Should We Celebrate the Malign Consequences of Abysmal Governance?

THE IMPARTIAL OBSERVER

Should We Celebrate the Malign Consequences of Abysmal Governance?

Hank Eso

Sunday 15 August 2010

As a people, we may be utterly idiosyncratic, but there is nothing gratifying about our ill-placed national priorities, since we cannot heartwarmingly celebrate disservice, the willful disenfranchisement of our masses and the prevailing national dichotomies.

No nation should celebrate failure, least of all a nation like Nigeria, which aspires to greatness. That is just about to happen under the pretext of Nigeria celebrating her 50^th independence anniversary. Still, the prevailing realities present a rare opportunity to Nigerian leaders to look themselves squarely in the face and end the present farce. They must also answer a critical question: should we celebrate the malign consequences of abysmal governance?

The time has come to square the circle. For once, our leadership should rise above their gratuitous and pedestrian disposition of claiming that our nation is “great,” and admit that in the context of present day Nigeria, there is nothing worth celebrating at the fifty-year mark. Cynical as it may sound, why should we? Really, what is there to celebrate?

Nigeria is a country where many fundamental national and developmental problems persist. However, the reality is that we are not into problem solving; rather we palm off or wish them away. Alternatively, we ignore them as if they do not really matter. This is understandably a convenient approach, except that there is no credible basis for passing on problems to the succeeding generations or governments, which are also ill equipped to deal with them. So are we set to celebrate failure and our collective mediocrity, or both?

It is well beyond contestation that as a nation, Nigeria has fallen short of her own aspirations. That is a fact. Consequently, metered strands of failings form the parameters of measuring our history. Consider for example, that the year we celebrate our half century mark, coincides with the year South Africa successfully hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and though we qualified for the competition by the skin of the teeth, we did the natural thing; crash out with ignominy. For a nation that successfully hosted the All African Games and FESTAC in the early 1970s, we have regressed severely or suffered an arrested development.

Think of this: Are we supposed to celebrate darkness, to which the nation is now so accustomed? In the one month South Africa hosted the World Cup, the risk of a power outage was not an issue. Imagine Nigeria hosting such a global event nationwide. What guarantees about constant power supply could we as a nation ever offer?

Furthermore, those in South Africa tell glorious tales of a nation agog and rightfully trilled to be celebrating their rite of passage and niche as hosts to the world. When the television commercial slogan proclaimed: “Ke nako” (It is time),” the answer was always a resounding “Yeaa” from all nooks of South Africa. The rest of Africa joined the refrain in unison. There was hardly a doubt about South Africa’s sagacity and readiness.

Visitors to South Africa also narrated how in their effort to acquire mobile phone while in South Africa, they were confronted with strict GSM registration regulations. RICA or the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act, requires mobile phone vendors -- operators, service providers and sellers – “to register the identities, physical address and cellular phone numbers of new and existing customers who purchase or have purchased SIM cards.” Furthermore, all such users, regardless of whether they use both prepaid and contract phone were “required to show proof of identity and to present a utility bill to show proof of residence in order to be registered.”

The RICA law has been in effect since 1 July 2009. The underlying reason behind RICA is public safety, human security and ensuring the rule of law. Basically, as South Africans are reminded, “You can help to make South Africa a safer place, as this law aims to help law enforcement agencies to identify the users of cell phone numbers and track criminals using cell phones for illegal activities.” Those who scoff the law, naturally have their SIM cards disabled by their network. One wonders how much RICA contributed to making the just concluded World Cup crime and trouble free.

In Nigeria, quite the contrast obtains. We all know the true situation and the nexus between undocumented and unregistered phones and the growth of criminality, especially kidnapping. The attempt to register all mobile phones in Nigeria has virtually been abandoned on the grounds of cost overrun and politicization. It is most ironically that after politicizing the right to own a phone, and sacrificing in the process, our national land telephony system and national security, we still cannot come to terms with implementing the regulations required to rectify such anomalies.

The linkage between unregistered and unregulated mobile phones and the quantum growth in criminality in Nigeria should give us pause. The same goes for our overall national insecurity. We are stingy about voting money to regulate our phone system and thus enhance our national security, yet we have voted large overwhelming sums to celebrate our nothingness. What a shame?

