A 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 is right and what is wrong. But Nigeria lacks a healthy soul and a moral compass; it’s a nation where might is right. Nothing has exposed this 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 fantastic book, ‘Reclaiming the Jewel of Africa’. He makes a strong case for far-reaching reforms of Nigeria’s political and governance structure, saying: “Restructuring is not about if but when and how.” But besides the well-articulated call for radical reforms of Nigeria’s political, economic and social institutions, the book’s other 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 views. Yet, most Nigerians are not passionate about integrity and honesty in politics and governance. Nigerians, it seems, suffer from the 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. Indeed, some make excuses for the rabid corruption of political and public officeholders, saying they are under societal pressure as if terrorists, kidnappers and armed robbers should be excused because “they are driven by poverty”.
Unfortunately, the Stockholm syndrome doesn’t only afflict the mass of the population, who generally lacks the knowledge or the inclination to exert pressure on the political class and hold them to account. The psychological condition also afflicts the so-called “attentive public”, namely, the educated elite – the intelligentsia, commentariat, etc!
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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, especially 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.” Simply put, 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 is there a seeming ‘consensus’ to normalise them?
Take the man himself. For the first time in its history, Nigeria has a president whose name, age, early education, tertiary education, parentage 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”!
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The president of Nigeria should never have a personal life shrouded in such a miasma of dubiety. And 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?
But, lest we forget, Nigerians overwhelmingly rejected Tinubu at the poll. Out of the 24millon total valid votes in February’s presidential election, he secured only 8.8 million or 37%; 15million or 63% were against him. Leaving aside the deeply-flawed election, Tinubu is president only because of a constitutional anomaly that allows minority rule. Yet, despite his weak mandate and tenuous legitimacy, Tinubu is ruling imperiously as if he won a landslide victory!
Tinubu is the most controversial president in Nigeria’s history, and his government is the most integrity deficient. Why is there a seeming ‘consensus’ to normalise them?
Take 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. And Ganduje? Well, he’s facing trial for allegedly receiving bundles of dollars from a contractor as shown in a viral video.
So, unprecedently, Nigeria is in a shameful situation where the heads of its executive arm, legislature and ruling party are men with questionable integrity and character. The mantra “innocent until proven guilty” insults the perceptive mind, because no serious nation allows people with doubtful characters to head its critical institutions.
What about Tinubu’s cabinet? Well, 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 of the other ministers are also dogged by questions of integrity.
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Take Hanatu Musawa. In 2020, the Senate rejected her appointment to the board of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) because she didn’t have the NYSC discharge certificate, having “absconded” from national youth service. This year, Tinubu got the Senate to confirm her as minister without completing the mandatory service, a disregard for the NYSC, a revered state institution, and a slap in the face for thousands who dutifully did the youth service without a job! But integrity didn’t matter in Tinubu’s ministerial choices.
Recently, 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’s facing ongoing forfeiture lawsuits in America over his well-documented role in helping the late despot Sani Abacha loot billions of dollars from Nigeria’s treasury. Only Tinubu can act so insensitively and insult Nigerians by making a notorious accomplice in Abacha’s massive national looting Nigeria’s Budget Minister!
An old Turkish proverb says: “When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t become a king. The palace becomes a circus.” Tinubu validates this saying. He formed a government after his image; the most integrity-deficient in Nigeria’s history. His presidency destroys the soul of a nation and robs it of a moral compass. Tragic!
