IMPUNITY IN NIGERIA: KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION (unpublished) Impunity plays a very significant role in the socio-economic and political development outcomes of any country. This is more so in democratic dispensations, where people expect public conscience and accountability to drive development positively, in order for the dividends of democracy to be visible. The word “impunity” derives from the Latin word impunitas, which means everyone does as s/he likes in blatant disregard for the law and state institutions however, without punishment. Impunity therefore, means ‘without punishment’. That is, no sanction for bad behavior, no punishment for misdeeds. Impunity can thus be likened to an unmitigated and an uncontrolled emancipation, freewill and free choice. It is the attitude encouraged by an unlawful liberty from retribution or recrimination among citizens and government of a country. It is an anti-social (although not necessarily criminal/but can be) behaviour that disregards punishment or sanction and is a deliberate disregard for prosecutorial system. It is disobedience to the rule of law, due process/procedure, electoral misconduct, fiscal impropriety and lack of patriotism . States bedeviled with impunity are characterized by infrastructural decay, debt burden, poor welfare and inefficient public institutions. Impunity is therefore, a significant determinant of the socio-economic and political development outcomes of any state. It constitutes the fundamental root of most of the misdeeds, in both the public and private spheres of a nation. Impunity explains why government officials, groups and individuals act contrary to the expectations of the law of the state. In effect, impunity leads to bad governance with the attendant mass poverty, high rate of crime, corruption, unemployment, insecurity, etc. In Nigeria, years of military dominance in governance created and entrenched the culture of impunity. The military ruled with absolute disregard for the rule of law and so created a national psyche of ‘militarization’. This has persisted till date, despite more than a decade of steady democratic governance, where it is expected that public conscience and accountability would drive development. However, the reverse is the case. Impunity has acquired its unique Nigerian meaning. In the Nigerian parlance, impunity can be regarded as the consciousness and belief of nothing go happen, nothing dey, nothing go sele, na today? No be today yansh dey for back, only in my country and so on. Impunity is so entrenched and prevalent in the country that every group and community has its unique local and sub- group code for characterizing it. Impunity manifests in diverse ways. It is what makes citizens and government’s officials to flout traffic rules, endanger fellow citizens, arrogate power to themselves, steal public funds, silence their conscience and evade justice. It is impunity that makes Nigerians to refuse to do their jobs without retribution. It breeds patronage, makes people to demand for bribes for the performance of official duties and to inflate government budgets without commensurate performance. Impunity is what is responsible for the many abandoned projects that would otherwise have benefited Nigerians. It is what causes widespread corruption, electoral hooliganism, theft of crude oil and vandalization of pipelines. It makes security officers to extort money from the public without fear, causes executive high handedness, nepotism, perverse political climate, godfatherism, political infiltration of anti-graft agencies, rule of the rich, military hangover and scapegoatism. These acts of impunity have resulted in a low level of public trust and confidence in state machineries. It has equally resulted in a Negative Doing Business Perception Index (NDBPI) for Nigeria. In other words, impunity could be attributed as the bed rock of Nigeria’s development challenges. However, attempts by successive governments to tackle Nigeria’s developmental problems have been focused on fighting corruption, without the realization of the overarching influence of impunity on corruption. This amounts to fighting the symptoms rather than the disease – IMPUNITY. This probably explains why attempts by successive governments to tackle corruption over the years have not yielded the desired result. Thus, without addressing the problem of impunity, there would be no meaningful development in Nigeria. This is because there is a positive correlation between Impunity, Institutionalization, Underdevelopment and Failed State phenomenon, as illustrated in the Impunity and Development Equation – (I&DE) II=U=FSP=I=U=II, where II (Impunity Institutionalization) = U (Underdevelopment) = FSP (Failed State Phenomenon) = Impunity=Underdevelopment=Impunity Institutionalization (II). From the foregoing, it could be deduced that once impunity is entrenched in a state, the state, its agencies and machineries become incapable of meeting the benchmark of investigating rights and laws’ violation, as well as taking important steps towards bringing offenders to book in ways that would serve as deterrents to others, thus bringing justice to the state. On the other hand, in a state where people perceived justice as entrenched and accessible, impunity is traded off and individuals act in conformity with the norms regulating behaviour. This invariably translates into growth and development. It is against this background that this study investigated the phenomenon of impunity in Nigeria, with a view to unravelling its dimensions, manifestations, dynamics and impact on Nigerian development and thus proffers solutions towards its amelioration. This research is of significance because its findings would contribute to the much needed data for effective planning, especially on a fundamental issue like impunity. The data will serve as a basis for designing, assessing, monitoring and evaluating project outcomes on impunity. Besides, the research will serve as the backbone of the entire S.I.N project. This is due to the importance of empirical data as key measurements of a project’s performance, indicating areas of strengths and weaknesses that should be built upon. S.I.N