Power Corrupt and Absolute Power Corrupt Absolutely a Case Study of Leadership Situation in Nigeria
Power Corrupt and Absolute Power Corrupt Absolutely a Case Study of Leadership Situation in Nigeria
INTRODUCTION
It says, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Lord Acton believed that a person’s sense of morality lessens as his or her power increases. The emergence of any socio-economic and political formation is the emergence of the quest for leadership. A state, nation or an organization cannot survive without not only leadership, but good and responsive leadership. With the independence of Nigeria in 1960, the country has passed through all sorts of political upheavals, economic logjam and socio cultural violence all attributed to bad leadership. With the hitherto struggle against colonial subjugation of Nigeria, an assembly of great men has been moving closely with the British officials and the queen of England to make sure that independence was a reality to Nigerians. But after the attainment of self government, Nigeria began to experience a series of political turmoil. The first republic was shoved in a cold blooded military coup which paved a room for regional and ethnic tension in the country.
THE CONCEPT OF CORRUPTION
Although there is no universally acceptable definition of what constitutes corrupt behaviour, the most prominent definitions share a common emphasis on the abuse of public power or position for personal gain. The UN Global Programme against Corruption (GPAC) describes it as “abuse of power for private gain”. Similarly, according to World Bank and Transparency International, corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain of the holder of the office or some third party. It can also be defined as impairment of virtue, moral principle and a perversion or change from the general accepted rules for selfish benefit.
THE CONCEPT OF LEADERSHIP
Leadership: The concept of leadership has been defined in so many perspectives that it is hard to come up with a single working definition. However, Ogbeidi, (2012) defines leadership “as a body of people who lead and direct the activities of a group towards a shared goal”. This implies the ability to lead, direct and organize a group towards achieving a mutually shared goal. Ubegbe (1999:282) defines “leadership as the process of creating the subordinates’ identification with the group’s mission and creating their desires to achieve the group’s goal”. In the light of this understanding, (Norman Schwarzkopf quoted in Ogbeidi, 2012) defines leadership as a potent combination of strategy and character and strongly stresses that, of the two elements, character is the most preferred for leadership. Leadership is a social influence process in which the leader seeks the voluntary participation of subordinates in an effort to achieve organizational goals (Graig, 2005).
WHY DOES POWER CORRUPT?
But why does power corrupt? For the answer, it is worth consulting the excellent work by David Kipnis, a psychology researcher at Temple University. For a person to be autonomous is widely considered to be a good thing. It is a feature of being fully human. When a person exercises power over others, the powerholder gains the impression that the others do not control their own behaviour or, in other words, they are not autonomous. Hence, they are seen as less worthy. In short, a person who successfully exercises power over others is more likely to believe that these others are less deserving of respect. They thus become good prospects to be exploited.
THE CAUSES OF LEADERSHIP CRISIS AND CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA
Leadership crisis in Nigeria is occasioned mainly by lack of intellectual training and discipline, on the part of leaders of our national government. This does not imply that, adequate intellectual training is necessarily a guarantee for good leadership, but it does help in most occasions. The main theme of Plato’s Republic thesis is that for there to be a meaningful and sustainable development, a society has to be governed by people-men and women-who have, through careful training attained the proper knowledge of human life and know the meaning of goodness in all its forms (Ochulor, 2011). Such knowledge facilitates an appropriate comprehension of the purpose of government. Without it one will not be able to govern well. Good leadership demands unusual virtue, intelligence, education, discipline, selflessness and a great deal of experience. So leadership crises in Nigeria arise largely from the leaders’ intellectual incapacity, lack of discipline and political inexperience, not so much from the political institutions, not so much from the system (Ochulor, 2011). Good leadership is a function of character, adequate knowledge and intellectual training on governance.
The causes of corruption in Nigeria are multidimensional. Corruption has political and socio-cultural variables. The root causes of corruption in Nigeria could be traced to the culture and weird value system of the society. It is almost impossible to see a corrupt-free Nigerian because of the deteriorated culture and weak value system of the society (Dike 2003). “Corruption has taught Nigerians wrong lessons that it does not pay to be honest, hardworking and law abiding because the culture has legalized illegality in the society” (Aleyomi, 2013). The struggle for survival in the society has become a race for everyone, and there is no longer room for morality in the society (Smith, 2008).
Power Corrupt and Absolute Power Corrupt Absolutely a Case Study of Leadership Situation in Nigeria
Having power corrupts a man, or lessens his morality, and the more power a man has, the more corrupted he will become. This idiom means that those in power often do not have the people’s best interests in mind. They are primarily focused on their own benefits, and they may abuse their position of power to help themselves. If you follow the thread that absolute power corrupts absolutely, you can believe that monarchs—those with the most authority—have the least amount of morals. Kinder souls would be found among poorer, less influential people.
