PMB: Please don’t stop the music!

Whatever his shortcomings as President and no matter what his critics say, President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) has definitely been instrumental in deepening our democracy by proving that incumbents can be defeated in Nigerian elections. Also to his credit he made everyone aware of mindboggling corruption in governance. It was sweet music to the ears of most Nigerians to hear that he had at last terminated the appointment of some top-level appointees known to have engaged themselves in unethical practices.

True, he should have acted more swiftly but it’s been observed that PMB shows unqualified personal loyalty to his benefactors and loyalists. Under normal circumstances this is an admirable trait. However, in the context of leadership in Nigeria, it perversely becomes a character flaw which may lead to the appointment and retention of corrupt, unprincipled or incompetent people.

Unfortunately for PMB, many of his appointees appear sympathetic to persons of questionable character, enforcing the widely held belief that all Nigerian governments are embodiments of multi-layered chicanery irrespective of political party in power. Hameed Ali, Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service recently made headlines over his contentious claim that the change agenda is being hampered because the All Progressives Congress (APC) government is 50% controlled by the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Also, the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) blamed the PDP controlled National Assembly (NASS) for being a “cog in the wheel of progress of the nation” and frustrating the change agenda. With so many condemnations on the slow pace of his change agenda, it’s somewhat surprising that PMB hasn’t turned upon members of his party. In their rush to garner the numbers necessary to win elections, the APC shoved aside true patriots who looked up to them to provide opportunities for new hands to contribute positively to national development, and instead allowed former PDP bigwigs to flood their ranks. It was nauseating to observe the public spectacles of these AGIP (any government in power) politicians having their hands raised at rallies, as if unprincipled self-serving political decamping is something to be commended!

To his credit PMB has remained true to his political beliefs throughout all his travails and election losses. Even though it simply isn’t possible for him to weed out all his corrupt and unpatriotic political bedfellows in both the Legislative and Executive arms of government, at long last he has at least started and heads are beginning to roll with the appointments of Babachir Lawal as Secretary of Government and Ayo Oke as Head of National Intelligence agency having been terminated. However, cynics point out that there is a big difference between dismissal and termination. Although both bring the contract of employment to an end, termination allows former employees to draw the contractual benefits of employment including pension, whereas dismissal deprives them of all such benefits. This being the case the duo should both have been dismissed rather than simply terminated. Although the majority of pensioners in Nigeria aren’t receiving their gratuities and live in penury, there is little chance of this happening to either of them because both are already rich.

Unfortunately for PMB, the track record of deception, hypocrisy, duplicity and propaganda by his spokespersons has caused the termination of these top officials to be regarded in many quarters as late and ineffectual. Opponents claim the action was compelled by public pressure because daily revelations are exposing the selectiveness of the anti-corruption war. It’s been revealed that the controversial process through which former pensions boss Abdulrasheed Maina was secretly re-instated was facilitated by a letter from the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF). As Femi Falana (SAN) quite correctly contends, the handling of the scandal has eroded this administrations credibility and that in order not to be seen as playing to the gallery, all those involved with Maina’s re-instatement should be removed from office.

Most Nigerians have little faith in the change agenda because they believe firstly that nobody would ever enter Aso Rock and change either the system or the people that got him there, and secondly that even if he tried, he would be frustrated by pervasive deeply entrenched corruption. Nigerians have resigned themselves to stop looking for patriotism and probity in top-levels of governance where they feel it doesn’t exist. PMB’s latest move is a step in the right direction of disabusing their prejudices, but it isn’t enough. If government is to be revitalised and confidence in the change agenda restored, the perception that even under APC senior government officials engage in brazen corruption and mismanagement must be altered by affirmative action.

Many political commentators have concluded that never before has there been such official collusion in gross illegalities. It’s as if the full weight of the State is now vigorously thrown behind open criminality. Part of the reason is that PMB is surrounded by incompetent or corrupt persons and the quality of advice available to him is questionable. Allegations that those positive actions taken by this administration are simply attempts to cover the details of corruption have to be put to rest. Those who should be advising PMB to act with more alacrity, are trying to excuse his apparent inertia by quoting Greek mythology to justify his prevarication in a time of crisis. He should stop listening to them. Corruption needs drastic action not a slow coach approach. Now that affirmative action has started it shouldn’t stop. As an analogy, successful parties are rarely defined by whether or not they start late. What is important is that once the occasion is beginning to “bubble” and people are dancing, nothing should be changed. Finally, two years after PMB’s inauguration the anti-corruption party has started with earnest introspection. It’s long past time for the broom to really sweep clean and PMB has to be told that many more heads need to roll. This isn’t the time to stop the music!