Project Overview The implementing organizations of the S.I.N Campaign are; Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Community Life Project (CLP), Human Development Initiatives (HDI) and Media Rights Agenda (MRA). These organizations were chosen based on their core competencies and track records in related projects. Implementing Partners are; Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), National Orientation Agency (NOA) and Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA). Stakeholders targeted in the course of S.I.N Campaign are: Professional bodies like the Nigerian Bar Association, Nigerian Medical Association, Association of Professional Bodies, etc.; Organized Private Sector and Organized Labour; Government Institutions and Agencies such as Public Complaints Commission (PCC), The Judiciary; The Media and Press Agencies and Associations; International Institutions, such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Open Government Partnership; Credible public figures and opinion leaders, including political, business and religious leaders, entertainment icons, academicians, and traditional rulers; Experts and professionals in media campaigns, social mobilization and implementation of selected thematic areas; Youths, with the capacity to organize on advocacy issues as well as possess skills in the use of new and social media. The S.I.N Campaign is working on four key thematic areas – Public Finance Management, Rule of Law, Electoral Process, and Patriotism, Ethics and Civic Responsibility. The Campaign adopts five key strategies as follows – Training, Research, Media Campaign, Advocacy and Documentation. Objectives of the S.I.N Campaign The main objectives of the S.I.N Campaign are to raise public awareness about impunity and galvanize public action towards its amelioration in Nigeria; make impunity a front burner issue in the political and public agenda; influence decision makers and opinion leaders on the need to fight impunity cum corruption; and formulate policies and programmes that would enhance the capabilities of public and private agencies as well as civil society groups to fight impunity in Nigeria. Summary of Findings and Recommendations Understanding Impunity There is a high awareness of the violation of peoples’ rights without punishment across levels and organs of government. There is however a higher awareness at the federal and executive levels. There is still the need however, to keep raising awareness until awareness is total and there is attitudinal change. Cases of embezzlement without punishment are common and known across tiers and organs of government but mostly known at the federal and executive levels followed by legislature and state and judiciary and local government. There is a need to constantly blow the whistle on embezzlement of public fund and offenders must be brought to book. Nigerian Bar Association and National Judicial Council should make lawyers take impunity cases as pro bono and should be part of the requirements for some priviledges in the legal profession. More NGOs and civil society should also focus this issue in their programmes. Courts do not always dispense justice quickly. Special courts should be established and empowered to treat some peculiar cases and judges should henceforth be assessed by the time they take in deciding cases as some of the delays are not institutional but personal. The rich and the political class are never always punished when they break the law with impunity. The courts should be restructured regularly to make them free from sentiments and the media and NGOs/civil society should follow such cases up even after they have stopped being newspaper headlines. I don’t care attitude and nothing go happen mentality is very prevalent in the country across organs and tiers of government. This can only change when offenders are brought to book promptly and publicized. The courts should be reformed to decide cases quickly. The Nigerian society has the culture of I don’t care attitude and nothing go happen mentality. Cases of impunity should be decided quickly and publicized to serve as deterrent. Anti-impunity campaigns must also be increased to the extent that they will sink into the mentality and fabrics of the Nigerian society. Investigations are never done promptly by the police. The police should be reformed and made more decent and accountable. IPOs should be assessed based strictly on their performance in the speed it takes them to resolve cases at the level of investigation. The police and courts act with partiality based on class and status. Reforms should be introduced to accommodate status and class in assigning cases to IPOs and judges such that police officers and judges are sufficiently profiled to identify their primordial and sentimental leanings that may affect cases. People are not always brought to justice across tiers and organs of government. The courts should be structured and restructured to accommodate delivery beyond the organs of government and tiers’ sentiments Only the common man/woman respects the law. The people should be encouraged to continue to respect the law while the systems are worked upon to bring the rich and the political class to justice. This could be through public awareness and public campaigns and restructuring. Nigerians mostly do not care about the law. This will change once the institutions are restructured and sufficient information about the need to obey the law publicized. This is particularly important as the laws are not regularly and sufficiently publicized in the country. Awareness of the concept of impunity is very high but must be improved as it is not yet total. There is ultimately apparent preponderance of impunity across the tiers and organs of government. Fiscal Responsibility Fund diversion is a common occurrence in Nigeria. Public officials and even those in the private sector should be made to be more accountable and anyone found wanting should be made to face and have justice. When funds meant for public projects are not released, people are not brought to book. This impunity should be made a criminal matter and offenders should be brought to book promptly. Audits of government MDAs