By Olu Fasan
Every great nation is built on a strong moral foundation. No nation succeeds without, as Plato put it, a “healthy soul”, where reason, passion and will drive leaders and citizens to defend their nation’s best interests. Equally, no nation succeeds without a moral compass, without a robust sense of what’s right and what’s wrong.
But Nigeria is a nation where might is right, where the powerful can get away with anything. Nothing has exposed the national soullessness and moral-vacuum more than the emergence of Bola Tinubu as Nigeria’s president and the indecorous manner in which he formed a “government”.
For context, I have just read
Dr. Segun Aganga’s superb book, Reclaiming
the Jewel of Africa. He makes a strong case for far-reaching reforms of
the political and governance structure of Nigeria, saying: “Restructuring is
not about if but when and how.” But the book’s overarching theme is the need
for a values-based society. Dr. Aganga, a former minister, argues that “the
bedrock of a prosperous nation and future leaders is the value system of
society,” adding that unless the values of integrity, honesty, patriotism,
etc., form the foundation on which Nigeria is built, “the nation will fail
woefully”.
Hardly anyone can truthfully
fault Dr. Aganga’s ideas. Yet, most Nigerians are not passionate about
integrity and honesty in politics and governance. Nigerians, it seems, suffer
from Stockholm syndrome, a psychological condition in which a victim identifies
and empathises with their captor and their goals. Nigerians accept and tolerate
the impunity of the political class, their captor. But this psychological
condition doesn’t only afflict the mass of the population, but also the
“attentive public” – the intelligentsia, commentariat, etc!
In his book, There Was A Country, the legendary
Professor Chinua Achebe devoted a section to what he termed “The role of the
writer in Africa”. Professor Achebe posited that the writer shouldn’t be
indifferent, saying: “If a society is ill, the writer has a responsibility to
point it out.” He said “(t)here is a moral obligation not to ally oneself with
power against the powerless”, adding: “An artist would not be someone who takes
sides with the emperor against his powerless subjects.” Achebe went on to say
that the writer should “ask the hard questions” even if doing so “causes a few
headaches”.
Well, on the role of the writer,
particularly in the Nigerian context, I belong to the Achebe school. I would
not spend my time writing weekly newspaper columns unless they speak truth to
power, ask the hard questions and offer perspectives on the way forward. Even
in the West, where the society is healthier, writers don’t genuflect to
politicians and tolerate their impunity. As The Economist magazine once said:
“The questioning of institutions and received wisdom is a democratic virtue,
and a sceptical lack of deference towards leaders is the first step to reform.”
Put simply, speak truth to power and ask the hard questions!
So, here are my “hard
questions”. Why do few recognise and talk about the irreparable damage that
Tinubu’s emergence as Nigeria’s president and the impunity with which he formed
a government void of integrity have done to the soul and moral bearings of this
country? Tinubu is the most controversial president in Nigeria’s history, and
his government is the most integrity-deficient. Why are those normal?
Take the man himself. For the
first time in its history, Nigeria has a president whose name, age, early
education, tertiary education, and ancestral roots are subjects of raging
controversies; a president once entangled in a drug-trafficking case in
America, who forfeited $460,000 to the US authority; a president whose source
of stupendous wealth and the credibility of that source set tongues wagging.
Tinubu said he attended primary and secondary schools, but later said he
didn’t. He blamed “needless errors” for discrepancies in his INEC form in 1999,
and now blames an unnamed clerk of Chicago State University for “several
errors” in his recently-issued certificate!
The president of Nigeria should
never be associated with such a miasma of dubiety. Here’s another “hard
question”. What’s the message to aspiring future leaders of Nigeria: that they
can make the wrong choices in life, live a less-than-honest life, and still
become president provided they have deep pockets and can manipulate the system?
No one who truly loves Nigeria can ignore the damaging precedent that Tinubu’s
emergence as president set for the moral bearings of this country.
Think about his choices in
government. Tinubu installed Godswill Akpabio as Senate President and made
Abdullahi Ganduje his party’s national chairman. In April, the EFCC asked
Akpabio, a regular “guest”, to report for questioning. Akpabio’s lawyer said he
was “suffering from pneumonia and cardiac arrhythmia” and needed medical
treatment abroad. Yet, that didn’t stop him from running, with Tinubu’s
backing, for the Senate presidency. As for Ganduje, he’s facing trial for
allegedly receiving bundles of dollars from a contractor as shown in a viral
video. The defensive mantra “innocent until proven guilty” insults the
perceptive mind.
And Tinubu’s cabinet? A lot has
been said about how it’s the most bloated in Nigeria’s history and arguably the
most mediocre. But it’s also the most integrity-deficient. The cabinet’s
ex-governors face allegations of corruption and/or mismanagement; some other
ministers are also dogged by questions of integrity. In 2020, the Senate
rejected Hannatu Musawa’s nomination as board member because she “absconded”
from the youth service without an NYSC certificate; this year, Tinubu got the
Senate to confirm her as minister without completing the mandatory service, a
slap in the face for thousands who completed the service without a job! But
integrity didn’t matter in Tinubu’s ministerial choices
Last week, Bloomberg published a story titled “The US targeted his assets. Nigeria made
him Budget Minister.” The global media outfit was referring to Atiku
Bagudu, former governor of Kebbi State, who is facing an ongoing forfeiture
lawsuit in the US in relation to his alleged role in helping Sani Abacha loot
billions of dollars from Nigeria’s treasury. Of course, only Tinubu can make a
notorious accomplice in Abacha’s plundering Budget Minister!
Hard question: who are the
conscience of the nation, the custodians of its moral values? Hardly any! Even
most religious leaders ally themselves with power, however acquired. Yet,
Nigeria can’t succeed without a soul and a moral compass!
*Dr. Fasan is a commentator on public issues
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