The Failure of Governance and Leadership in Nigeria; Abia State as a Pictorial Case Study
The Federal Republic of Nigeria is a country blessed with natural and human resources so vast and rare. Internationally acclaimed as Africa’s most populous nation, she sits atop a geographical location that is devoid of worrisome natural disasters like earthquakes, whirlwinds and seasonal storms that often present obstacles to national growth. A member of the elite Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, the country periodically reclines amongst a comity of nations like Saudi Arabia, Angola, Kuwait and etc who have urgently deployed these mutual resources to make their nations into the master pieces they are today. But can that be said of Nigeria?
The country called Nigeria is on its knees despite the presence of all these aforementioned developmental catalysts. There is a break down and decay of social infrastructure; health services are largely unavailable; education is costly and without recognizable standards; power generation and energy supply is epileptic. Pensioners and civil servants are denied and owed their legitimate payments and dues. For lack of security there is breakdown of law and order in the polity, people are robbed, maimed, kidnapped and killed at will. The country is so rich but the majority of people are poor living on a dollar per day. Despite an increasingly bulging external reserve, undeniable citizen rights like free education, health care, social services and trust funds are waved away for lack of funds.
How did Nigeria come to this sorry state? What is directly responsible for this gross national failure?
‘What went wrong with Nigeria?’ a former governor and prominent member of the ruling class asked in a weekly series in November last year. Having ruled his state for virtually eight years (1999 – 2007), he left it in disrepair amidst staggering looting of funds and money laundry. His private businesses flourished, he expanded his shipping fleet, diversified his investments and economics interests; he set up a publishing house, established an airline carrier all at the expense of the state and in clear negation of the constitutional dictates and Code of Conduct for public officers. At the expiry of his tenure in May 2007, what was left of his state was a network of pot holed roads, despicable sanitary and waste management conditions, failed schools and health care services, a very scary security situation and intentional entrenchment of sodomy in relevant arms of the state governance structure.
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The legacy bequeathed by an eight year old ‘democratically elected ‘government – the failure of leadership and governance. |
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For this typical failure of governance and leadership this article considers his state as a pictorial and practical case study to reflectively trace out the real reasons for this dreadful quagmire we have found ourselves in the country as a whole.
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| Pictorial view of residential areas in Aba and Umuahia respectively, a state that has received more than 100 billion naira in subventions only over eight years (1999 – 2007). Filth and poor drainage conditions have posed serious health hazards to residents – the failure of leadership and governance. |
Leadership and governance is the bane of our society, we have been so unfortunate to have at the helm of our national institutions clueless, thoughtless and insensitive individuals who consider leadership and office as a means of self glorification, enrichment and positioning. They lack ideological leanings; they are not progressives and hence don’t understand the full import of the word national service.
The nation was no doubt disorganized by the rotten years of the military, a period in the nation’s existence when decency and civility was relegated to the background. Unconventional means of governance was introduced during that period that saw to the undermining of the nations unity and cohesion. National offices were seen as means of patronage and compensation, not developmental service. The peoples will were recklessly subverted, while democratic norms and dictates for the free and equal world were squashed with draconian decrees. There were coups, counter coups and set ups; Nigeria shamefully was declared a case study for future students in military politics and strategy. One form of despot after the other came in and left amidst wailings and tales of woes from the citizenry; the people cringed for a democratic system of governance with the hope and belief that their views and wishes for a better nation will be upheld.
The military era hopefully came to an end in May1999 with much sigh of relief from the people; they undoubtedly relished such landmark occurrence as an entrenchment of their collective wishes. But they were wrong! The latest democratic experiment which was symbolized by an unforgiving, pedestrian and pardoned convict as President later on proved to be the worst leadership ever witnessed by the country over a large time frame. He connived, cooperated and partnered with a ‘brood of vipers’ with whom he dragged the nation ten years back. The government never tolerated discerning views and perpetrated state sponsored killings which were never resolved. Leadership was devalued; people of questionable character and preference were selected to governance. They were elevated and forced on the people through vicious means of intimidation, thuggery and electoral rigging. Consequently they offered governance at national, state and local levels that were devoid of accountability, transparency and due process. Immorality and adultery was elevated; cleavages and bosoms were devoured in offices while important state decisions were left pending. With such characters in leadership, there came the introduction of fetish and satanic practices into governance. Oracles, shrines and deities were consulted for the sake of ensuring loyalty, invincibility and longevity in selfish national ‘service’.