are not done regularly. The office of the Accountant General of the Federation/Auditor General of The Federation should put measures in place to ensure this is done regularly. Failure to do this should lead to sack and prosecution of culprits promptly. Once this is done, the conviction should be publicized widely in the country. Local government funds are not released promptly and accurately. Local governments should be granted total autonomy including fiscal ones. They should not be under the supervision of the state as most state governors are violating the rights of the LGAs with impunity. People that tamper with the right of the LGAs should be prosecuted promptly and the judgment should be circulated and publicized widely. People care about accountability in the public service. This should be encouraged by further building the knowledge base of the populace in the country. The attitude of many Nigerians to impunity is negative. As a result they and their kin are less likely to engage in act of impunity when in position of authority. Rule of Law People across organs and tiers of government only sometimes respect the law. This should be discouraged by court judgment against every act of conflict with the law. State machineries should be strengthened to enforce the laws as even the existing enabling laws are not sufficiently actioned making them lack effective capacity to punish offenders. Institutions of government lack capacities to bring offenders to justice. State legal machineries and institutions should be strengthened to be able to bring offenders to book promptly and adequately. Laws are not sufficiently publicized in all organs and tiers of government. Special votes should be given and monitored for publicity of laws. Many laws are passed at legislatures across the country yet most are never sufficiently publicized. People are not always very aware of the laws in the country. This is understandable as the laws are never sufficiently publicized. More awareness and publicity of the laws are thus very necessary. A project should be developed for publicity of the extant laws in the country. There are sacred cows too big for the law in Nigeria. This is a problem. Judges should be encouraged to bring such people to book against all odds. This is only when this can be reversed. Even if the political class does not want this, there should be galvanized class and public actions for this and the public and civil society should reward such people by mobilized actions once such issues are out in the public. Politicians and rich people are the most prominent sacred cows in the country. The bench should be empowered to convict such people. Scapegoating is prevalent in the country. The political class and the rich should be clearly engaged through public and collective actions against scapegoating but maintained and total punishment for impunity across board; organs, tiers and public as well as private sectors. There has not been any improvement in the rule of law of the country. In fact, the public view is that it is growing worse. The political class should be encouraged to show leadership by having respect for the law. This is how the rule of law in the country can improve and every other citizen will emulate the political leadership and not the other way round as it is currently the situation. At the moment, most common man/woman still personally care about the law and this should be encouraged and built upon. Law enforcement officers and anti-corruption agencies are frustrated and are not seen to be doing well in their remit. Most respondents rated the organizations and their officials fair. These organizations that will ultimately be at the forefront of the fight against impunity therefore should be reformed and freed from the political and rich class if they will ever perform creditably well. Electoral Process Elections and electoral process are never always transparent in Nigeria as people abuse the electoral process with impunity at all levels of government. INEC should be strengthened and given more freedom to operate by severing the cords among it and other organs and levels of government. Officials of INEC more also be none-partisan and credible people. Elections results are not always credible in Nigeria. This is bound to be so once the process is not transparent and not credible. The process of elections must be made to be very transparent to have a credible result. A major recommendation is to make process of voting total open ballot or in the minimum, open secret ballot. Voters are never sufficiently educated. INEC and political parties as well as NGOs and CSOs/FBO/CDAs and so on should make it their responsibilities to educate the masses during elections rather than the current personalities’ attacks that are the norm. Primary elections are never always transparent and lack credibility. INEC should be more involved and concerned about the process of primary elections in Nigeria. It should stop primary elections being seen as a family affair. Process of primary elections should be transmitted and publicized in the media and selection/consensus candidates/heir apparent syndrome should be discouraged. INEC should make competitive primary elections preconditions for all political parties if they want to contest general elections. Party manifestos are never popular and they do not influence voting patterns. All political parties must sufficiently publicize their manifestos in the media and they must also, in addition to conventional media, use the prevailing social media platforms to get across to all the segment of the society. Political campaigns are not issues based and they do not influence voting patterns. Political parties must be made to address issues in their campaigns and not personalities. This should be done through screening and publicity of recordings and INEC presence at such campaigns. Parties that are found wanting should be sanctioned. People should be more encouraged to get involved in the elections and the processes even though they care now as against the commonly held believe that Nigerians are now politically apathetic and disenchanted. The process of INEC’s party delisting is appropriate and should encouraged