Before assuming the presidency in May 2015, Muhammadu Buhari rightly
proclaimed that “corruption will kill Nigeria, unless Nigeria kills
corruption.” Unfortunately, however, after barely one year in office, a
diverse segment of the population began to openly pray for the freedom of
corruption in-so-far there is food on the table. By December 2016, the
Nigerian Legislature answered by formally introducing a bill to amend the
Constitution to grant its members immunity or, more plainly, the
unrestrained freedom from prosecution against corrupt practices. As if
the circus lacks in folly, the Senate followed by mysteriously rejecting
the president’s nominee to head the war on corruption. But this whole
dilemma has roots deeper than the ordinary eye can meet.
Not long ago, the transition to a democratic government in 1999 after
years of military rule seemed like the ultimate game-changer. There was a
semblance of freedom in most areas of national life. It then seemed the
citizens had finally become free from the shackles of dictatorship that
had strangled the country for ages. But don’t hold your breath. A more
complex problem soon emerged: The way the political elites conceived the
freedom turned out to be upside-down. The crux of the matter is that the
very practice of Nigeria’s democracy also allowed the leaders the freedom
to do as they chose. In the process, they chose to revert back to the
military style of dictatorship, leading to gross mismanagement of
resources and human right abuses.
This culture of impunity under a democratic setting resulted in massive
corruption. Different attempts by successive governments to combat the
societal ill were openly frustrated at the courts where some unique tenets
of freedom and rule of law were employed to produce unsavoury outcomes.
Despite the fact that Nigeria was consistently ranked near the top of
global corruption index, no major politician served a jail term in the
African soil from 2008-2015, apart from the lone case of Olabode George.
Not surprisingly, freedom of corruption became the order of the day. With
the price of crude oil then already beginning to take a nose dive, it was
only a matter of time before the national economy would crumble.
That was the exact situation in 2015 when the masses beckoned back
Muhammad Buhari for salvation. For many, Buhari was a ramrod-straight
ex-general whose austere image as well as anti-corruption track record
were best suited to oust a weak and pliable incumbent president in
Goodluck Jonathan.
Since assuming the office, however, Buhari’s war against corruption has
been a vain pursuit. Any attempt by the president to introduce
far-reaching anti-corruption measures is readily resisted, with the
opposition always clinging to one form of freedom or the other. A current
example is the issue of special courts being canvassed by the president to
expedite corrupt cases. Of course, the delay in the courts has nothing to
do with lack of human resources especially in a country where thousands of
jobless lawyers roam the streets. The special courts, instead, are to
de-oxidize the existing culture where judges and politicians combine to
sustain freedom for corrupt leaders through frivolous adjournments, plea
bargains, and state pardons. Regrettably, the critics of the special
courts, most of who constitute the first line of defense for the corrupt
oligarchy, quickly pounded on the president, digging out all sorts of
legal jargon to ridicule the initiative. They would helm the argument by
invoking the independence of the judicial branch and, of course, vitality
to the broader democratic freedom. But while this warped notion of freedom
may seem to favour those in the position of power, it is definitely
failing Nigeria as a whole.
Freedom, no matter the essence, must not be antagonistic to the well-being
of the citizenry. Besides, Nigeria must not base its rule of law solely on
borrowed legal theories. Just as leadership is contingent upon the
environment, the rule of law ought to take into considerations the
prevailing conditions in the particular society or country. Nigeria is at
a critical war with corruption and should explore extra-ordinary measures.
Even the United States of America, a country that prides itself as the
true bastion of freedom, had to adopt the USA Patriot Act—a pervasive
government control mechanism that allows intrusive checks at the airports.
Though initially condemned as an infringement on civil liberties, the Act
has been embraced for effective homeland security in response to the
tragic incident of 9/11.
Lampooning only the opposition for the clog in the wheel of Buhari’s
change agenda is an injustice to human conscience. The president has to
share part of the blame. He effortlessly ruptured the balloon of public
goodwill initially inflated by a cocktail of desire for change and the
myth of a legendary track record. Apart from the slow pace of his
government, Buhari forgot there is always a delicate balance between
freedom and authority. His early missteps, particularly the mode of
political appointments, the refusal to obey court orders, and lack of
transparency, simply evoked a frightening nostalgia of the dictatorial
tendencies that doomed his military regime. Such excesses, or rather abuse
of freedom, coupled with the harsh economic condition on the ground, were
all the corrupt oligarchy needed to gain the public support to subdue the
president.
Today, the bulging optics is that the strongman elected to strengthen the
system has been cowed into a weakling in office. That is how the
opposition has been able to hoodwink many to now believe that freedom for
corrupt politicians is a desirable compromise to stimulate the economy.
That is how and why the president now appears to embrace the very culture
of impunity that he was elected to decimate. Instances abound. But
definitely mind-boggling are the manner he dropped charges for a clear
case of forgery against the principal officers of the Senate, and the
apparent freedom for corrupt politicians in return for part of their loot.
What else is more? With the Executive branch already enjoying a corrupt
freedom in the name of immunity, not many were shocked when the Nigerian
Legislature formally introduced a bill to amend the Constitution to also
grant its members the freedom from prosecution against corrupt practices.
These developments are utterly mystifying and only go to encourage
criminal ingenuity rather than deterrence. Yet, don’t count on a mass
revolt. Given Nigeria’s recent past, any scheme masked with freedom is
perceived with a sacred aura. But the masses must resist the gambit this
time. Hope anchored through a corrupt premise, regardless of the inherent
freedom, is a poisoned chalice.
The aim here is by no means to circumvent the role of freedom in
democracy. Viewed in its totality, freedom is not only essential for
democracy, it is also vitally important for any human or organizational
development. But however indispensable it might seem, the cardinal truth
is that in democracy as we know it, neither the freedom nor the liberty is
rooted in an abstract sense where the leaders or the followers are free to
do as they please.
Often ignored in the contemporary discussions of Nigerian democracy is the
ageless adage: every coin has two sides. There are positive and negative
kinds of freedom. On the one hand, positive freedom refers to where people
are free to engage in endeavours towards the common good. It goes with
moderation, responsibility, and accountability. Importantly, positive
freedom is open to all—not just the sole province of the leaders
themselves. On the other hand, negative freedom typifies the prevailing
Nigerian situation where leaders freely engage in acts inimical to the
common good. Such negative freedom allows Nigerian leaders to hide behind
all sorts of rule of law to loot the public treasury without qualms.
Change does not come easy, especially in an environment where most
processes are fraught with rules of law tightly woven with negative
freedoms. Yet, there is hope. President Buhari can still reset by
cautiously navigating through the prevailing rules of law while
strengthening the system to wipe out the negative freedoms undermining the
leadership processes. But any reset requires a change in style. What
Nigerians sought and voted for in 2015 and hope to see today is a
resolute, just, and transparent leader capable of demonstrating serious
consequences for corrupt practices regardless of whose ox is gored.
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*Ogbonnia, a leadership scholar, wrote from Houston, Texas, USA
Email: SKCOgbonnia@firsttexasenergy.com