a good vehicle and a right operator to fast-track our development trajectory. Because we need good operators as much as we need a good system. After all, nations function, grow, prosper and develop in more dysfunctional systems than ours because of good operators in spite of the bad systems. Likewise, good systems crumble and collapse on account of bad operators.
Therefore, in order to ensure that capable people with the right skills and character are placed in position of public service, we propose a constitutional clause for qualification to hold public offices be amended requiring that:
“no person shall qualify to hold and exercise powers and duties of any public office (whether elective, appointive or bureaucratic) in Nigeria except such a person is of unquestionable integrity”. No doubt, having such a clear constitutional clause will help in ensuring that only persons of good character, integrity and competence are put in charge of public institutions at all levels and organizations. The benefit of this is that it will serve as a check on all potential aspiring public officials, distil the process of choice of operators of our public affairs and instill sense of discipline and good character into members of society. In other words, it will raise the bar in the quality of public service and improve good governance.
The recommendations of the National Conference/Dialogue be sent to the president and the president in turn to subject them to legislative approval in the same way he gets his nominees or budgets approved.
