IRRESPONSIBLE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP, PREDATORY POLICING SYSTEM AND THE HOPE OF A PEOPLE THAT ARE LIVING IN A CONJECTURED UNITY. (By kay Aderibigbe)

 

IRRESPONSIBLE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP, PREDATORY POLICING SYSTEM AND THE HOPE OF A PEOPLE THAT ARE LIVING IN A CONJECTURED UNITY. (By kay Aderibigbe)

 

Nigeria is an example of a federal country on paper, but it does not qualify as a federal entity in reality. This is because Nigeria does in reverse what other federal countries do appropriately. In fact, like I said elsewhere, 'Nigeria cannot be described as a normal country despite that the UN charter sees her as one, but rather, it is a mere political camp or assemblage of some lost citizens'.

My reasons stem from the crisis of leadership deficit that characterizes Nigeria from independence till now. It is not a matter of an unsuitable system of governance or unworkable types of policy narratives, it is all about failures​ of individuals and groups to deliver on certain roles and responsibilities that they were saddled with. This, being the direct result of intentional compromises that pave ways for systemic failure.

It is the same Nigerian type of institutional inertia, lack of motivation to rendering services after being paid with taxpayers' money and the syndrome of 'public service is no man's work' that has made the Nigerian police force to sink into the abyss of unconstitutional behaviour and unprofessionalism such as: commercial public policing system, protection for the VIPs/highest bidders​ only, victimization of the ordinary citizens, lip-service, bribery, kidnapping, extrajudicial killings and other predatory inclinations.

The rot within the Nigerian police hierarchy has become an institutional norm to the extent that nothing else matters; even, their primary role of safeguarding lives and property. But only money and monetary rewards. In fact, if money has to be delivered via an anti-people or anti-police ethics, the Nigerian police, most especially, SARS will do everything to get the money​. 

The unit within the Nigerian police known as SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad), which was set up with the intention of managing a team of capable officers that can confront heavily armed criminals, though, in its heyday did exceptionally, but has in the recent times degenerated into a gang of criminals, and as such, become armed robbers of morals, lives and material items. It is against this backdrop that the Nigerian youths in their teeming numbers decided to take to the streets​ in order to protest the disbandment of the dreaded group. 

This same group of SARS officers was recently disbanded by the current incompetent Inspector General of the Nigerian police in February 2020. The same IGP had earlier ordered the decentralization and reformation of the same group in January of 2019, which did not happen​. The typical manifestation of political irresponsibility and predatory policing system was at play when the vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo ordered that SARS be reorganized in August 2018. This was because the same SARS failed to hearken unto the voice of another former IGP Mr. Ibrahim Idris who once directed that the group be overhauled in 2017.

What is it about political pronouncements and failure of public officials, administrators and appointed personnel​ to deliver on their roles? The problem is that there exists a seriously strained relationship between the state and the people on a sociological context. There is also a distrust between the elites who hold power in trust for the people and the public service on a psychological level. Lastly, there is no nexus between the projects of the Nigerian state, designed by the elites, and the yearnings​ and aspirations of the people.

All the aforementioned factors could be traced to the deficiencies that came with the idea of 'Nigeria's forced unity' and the purpose for which the said unity was coagulated. Despite that emergent realities of post-colonial Nigeria does not attach much relevance to the idea of unity but instead, pure work ethics, democracy, education, liberalization and global reasoning. An average Nigerian politician still blindly lays so much emphasis on the idea of unity to the exclusion of a host of other factors that have experimentally propelled other countries towards development.

Let us consider the mechanism of Nigeria's forced unity and whether it is appropriate for the youths or any group to aspire or clamour for changes despite the fact that our rulers always frown at agitations, civil society movements and new ideological suggestions by the masses.

The 1999 constitution in its first chapter, under the General provisions, part 1, Section 2(1) stated categorically that "Nigeria is one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign state to be known by the name of Federal Republic of Nigeria". This very assertion is a systematic method of bonding the society together. But can we say the bonding is logically reasonable? Has it been profitable to all and sundry? Is the bonding even necessary in the first place?

According to Leo Dare, in a work reproduced by Peter Ekeh (1985), "we might have to admit that the intentions of the earliest constitutional makers were good, but how do we conceptualize the perennial bondage that was created for the unborn generations by those who prioritized unity over development"? To buttress this line of argument, of what use is unity when suspicion, intolerance, in-built tensions, religious and cultural differences are the underlying factors of political participation? What amount of unity could be sufficient to engender a fair legal system, equal rights, balanced economy and a society where one can boast of a utilitarian government? These questions are part of the national debate today; and we have to answer these questions in order to unravel the mystery behind the bondage of the Nigerian state which seems to remain perpetual.

What can make the bondage of a society legitimate? The moral purpose for which a political rule exists is to ensure that authority is limited and it is exercised in accordance with  popular law. A law simply gains popularity when it is relative, definite, flexible, just and derives its value or strength from the people upon whom it is meant to guide. The law that bonds the Nigerian people lacked the characteristics of a popular law - since its authority is not societally inherent and the law is dependent on a body of power-recyclers (elites), as against the people from whom political sovereignty is derived.

Do people have the moral right to go against the law? Revolts against a law could stem from the fact that people don't feel connected, involved, represented or protected by the mentality which informed the law in the first place. If the state or any of its agencies repress, subdue or crush groups who challenge the compulsory unity of Nigeria for instance, then, the said unity is more important to the government than the people. In the same vein, justifiable resistance according to Thomas Hobbes is a public act of a whole people, and the right is safe guarded by the moral condition that those who resist are responsible for seeing that their action is less injurious to the society (general good) than the abuse which they are trying to remove.

Invariably, the preponderance of attendant effects of the forceful bonding of Nigeria is manifested in the 'I don't care attitudes' of those that are in positions​ of authority because the majority of them feel more responsible to their immediate constituencies rather than Nigeria as a whole. The multiplier effect therefore, is seen in the pattern of our 'conjectural unity' - which poses psychological trauma for the people, and also makes governance administratively​ enigmatic for the participatory public.

For instance, the quota system was introduced into the Nigerian system in order to promote ethnic participation, instead of a merit based recruitment system. This idea is a major setback to Nigeria in all ramifications. So many unqualified administrators in the public service are not supposed to be in power but they are there in the name of Nigeria unity. Some police officers who corrupted SARS for instance, do not have basic human relations education but they are drafted into the force through the idea of state of origin and population representation. 

With the magnitude of institutional decadence that pervaded all facets of human endeavours in  this country, the question is, how do we get rid of the rot that is entrenched in our system even, if all the seven points agenda being canvassed by the protesting youths are addressed? If the current political regime affords us the political space to speak well, it is better we clamour for a complete restructuring or we go back to the old regional type of government. But if they (the political elites) choose to muzzle us out, it is better we revolt at once and undertake a political upheaval that will reset the whole​ system and break the country into pieces one and for all.

If the youths dare play into the hands of these old folks that have mastered the Machiavellian arts, or the youths join forces in ruling this shattered country with the political elites pari passu, we shall certainly fail just like them; and they will label us as 'not being a better set of political managers that can do no good'. The reason is, as long as the quota system is the engine upon which the civil service is being run, it is doubtful if this country can know a better day. (Kay Aderibigbe 2020)