Whose Opinion Matters?
The recent reported abduction of yet another batch of school children in Katsina State has virtually cemented Nigeria’s reputation as a failed state. Now rated as one of the top five most dangerous places to live in, the nation is witnessing an unprecedented level of militancy, insurgency, ethno-religious strife, kidnapping, armed robbery, and political violence. […]
The recent reported abduction of yet another batch of school children in Katsina State has virtually cemented Nigeria’s reputation as a failed state. Now rated as one of the top five most dangerous places to live in, the nation is witnessing an unprecedented level of militancy, insurgency, ethno-religious strife, kidnapping, armed robbery, and political violence.
Nigeria supposedly operates an “American Style” Presidential democracy. In the US Declaration of Independence, their founding fathers wrote “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.
In terms of governance, this means that government’s priority should be provision of security and healthcare to ensure life; enforcement of human rights to ensure liberty; and control of economic activities to facilitate the pursuit of happiness. In Nigeria, excluding those in the Presidency and Federal Executive Council, there is a general agreement that all is not well and government is failing in its primary responsibilities.
At present, the nation cannot boast of one sector of the economy, one institution, or one government undertaking that works properly. As the nation continues to be plagued by leaders who don’t listen, and either don’t understand or don’t care about the plight of the people they profess to rule over, record numbers of Nigerians are applying for foreign citizenship, or risking their lives to flee these shores illegally.
The situation is deteriorating on every conceivable front and Nigerians feel they deserve answers to certain questions such as: what is the plan? or indeed is there any coherent proactive plan? Meanwhile, quite incredulously, the Service Chiefs, Federal Executive Council and Presidency are of the opinion that nobody has the right to demand an explanation not even the National Assembly where every member is an elected representative of the people! If indeed there is a concrete plan, would it not help if elected representatives were able to explain it to their constituents? Is it really possible for any internal security plan to succeed without citizens buying into it? There is a growing suspicion that the president’s failure to address either the National Assembly or the nation at large at this critical juncture is borne out of a desire to conceal something, and avoid the need to attempt defending the indefensible. Meanwhile as the situation worsens and mass graves are becoming commonplace, traditional rulers nationwide are reduced to merely lamenting and showing the empathy lacking in presidential appointees.
The Emir of Katsina Abdulmumuni Kabir Usman spoke the mind of most traditional rulers when he said “We cannot continue to live like animals…I have not seen this kind of country… nobody is safe”. There are those in the executive arm of government who believe, albeit erroneously, that the only opinion which matters is their own assessment of their performance! Unfortunately for them, the Constitution recognises three tiers of government; Federal, State, and Local, and it is significant that only at the federal level is there any belief that things are under control. Many local government chairmen such as Hon Peter Aguele of Esan South East Council have held emergency meetings with stakeholders in order to make their own security arrangements. While commending a vigilante group, Hon Aguele spoke of the “urgent need to overhaul the security architecture within the council area”. Paradoxically, Esan South East is far from being the nation’s most insecure and unsafe local government council.
At state level, governors like Ayade of Cross River State have taken to wearing military camouflage and issuing orders to security agents. Some like Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State have been reduced to simply commiserating with victims’ families and laying “curses” on the perpetrators. Others like Aminu Masari of Katsina State tried to negotiate with bandits. In an act of folly, he squandered N30 million paying them to surrender their weapons thereby enabling them to step up their activities by replacing out-dated AK-47 guns with more modern and effective weapons. Masari has now joined Ganduje in shedding tears and cursing. In Nigeria, responsibility for security is the preserve of the federal government.
Despite dipping their fingers into their state’s budget and allocating themselves unconstitutional “security votes”, governors are “Chief Security Officers” in name only because the Presidency’s control over security is total. In apparent exasperation, politicians are turning their attention away from the current administration and towards the 2023 elections which are still a long way off. Nobody knows what will happen, or what the future will look like. President Buhari is in his final term of office and perhaps this is why despite the fact that popular trust in him is waning, he rarely bothers to speak to the nation and no longer answers questions by himself.
He must realise that his legacy and reputation are at stake because Nigerians didn’t vote for his ministers, service chiefs or political appointees, and their successes or failures are his. After one term of office, they are still revealing plans for the future. Henry Ford famously said “you can’t build a reputation on what you are planning to do”! The truth is that since 2015, Nigeria has become less free, less safe, less equal, more divided, more in debt, and environmentally dirtier, while political leadership has grown increasingly more distant from the people. The bonds of trust on which democracy and indeed nationhood are based have been seriously degraded.
Government continues to refer to those who are vocal in expressing concern as “trouble makers”, or “rabble rousers” without bothering to test the veracity of their vocalisations. The unhinged and heartless defence of the atrocious security situation and inability to provide succour or express empathy will remain an indelible blight in this administration’s record. It’s demoralising that peaceful protestors who seek changes are being assaulted and warned of dire consequences for exercising their constitutional rights, while elected representatives are being told they aren’t owed any explanation.
The clear message for Nigerians as they move into 2021 is that their democracy is participatory only in terms of casting a vote, after which they should go home and keep their opinions to themselves. This is a departure from the American system which Nigeria claims to have adopted. Outgoing US President Donald Trump ran into trouble when military chiefs refused to order their troops into the streets to quell protests. At the time he said that “when somebody is President of the United States, the authority is total”, he has since learnt better! Americans reminded him that they do not go to the polls to elect a Sole Administrator, King or Emperor. In Nigeria, things are somewhat different; we have become a “democracy” in which only one opinion matters!