Yar'Adua May Vindicate Bola Ige on Super Civil Servants

By

Farouk Martins Aresa

faroukomartins@aim.com

 

 

We still remember uncle Bole Ige promise when Obasanjo made him the Minister in charge of NEPA, Steel and Industry. After thorough consultation, research materials and dedication he laid down goals and objectives in six months, one year, two years etc on our way to adequate power generation. If there was anyone who could do it, it was Bola Ige. Nigerians were more hopeful than usual despite past broken promises. The mission failed and he finally lost his life.

 

 

Nigerians have lost confidence in Power, Steel and Industries ministry because it has become a sinkhole through which every government loots the treasury. That $10 billion was spent over the last ten years was just another figure out of trillions sunk into this sector benefiting entrenched senior civil servants who refused to pass on their powers to fresh dedicated blood and retarded our advancement as the reality we face today.

 

These privileged few who have perfected basic services like electricity, water and roads in their individual homes, are satisfied with the abject condition outside their humongous abode. In some cases, they have been able to tie road as far as their houses only to stop beyond their compounds. While watching Bola Ige making those promises to the Country, they were swearing to humiliate Nigeria, not Bola Ige.

 

Yes, we must call on Yar’Dua when corruption has gotten worse since he took over. But we must never corner ourselves into a box, if the dilemma of people like Bola Ige, or his Aminu Kano background eventually catches his conscience and he decides to take action. Taking on the Nigeria Civil Service, and the banks as a mission out of patriotism or some hidden agenda are monumental tasks that must be closely watched.

 

It is true that many of our leaders had started tasks they could not complete. Even Abacha took on the new generation banks and Sultan Dasuki nobody dared touch. Buhari and Idiagbon restored discipline with operation WAI. Obasanjo (maybe Gowon) was the only military Head of State that went broke only to be resurrected for a second coming by his junior officer and minister. He swore he will never be poor again. But he gave us EFCC.

 

We must not pretend that any civil service can be easily reformed, it takes conviction, dedication and persistence. United States President Carter during his reign, called for the nomination of black lawyers to the Federal benches so that he could appoint them. He pointedly told his civil servants that he could not believe there were no qualified black lawyers and held up the positions until nominations came in.

 

So what is different about Yar’Dua? The reform of Federal Civil Service and the banks that he has undertaken may be difficult to turn back. Please do not bet your house on that though, but we must encourage the process and not let Southern or Northern interest derail it. We need not look at it as a political job in support of Yar’Dua Administration. Indeed we must not relent in our pursuit of excellence in an administration that has an Attorney General specifically used to defend barawo.

 

One would think that with all the power of the President, such as Obasanjo had used to dismiss all the military politicians, the senior civil servants would be less of a problem. The fear is if Yar’Dua can deal with civil servants the way Obasanjo dealt with military politicians who were entrenched by birth, blood and status. Thought bankers are now threatening the wrath of whatever, it seems that Sanusi remained unmoved. Would he and/or the head of Civil Service go the way of Bola Ige?

 

Nobody in his right mind should vouch for any Nigerian politician. Indeed, some of us thought that Augusto was a better qualifies candidate for the position of Governor of Central Bank than Sanusi. But so was Soludo. Qualification is not enough sometimes to take a20drastic and brave action as Sanusi did. Some people claimed that he had been the local champion preaching wrestling the banks away from the South and also a bank chief.

 

Well, as a bank insider he knew how to expose his colleagues. We need more than being a southerner as a reason or excuse, they must come clean of the charges leveled against them. This mentality of a big rogue pointing to a bigger rogue for clearance must stop. We are not talking about Professors Grange and Osuji here, who were caught naïve without any personal benefit to show for what they were charged for.

 

Until we see results of the banking and the civil service reforms, motives can be elusive and speculative. Even if motives are shady and Yar’Dua comes out with clean results, he can label those accusing him of bad motives today as the real people with evil motives. People with clean hands hardly go into politics in Nigeria, so asking for those who want equity to come with clean hands may be wishful thinking. Sorry.

 

Nobody is urging kudos for Yar’Dua yet until these tasks are accomplished. We have been taken advantage of, fooled, ridiculed and rubbished by too many leaders. They all paint rosy picture of what they are going to do, at the end of their reigns, then, we wished we had never celebrated them. So Mr. President, demonstrate substance and results, not promises or uncompleted tasks. We already have too many of those.