Non-accountability Syndrome By: Hannatu Musawa on October 22, 2013 - 11:52pm in Share A part from the outrage most felt at the tenacious sit-tight attitude of the minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, after our numerous air mishaps under her watch, the recent expose of the outrageous purchase of bullet proof cars with public funds for the minister is quite simply an affront to the sensibilities of Nigerians. With this latest scandal plaguing the Aviation minister, along with the so many other cases of venality in government, if anyone was in doubt as to whether the government was losing the war against corruption, they best be advised to take back the benefit of doubt given and be rest assured that the folks ‘behind the rock’ are continuing to do their best down that greasy path of corruption, ultimately dismantling democracy. Looking at just this saga of Ms. Oduah, it is little wonder that Nigeria is still ranked near the bottom of the global corruption barometer. When an official in government exercises the systematic convention of organised and endemic corruption while showing no concern for any accountability, it’s not hard to see why we are still far from a well-functioning society with security, peace and sustainable development. And it’s not so much about the fact that the Minister was allegedly caught with her hand in the cookie jar or that in the duty she was assigned she seems absolutely inept, it’s more about what her seemingly arrogant continuance in office symbolises. In spite of the scandal surrounding her and the slapdash manner in which she is crippling the sector, she appears to have no desire for accountability. This business in Nigeria where no one feels the need to be accountable for their actions and where no government official takes responsibility when they do wrong or when things under their watch go awry is not good business at all. And no matter how we cut it, if one really thinks about it, at the root of Nigeria’s problems is a deep lack of accountability. And with that lack of accountability and responsibility come the lack of consequences and sanctions for bad behaviour. And with the lack of consequences and sanctions for bad behaviour comes a free for all that gives way to the dangerous combustible combination we are seeing today in this country. The problem of our lack of accountability isn’t necessarily because the legal framework for it does not exist. After all, was accountability not the reason why the EFCC and the ICPC were set up? Was it not for the purpose of sanctioning wrongdoing that the Oputa panel was constituted? The laws are in place and the courts are there to correct all anomalies in the system. The real problem is that our leadership seems unwilling to fight corruption and to tackle the accountability issue. The bodies that have been established to fight corruption and force government accountability basically lack the directives, powers and resources to combat graft, because as a society, we have developed a syndrome where no one is accountable in anything. Despite the fact that every one of us at some stage will probably have to take responsibility for our country’s decay, the lion’s share of the blame resides with the government. Unfortunately, the lack of accountability is an integral part of our government’s existence and operations. In other civilised societies, it is not uncommon for government officials to resign when a mistake has been made within the organisation or sector they head, even if that mistake wasn’t in any way their fault. That is precisely what leadership is about; taking responsibility and being accountable. That is what leaders do; that is part of the consequence of leadership because, after all, ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’ However this is not the case in Nigeria. Our environment has deteriorated to its present state precisely because no one feels the need to be accountable and government hardly ever accepts responsibility for its mistakes. There have been so few prosecutions, criminal proceedings or other serious consequences and punishment for misdeeds, especially as it relates to issues of corruption and the misuse of public resources. The few caught red- handed and prosecuted are often times brought back after a short hiatus, to become the darlings of the government. And in an undeveloped society like ours, this can be very damaging. There is so little penalty for engaging in embezzlement or other abuses of office that the practice is seen as being without risk, in addition to the social, political and personal pressures that encourage the misuse of the privileges of position. There can be no benefit to no meaningful consequences when a government employee abuses his/her office. It sends out the signal to other government employees and the public at large that such practices are acceptable. The system of patronage and graft must be dismantled from the top, to show that there are no ‘untouchables’ and that anyone who steals or is corrupt runs the risk of serious consequences. Until then, there is no reason to think anything will change meaningfully. There has always been the opportunity to seriously dampen the corruption holding back progress, through the prosecution of corrupt individuals, with forfeiture, fines, court cases, and jail time. That so little of that has happened is one of the primary reasons why increasingly, volumes of corruption clog the system. It is the government that has the authority, resources and power to, with a sense of accountability tackle our problems head on. The fact that they don’t is an indictment of their commitment to rule without the voice of the people being heard. Unless we are willing to reverse this trend where no one takes accountability seriously in order to move the society forward, Nigerians will never have a voice. Those elected to speak on our behalf will continue to be the embodiment of political non-debate, where they mouth platitudes and take default positions that say nothing about governance and everything about their lack of vision and incapacity to lead. If we really are interested in seeing this country move forward, those who care about the future should redefine their thinking to focus more directly on the core elements of accountability. Our focus must also be on changing the incentives and relationships that give rise to endemic graft, as part of a campaign to build a contextualised system of values and ethics. With the proper value system, corrupt office holders and high level transgressors must resign, or in earnest be prosecuted. Since the birth of this republic, the legitimacy of political actors in the country has been derived not from the provision of services to the public or sensitivity to citizens, but from membership in deeply entrenched political kitchen cabinet networks. And although the legitimacy of the minister in her current position vis-a-vis the Jonathan administration seems to derive from this same principle, holding on tight to the minister the way the government is will do no good to a government already widely seen as corrupt, not transparent and deceitful. Minister of Aviation Ms. Stella Oduah may have come up with the excellent scheme of ‘Neighbour 2 Neighbour’ in the 2011 elections, but those days are long gone. For whatever brilliant result she achieved during the last elections, her latest role has fallen in complete contrast to that. And no matter how much the Jonathan administration wants to keep and shield Ms. Oduah, even they must know that now that the chips are down, there is need to clean house. One only hopes that the house cleaning will involve a broom, a mop and an inept aviation minister who will be on her way… out of the door.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 11:56:02 +0000
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