“The
last official act of any government is to loot the treasury” has been a popular
quotation on many websites since the global financial crisis of 2008. The
quotation is usually attributed to George Washington (1732-1799), but there is
no evidence that he ever said it.
Dear
reader, please pardon me if it appears that you are being suffused with another
entrée on corruption in our notoriously corrupt country. But don’t you just
have enough of day-to-day corruption scandals on the pages of our newspapers
and in beer parlours, with no sign of abating? And there doesn’t appear to be
anything done about the scandals? What would it take for us to do to arrest the
situation?
My
late English Literature teacher and former governor of Oyo State, Lamidi Adesina,
fondly known as Lam Ade (may his soul continue to rest in peace), used to scare
the hell out of us when he wants to punish us by saying “you are sitting on a keg of
gunpowder, which is about to explode” or “you are tottering on the edge of
a precipice, and you are about to fall inside” or “you are walking at the edge of a
razor blade, and you will be severely cut”. In those days, those
warning phrases used to strike terror into our simple hearts, because what they
mean was that the offending student was nearing expulsion from the school.
For
decades now, that is what Nigeria has been; sitting on a keg of gunpowder, or
tottering at the edge of an abyss. In fact I always shake my head in wonder
that a total collapse of the polity, the economy, the society and the fragile
thread holding the country together has not been achieved. But then, it appears
that this non-collapse into anarchy and bloody revolution has been due more to
the lack of courage, meek and cowardly acceptance of the followers to the
indignities and oppression heaped upon them by their rulers and indifference to
their plight than the resilience of a beaten, degraded and downtrodden people.
I
have always been one to defend my people, even when some of us averred in many
essays that we are cowards, fools, “munmuns” and ignorant people. The reason
being that as part of those same people, I cannot accept that I am in that
denigrating category and neither are 160 million people.
Unfortunately
for me, when one of our rulers, Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State recently
blamed Nigerians for the level of corruption in the country, saying that
political office holders loot the treasury because they have not been stoned by
the masses, it was time to put on my thinking cap and look at things from his
perspective.
“Kleptocracy, alternatively cleptocracy
or kleptarchy, (from Greek: κλέπτης – kleptēs, “thief” and κράτος –
kratos, “power, rule”, hence “rule by thieves”) is a form
of political and government corruption where the government exists to increase
the personal wealth and political power of its officials and the ruling class
at the expense of the wider population, often with pretence of honest service.
This type of government corruption is often achieved by the embezzlement of state
funds. Raubwirtschaft (German for
“plunder economy,” “robber economy,” or “rapine”)
is a form of economy where the goal is to plunder the wealth and resources of a
country or geographical area. Referring to Russia, Daniel Kimmage used the
terms: “kerdocracy”
(“rule based on the desire for material gain”) or “khrematisamenocracy”
(“rule by those who transact business for their own profit”)” (Source:
Wikipedia)
If
it is any consolation, it means kleptocracy is not unique to Nigeria; but I
will not rejoice in that knowledge, as some people will be quick to point out
to me. Is there, or has there ever been, any country in the world ruled
officially by thieves? I have looked at my history books and have not come
across any, but then thievery has never been legally recognised officially.
Nigeria will soon set another world record by becoming the first unilaterally,
officially recognised Kleptocracy in the world. Trust me, the way we a re
going.
According
to some research articles, “the effects of a kleptocratic regime or government
on a nation are typically adverse in regards to the faring of the state’s
economy, political affairs and civil rights. Kleptocracy in government often
vitiates prospects of foreign investment and drastically weakens the domestic
market and cross-border trade. As the kleptocracy normally embezzles money from
its citizens by misusing funds derived from tax payments, natural resources,
internally and externally generated revenues or money laundering schemes, a kleptocratically
structured political system tends to degrade nearly everyone’s quality of life.
In
addition, the money that kleptocrats steal is often taken from funds that were
earmarked for public amenities, such as the building of hospitals, schools, roads,
parks and the like – which has further adverse effects on the quality of life
of the citizens living under a kleptocracy.[3] The quasi-oligarchy that results
from a kleptocratic elite also subverts democracy (or any other political
format the state is ostensibly under)” (Source: “National Strategy Against
High-Level Corruption: Coordinating International Efforts to Combat Kleptocracy”
Fact Sheet, Bureau Public Affairs, Washington, DC, August 10, 2006)
In
“Kleptocracy and Divide-and-Rule: A Model of Personal Rule” Daron Acemoglu,
James A. Robinson, Thierry Verdier. NBER Working Paper No. 10136 (National
Bureau of Economic Research) Issued in December 2003, “Many developing countries have
suffered under the personal rule of kleptocrats’, who implement highly
inefficient economic policies, expropriate the wealth of their citizens, and
use the proceeds for their own glorification or consumption. We argue that the
success of kleptocrats rests, in part, on their ability to use a
divide-and-rule’ strategy, made possible by weaknesses in the institutions in
these societies. Members of society need to cooperate in order to depose a
kleptocrat, yet such cooperation may be defused by imposing punitive rates of
taxation on any citizen who proposes such a move, and redistributing the
benefits to those who need to agree to it. Thus the collective action problem
can be intensified by threats which remain off the equilibrium path. In
equilibrium, all are exploited and no one challenges the kleptocrat.
