Civil Rule: Few gains many pains by Nasir El rufai

In the last twelve weeks, this
column has focused attention
away from analyzing
governance of our nation at
federal level to the 36 states
and their budgets. We
analyzed ten state budgets –
statistically-significant sample
from which some stylized
conclusions about the quality
of governance will be
presented next week. Today,
we want to look at the
thirteen years of experience
with civilian (rather than
democratic) rule. I am
reluctant to use democracy at
this point.
The starting point for an
assessment of civil rule since
1999 is a deserved tribute to
the many Nigerians from all
walks of life whose efforts
and sacrifices compelled the
military to retreat to the
barracks. It was a titanic
effort, a struggle for which
many died, countless were
bloodied and many lost
livelihoods and liberty.
Freedom stirs in the hearts of
humanity; neither
blandishments nor the whip
of tyrants can extinguish
these stirrings or even deter
a determined people from
securing it. Freedom is a
wonderful value, and the
events of the last 15 years of
military rule ought to have
convinced everybody that
democracy, anchored on fair
elections, the rule of law and
good governance, is the way
to go. In 1998, Nigerians
overwhelmingly decided that
never again will we accept
the shortcuts of military rule
and the long nightmare of
tragedy that accompanied it.
It seems that in 13 years, we
have forgotten all that and
we seem to have mostly evil
emperors at the helm that
are more banal than the
military dictators, but far less
competent in governing.
Those of us privileged to
have contributed in the
design of the transition
program after Abacha’s
death in June 1998 are proud
that it ended with President
Olusegun Obasanjo taking
the reins in May 1999. Six
moths later, I was leading the
federal privatization effort
and in 2003, administering
the FCT. As a private citizen
since 2007, I have reflected
on our country’s journey, and
my view is that while we
have many things to
celebrate, where we have
ended up now gives us much
more to deplore.
Warts and all, we have
preserved some prospect for
genuine democratic
governance. Some fraudulent
elections have been
overturned and illegal
impeachments quashed.
Nigerians even united to
surprise and defeat the third-
term attempt of a sitting
president. With vigilance and
will, we can invest real
substance into the
democratic structures that
we have and make real the
vision that our people can
prosper in freedom. The
notion of the citizenship
rights is getting reinforced,
despite the prolonged
hangover afflicting sections of
the security establishment.
This increased awareness of
human rights has sometimes
been upheld by the courts
that have survived the
onslaught of a destructive
chief justice that should have
never been allowed near that
exalted office.
While democracy satisfies the
intrinsic desire for freedom,
it is its instrumental value
that ultimately matters for
the quotidian realities and
longer-term interests of most
citizens. People want
freedom, but that must
include the freedom not to
be bombed while
worshipping or shopping,
and not to starve. It includes
freedom to live in dignity,
with equal access to social
services and to realize the
potential their talents can
legitimately secure.
Civilian rule sold off fiscal
drain-pipes owned by
government that were
arrogant, insular and
provided poor services. The
telecommunications sector
was liberalized bringing in
private investment, creating
ancillary businesses, over
60,000 jobs and putting a
telephone in the hands of
virtually every citizen that
wants it. We saw the
beginnings of a consumer
credit system, and even a
pilot mortgage scheme that
assisted many buyers of
Federal Government houses
in Abuja. Nigeria won
external debt reliefs,
consolidated its banking
system and witnessed rapid
economic growth, no doubt
assisted also by high oil
prices. Our foreign reserves
grew and we even created a
‘rainy day’ fund called the
Excess Crude Account (ECA).
By 2007, the Yar’Adua-
Jonathan government
inherited vast foreign
reserves ($43bn), on-going
power projects (NIPP-$5bn),
new rail systems from Lagos
to Kano ($8bn) and Abuja
Metro ($800 million), a
healthy ECA ($27bn) – in
short a basis to hit the
ground running, complete
on-going projects, initiate
new ones and continue
addressing Nigeria’s
infrastructure deficits. Alas,
after $200bn had been
earned and spent, that did
not happen. What happened?
Despite these
accomplishments of the
Obasanjo government, it was
by no means a perfect
government, just an effective
one. It’s attention to the rule
of law was uneven. We recall
the brazenness with which a
well-connected thug
sponsored arson against
government buildings in
Anambra State as an assault
against Governor Chris Ngige
from whom he was
estranged. That thug was not
called to account; instead he
was elevated to his party’s
board of trustees. If people
consistently escape justice
because of their connections
to power, it is an open
invitation to people of lesser
quality to seize the state and
suitably defile it. Impunity
then replaced even-handed
common sense and decency.
