Buhari and the verdict of history

It takes only a little reflection to discover that between the rhetoric of the anti-corruption war campaign and the actual battle field operation, there is a yawning gap with a capacity to militate against the effective prosecution of the war. But it appears that the commander-in-chief himself, President Muhammadu Buhari has not noticed this.

I guess that is why he has left it out among the factors that constitute his major headache in the current war against corruption. Early in his administration, he identified the judiciary as one major headache and the nation, almost to a man, was in agreement with him.

Out of the desire for the president to succeed, there was an outpouring of suggestions and various solutions, among them, the setting up of special courts to deal with corruption cases swiftly and expeditiously. Some of us even pointed out that no matter his determination to cure Nigeria of this terrible affliction, the success in the war would be measured only on the tip of our thumbs, unless and until the purge of the judiciary. EFCC confirmed our worst fears when it reeled out figures of trials and convictions of high-profile corrupt cases since 2007. And what was the result? Nothing to declare. No serious conviction, because of the antics of the lawyers and the judges who at the drop a pin, were most willing to give all manner of injunctions.

But an headache from the judiciary may not be as pernicious as the apparent inability of the presidency to walk the talk to the extent of the desire and the single-minded commitment of President Buhari to do battle with corruption. Now what do I mean? The president makes a fundamental pronouncement. And given his position as President, that pronouncement is supposed to be taken as policy statement. Let me cite only three of such pronouncements which have to do with his commitment to the war against corruption, but which seem to have been ignored totally by his own administration through inexcusable acts of omission and commission.

As he was receiving his certificate of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, last year, he said his administration would make it impossible for corrupt politicians and any other Nigerian, for that matter, to buy their way into public office. Given what he suffered in the hands of the judiciary on three occasions, he had enough experience to know that indeed people that are underserving of public office do indeed buy their way into such offices.

There has been no presidential election since then but there have been other elections, conducted under his own watch, in which people tainted with some malfeasance have bought their way into office or have attempted to do so but somehow failed but through no efforts of the administration.

As we speak, officials of government at all levels are still determined to live in the past where jobs were offered to people after they had paid some gratifications. This is despite the clamour that change should begin with all of us and all of them. Some privileged officials are hawking positions to ambitious and unsuspecting individuals, undermining the official proclamation that this Buhari administration would not allow crooked people, bereft of any iota of integrity and competence, to buy their way into public office.

I recall another statement of the president that buttresses the proclamation under review. He has had occasion to admonish the society at large, the way imams and pastors were wont to do, not to celebrate thieves and corrupt individuals who have defrauded this country one way or the other, or at one time or another. But such people are still having a field day, despite the presidential admonition.

And before we are done, there is a famous reassurance of the president which I seek to quote: “We will not touch anybody that did not touch public funds. If you behave yourself, you will sleep soundly, your children and families will enjoy respect… but if you have short-changed the treasury, you will be caught and you will have your day in court.” But with an abiding audacity, some officials of government remain undaunted. The rule is don’t be caught.

I guess that the only reason for this inadvertent disregard for presidential pronouncement is not the lack of will to walk the talk but those who should keep tab of these and enforce compliance are either overwhelmed by other matters or they simply have not given serious thoughts to this commitment. Either way, it is inexcusable because it creates the impression that what the president says is different from what the government does. Or that his pronouncements don’t matter.

The second reason for this is that such weighty pronouncements do not easily strike officialdom as being part and parcel of the fundamental objectives of state policy which they must strive to uphold and implement.

The result of this oversight is that even today, some incurable crooks whose speciality is to hoodwink and defraud governments and unsuspecting members of the public, derisively laugh to scorn presidential proclamations and exhortations and, in alliance with their stable mates in the corridors of power, continue to do their business as if they can’t be bothered.

Some of them have remained the darling of the society because they have what it takes to worm their way into the hearts of the poor and the down-trodden. Apparently, there is no stopping them, these veterans who drop names at will and who dare you to touch them if you are armed with sufficient bravado to do so. You dare not, of course. If by any misfortune, you are aggrieved, going to court is not even an option. They have what it takes to get the best lawyer money can hire and the best judge money can buy.

The other day the National Assembly invited the fiery anti-corruption professor, Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, to give a lecture on the Role of the Legislature in the Fight against Corruption. It was a delight. Those who hitherto thought that the fight against corruption was a solo effort of the president must have heaved a sigh of relief. Indeed the National Assembly has proved to be an active partner in the war and by inviting Professor Lumumba, they have signalled their intention to help wage this war in a more ferocious and even more creative manner.

One thing that stands out in the lecture is that those who have sinned publicly against this country must not be allowed to visit their iniquity on the larger society. And the only way they can do that is to make appropriate laws that will prevent known thieves and fraudsters from imposing themselves on the society as leaders of the community, or of local government councils, or as governors or president or even as legislators. Institutions that would make sure they have no such chance in hell must be created and empowered to do the job. Professor Lumumba’s presence and his lecture represent the metaphor of a prophet not having any honour in his own country. What the visiting professor said that day had been said by many of us before and we had been laughed out of court.

For instance, the man who wants to serve his people in public office in Nigeria has to bribe to be given the opportunity to do so. Is that not an investment? If you have to spend billions of naira to become governor, when will you recoup the money, make profit before you think of developing the state? Some of us have had occasion to ask this question before and we’re not tired of asking it even now. Now that a Professor Lumumba from another land has come to judgement, may be our question will begin to make sense.

Those who have the onerous responsibility to ensure that Buhari succeed as president and goes into history as somebody who came to office with world-wide goodwill because of his integrity and principle must do everything to ensure he leaves office not only with his integrity and reputation intact but grossly enhanced by winning the war against corruption and changing the country for good. Buhari must have his eyes on the verdict of history.