It is being asserted that Nigeria faces great and severe challenges in her
march to nationhood. some of the challenges include poor leadership,
corruption, poverty in the midst of plenty, insecurity, defective federal
structure etc.
Nigeria should change their political structure this New Year in order to
allow democracy to grow. In the U.S which we like to copy so much,
immediately after the election the loser steps aside and allow the winner
an opportunity to at least rule. In Nigeria, opposition and politics
continue until the next election. So it is politics and ‘opposition’ for
the next four years and as a result governance is seriously affected.
Not many people take notice that a serious problem facing this country is
the so called ‘opposition’ and armchair critics. In Nigeria, immediately
after the elections or a new government is set, opposition emerges. One
easily gets confused whether the opposition is in good faith or not.
Having started with the parliamentary system, the ‘opposition’ culture
particularly in Western part of the country does not seem to have left our
politicians.
Consequently, immediately government is set up at the Federal level, those
who lost the election will immediately set up the ‘opposition’ and ensure
that government does not have peace or does not work until the next
election. The late President Yar Adua faced the same situation. Few months
after he took over government, they described him in the Nigerian press as
‘Baba Go Slow’. Suprisingly however, it was this Baba-Go-Slow who sorted
out the Niger Delta militancy in a classical manner and brought peace to
the Niger Delta, a crisis that almost destroyed the Nigerian economy.
Surely it was not the strong man of ODI that brought peace to the Niger
Delta but the Baba-Go-Slow.
President Goodluck Jonathan successor to Late President Yar Adua has been
the worst victim of Nigeria’s armchair critics. President Jonathan’s case
is worse in the sense that immediately after the election results were
announced and Jonathan was declared winner, opponents took to the streets
destroying lives and properties. He therefore started on a sour note. No
sooner than he was sworn in than opposition started. Nothing that he did
or said was right. In recent times, attacks have become mostly personal
against Jonathan. From perverse criticism the attacks have turned to
abuses.
He has become not only the most criticized but the most abused and
insulted President in the world. The tragedy is that if he loses power, it
could turn out that he was innocent and that all what he critics wanted
was to get him out of power no matter the reforms he wants to bring to the
country.
Those who are old in Nigeria know that this is the tactics used to bring
down governments over the years and if military coup was fashionable now,
the military wold have taken over, the important thing is for the
government to fail no matter the consequences on the nation. In fact the
present defections could still be regarded as a coup.
Media bashing of Nigerian leaders did not of course start today. Media
bashing encouraged the military to sack the Abubakar government of the 1st
Republic on allegations of corruption. But when they were overthrown most
of the stakeholders did not have a house of their own. Sir Abubakar is not
known to have had a house anywhere. Government of Yakubu Gowon was also
toppled on grounds of corruption after series of media bashing. When they
were overthrown, most of the Governors returned home as paupers. Late
Governor Esuene who ruled South Eastern State for nine years did not have
a plot of land in the State capital or anywhere apart from his country
home built on bank loan. Gowon himself is not known to have built a house
during this period. Most of the infracstructures they built are still
being used till today.
Another victim of media bashing was Alhaji Shehu Shagari. He was accused
of being weak and his Lieutenants corrupt. As usual, the process was being
prepared for him to be overthrown by those who lost the election and he
was accordingly overthrown. Shehu Shagari was not known to be corrupt. He
was a great and acceptable leader. Today he could travel to any part of
the country without security. Although the politicians were jailed
hundreds of years by the military junta, there were no serious cases of
corruption against them. Dr. Joesph Wayas, Senate President (as he then
was) returned to Calabar his State no a rich man. Compared to what is
happening now they were angels. When the Shagari government was
overthrown, the military was welcomed and celebrated but the honeymoon did
not last long as the media attack continued particularly when journalist
were jailed and the reforms Buhari & Idiagbon tried to bring was aborted
by the Babangida coup. Many people believe that if Buhari’s reforms were
allowed to grow, Nigeria would have been a better place. Though
dictatorial, he tried to discipline the country which is what Nigeria
needs even till today.
Our fellow countrymen should not get us wrong, we do not condone poor and
corrupt leadership but there is a trend in the country that if a set of
politicians loose elections, they join forces with the enemies of the
regime and ensure that it will not have peace and be able to implement its
programmes. Such regimes are not even given the chance to announce the
policies when the attacks start coming. We should try to drop this
political structure to allow the country to progress. President Jonathan
has not even been given the the chance to implement his policies. The
implication of this media bashing is that one does not know whether the
criticisms are in good faith or not.
The irony is that even the ruling party men join in attacking their
government than even the opposition. This is strange and can only happen
in Nigeria. Nigerian politicians do not have or show class in what they
do. Top members of the PDP attack their government and get away with it.
This is the genesis of the crisis in the PDP – INDISCIPLINE. A situation
where an immediate past president and immediate past chairman of the Board
of Trustees who left the government barely years ago join in attacking the
government that he set up, who then do we hold accountable for the wrongs
of the government. The open letter written to President Jonathan by his
predecessor and his earlier newspaper criticisms is AB INITIO wrong, if
not for anything but under the general principle of ‘COLLECTIVE
RESPONSIBILITY’. Even a card carrying member of a political party should
not openly criticize the government set up by his party because of this
principle not to talk of high ranking officers. Political parties should
insist on discipline of party members. That is why for example, the APC
should not jubilate too much over its recent political fortunes because
the APC is now dominated by by the nPDP and if care is not taken they
might bring the culture of indiscipline to the new party. With due respect
to the politicians, it is not act of impunity that is affecting the
fortunes of the PDP but indiscipline. it is hoped that whoever takes over
in 2015 will be given opportunity to rule without distractions.
Finally, on the issue of corruption and insecurity, the National Assembly
should play less politics. They should grant some emergency powers
(subject to check an balances) to the President to deal with severe cases
of corruption and those who perpetually cry for bloodshed or those who
instigate insurrection against the government all in the name of politics.
Without emergency powers, there is not much the President can do. It is
difficult to investigate most corrupt cases and most security breaches
without Emergency Powers.
Ita Akwaowo, is a lawyer.
ita_akwaowo@yahoo.com