We also managed to
compound impunity by
assaulting the very basis of
democratic legitimacy: free
and fair elections. It is a fact
that elections in Nigeria have
been progressively worse
since 1999. International and
domestic observers gave
devastating verdicts on the
conduct of the 2003
elections. Those of 2007 were
so awful that the key
beneficiary felt compelled to
admit as much in his
inaugural speech as
president. Despite the initial
façade, the 2011 elections
turned out to be not only
similarly flawed, but one of
the most deceptive and
divisive in our electoral
history.
Yet true democracy ought not
to make people frightened of
the consequences of not
being in power. With term
limits, losers are guaranteed
another stab in just a few
years. And where the rule of
law prevails, an electoral loss
is not the same thing as
exclusion from the political
space and vigorous
participation in the process.
But such political
sophistication prevails only
when there’s certainty about
electoral integrity and where
the respect for the rule of
law has become part of the
DNA.
Simply put we have lost the
opportunity to routinize the
spirit of democracy while we
stay busy observing its
formal rituals. It was perhaps
inevitable that the words of
Plato that “the punishment
we suffer, if we refuse to
take an interest in matters of
government, is to live under
the government of worse
men” would catch up with
us.
Since 2000, there has been
an unacceptable mayhem
and bloodshed in Nigeria.
The exacerbation of religious
and ethnic tensions
expressed in violent hues has
been one of the most
disappointing features of the
new civilian era. Democracy
would have offered a civilized
way to negotiate and manage
differences without breaking
bones. It thrives on the ability
of contending factions to
work out a consensus and to
summon sufficient coherence
to make things work. It is
disheartening that virtual
apartheid, based on religion,
is beginning to divide cities
like my hometown of Kaduna,
with people being restricted
to their respective ghettoes
of faith. At the heart of
democracy is a universal
idea, but a key feature of
present-day Nigeria is an
astounding narrow-
mindedness.
It is necessary that we reflect
on the probability that by
giving undue credence to
ethnic and religious group
rights, we imperil not only
individual rights but also
destroy the possibility of
building a nation where
everyone belongs and feels
safe everywhere. Our political
elites have encouraged
divisions that keep them in
office, forgetting that the
depletion of trust and
cohesion will make it difficult
if not impossible for them to
enjoy the fruits of the office!
This created the insecurity we
now suffer all over the
country.
We have a centralized police
force afflicted both by little
self-respect and a limited
sense of its mandate. The
efforts to contain Boko
Haram’s terror has shown
that our intelligence
gathering apparatus is not fit
for purpose, and our security
agencies lacking in internal
capacity and capability
beyond harassing those of us
in opposition. The pathetic
manner public streets are
blocked in the vicinities of
security and defense
establishments makes the
citizens wonder – if those
trained and armed to defend
us are so scared of the
terrorists, how can we expect
them to defend the realm?
Are they concerned only
about their safety and that of
those in power?
We have not built as much
infrastructure as our
development requires, and
we have failed to moderate
our escalating cost of
governance. More
importantly, democratic
Nigeria is yet to grow in a
way that can democratize its
fruits through the creation of
jobs for our youths. As we
dither, divide our citizens,
and condone fraud and
corruption, the world just
leaves us behind.
There is no doubt in my mind
that we need to give our
people a stake in keeping
democracy aglow. History
shows that even in the
developed societies, extremist
groups attract more support
in moments of economic
hardship. And when this is
compounded by corruption
and politics of self-
advancement of a few, and
the economic exclusion of the
many, only the peace of the
graveyard can result. How do
we reverse these tendencies
and make democracy work
for the greatest number of
Nigerians?
Our political culture must
change from one of self-
enrichment to true public
service. The situation in
which we spend almost the
entire federal revenues for
the running cost of
government is unacceptable
and will crash this democratic
experiment – albeit a thirteen
year one. Elections must be
credible, free and fair
because that is what will
guarantee the ejection of
those that fail the electorate.
It is entirely up to INEC and
the authorities to ensure
these happen otherwise the
consequences will be dire.
Insecurity is the front-
burning issue. It is the
primary responsibility of any
government which can
neither be abdicated nor
outsourced. Community
leaders and civil society can
support the government, but
not replace it. The
government must adopt a
multiple approach that
includes enhancing the
intelligence-gathering
capacities of our security
forces and creating an
environment for job creation
for the hopeless youths that
are being recruited by the
terrorists. The administration
should therefore stop
behaving like a victim and get
on with the job!
Finally, a single-minded focus
on development – physical
via infrastructure build-out,
human by providing equal
access to public education
and healthcare, and social
services that enable citizens
the opportunity to realize
their full potentials. Those
that are in power that cannot
do this at all levels should do
the honorable thing – resign
and allow others that can .
We need people that stay
awake thinking, and investing
the time and effort to get our
country working even just a
little bit. Apart from fraud
and corruption in
government, compounded by
hatred and suspicion
amongst he populace –
nothing seems to be growing
in Nigeria today.

#CONSENSUS 2015