There is so much ignorance among Nigeria’s political elite that is destroying our democracy and undermining governance. Many key players in politics and governance are not aware of their expected role in the polity. Since they are ignorant of what politics and good governance is really about, they tend to pursue shadows rather than substance! They in actuality ignore the deliverables that can make a difference to the citizenry while pursuing mere optics. Sadly, many of our leaders and office holders have never been trained in leadership and are often the product of Godfatherism in politics. The result is the preponderance of trial-and-error protagonists in leadership.
Nigerians have been paying the price for the poor leadership culture as well as recruitment of unprepared leaders. The situation is not helped by the fact that the most important jobs in the land such as the President, Vice President, Governor, Deputy Governor, Senator, House of Representatives Member, State House of Assembly and Local Government chairman and Councillor, require little or no training to get into them. Little wonder our leadership and governance institutions have now been overrun by ignoramuses who seem proud of their utter foolery. This is a nation that has produced the Achebes, Soyinkas, Emeagwalis.
This is a country that has produced world renowned intellectuals yet, we are all ruled by people whose basic education is suspect. Politics has been abandoned literarily to the ignorant rich. Indeed, in today Nigeria, leadership positions are bought and sold just as maggi and fufu is bought and sold in the market. The result is dearth of issues-based politics and good governance. It is important to examine the essence of politics and thus see where Nigeria’s political elite are missing it, hoping that they would learn a thing or two. Politics is the art of societal decision making and the distribution of power in a society. Permeating throughout all aspects of life, no human is exempt from political processes. Politics are crucial for societal, economic and political progress and development.
Politics acts as the foundation for the rights of humans and sets the groundwork for ethics and morality. Without politics, humans would not have a tangible benchmark and understanding of what they are entitled to as citizens of a country or society and would lead to human rights violations. By having legal documents and political customs that delineate the rights of humans, people can become aware of what they are entitled to in the political and social landscape. As governments and political entities hold the power to create laws and customs that govern our daily lives, it is important for people to understand that politics is the central process that determines societal and political processes. The aforementioned essence of politics has been lost to most of our leaders. If it is not so, corruption would not have been allowed to become the monster that it is now.
Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world not for lack of resources but for lack of savvy and knowledgeable managers in the political field. In a report by PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) on the impact of corruption in Nigeria, it showed that corruption in Nigeria could cost up to 37% of GDP by 2030 if not dealt with immediately. This cost is equated to around $1,000 per person in 2014 and nearly $2,000 per person that lives in Nigeria by 2030. Sadly, our youths have suffered most from corruption and have even embraced corruption as a means of survival because corrupt politicians have hijacked available opportunities for only their children and relations.
A December 2019 report by the National Bureau of Statistics on the patterns and trends of corruption in Nigeria revealed that young people are most likely to give or receive bribes, with at least 60percent admitting to having given bribes. These bribes are given for a variety of reasons, but most especially, to obtain a government service, speed up a procedure or avoid paying a fine. When this data is placed side-by-side with the high rate of youth unemployment and underemployment, it becomes even clearer that ignorant politicians are setting the stage for a youth revolt. The fact that millions of young people finishing their studies with no job prospects further increases the pressure on them to offer bribes in order to secure jobs. Our political elites have reduced university education to the level that Nigerian university certificates are becoming worthless around the world.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has been on strike for over five months and the political elites never cared. Instead, they are more concerned about showing off their children that are graduating daily from foreign universities without any atom of shame. This is the height of misgovernance and insensitivity! They spend millions of dollars to train their children in foreign universities, while deliberately underfunding education in the country which has resulted to the instability of the education sector. The story of the situation in the education sector is the same in all the sectors including healthcare delivery, where our hospitals have become ‘mere consulting clinics’ yet ignorant leaders jet out every day to take care of their health abroad while leaving the bulk of ordinary Nigerians to die from common ailments that are taken for granted in other parts of the world. Nigeria’s malady can only be cured by reviewing our leadership recruitment system and adopting good governance as the foundational ethics for public office holders.
How can the bar for the topmost positions of leadership in Nigeria be so lowered that you do not need a certificate to be recruited? This is at the heart of ignorance in leadership positions in Nigeria for which the country is paying a huge price in underdevelopment. Good governance implies that those who hold office should have the capacity to do so. They should be men and women preprepared by their training to handle the difficult task of running the lives and wellbeing of others. Democracy entails that all men and women should have a voice in decision-making, either directly or through legitimate intermediate institutions that represent their interests.
Such broad participation is built on freedom of association and speech, as well as capacities to participate constructively. It also enforces rule of law. Legal frameworks should be fair and enforced impartially, particularly the laws on human rights. It guarantees transparency in governance. Transparency is built on the free flow of information. Processes, institutions and information are directly accessible to those concerned with them, and enough information is provided to understand and monitor them. There must also be responsiveness of institutions to serve all stakeholders. Good governance mediates differing interests to reach a broad consensus on what is in the best interests of the group and where possible, on policies and procedures. Good governance ensures equity. All men and women have opportunities to improve or maintain their well-being. It ensures that the leaders are accountable to the people. Indeed, good governance is the solution to our challenges, but it starts with electing knowledgeable leaders.
May Nigeria Rebound!
