Ekiti: A Plus for Lootocracy By Emman Usman Shehu The people of a country, usually through the ruling class, decide on the system of governance they think suits them the best. When that is in place, through whatever established process, it becomes the official system. The system usually has tenets that characterize it, and they are adhered to for all intents and purposes. It is not in all cases that the official system of governance is truly upheld. In societies with established checks and balances, behaviours that are at variance with the established system are resisted through criticisms, and in some far-reaching situations, through legal actions which seek to forestall any form of subversion. In such societies therefore, criticism is seen not just as healthy, but it is actively encouraged as part of the freedom of expression. Taking legal action is also seen as a proactive and civilized process, rather than the recourse to force which could lead to instability and possibly anarchy. The sustainability of the system is hinged on the respect for the rule of law, where the law is truly no respecter of persons. Consequently, a system of governance defines itself by how it is perceived and by what it does in real terms. These two conditions combine to offer a tangible litmus test that can be applied at any time to evaluate the health status of an existing system. To a large extent the kind of people that comprise the ruling class, including their mindset and values, are critical to the success of a given system of governance. Where most of the members of the ruling class have genuine commitment to the tenets of the system, is stability is further assured. But where the tenets are seen as obstacles to personal gains, the tendency is for such members of the leadership to act in ways that subvert and degrade the system. Nigeria has tended to favour, in all it dalliance with civilian rule, the system of democracy. It has been a challenging learning curve at every step of the way, including the brash intrusions of the military which most times were at variance with some of the basic tenets of democracy. A legacy of military rule is the tendency for civilian leaders to behave with a military mindset. That the Fourth Republic has lasted for fifteen years is some kind of miracle, as there have been all kinds of accidental as well as intentional obstacles. The greatest danger though to the Fourth Republic is the ruling class, especially the crop that constitutes the current leadership. On June 21, this year, a gubernatorial election held in Ekiti State and the incumbent, John Kayode Fayemi was defeated by his main challenger, Ayodele Fayose. Apart from the unexpected result which has understandably been the major talking point, the other attention grabbing highlight was the demeanour of the incumbent in defeat, despite the deliberately crafted obstacles placed in his path. Quite uncharacteristically, Fayemi conceded defeat as soon as the result was announced, and congratulated the winner in a well-thought out speech that will offer several valuable quotes in the future. This unabashed display of respect for the democratic process, which has earned him popular acclaim as a fine democrat, however masks a fundamental problem with the process itself which the winner and his backers would not like to be closely interrogated. A close scrutiny would be for them a spoiler. While applauding Fayemi, there must be equal measure of concern about what the candidature of Fayose portends for the well-being of democracy in Nigeria. Fayose was the governor of Ekiti State when on October 16, 2006, the House of Assembly impeached him from office. His forced removal from office followed the findings of a panel of inquiry set up in consonance with section 188 of the subsisting Nigerian Constitution, by the Ekiti State House of Assembly. The panel found Fayose guilty of an assortment of crimes including embezzlement of public funds. Further to Fayose’s removal from office, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission charged him to court on a 51 count of money laundering to the tune of N1.2 billion. Fayose’s case which is listed as FHC/L/179C/06 at the Federal High Court, Lagos, is ongoing. It is a case deliberately lingering like those of fifteen other former governors. It does speak volumes of the kind of subsisting democracy when a political party, and in this case the ruling party, has no qualms in aiding and abetting with all the forces at its disposal, the candidacy of a Fayose who, given his status by the laws of the land, should not be a contestant. As of June 21, when the gubernatorial election held, Fayose’s 2006 impeachment and its implications had not been overturned by any competent court. Nebukadineze Adiele, writing in this context, made the following significant observation: “There is no way an act of impeachment/removal from office cannot have some political career disability on anyone so subjected. It makes no sense that Ayo Fayose, who was removed from being governor for embezzlement and has criminal cases ( including a murder charge) arrayed against him should be rewarded with re-election into the office out of which he was thrown for abusing public trust. There is a consequence for impeachment/removal from office and at a minimum, it entails that the impeached never gets back into the office he was thrown out of without a legal remediation having taken place.” While it may be argued that the EFCC has failed to convict him and therefore he is not guilty until the court proves otherwise, the same argument holds no iota of decency in the light of the 2006 impeachment. It certainly says a lot that both the Independent National Electoral Commission and the EFCC had no issues with his candidature, despite the obvious contravention of extant laws. This development only confirms the extent to which the virus of impunity is raving the system. When a country’s leadership has no misgivings in taking actions that openly undermine the tenets of democracy, it shows that it does not believe in the established system. Truly, nothing undermines democracy like corruption. It is no longer a conjecture that the current administration is snugly in bed with corruption. That easily explains its lack of appetite to fight corruption. That also explains why at every turn it enthrones corruption and has no hesitation to hobnob with tainted characters, as long as they are willing do to its bidding. When the earlier mentioned litmus test is applied to the existing system in relation to all the malfeasances that have taken place on the watch of the current leaders, the conclusion is that this is not a democracy. Evidently all that has been happening since the emergence of the Fourth Republic, is a stealthy subversion through corruption. The corruption cabal has succeeded in steadily subverting the tenets of democracy and replaced them with the vile values of lootocracy. Consistently the United States and other western countries have accused the current administration of massive corruption through looting of public funds at all levels of government. The leadership has gone on without giving a care of what the world thinks. It will not give a bother even with what it has done in Ekiti, using democracy as a smokescreen to entrench its pilfering ways. As Remi Adekoya pertinently observed in the Guardian (London) over a year ago: “In a country where the rule of law remains a dream, Jonathan’s message is terrible: he is in effect, saying: ‘Prove to us you are strong enough to make our lives difficult and we will give you a share of the pie.’” Sharing the pie has become an apt euphemism for looting the public treasury. Fayose’s so-called victory in Ekiti is a clear message from Jonathan, and it is a plus for lootocracy. Those who truly care about the future of democracy in Nigeria should see what has taken place in Ekiti for what it is. It should be a wakeup call to stop the increasingly brazen imposition of lootocracy on hapless Nigerians. The 2015 elections could just be like the struggle to kick-out the military. The struggle must start with a proper awakening and rejection of the vile values the leadership is justifying without a damn.newtelegraphonline/ekiti-a-plus-for-lootocracy/
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 09:07:45 +0000
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