As written by Professor Soremekun of Political Science at the National Open University of Nigeria...
As I contemplate the Nigerian condition or non-condition, I continue to marvel at contemporary happenings.
The nirvana is certainly not here yet. Still, it is possible to discern
new ozone in public life.Suddenly, public officials are more responsive.
The refineries appear to be working. Petrol queues, for now at least,
are gone. Electricity supply seems to have improved. And therefore one
is tempted to ask: What has happened? Have we really had any novel
policy thrusts since Muhammadu Buhari assumed the Presidency of the
country? As a student of public affairs, it is possible to answer this
question in the negative. Yet, there is a new ozone in public life. It
does not take much to appreciate that, what has happened so far is that
the President’s reputation and sheer force of personal example have
probably struck the fear of God in people who run our institutions. The
upshot is that a novel and positive lease of life seems to pervade the
land.
One striking instance here is President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent public
declaration of his assets. As we all know by now, these assets are now
in the public space. And if those details are true, then what has been
declared should sear the conscience of all past and present public
officers, particularly at the highest of levels. Here is a man, who has
been in control of vast resources as a military governor, minister of
petroleum and a former Head of State. Yet, all that he could claim to
own are houses and lands in places like Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Abuja
as well as N30n in his bank account. To be sure, by the general Nigerian
standards, Buhari is not a poor man. But by the jaded and
conscienceless standards of his peers, he certainly comes up short-at
least in materialistic terms. Some people with warped values are even
likely to snigger and ask: Is this the entire worth of this man?
Probably yes. But on the platform of morality, very few of his peers can
really hold up the candle to him. And this is partly why, I have dared
to state here that, Buhari is not a Nigerian. If he was the typical
Nigerian in public life, he would be in possession of trillions, cash
wise and non-cash equivalents in other areas like properties and jets
ownership.
Even then, the declaration in itself has sparked off implicit and
explicit comparisons, which seem to indicate that this man stands out.
Indeed, some people with a dark sense of humour or out of sheer wonder
and concern have pointed out that the average local government chairman
in Nigeria (where else?) is richer than Buhari. And of course and as we
all know, this may well be true. But, what is perhaps much more
revealing especially in these times is that other public officials are
refusing to be drawn into the ring of public asset declaration. Take our
elected governors for instance. Either out of ignorance or mischief,
they are saying that there are no statutory provisions which require
them to do so. Very much the same bankrupt postures can be observed on
the part of the senators and members of the House of Representatives
who, by the way, are supposed to be distinguished and honorable.
Meanwhile, and as revealed in newspaper reports, Buhari appears to be
exasperated by the fact that, despite his attempts to come clean with
what he owns, he appears to have opened up another round of controversy
on this issue. In a sense, this is only to be expected. Vultures as they
are wont, have to feed on something. Which is why, the General’s
contentions are very instructive. According to him, in the course of his
public life, he has declared his assets four times since 1974. At the
risk of being contradicted, I do not think that any Head of State or
public official has come forth in this way.
However, for the records, as well as balance, it is relevant to state
here that in the recent past, former President Umaru Yar’Adua, and his
then deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, respectively declared their assets. But
when the latter mounted the saddle as the point-man of our system, and
the self-same issue came up, he pointedly and memorably remarked: I do
not give a damn! Which is just as well. For in a rather Freudian and
self-indicting way, Jonathan was known to declare in another context
that some of our leaders behave like motor park touts!
But even then, before I am done, since Buhari has bitten the bullet, it
may be useful for other public officials to do the same. I am referring
here to governors, ministers, and the invisible army of invincible
permanent secretaries. And to President Buhari, he should take heart.
After all, my ancestral folk, in their eternal wisdom, have always said
that if you indict someone for cooking a bad soup, what will you do to
the person who has cooked none?
Last line: I am sure that the hidden dimensions of Buhari’s assets would
have been exposed by now if such information was available.
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