Kleptocratic policies are more likely when foreign aid and rents from natural
resources provide rulers with substantial resources to buy off opponents; when
opposition groups are short-sighted; when the average productivity in the
economy is low; and when there is greater inequality between producer groups
(because more productive groups are more difficult to buy off)”.
The
above accurately defines Nigeria. A societal observation of the wealth of Nigerian
politicians and civil servants showed that despite their relatively low
incomes, a significant number had amassed personal wealth sometimes amounting
to sums exceeding several million, both in Naira, US Dollars and Pound
Sterling. We always wonder how such colossal sums could be stolen, but we now
know that corruption is built into the Nigerian system, accountability is
non-existent, and with a weak and corrupt judiciary, totally besmirched
crime-fighting agencies, an unresponsive and irresponsible government, and,
throw in, a totally befuddled and indifferent society, it is easy, at least for
those who have the access, to walk into the treasury and take what they want.
We
are already living in a KLEPTOCRATIC society in Nigeria – run exclusively by
kleptocrats! And we the munmun citizens sit down as if nothing is happening, some
of us taking sides because of misplaced political partisanship, religious
affiliation, ethnic loyalty and a dumbfounding refusal to speak, see and accept
the truth.
Challenging
Nigerians to hold their leaders accountable, Amaechi said, “If you see a thief and you allow
him to be stealing, what have you done? You have stoned nobody; that is why we
are stealing. Who have you stoned? They came out and started dancing oil
subsidy, oil subsidy. They told you that they stole N2.3trn, what did you do? “Instead
you are protesting ‘bring more oil subsidy’; the oil subsidy that is not
reaching the poor. A few individuals are going away with the money and you have
done nothing. You are mourning Madiba, who lived up to 95, and he was very
angry with Nigeria when he died. You’ve heard that $50bn is missing and you
have done nothing about it. In some countries people will go on the street
until they return that money. It is N8trn, it can change Nigeria”
So
back to the discourse, “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts
absolutely” (especially made worse in a corrupt society) I have never
heard of any democratic country where an appointed employee of the government
will obtain an injunction against the legislative arm of government to stop
them from probing them. This is exactly what the all-powerful, untouchable Minister
for Oil, Mrs Diezani Allison-Madueke just achieved. Yes, if she feels her
rights are being infringed upon, all she has to do is defend herself. She
forgets that as an appointed Minister, ALL her actions should be accountable to
the people, irrespective of what she feels her rights are. Earlier, several
years ago, ex-governor of Rivers State, Dr Peter Odili, obtained a similar
injunction and for eight years now, nobody dared touch him and he is still
laughing at the people of Nigeria. Again, recently, former Governor of the
Central bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido obtained another injunction, but this
time to prevent arrest. A very bad precedent has been laid. Nigerians have
managed to turn democracy on its head and turned to “demo-crazy”. Other
nations use the court to fight corruption and recover stolen national wealth;
but we use the court to retain and promote corruption.
When
will someone or some people sensible in the polity stop this display of impunity
being brought upon us? The oil minister had the audacity to approach the court
to obtain an injunction to stop citizens’ representatives from questioning her
on issues relating to bad governance and, adding ‘salt to injury’ the court
granted such injunction? Who is going to save this country? Should we expect the
heavily compromised labour unions, heavily baggage civil liberties groups, the
Nigerian Bar Association and other relevant establishments to step in?
There
is a form of government called ANARCHISM (Anarchy refers to a society without a
publicly enforced government, which implies political disorder or lawlessness
within a society). Why don’t we just adopt that and stop living this lie called
democracy?
Another
flaw or problem with our politics and demo-crazy is that appointees, mostly
square pegs in round holes, into governments owe allegiance ONLY to those who
appointed them (President and Governors) and NOT to the service of the people
whose very existence is the reason for their appointments. In fact it seems
these mediocre appointees are deliberately appointed to keep oiling the
machinery of corruption. These appointees not only loot the treasury to further
their own political careers or businesses, but “donate” a lot of the stolen
funds to fight elections for their masters.
Till
2015, the year of the General Election, most, if not all government ministries,
departments and agencies of government will remain paralyzed and
non-functional; while the civil servants will be loitering about looking for easy
money to loot and share. And their “ogas” will be looting and forced
to divert looted funds to sponsor elections.
That
is what happens every time an election is near. That is why you hear billions
are missing every time. Nobody to supervise and a vast amount of money are
lying around waiting to be looted.
Maybe
one day, we shall get out of our self-imposed slavery and oppression….but
don’t fold your hand for too long…you and I. You hear? 2015 is coming. We
have to do something to reverse the downward spiral. Forget the National
Conference coming up with instruments of salvation. If they don’t end up in
fisticuffs by the end of an exercise in futility and wastefulness, I will be
surprised.
If
we continue to do things the way we have been doing for the past fifty-four
years, we will consistently be getting the wrong results that we deserve. It
means, continue to put the wrong people in power, and we will continue to get
bad and evil governments of kleptocrats. Simple! A holistic approach to
Nigeria’s problems is needed not jaw-jawing and double-speak.
And
what bearing does the title of this article “All Loot and no Work makes Me a Rich Man” has to do with the
content? None at all, but read between the lines. It is axiomatic of our
predicament.
Election
is coming in 2015; use your vote to get better leaders, and hence, better
lives. It is the least we can do for our children, even if it is too late for
us.
The
Truth shall be told always.