Naturally this is not always the case, as there are many examples of kind and good leaders. Of those who are corrupted, it is it is hard to distinguish whether the power corrupted the man or the men who were drawn to power were already corrupted. Babangida, Abacha and Abdussalami Administration Corruption in Nigeria under these two regimes had gathered momentum. The two regimes had ways of welcoming and ccommodating corruption. For example, Babangida’s administration pardoned and released the second republic politicians that were jailed for corruption by the Buhari regime. He also returned their confiscated properties to them. This trend, however, has made critics to make the inference that the regime had legalized corruption. The Okigbo panel report revealed that Babangida established a ‘dedicated account’ into which the windfall from the first gulf war was paid. The account held the sum of 12.4 billion US dollars but at the time of enquiry only 206 million dollars were left there. The two people who managed the accounts were Babangida and the then governor of Central Bank, the late Alhaji Abdulkadir Ahmed (David and Okafor, 2009:87). The Abacha regime was not an exception. He treated the Nigerian Central Bank like a family property; He issued cheques of billions of naira whenever he wished to; He was listed among the ten most corrupt world leaders with 2-5 billion US dollars loot.
There was 4 billion US dollars looted money in which the UK financial services authority indicted fifteen British banks, and the 4-5 billion US dollars secret Nigerian debt buyback scheme. In addition, there was the 2.5 billion US dollars Ajaokuta steel debt buyback scam involving Abacha’s minister .Others included 80 million US dollars over payment to chase Manhattan Bank, 10 million US dollars reversal payment on Paris Club debts and 27 million US dollars to SACE of Italy (David and Okafor, 2009:87). Abdulsalam was also accused of looting Nigerian treasury, which transpired in his Maizube Holdings, which is a collection of various businesses (farms, estates and all sorts of companies). One of his most recent establishments is the building of MAIZUBE Estate in Abuja, Nigeria. The estate has recently been leased/rented by Total for its staff. In order not to be discovered, Abdulsalam gave Israeli expatriates billions of naira to a construction that Nigeria could easily have done. The Israelis eventually sub-contracted every aspect of the construction to Nigerian builders, architects, engineers, painters, etc. They only paid out only 1/8 of what they were earned from general Abdusalam (Molulu, 2011).
Obasanjo/Yar’adua Regime The corrupt practices of Obasanjo regime were more severe and worse than the corrupt practices of Abacha regime (Infostrides, 2011) as asserted by the former chairman of economic and financial crime commission (EFCC). A popular human right activist, Gani Fawehinmi is of the view that obasanjo regime will go down in history as the most corrupt regime in the history of Nigeria. In the sense that no regime ever made so much money as was made under Obasanjo’s regime. It got to a point that the price of one barrel of crude oil was fetching $70 and Nigeria at that time was producing 3,150,000 (three million, one hundred and fifty thousand) barrels per day. The Federal Government was the making more than N200,000,000 (two hundred million dollars) everyday, including Sunday. The more money the Obasanjo regime made the poorer the Nigerian people became. And the more money the Obasanjo regime made, the richer a few people became, including Mr. President himself (Sahara Reporters, June-1, 2007). Eight years of self-centred disposition, eight years of way, eight years of deception, eight years of creating a few rich people, eight years of anti-masses programmes, eight years of deliberate junketing all over the world, eight years of make-believe, eight years of dictatorship, eight years of lack of coherent policies, eight years of so much wealth coming to the hands of government out of which Nigerians received aggravated poverty and economic pain (Sahara Reporters, June-1, 2007). Obasanjo regime has emerged in an era Nigerians had lost hope in the country, thinking the new leader would make a difference. But as time went on, Obasanjo turned to be the worst, despite his campaign on anticorruption. Yar’adua tried to maintain the fight on corruption but he was criticized of inefficiency and slow governance.
The Jonathan Era Jonathan succeeded Yar’adua after the demise of the president. But Jonathan regime has been seen as not only one of the most incompetent, but the most corrupt regime in the Nigerian political history. Governors, members of legislature, local government chairmen, civil servants are all corrupt under Jonathan administration. The government of President Goodluck Jonathan has also been described as the most treacherous regime in the history of Nigeria based on the allegation of N155 billion naira Malabu Oil scam swelling around President Jonathan. The corruption going on under Jonathan’s government is also seen as unparalleled in Nigeria’s history. Over $1 billion involved in the Malabu oil scam (Sahara Reporters, May, 2012). 6. It is under the Jonathan’s regime that even the judiciary could not determine and judge corrupt government officials, albeit, this has been a judicial tradition in Nigeria. It was a great discovery when a British court sentenced James Ibori, the former governor of a Nigerian oil state, to 13 years in prison last month for embezzling 50 million pounds ($79 million). This was not enough, when Nigerians came out to protest the removal of oil subsidy, Nigerians saw a move by the government to bring the Nigerian masses down. It was not too long for Nigerians to wipe their tiers, when a $6.8 billion fuel subsidy corruption scandal erupted. Those in charge of the discovery of the corruption were also corrupt.
