A Countrys Penchant for Deceit By Emman Usman Shehu By the last week of March this year, it was evident that something gravely serious was unfolding in some West African countries. First noticed a month earlier in small towns in southeast Guinea where within a few weeks 93 people died, the Ebola Virus Diseased was growing like a forest-fire. It rapidly spread into Sierra Leone and Liberia, setting off alarms bells of concern across the region and beyond. The anxiety was very justified. Discovered in 1976 in a Democratic Republic of Congo community close to the Ebola River, the deadly disease made its virulence instantly manifest claiming 218 lives out of 318 cases. This fatality ratio of 88 percent ensured it a place in the medical records as one of the most deadly diseases known to mankind. From then on, the Ebola virus would spread over a 38 year period into Sudan, Gabon, Cote d’Ivoire, South Africa, Uganda, Congo, Guinea and Liberia. The outbreaks have always presented a high level of severity and fatality, claiming over 2000 deaths prior to the current outbreak. This easily explains its being regarded as one of the deadliest diseases globally. Its manifestation includes bleeding from the eyes, ears, mouth and rectum and a bloody full-body rash. So deadly is this disease that it is one of a few that governments consider to be a threat to national security. Indeed it is seen as a possible vehicle for terrorism, so much so that alongside anthrax and smallpox, the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention lists it as a Category A bioterrorism agent. A situation worsened by there being no established vaccine to counter its devastating threat. Against this background, by April a couple of Nigerians were calling for concerted action by government, especially with a case in Nasarawa State that turned out to be that of the equally lethal Lassa fever. Information Minister, Labaran Maku was in his elements when he declared: “Nigeria is prepared right now to curtail any outbreak, particularly given reports that few countries on the West Coast like Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea have reported cases of Ebola fever and given our proximity to these countries, Nigeria is ready; the ministry has taken every precaution, including getting vaccines and medicines to ensure that should there be any incidence in Nigeria, everything will be dealt with.” It was his vintage blustering manner. If his statement was designed to reassure Nigerians whose gullibility has provided the perfect platform for his exaggerations, it served a contrary purpose for those in the know. It revealed a troubling ignorance of the subject matter. There are no vaccines for Ebola. A closer scrutiny also put the administration on the spot. At what time did it make all the purported contingency arrangements? Three months later, Maku’s assertions would be dramatically unraveled by the arrival of the dreaded Ebola in Nigeria courtesy of Patrick Sawyer. The minister’s previous claim would amount to deceitfully giving false hope to Nigerians. In an amazing volte-face, he would admit that the disease has no recorded cure. As of now, he is yet to tender an apology for what has amounted to deceiving the citizentry. A perceptive citizen, one Ikechukwu Ikeji, flustered by this reckless attitude of those in positions of leadership, made the flowing observation: “Government representatives must not be seen to be deceiving the citizenry. There ought to be some form of trust between the government and the people. Flippancy should be discouraged and any official found wanting should be made to step down from office, to give some offices some form of respectability, even if a modicum of same.” Ikeji’s expectations form the standard procedure in a country where the system has not been compromised by the virus of deceit. In Nigeria, the default mode of governance has become unabashedly that of deceit. Within this year, there are several cases to prove the point beyond reasonable doubt. The Nigeria Immigration Service’s March 15, 2014 recruitment exercise readily comes to mind. Everything that played out leading to the tragic death of job seeking Nigerian youths, and the subsequent fallout, indicate deliberate deceit. Yet the Minister concerned has carried on without a care. Elsewhere by now the Minister would at least be contending with a manslaughter class action. This Wednesday, Nigeria officially got a new Head of Service. A week ago it came to light that the new helmsman had been indicted by a government White Paper in 2000. According to the documents which are now available online, the new Head of Service at that time had been the director of the Federal Superphosphate Fertiliser Company in Kaduna. Due to concerns raised about untoward practices in the organization including exaggerated costs, misappropriation of funds, inflated prices of items, and contract tampering of a sulfuric acid plant, a panel of inquiry was instituted. Others investigated were Awal Tukur, Jide Omokore (a well-known crony of President Jonathan), Ben Osuji, J.B.Ghumdia, J.O. Odu, and Fivatek Nigeria Limited. From their findings, the investigators heavily indicted the then director of FSFC for “widespread maladministration including the misapplication of funds, dishonesty and flagrant violation of financial regulations.” Consequently, the White Paper demanded the refund of various sums, declared him unfit for public office and recommended his dismissal from service. Since this unsavoury revelation came to light, the only defence that has been put forward by the person directly affected is that a presidential pardon was given to him by former President Umaru Yar’Adua. The authentication of this claim is seriously undermined by there being no existing government gazette. Yet the President has gone ahead, in what has become an uncaring dalliance with corruption and deceit, to swear in the previously indicted man to oversee the country’s civil service. Similarly, within this same period, the administration has sacked about 16, 000 resident doctors. It now has been revealed that the Minister of Health had issues some years ago when he was the Chief Medical Director of the Ebonyi State University Teaching Hospital. A fraud of N36million was allegedly uncovered which led to his being sacked. The unwholesome action involved padding allowances and arrears meant for resident doctors. Typically even with this disastrous dent, the man was allowed to take a bow at the President’s behest to become the Health Minister. That deceit has become the norm for this administration is no longer in doubt. Yet like its cousin corruption, its cancerous effect is manifesting in ways that are undermining the stability and development of the country. Right in the midst of a full blown insurgency, deliberate misinformation has become the order of the day. Among several others, including a charade that passes for a daily information exercise, a spokesperson of one of the security agencies has become notorious for such unprofessionalism that deceives the public. The terrorism claims she made last year about the action taken in Apo, Abuja that led to the killing of several citizens have all been proved by an investigative panel as untrue. Undeterred, she has carried on with statements that lack credibility. Some months ago she took on the Bring Back Our Girls advocacy, as part of the Levick campaign to change the narrative of the Chibok abductions. She accused the group of being a franchise, operating a bank account through which it was receiving funding, and having a foreigner to undertake security related training. A more responsible and professional spokesperson would have proffered evidence for each allegation. Of course, since it was all about misinformation based on deceiving the public, there were no specifics to prove each allegation. Continuing with this established pattern of deceit, she overreached herself after the recent elections in Osun State. Once again she made allegations of the agency being approached with a bribe by a political party, and claims of non-existent bomb blasts in previous elections. It is most unfortunate that governance in Nigeria is largely driven by deceit. This is a clear fallout of corruption. While it may favour those in power for now, it will eventually consume them as it progressively destroys the country. Just like Ebola, the prospect is scary if some drastic systemic change does not take place. As we seek for an Ebola cure, so must we aggressively desire to do things properly in Nigeria. We need to move out of this murk that has become our hallmark. newtelegraphonline/a-countrys-penchant-for-deceit/
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 08:09:01 +0000
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