Nigeria is a nation where leaders continually exhibit crass insensitivity to the plight of the masses without any repercussions, politically or otherwise. In addition, the leaders seem immune to the deleterious impact of the national economy and therefore threat contentious national issues that should be extremely painful to any caring leader with utmost levity.

Shockingly, Nigeria was once a path-breaking nation and a bellwether for other African nations. In fact, others celebrated our national niches and gravitas. Not any more, still we celebrate. Time it was, that merit ruled the national order in both public and private lives. We rewarded enterprise accordingly. Today, in total contrast, we are a nation that celebrates profligacy, hubris and the pervasiveness of impunity. It is indeed telling that our leaders react derisively to any form of criticism, even the most banal or constructive.

Naturally, our badly altered state should shock us into revulsion at what we have become, and perhaps, into profound introspection. However, we now inured to all that is bad, false, fickle, distasteful and appalling. To be sure, we wallow in precepts and seem bereft of self-pity.

Unsurprisingly, our current leaders no longer speak out against corruption as a problem that bedevils the nation. The reason is obvious, a majority of them stands compromised and cannot face harsh scrutiny, talk less a hostile inquiry. Matters are worsened by the fact that they all keep compromising and revealing dossiers on each other. Those who over speak or over react, are promptly reduced to shame through instant jungle justice. This trend of intimidation has led to broad acquiescence as well as feeble and doubtful anti-corruption measures.

Former National Chairman of PDP, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor’s fall from grace is a stark example of how low we have nationally sunken, even if accepting that those who inhabit glass houses should not throw stones. The reality is that the more Nigerians in public office aspire to greater prominence by hook or crook, the harder they fall, except of course, if they are compliant and remain malleable cohorts in the league of those who disenfranchise Nigerians.

Several African nations have already celebrated their 50^th independence anniversary. Several more along with Nigeria, will do so in the remaining months of 2010. A common thread among them is that none has so far met the rudimentary targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Thus, in my view, celebrating underachievement is nothing but wasteful, unrealistic and myopic. Why should African nations vote humongous sums of money to have a carnival and then go cap-in-hand the day after to seek foreign loans and official development assistance. There is something glaringly wrong with that picture.

Indubitably, Nigeria exists under a treacherous political environment fraught with hubris, and obvious leadership and credibility gaps. A nation that mimics or exhibit symptoms of a failed state ought not to be gloating about that dubious distinction and accomplishment. Even so, I love my country and wish her well. I wish for it to be great in real terms, not because of her leaders being platitudinous. I wish for her to have an enviable record and history, like those other nations our leaders readily junket to on the flimsiest excuse; and those nations where they stash their loot.

As a people, Nigerians may be utterly idiosyncratic, but there is nothing gratifying about our ill-placed national priorities, since we cannot heartwarmingly celebrate disservice, the willful disenfranchisement of our masses and prevailing national dichotomies. Moreover, it is very hard to contemplate any worthy celebration in a country divided by ill-gotten wealth and deprivation. Hard as it may be to admit, we have also stifled dissent and pluralism on the altar of political expediency. This explains why we have no formidable political opposition and those who claim to be in opposition are so only in name and for convenience.

As we plan to celebrate an arguable anniversary, we must contemplate the state of the nation: a country that is bleeding, glaringly insecure and economically laggardly, with a large suffering and poor population.

Here is my take, and I must return to where I began.

Should we celebrate the malign consequences of abysmal governance? I believe the answer is obvious and a resounding NO!

This is what I propose. President Goodluck Jonathan should use his executive powers to can the planned 50^th independence anniversary. Like Gen. Tunde Idiagbon, he should look Nigerians squarely in the eyes and brutally tell them that there is really nothing to celebrate or smile about now. Yes, not yet!

President Jonathan should also tell us that ours has been fifty years of extreme and catastrophic nationhood. He should also exhort us to acknowledge whom and what we have become as a people and nation. That may well be he beginning of our national salvation. Only after we rediscover ourselves should think of justifiably celebrating our nationhood.

With neither anger nor partiality, until next time, keep the law, stay impartial, and observe closely.

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Hank Eso is a columnist for Kwenu.com. His observations on Nigerian, African and global politics and related issues, has appeared in various print media, journals and internet-based sites.

Email: hankeso@aol.com