Cases of corruption have been revealed, such as the case of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Police Pension Funds. But these two are nothing but a tip of the iceberg; what is submerged under is far beyond our imagination (Kaka, 2012). By the time we realize that year in year out, we budget N4 trillion, approaching N5 trillion, annually and we now go to the rudiment of how we generate that revenue, then, all of us will weep for this country. About 2.5 million barrels per day of oil is being declared at above $100 per barrel which is not up to 50 per cent of what is being lifted from our oil reserve. That means equivalent of what is being declared is being taken away through illegal bunkering (Kaka, 2012). On abandoned projects, officials of the government are emerging to be an intervening variable, as projects awarded are corruptly handled. It is discerning that between 2010 and 2012, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved about 100 projects apparently to improve the development of the country and enhance the living conditions of its citizens. However, virtually all the projects have either been abandoned or not completed on schedule, despite the huge sums of money allocated for the projects. Instances of such projects have been revealed by SERAP, 2012), which are: 1. Contract for the Phase 1 Bwari-Kau Road on the outskirts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT): The FEC approved N3, 886,099,514.93 in December 2010. Although the completion date for the project is December 2012, work has not yet started on the project several months after, and despite release of money to contractors. The road thus remains a death-trap, contributing to unnecessary loss of innocent lives and consequently violation of the constitutional and international human right of the citizens to life. 2. Contract for three Solid Waste Transfer Stations at Mpape, Apo and Kubwa in the FCT: This project was awarded by the FEC in January 2011 for N2, 957, 572, 096.35 but no work has started yet on the project. In fact, many of the residents in the areas said they have never heard of such a project.
In Buhari’s regime, so many cases of abuse of power and corruption have been recorded from 2015 till date like the shouting of peaceful protesters during the EndSAS protest by men of the Nigerian army and the joint task force, unlawful detention and illegal court proceedings in the case of Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, several cases of corruption like the alleged swallowing of millions of Naira by snake, fire burning down of millions of Naira at JAMB office, swallowing of millions of Naira by monkey and many others but yet the government of the day has swept all of them under carpet. For example in Akwa Ibom State, a typical example of absolute power corrupt absolutely is seen to play between earlier that Justice Obot allowed armed policemen wielding AK-47 rifles into the courtroom on Wednesday, June 30, after threatening to jail Effiong for accusing her of being bias and asking her to recuse herself from the case. It reported that on Wednesday, July 27 in fulfilment of her threat, the judge jailed the lawyer for one month for asking her to recuse herself from a libel suit filed against a fellow lawyer, Leo Ekpenyong by the state governor, Deacon Udom Gabriel Emmanuel in Suit No. HU/279/2019. Udom Emmanuel had sued Ekpenyong for defamation of character over a publication in which he accused the governor of “buying judgment” from the 2019 National Assembly Election Tribunal. However, Justice Obot on December 15, 2020, gave judgment in favour of the governor, the Claimant/Applicant. The court found the Defendant liable for defamation and subsequently awarded N1.5 billion against him. Effiong however challenged the judgement and one other involving a former senator, Effiong Bob and successfully persuaded the court to set them aside.
“You don’t stand before me and talk nonsense,” Justice Obot in December 2021 told the human rights lawyer. “I’ve been on this side of the law for over 30 years and you don’t come and teach me the law from there.” Effiong who urged the court to give priority to his application for extension of time had cited the Supreme Court’s position on the matter, “Notwithstanding that preliminary objection is on jurisdiction, provided there is an application before the court for extension of time that application must be taken first.” Refusing Effiong’s application, the judge had said, “Preliminary objections are taken first in every proceeding, especially when it touches on jurisdiction. If you have replied to that objection, why are you afraid? “Is anything the matter with you? This is the court of law and things are done according to rules here. Sentiments do not overrule that. “You are not on Channels Television, neither are you on Akwa Ibom Broadcasting Television.” Following the manifest bias, the Defendant (Ekpenyong) through his Counsel, Inibehe Effiong, filed a Motion on Notice asking Justice Obot to reassign the case to a neutral judge, having shown bias
Concluding Remarks
Having investigated leadership crisis and corruption in Nigeria, it is evident that the twin problems have attained an unimaginable height and pandemic proportion since 1960 to date. Nigeria has never selected its best sons to positions of leadership. The lack of responsible leaders with integrity, vision, high moral values has been the bane of Nigeria development. It is totally appalling and disheartening that Nigeria, a country blessed with human and material resources critical for national development is now doomed with uncertainty where abject poverty, high unemployment rate, falling standard of education, avoidable health crisis, unresolved assassinations, insecurity, looting and squandering of public funds, etc, all as a result of bad leadership and corruption, have become the order of the day. No doubt, Transparency International consistently rates the levels of corruption in Nigeria among the highest in the world. Corrupt practices among the political leaders undermine economic development. This is because it increases cost of running business, aggravates poverty, impedes the country’s ability to attract overseas capital/foreign investors, and it reduces the credibility of democratic and bureaucratic institutions. Although the situation looks very bad, it is not insurmountable.
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