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First, coincidence has played a role in the composition of this rather
sermonic treatise. Barely seven hours before I set pen on paper, a
patriot from Kaduna sent in some text messages arguing that madam
Speaker derived her inspiration from the non- prosecution of most former
Nigerian governors blacklisted by the EFCC earlier. The man further
warned that embezzlement and corruption would keep plaguing Nigeria
until when the people stand up against their bankrupt system.
That said, I don’t want to incriminate Mrs. Patricia Etteh before an
impeccable inquiry convicts her. But never think that I am saying this
because I trust people like her in Nigeria, far from that! It was
coincidental because my present business is assuming a cursory review of
the nation’s leading political and---- since you cannot escape the
conflation of morality with politics these days--- moral dilemma; its
underlying root, effects and, more critically, its unpredictable
aftermath should the whole nation fail to discover the way out.
That I do not subscribe to regional politics however does not mean I am not conversant with the primal tendency in every part of the country for the people to vilify and roundly condemn who ever stands to hold forth on sensitive issues in a way and manner that offers threat to their interest. For instance, in case I confuse you, I am sermonizing on legitimacy crisis in Nigeria and the north is apparently the largest beneficiary of electoral fraud in the last polls; so it follows automatically that I will come under verbal--- if not written—vituperations from the people of the region. This is because in the logic of regionalism, a southerner should gloss over whatever faults he finds with his region and be ready to defend them just as his northern counterpart would do. But unfortunately, this only brings forth our political ignorance and a depending lack moral soundness when it extends to an educated person. Now, the president has launched a 24-man election review committee on 28th August headed by Retired Justice Lawal Muhammad Uwais to look into, among other things, the tortuous history of elections in Nigeria; the rules governing our electoral system; the powers and operational guidelines for INEC; the roles of security and other agencies in conducting polls, pinpoint the pitfalls and come up with workable recommendations that will show us the way forward, all within a stipulated one year period. Well, the saying that the moral burden of committing of crime, especially one involving the shedding of innocent blood, at least does exerts negative influence on the future action of and finally lets the law of nemesis loose on the offender has been corroborated in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the Du’bverville. It is also true that an unpunished heinous crime leaves a ghostly mental image in the perpetrator; just as it sparks off a chain reactions of atrocities and strips him of any moral temerity to admonish others for their evil deeds in the society. In our case, the intentions behind the constitution of this panel may be good. And I doubt if anybody would dispute the desirability of formulating and executing reforms in our electoral systems. But, unfortunately, so many flaws recur from the empanelling through the timing to the leadership of the committee in a tragically ironical fashion. And--- as my previous argumented hinted, such repeated blunders are simply an inevitable corollary of the hanging impunity. Firstly, during his formal inauguration, the president pledged not to engage in any enterprise that will cause disruption in the proceedings of election tribunals which he had urged any aggrieved party or candidate to resort to in the wake of the April 2007 elections. It is interesting to know how many election petitions have been resolved so far or whether, from his first hundred days in office, the much -trumpetedly straight forward president has begun retracting his promises. Second, so much air of incredibility flows in and around the leadership of the committee. There was universal agreement on the 2003 elections which the Supreme Court under Justice Uwais upheld. So unless you believe the whole world to be wrong and the former chief justice right, you cannot rationally accept his eligibility for chairing that panel. And that is despite the facts that even school boys in Nigeria know the reason for the persistent electoral frauds, the main search point of the committee. Fear for the unknown emanating from the haunting ghost of past atrocities necessitates the imposition of a loyal stooge, where no room exists for extension, to guarantee cover against possible future prosecution. In other words, it comes from an overambitious greed to proceed with the unabated plunder of the public resources, access to which continued stay in office facilitates. How ever, all these devilish endeavours are embarked upon with their chances of success hinged on a ready collaboration with electoral officers and security agents. The solution to these cumulative legitimacy cankers, there fore, lies not necessarily in constituting a reform committee, not least with a leadership in which few, if it at all people could invest confidence. I am sure as my reader is that all the laws forbidding electoral frauds had been in the electoral system when the PDP rigged the 2003 and 2007 elections. Weren’t they? But they did so because the causative factors summarized above had been their defining stratagem. So why shall we expend useful resources unnecessarily? The sole panacea to this moral disaster that has brought us into national as well as international disrepute is to be found within a spiritual transformation of political leaders from mere opportunists to dedicated patrons. It will also be located in the internationalization of piety and the inculcation of loyalty to the nation among civil and public servants in Nigeria. It is only then will a level -playing ground emerge where the governing party and the incumbent can be routed in fairly conducted elections, something which remains our elusive dream at the moment. The crisis resulting from illegitimacy of authority is usually and emits complex effects around the beleaguered figure. When the PDP leveled allegations of financial misappropriation against its former chairman, Chief Audu Ogbeh and moved to prosecute him shortly after the 2003 polls, it was a threat to appear in the tribunal and reveal all their rigging machinations that saved his neck. Similarly, the EFCC could not arraign former governor James Ibori of Delta State for his numerous crimes because he used part of the loot to fund its 2007 presidential campaign. And cases of ex-Nigerain governors formerly on Ribadu’s list but now walking free on this give- and- take arrangements are too many. You also have Mr Sunday Ehindero enjoying the same cover. Meanwhile, the former Vice President is coming under pressure to pull out of the tribunal in the same manner some traditional rulers in Benue keep beseeching the young Alhaj to settle his case out of the court with the Senate President. But in all this frantic rush the people seem to be missing one crucial point: that legitimacy is a virtue that can only be won. When you rob or purchase it becomes anything but legitimacy just as has been the case with adopted offspring. Muhammad Bashir wrote from English Department Bayero University Kano
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