Your
Excellency, Mr. President, while I have nothing but commendation for the
courageous steps your administration is taking to confront the corruption virus
ravaging the moral fabric of Nigeria.
I,
however, most respectfully wish to draw attention to the urgent need for a
deeper investigation – beyond the current flurry of arrests and prosecution of
suspected corrupt politicians and erstwhile public officials – into exactly how
we, as a nation, steadily edged ourselves into the lethal clutches of this
scourge.
To
effectively do this, and thus evolve a realistic solution, we have to examine
critically when, where and how we deviated from the path of probity.
Sir,
after a personal evaluation of the country’s gradually worsening circumstances
over the years, I am constrained to conclude that the present mire in which
have found ourselves owes largely to the significant changes, nay,
convolutions, our constitution and governance policies have been subjected to,
ostensibly for less than altruistic intentions.
Upon
independence in 1960, Nigeria inherited from Britain the Parliamentary system
of government. It may not have been a perfect system – which is, anyway? – but
with the benefit of hindsight we must concede that it was better suited to good
governance in the country’s circumstances as a multi-ethnic society.
And
while it had worked almost seamlessly for centuries in the United Kingdom,
which, like Nigeria, is a multi-peopled society, what was needed to smoothen
out the imperfection creases in Nigeria was a sustained commitment to improving
it to suit our development goals.
The
first assault on that system, which was largely not acknowledged with regret
then, came via the January 15, 1966 coup by the country’s military, which
suspended the Constitution and promptly imposed a unitary system of government.
The central government literally became overlords and the states, vassals.
Both
the 1967-1970 civil war and the multiple coups de tat in the country
contributed immensely to the decline in probity by public officials and
Nigerians generally. The desperation by the populace for improved existence
after the devastation of the civil saw morals relegated to the background; just
as each military coup was accompanied by mass purging of public officials. With
insecurity of tenure, the inclination to steal while in office heightened.
The
final straw that broke our probity backbone, in my opinion, was the
Presidential system of government the military crafted for the country.
Virtually a winners-take-all system, the lucre in public office made it
irresistible to many, who were prepared to break the bank to attain or retain
it. Representation, having become restricted to the moneyed, became poor.
Thus,
while in the First Republic debate was robust – though sometimes raucous – in
Parliament on salient issues on national development, the Second Republic saw a
legislature that, by virtue of the operation of an alien Presidential system,
was remarkably deficient in service delivery in comparison.
To
worsen matters, the 1999 Constitution, on which the current civilian
dispensation is pegged, was fashioned by a Military that initially intended to
have its Top Gun at the head of government.
Coupled
by a system that is heavily themed in money, it would amount to living in a
fool’s paradise to expect any cogent commitment to service from public
officers. And with the constitution bugged with landmines which require a
legislature imbued with unity of purpose to amend, the country seems consigned
to perpetual mediocrity if we do not act fast.
The
ongoing display of shamelessness in the National Assembly is ample evidence of
a system gone wrong. While it took a mere three years of the First Republic to
achieve the monumental creation of the Mid-West as the fourth region in the
country in 1963, the current legislature is not minded to close ranks on any
issue other than that which offers the promise of multiplying their
already-bumper incomes.
Your
Excellency, are we going to allow the nation to be continually hobbled by a
faulty system? Methinks your administration is making giant strides in the
anti-corruption war. But there is a yearning need to go deeper in our search
for deliverance.
The
viral corruption in which grip the country is enmeshed is but a mere
manifestation of the problem; the root cause is the operation of an unsuitable
system of government. Change the system, and we can begin to see positive
reversals.
A
honest evaluation of the various governments the country has had since
independence reveals that the most significant political and socio-economic
infrastructural development experienced so far in Nigeria was during the First
Republic.
Not
only was there a strong opposition that was able to stand up to the ruling
party, policies were well-articulated and debated before enactment into law,
and the method of turning up representatives to Parliament was such that
continued membership of such hallowed Houses depended on sterling performance
by the incumbents. It is pertinent to add that the Presidential system came in
with corruption in terms of lobby and pressure groups.
Mr.
President Sir, it is my considered opinion that you should capitalise on the
current widespread enthusiasm being expressed for a review of the constitution
by putting in top gear, plans for a REFERENDUM in which Nigerians would decide
what system of government the country would adopt.
Should we continue
with the Presidential system of government or go back to the Parliamentary
system? Beyond that, Nigerians should determine whether the country reverts to
the old regional government system, which proved to be economically viable, or
continue to plod on with the present system that has led us into a cul-de-sac,
with a majority of the states unable to fulfil the most basic of duties such as
paying salaries to staff?
Prudence and probity in
public office must be entrenched if we are to build a Nigeria that our
descendants would be proud of. You are laying a commendable foundation, but I
dare say that the task demands in-depth analyses and vigilance for sustenance
of such values.
Your Excellency, the teeming
youth are restless, and are looking up to your government to fashion for them a
brighter future. You can not afford to fail; the consequences are too dire.
God bless our amiable
President Mohammadu Buhari, GCFR; God bless Nigeria.
Signed: Surv. Joseph O. Agbenla, FNIS.
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