Respective schools of thought came up wondering if democracy was indeed a viable option for Nigeria and if it wasn’t, what was? They understandably thought so because the much expected democracy which was looked up to as a means of reflection of the peoples views and wants, proved to be only beneficial and a dangerous tool in the hands of the same politicians, elites and rogues who actively colluded with the military. Democracy in the Nigerian context proved to be all about money and patronage as against ideology, progressiveness, achievement and track record obtainable in other places. A garrison mentality was introduced into the political psyche hence leadership and governance were determined and preserved based on primordial sentiments and diabolic greed.
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Abia school kids fetch drinking water from ‘road ponds’ following eight years of nil pipe borne water and consequent dry taps – the failure of leadership and governance. |
Treachery and divisiveness is the hallmark of the country’s supposed democratic leadership; they actively work together to undermine the social forces that make a free democracy possible. They operate like viruses and bacteria, dreadful organisms that thrive and expand on disease. They make societal peace and positivity impossible because they know they need anarchy in place to sustain their selfish ends and ego’s.
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Rail track in Aba Ngwa leading to no where, eight years after $8.3 billion dollars was awarded in rail turn around contracts to the China Railway Construction Corporation. Top officials of this organization popularly colluded with government elements to divert and stash away the fully released funds. As of today, rail transport in Nigeria still remains dead – the failure of leadership and governance. |
The illegitimate and visionless government of Musa Yar’adua is a typical illustration of what failure in leadership and governance has done to Nigeria. Almost two years in power, he has recorded pathetic failures that even the worst of despots never did in decades. The naira is at its lowest against the dollar, the recent boom in oil sales which benefitted other OPEC countries never accrued to the Nigerian citizenry. This government is impotent and the seven point agenda remains a farce. Very troubling is the fact the faceless regime has undermined the remnants of credible institutions in the nation left behind by the previous contraption. At the moment EFCC and NAFDAC, the erstwhile darling parastatals of Nigerians have been handed over to certified criminals while their ex helmsmen are either hounded or packaged for destruction respectively.
The man at the administrations helm rarely speaks; no one knows his mode of thinking except of course the elements that hold him hostage at the seat of power; he lacks foresight and charisma and was never prepared for national leadership. He was thrusted upon Nigerians as a form of punishment for popularly rejecting the infamous third term project.
The failure and lack of leadership and governance in the country has created the type of societal void, ineptitude and lull experienced in the country today. The evidenced testimonies of those returning to base from home after the festivities indicate the further retrogression of the countries they left years back, their greatest complaints being the total collapse of PHCN power generation and the insecurity of lives and property.
When leadership and governance as offered by a government is formulated and championed by characters like Mike Aondoakaa, the most corrupt Attorney General to ever lead Nigeria’s Justice Ministry, a man whom the contents of his skilled Curriculum Vitae are bullet points of graft, vice, robbery and extortion, the people at the receiving end must reconsider their stands in their country.
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During the pre 1999 and 2003 gubernatorial campaigns, Mr. Orji Kalu promised the Abia people improved housing and living conditions. After eight years, this is the type of housing accommodation available to the people – the failure of leadership and governance |
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On a daily basis, hundreds of Abia government officials commute through this road, but it is striking to note that the same officials actively connive to ensure the state of the road remains same as a guarantee for lining up their pockets – the failure of leadership and governance. |
Conclusion
The above topic is not a new discourse in the annals of this country and not a few readers must have glossed over and concluded, “the same old talk”. But with this submission, we intend to reawaken Nigerians to the fact that the destiny of our country is in our hands. We have been blessed naturally and geographically; our population is not the symptom to our problems as we often believe but our leadership and governance.
Progressive acts of fearlessly standing up to insensitive governments are not the exclusive preserve of the Filipinos or the Thai’s, it can be done in Nigeria, and we have the population and wherewithal. We have to unite across ethnic, tribal, religious and cultural borders because the crumbs these governing goons feed us defy such aforementioned colourations. The members of the armed forces whom are always called upon to crush progressive acts have to remember that we all share the same woes, difficulty and oppression; our children and beyond will inherit whatever we bequeath them whether you are in the army, navy or police. We all have to take pro active steps to determine our leadership and hold them to account.
The change which we all like to take about and celebrate is there for us to enforce. The onus is incumbent on us all.
Norris Benedict Temple .C. Ubochi
London, U.K. Bonn, Germany
fsixteens@gmail.com ubochit@yahoo.com
With special thanks to the Human Right, Justice and Peace Foundation (HRJP), Campaign for Democracy (C.D), NSIBIDI and a host of so many others that contributed towards this release.
For the failure of leadership and governance, Abia state as a case study has been reduced to filth.
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