Sustaining the Culture of Impunity through Fund Raising Bazaar!
Misbau ‘Mislaw’ Lateef
The contention in certain quarters that Nigeria is a failed state is, admittedly, debatable. What is not however debatable is that Nigeria is indeed a failing state. Noam Chomsky in his 2006 best seller book- Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy – gives a damning verdict that a failed or failing state is a danger to itself, its people and the world.
Common characteristics of a failed or failing state have been listed to include a central government so weak or ineffective that it has little practical control over much of its territory; non-provision of public services; widespread culture of impunity against the rule of law; widespread corruption and criminality; refugees and involuntary movement of populations; and sharp economic decline.
To say that the above index vividly captures Nigeria as it is today is definitely to assert the obvious. Indeed, Nigeria has featured prominently since 2006 till today in the Failed States Index published yearly by the United States’ Think-Tank Fund for Peace and the magazine Foreign Policy.
In my introductory piece in this place last week I wrote about the rule of law and the pervading culture of impunity against its tenets in Nigeria, particularly from our political elites. Today, I will draw upon one of the features of a failed or failing state related above. That is, widespread impunity against the rule of law.
One way disdain for rule of law has been recklessly exhibited by our political elites in government is their penchant for fund raising bazaar in respect of personal projects which have little or no bearing whatsoever with delivery of services to the populace. They recklessly solicit donations from public and private individuals as well as institutions for their private projects. There was the Obasanjo’s N6bn Library Project which raised so much public outcry in May 2005.
There have also been several similar bazaars by their Excellencies, the constitutionally unrecognised First Ladies across board. In their own appalling cases they simply use the instrumentalities of the offices of their Excellencies, as it were – the First Men, to coral government establishments, parastatals, cronies and contractors into donating huge public funds or, in the case of government contractors, publicly generated over bloated contract sums, towards private projects including but not limited to nebulous NGOs.
There has also been the President Jonathan’s 2,500-seat church building in Otuoke, his village in Bayelsa State, donated by the Abuja-based Italian construction company, Gitto Construzioni Generali Nigeria Limited (GCG), a government’s contractor at the time. The President Jonathan’s March 2012 church donation was also greeted by so much public outcry, particularly given the very nauseating rationalization of what was clearly an extortion by the President who had then said that the managing director of Gitto made him a promise to build and donate the church to Otuoke community after he (the president) had complained of the aging structure of his church, which apparently no longer befits the status of the president’s village. I doubt if anything could be dumber!
And as if to really show that fidelity to the tenets of the rule of law and sensitivity to the earlier public outcry count for nothing in the eyes of His Excellency and his minders, the President recently went ahead to build on his earlier impunity by organising and presiding over yet another fund raising bazaar in Lagos in respect of the same church. True to type, the state governors, particularly of the PDP extractions (Governor Obi’s APGA too), were falling over one another to donate their respective states funds to the President’s pet project!
Several other individuals and institutions, particularly well known government contractors, too did not disappoint. By the time they were done with the bazaar, nothing credible was left of the rule of law and due process mantra of the Presidency as the bazaar succeeded in raising over N6bn for the St. Stephen’s Anglican Deanery and Youth Development Centre, Otuoke, Bayelsa State!
Now, using the authority of a public position to secure gifts, particularly from government’s contractors, is corruptive, unconstitutional and recklessly abusive of powers by a president, governor or public office holder anywhere in the world and the code of conduct for public officials in Nigeria expressly forbids such. Section 6 of the Code of Conduct for Public officers embodied in the First Schedule of the 1999 Constitution and the Code of Conduct and Tribunal Act (CAP C15) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, indeed frown at what the president did.
The Act states: “A public officer shall not ask for or accept any property or benefits of any kind for himself or any other person on account of anything done or omitted to be done by him in the discharge of his duties. For the purposes of subsection (1) of this subsection, the receipt by a public officer of any gifts or benefits from commercial firms, business enterprises or persons who have CONTRACTS (emphasis mine) with the Government shall be presumed to have been received in contravention…unless the contrary is proved.”
To be clear, the issue here is not against the propriety of raising funds to build a church. It is simply about the propriety in law of a sitting President or Governor or any public office holder doing so. Whenever the President or a Governor organises or presides over such a bazaar the message being sent across to the populace is that he/she is above the law and hence can afford to be reckless on the outcome of his/her actions or in-actions in relation to the operation of the rule of law.
Indeed, it is self evident that the government contractor who has made huge donation has only done so either from the illicit proceeds of an over-bloated contract funds he has got or hopes to get from the government. It may well also be as a result of the tax or duties waivers he has obtained or hopes to obtain. And on the part of the President or the Governor, could he have received such huge patronage if he were to organise or preside over such a bazaar as a private citizen? Your guess is as good as mine!
However, the above provision of the law is crystal clear. What is unclear is why Nigeria has had and still having the misfortune of having at its helms of affairs people who know next to nothing about what it means to lead, let alone lead well and by example. People who have no visions and hence no eyes on any ball.
As the culture of impunity continues, particularly from those who should curb it, it is certain that when Nigeria eventually succumbs to the much touted apocalypse – failed state- (not really my wish), the reasons will be as much of impunity against the law as it will be of failure of leadership.
Yes, of course, it is true of all of them at all levels that impunity is their trademark particularly when it comes to public office and public funds and the populace have been worse off because of this attitude of their careless leaders. Nigerians are hopefully searching for who will bell the cat!