Morality has meaning only to those who have values. This general principle of morality becomes a basis for the cultivation of individual principles or codes of conduct that are acceptable to the larger community. One with morals will be seen to be upright and truthful in words and actions. All countries, including those with perverse characters, cherish their values.
With all the social disorders of the United States of America, there are levels to which immorality is not tolerated. For instance, when it was alleged that President Bill Clinton was seeing one Monica Lewinsky discretely at the back of the matrimonial home, Congress did not hesitate to react and protect national morals. Bill Clinton was impeached on account of immoral behaviour.
In Nigeria, to encourage public figures and office holders to be most upright and behave with the greatest decorum, they carry such adjectives as Honourable, Distinguished or Excellency with their names.
Thus, from Nigerian public office holders, elected or appointed, Nigerians expect a high standard of behaviour at all times. Under no circumstance should their utterances or behaviour offend the shared values of morality. If it ever happens, it is expected that the officer in question buries his or her head in shame and vacate the office. As in Europe and America, such an officer offers his resignation and awaits prosecution.
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A celebrated case in Nigeria is that of Salisu Buhari, then a newly appointed Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives. Buhari was accused of declaring fake certificate to the electoral agency; he subsequently resigned as the House Speaker and as a member of the House of Representatives. That was in 1999. In the recent time, 2016, there was the case of Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun.
A clearly sterling financial manager, she was tainted with the allegation of fake National Youth Service Corps Exemption certificate. Adeosun humbly resigned and left the shores of Nigeria. Not too many have taken this honourable path in Nigeria.
Buhari and Adeosun are heroes in the sense of knowing that their situations offend moral values. After these, abuse of morals with impunity abounds particularly among political office holders and those that have tendencies to appropriate our resources. For the impunity, the officers are awarded National Honours.
To appreciate how much an individual has offended collective moral values, the moral values must have been imbibed by all and the individuals must have a high sense of responsibility. Even if Nigeria has sets of moral values, it does not seem individuals have imbibed them enough for them to honour the path of Buhari and Adeosun.
Buildings have collapsed; no one has claimed responsibility let alone resigned from duty. Security details have failed and citizens have lost lives and properties; unimaginable quantum of money has been swallowed by reptiles in offices or have simply vamoosed into thin air; and such other avoidable errors of judgement have occurred at various levels of government – in all, no individuals have owned up to the responsibilities and so no one has resigned.
The situation can be more complex and beyond individual sense of responsibility. For instance, the immediate past governor of the central bank embarked on the redesign of the naira, and this simply imposed hunger, suffering and death on citizens. The apex bank governor did not see what is morally wrong with the whole process and the principal was highly supportive. The governor and the president, the principal, did not display any national sense of wrong and right!
Wait for the obnoxious provocation perpetrated by those who seek to lead us. Imagine an office seeker heading for the courts to obtain a perpetual injunction against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), Police, Federal Road Safety Corps and or their agents not to, at any time and place, mention their names, pass the street of their houses let alone come in contact with their persons.
Recall a senator-elect, eying the position of Senate president was reported to have gone to the “Federal High Court in Abuja to obtain a restriction of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC),” from detaining him. Why does the senator think he can be detained? Obviously, no one can contest the Senate presidency from detention. Yes, one is innocent until proven otherwise, but should people with cloudy morals aspire to lead the nation? There is no sense of right and shame?
Answering these questions is very pertinent, knowing that several political office holders – appointed and elected – have unresolved files either with the EFCC or ICPC. The most perturbing issue is that, either to be appointed or elected, the security agencies are involved in filtering to determine the cleanliness of potential officeholders. How do individuals with outstanding matters with any of the anti-graft agencies or even the court pass through the sieve? Do we need to review our ways for better results? Certainly, we need rigorous way or ways to keep citizens without principles out of governance and management of our resources.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) feeds on reports from security agencies on candidates that wish to stand election at state and national levels. There is a weakness in this as individuals of lower principles have wangled their way through the sifter to public offices.
The INEC needs to be empowered to carry out independent background checks on potential candidates. The lack of this power has consequences that are damaging to the politics, economy and security of communities and the nation. Thus, it can be better controlled when it carries out independent background checks and raises issues with security agencies. This may enhance the basis for qualification or disqualification to stand for election.
Another pointer to the state of national integrity and principles is the rate at which politicians change political colours. Some of the politicians go to bed as conservatives and wake up as progressives or outright radicals. The change is driven more by personal survival and aggrandisement than national or even community interests.
The issue is how to stem the reckless change of political parties and ensure politicians belong to and stay in political parties that best fit their integrity and principles for the pursuance of political ambitions. The politicians must be aided to form and crystallise political ideals for life or until retirement. For this purpose, change of political parties should terminate the occupation of political office or adventure.
Not in too many instances has a sense of what should be done being enforced in Nigeria. So far, such adjectives as Honourable, Distinguished or Excellency have not had any meaningful display in behaviour by those who parade them. The cultivation and upholding of uprightness, by way of national ethic revival, constitute ways of curtailing national malady. No one should be left in doubt as to our senses of right and wrong, our morals.
Yunusa is the Executive Director, Socioeconomic and Environment Advocacy Centre, Zaria
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