The question that is often asked is whether professionals who veer (or are called) into politics perform any better than the non-professionals for whom politics is their real profession. I have neither empirical evidence nor compelling statistics to enable me to deliver judgment.
However, we can draw a lesson from Switzerland where political officeholders are mostly (except for a tiny few) part-time politicians. They are not paid salaries or excessive allowances. Indeed, only a few are provided with official residences. Their tradition is that politicians are to serve (and not be served).
In the case of Singapore, the political economy is anchored on the overriding concept and principle of “Singapore Plc” whereby every citizen is deemed to be a shareholder. The first prime minister and founding father of the nation, Lee Kuan Yew, has instilled discipline, integrity and accountability by ensuring that politicians, civil servants, judges and legislators are all well paid. In exchange, the state is entitled to superlative performance and honesty.
It would appear that much of what is wrong with us is not only the win-at-all-cost syndrome but the urge to cut off the heads of our opponents – be they political or mere professional rivals/competitors. If this remains unchecked, it is not only the professionals who would suffer but our entire nation would end up on a slippery slope to perfidy, perdition and damnation.
It bears repetition that the professionals cannot afford to constitute themselves into an elite of privileges and entitlements. The consequences could be as devastating as what we witnessed in 1972 when Cambodia fell under the iron fist of the deranged dictator, Pol Pot, who was so infuriated by what he perceived as the superior airs and arrogance of the professionals that he herded all the doctors, engineers, architects, surveyors, accountants, etc from the cities into the wild countryside to farm. Many of the victims had never set foot on any farm. Millions of lives perished.
However, if professionals genuinely wish to serve, they should be encouraged to do so, not derided or subjected to unmerited hostility (and enmity). We must continue to demonstrate that we as professionals are relevant and will continue to be relevant in the unrelenting task of re-engineering politics for national renewal and economic growth.
The relationship between professionals and politicians in the arena of our nation’s political economy may not always be smooth, but it should at least be sufficiently cordial to enable us as quantity surveyors, doctors, architects, engineers, lawyers, chartered accountants, etc to demonstrate that we make no claim to monopoly of knowledge. Our main (and indeed only) concern is public trust and confidence in our sound judgment, competence, integrity and reputation. Hence, even if we cannot be bosom friends with politicians, we should at least be able to influence the quality of their decisions. Even when the politicians outnumber us, we must refuse to be intimidated. Experience has shown that size is not everything. When the English triumphed in the China War, England had a population of only about 10 million against China’s population of over 100 million.
I believe what professionals owe as a duty to our nation is a solid track record of selfless service and honest endeavour in the promotion of good governance – in a transparent manner. It must also be clearly understood that professionals are not entitled to any special privileges beyond what should be accorded to those who have served their profession well and done our country proud when judged by international standards of professional conduct and integrity.
Experience has shown that in the struggle for economic growth, corruption and incompetence may be locked in battle. Afterwards, it is usually the lot of professionals to be tasked with asking awkward questions in the name of forensic accounting and audit. We should also factor in the huge cost of professional risks as well as totally unexpected hazards which may be inflicted on our professional colleagues in the course of their professional duties.
A critical aspect of professional life is the spiritual and it behoves all of us as professionals to be consistent in our concern and compassion for the poor. Indeed, it could be the driving force or at the very least complement our professional accomplishments. A case in point is what we witnessed on CNN recently when the chief planning officer of Singapore, who I understand is a quantity surveyor, was beating his chest over his nation’s success in planning for the next hundred years. A vital aspect of the plan is to sustain affordable and comfortable housing for not just the rich but also the poor. According to him, 80 percent of Singaporeans are currently living in government houses courtesy of Singapore Plc.
Forgive me for reminding some of the professionals that during the Buhari/Idiagbon military regime, engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, accountants, etc were part of the committee that was set up to advise the government on what to do with the Lagos Metro System which had been initiated by the civilian governor, Lateef Jakande. It may not be necessary to delve into the details here. What is relevant is to revisit the obituary of the Lagos Mass Transit project and recognise that buried along with it was a unique opportunity to dramatically re-engineer the politics and economy of not just Lagos but the entire nation.
Please let us go back to the archives and retrieve the “Hansard” and government “Gazette” of the colonial and post-colonial years when we practiced the parliamentary system of government with commendable transparency and accountability. Alas, in 1979 we switched over to the presidential system borrowed from the United States of America, the most powerful and richest nation on earth. What a tragedy that we never bothered about huge cost we would have to pay as opposed to what previously prevailed whereby most political officeholders were part-times. It was the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who let the cat out of the bag – 75 percent of the national budget is firmly in the pocket of the politicians. Another grotesque dimension earned us the derision of Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – 80 percent of our national budget is consumed by recurrent expenditure (mostly salaries and allowances) leaving a paltry 20 percent for capital expenditure and infrastructure.
As professionals, we are probably the first to feel and bear the brunt of chronic unemployment, especially among the youth. We are even producing professionals who have been walking the streets for three or four years without any prospect of finding jobs. That is the time-bomb that is ticking away and could completely derail any prospects of economic growth. Talk is cheap but inaction could be very costly!
While we are on the subject of youth, it is worth recalling that most of the administrators Britain sent out to Nigeria to rule us were young men. Also, most of our politicians in the First Republic were young men too. Late Bode-Thomas died at the age of 34 and late Adegoke Adelabu (“Penkelemesi”) died before his 35th birthday. Perhaps it is not too late in the day for us as professionals to be champions of agriculture and farming. The excellent and abundant opportunities for creating and sustaining employment should engage our attention, services and investment.
We as professionals should have no apologies for espousing our vision and seeking to translate dreams to reality. Of course, we recognise the hazards. As it is in the “Dreamliner Aircraft”, it takes only a tiny bit (in this case the battery) to bring the entire place down.
An extract from an address delivered at the annual Presidential Awards of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors at Oriental Hotel, Lekki, Lagos, February 16, 2013.
J.K RANDLE
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
