What the elite has done in the past is setting up extractive institutions. These are institutions without true democratic principles and whose loyalty lies with the Government of the day and not the people of Nigeria as it should. And thus the power class became more powerful.
1.0 — Preamble
This is the 21st century, and what has become the sad reality of our nation where nothing seems to be working is how we have veered from making a great, strong and viable nation emerge, to making individuals and state actors more powerful than the institutions of the state.
Going down memory lane, in the late 60s to the better part of the 80s, the government had a grip on the production and distribution of goods and services throughout the country and that spurred development round the cycle.
In a short while, these government-owned establishments were sold out, gifted, and allotted to Government officials and allies in the private sectors — this is where our misery started. Greed became the order of the day and kickbacks became a common thing in the execution of projects by these same establishments.
Men became stronger than the institutions of the state due to wide access to public funds, siphoning the same and gross amassment of this treasury for self enrichment. It is still called NATIONAL CAKE — you only need to cut yours when it gets to you. And this is the foundation of our very own problems; corruption, oppression, favoritism, nepotism, backwardness, ineptness, gross violation of the people’s collective sovereignty to say a few.
Permit me to make reference to the forward part of a historical book, “the last 100 days of Abacha” where Dr. Reuben Abati, wrote;
“After the exit of British Colonialism, a new set of local imperialists in military uniform and civilian garb assumed power and have consistently proven to be worse than those they succeeded. These new vetoists are not driven by any love for the country, but the love of the self, and the preservation of the narrow interests of the power-class that they represent. They do not see leadership as an opportunity to serve but as an avenue to loot; they do not see Politics as a platform for development, but as something to be captured by any means possible. One after the other, these hunters of fortune in public life have ended up as victims of their ambitions; they are either eliminated by other forces also seeking power, or they run into a dead-end. In the face of this leadership deficit, it is the people of Nigeria that have suffered; it is society itself that pays the price for the imposition of deranged values on the public space; much tension is created, the country is polarized, growth is truncated.”
Nigeria is thus in continuous search for good governance, accountability, transparency, competence, character, and selfless leadership in her political space up until this moment.
When will it get better and when will our country be on the pedestal of significant progress is what everyone keeps asking. It seems as though we cannot achieve goal 16 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals; which seeks to, “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”
2.0 — Quest for Transformation
Throughout history, what makes a nation thrive is its political and economic institutions. These can be inclusive or extractive in nature. For one, where power devolves to an elite few with almost absolute rulership without consultation; it is extractive and where the will of the people is respected to the latter; it is inclusive.
This brings us to the question, what sort of institutions do we run in Nigeria? It is worthy of note to say that it is largely extractive. Extractive political institutions concentrate power in the hands of a narrow elite and place few constraints on the exercise of these powers. It is noteworthy, that politics is the process by which a society chooses the rules that will govern it and all economic and political institutions are created by that society and nothing less. Anything short of that would result in a dictatorship.
Extractive political institutions will produce extractive economic institutions, which in turn, enrich the same elites, and their economic wealth and power will help consolidate their political dominance. Such is the case in our country today.
What the elite has done in the past is setting up extractive institutions. These are institutions without true democratic principles and whose loyalty lies with the Government of the day and not the people of Nigeria as it should. And thus the power class became more powerful.
Nigeria only practices democracy in disguise, the distribution of powers has been narrowed and concentrated to the center which is a trait of ABSOLUTISM. Truth be told, the people’s will is an afterthought. After I read the Iranian history in the book “All the Shah’s Men”, I concluded that Nigeria is still in the 1940-50 days of Iran. It was not an exciting time then and that is the same situation now. Here are statements of facts:
The Nigerian constitution for example is still questionable as it was not written inclusively and does not reveal the true will of the people. That’s a classical example of an extractive institution that we have managed for more than 40 years.
Our Criminal Investigation agencies (The Police, ICPC, EFCC, etc) are extractive institutions because they operate as tools of political vendettas to suppress the opposition of those in power and to harass the weak in the society.
An inclusive political and economic institution will ensure the growth of industries, commerce, and trade while also ensuring the security of lives and properties at all costs. It won’t be a power tussle among tribes and faith-based rulership. It will be a demonstration of competence and character over zonal rotation and demonstrated political career.
One Major turning point in all of this is that our institutions must be designed and operated in such a way that it is not swayed by the whims and caprices of any elected officer. If the rule of law can hold sway and leaders can be held accountable for all things, we will have a progressive society. Sadly enough even our judiciary has been tainted with impunity from the elite few and executives of the day.
3.0 — Recommendations
- For instance, if punitive measures like death by hanging or stoning can be given for gross misconduct and abuse of offices, or even a strict sanction in the public service sector to serve as a deterrent for mismanagement and lackluster behavior, then we can make a headway. But the institution that must do these should be inclusive and not a sole creation of the elite few again.
- The cost of governance will need to be brought to the barest minimum. Politics must be seen as what it is — a public service! and therefore accountability is a must.
- Like Femi Falana SAN advocates so much, “the rule of law must be followed to the latter no matter whose ox is gored — and due separation of powers must be observed.” Only then can we have a society birthed for the people.
“We don’t need powerful individuals to run our Government, we only need powerful institutions. We don’t need to wait for a messiah, we are all the messiahs that we need. Among so many, the #EndSars protest further showed that when the will of the people is neglected, there is bound to be chaos. Former President Trump might be powerful, but he could not overrule the will of the demonstrated majority in the last US General elections — no matter how he feels the results went.”
The recent reactions by the youth and other concerned members of the public shows that they are tired of strong men and they want a system that works for all.
The 2023 General elections will come without having its misgivings, issues, chaos, and sharp practices, but what we need is an electoral process that truly reflects the will of the electorates — independent of any corrupt practices, a judiciary that can stand on its two feet as a harbinger of justice for all, a legislature that reflects the will of the governed, a competent executive who can drive development and be checkmated by the other arms of government.
4.0 — How do we achieve this?
- People with track record, servant-leaders and those with goodwill for the nation need to come into the electoral processes and start to operate therein. A continuous system of non-interference by the good heads will further plunge the nation into a huge generational misery. Career politicians have had enough!
- We need to pass laws ensuring our government is a continuum and not as a result of the whims and caprices of the incumbent.
- Political processes must be premised on principles of fairness, equity, and justice and exhibit a level playing field for all. Political parties must be good training grounds for electorates, delegates and candidates.
- There is a need for proper devolution of power at the States and Federal level and our Political cycle has to be a call to SERVE and not be served.
- There is an urgent need for a National Dialogue in order to renegotiate this alignment. The secessionist agitation must be heard.
- Employment, Appointments and Promotions of Public and Civil Servants in the different government parastatals SHOULD and MUST be meritorious. These are the ones facilitating the day to day running of all governmental structures.
- Electorates should not only focus on who occupies the Aso Villa alone but also who becomes the Chairman of their local government, their State Representatives, Federal Legislators and Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies. Calls for sack, recall, and inquiry into abuse of office, vote of no confidence should be pursued when necessary; also court processes be instituted when need arises.
If we don’t address these questions with the much needed actions and set things straight, even Nelson Mandela can not get Nigeria to the promised land with the current political, social, economic, and ethno-religious woes facing the country.
Dear folks, promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels is how to can scale as a country.
Adedeji Afolabi
@dejiafolabiesq