through public commendation Opinions of people were divided on the appropriateness of actual delisting and there is high ignorance around the issues leading to the delisting. INEC should therefore engage in more publicity when engaging in activities especially controversial ones. Voters’ registration is not seen to be credible at the moment. INEC should therefore improve and get connected with the public with ongoing and regular registration of voters. Events around this should be well publicized. Situations where voters’ registers are discredited by politicians in public will certainly yield negative public perspective and attitude. Impunity remains prevalent in the country and the organs of government and tiers of government are at the forefront of perpetrating impunity. Campaigns should then be stemmed up against impunity across the institutions of the country. Civic Responsibility, Patriotism and Ethics Majority of Nigerians do not believe it is appropriate to pay tax in Nigeria. Governments should therefore engage in public sensitization. However, the most important recommendation is that governments across levels should be more transparent and prudent in handling of public funds. Once public waste and corruption are minimized, people will be encouraged to pay tax. Most Nigerians consider voting at elections necessary. This view will be total once votes begin to count in the country Most Nigerians care about protection of government property. This should be improved by the political class by being more responsible to the people via delivery of dividends of democracy. The need to protect government property should also be publicized by stakeholders. Most people care about obedience to the laws. The political class should show more examples and offenders should be brought to book regularly and publicly. Most Nigerians can assist the law and willingly volunteer information to the police. However, the law officers must protect assistants’ identity and use information and assistance discretely. It was found that there is gulf between perception and actual performance. Nigerians should therefore be partnered and encouraged to act positively at all times as against just sentiments and perception. Most Nigerians still have a sense of responsibility to the Nigerian state. This is a positive finding showing high sense of patriotism and potentialities. The political class should therefore build on this to get positive response. This will however also depend on the level of responsibility to the public at the governance level. Majority of Nigerians care about Nigeria and care about what they can do for the country. It is however important that the state through the government be responsible and declare/ensure public goods and basic responsibilities of government to the people. A lot of Nigerians do not make informed moral choices for common good most times and this is due to the pervasive impunity regimes in the country. The political class should thus empower the institutions and show leadership to reverse impunity in the country. Causes of impunity in Nigeria are; lack of political will by government, godfatherism, lack of enabling legislations, corrupt judiciary, corrupt law enforcement officials, ethnicity and tribalism, lack of report from the public. It is interesting to note generally that most Nigerians believe impunity can end in Nigeria if appropriate actions are taken directly against the causes of the problems. The political class should display enough political will against impunity and godfatherism should be eradicated. The judiciary and law enforcement institutions should be sanitized while enabling legislations and restructuring should be put in place. Thus, ethnicity and tribalism should be addressed and the totality of the country should be flooded with anti-impunity campaigns and messages for necessary orientation and attitude change. Religious values should also be appropriated just as family values should also be built upon. Special courts and forces should also be established to address some peculiar impunity cases. Most Nigerians maintained impunity should be stopped and are ready to partner with anti-impunity campaigns. This is a positive sign that should be appropriated in programming and engagements. All the messages tested passed the parameters test as most Nigerians consider them easy to understand, meaningful; satisfy the need to end impunity, believable and credible. The messages should therefore be adopted and used appropriately. Conclusion This research has explored and examined the impunity domains, corridors and trajectories in Nigeria. It was a blend of primary data and secondary ones with robust methodology. Important findings have been made major among which is the fact that impunity is very prevalent in Nigeria and people are aware of it and want it stopped with the political rich class being more culpable. Law enforcement agencies are also not living up to responsibilities. However, most Nigerians want impunity to stop in the country due to its negative development implication. Hence, most Nigerians do not have fixated and jaundiced affinity for impunity and are convinced impunity can be stopped if the political class and everyone do things right as against the current scenario where people do not make informed moral decisions for public good. The impunity situation in the country is not hopeless and can be minimize in the short run and eradicated in the long run. If there is enough political will and propensity to show leadership by the rulers and the rich, the end of impunity may be nearer than imagined but all must also be willing and ready to join the campaign and fight against impunity in Nigeria. This is only when it will be possible to practically Stop Impunity in Nigeria sustainably. The fact as found through this survey is that IT CAN BE DONE and IT IS POSSIBLE. Based on findings from the survey as presented in this report, it is very appropriate to conclude that there is “moral outrage” against impunity in Nigeria. note: please for any further corrections info me on kapocitizen@yahoo
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 16:16:49 +0000
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