The origins of anarchy (1)

Why people who occupy high positions get there as a result of Federal Character, 50 years after flag independence still beats any rational imagination. On virtually every road, sirens clear the route for people whose contribution to national growth is an absolute zilch.  Bench warmers drive out those whose loyalty, efficiency and perspicacity sustains our nation.

For us in the media, editors know that they get and keep their jobs and receive promotions when they increase circulation or expand the scope of listeners and/or viewers. Bank managers and CEOs are removed when they make loses and an army that is beaten into retreat knows it has lost its relevance. But in the Nigerian public sphere, drones warm their benches in expectation of promotion based on their ethnic or religious balance. Ask directors in most ministries what value they have added to their office since they were last promoted and they return bland looks.

This is why I believe that the closest we have had to making the public service work had been under Steve Oronsaye. Ethnic jingoists may not agree, but history would be kind to that man. There are many who believe that whatever they do not deserve by merit should go to someone who merits it. It is a cardinal principle of progress. After 50 odd years of independence, we have now qualified to run governance on merit and until we start doing so we would remain stagnated. We can embrace change or progress would leave us mummified.

When Hafiz Ringim was appointed Inspector-General of the Nigeria Police Force, very few Nigerians outside police circles could say they have heard anything about him. Yet, he must have put in nearly thirty years on the job, including service as Commissioner of Police in Bayelsa, where he met President Goodluck Jonathan. But nobody remembered any impact he has had on policing or any course he has attended that positioned him above his peers. If today we are worried that policing has taken a turn for the worst under him, perhaps we should be reading his curriculum vitae for answers.

Just like his predecessors, (with the exception of Onovo who failed in spite of being highly decorated), he was just another officer waiting in the wings for the pendulum of federal character. Today, he is not only clueless about tackling very serious issues; he is lackadaisical in explaining matters of national security speaking from both sides of the mouth. In other countries, Ringim would have tendered his resignation at the dawn of the blast at Louis Edet House and save the nation the embarrassment of keeping us guessing about security of what ought to be the safest part of the nation – the police headquarters. Same goes for the Chief of Army Staff and the National Security Adviser both of who watched helplessly as hitherto safe army barracks are overrun by informally trained hoodlums. Not only are both keeping their plum positions and running diligent Nigerians off the road with their blaring sirens, our president has insulted our psyche by re-appointing Owoye Azazi as NSA for the second time for no apparent reason but that he is his kinsman.

Yet, these people already have generous pensions drawn from taxpayers guaranteeing them comfort, safety and security for as long as they live. If they have any sense of professional shame, they should have resigned their positions and be grateful to God that Nigeria is not Asia requiring them to show penance by committing hara-kiri. Their continued stay in office is a slap on the professional competence and a stain on the badges of honour, the ranks and promotions that brought them here. An I-G that cannot secure his own office is uncoordinated in explaining things in a moment of national tragedy and incompetent of investigating a blast has lost the trust of the people. He should not stay a day longer.

That we have invited Scotland Yard and the FBI is reason enough for these people to stop drawing public salary if we are still generous enough to give them their pension and gratuity. Our sovereignty as a nation is doubtful when we cannot investigate common crimes. Three years ago, we were told how we have installed cameras all over Abuja, not once have those cameras been used to bust the surging crime in what should be the most secure part of Nigeria – the FCT. Not once have we heard that Ringim has initiated a probe of his predecessor’s dubious financial transactions in this regard? That we have a Chief of Army Staff and an NSA of the rank of a general who remains incapable of securing even the barracks is prove that they should go home. It is a dent on the gallantry of our soldiers who have fought in every war at local and international level. It makes the exploits and successes of Liberia and Sierra Leone a fluke. These people should drop their uniforms, return their medals and apologise to the nation and their troops.

Indeed, both the police high command and the military top brass are overdue for an earth-shattering purge of the dead woods inhibiting competence and progress. The army as it stands is incapable of defending the territorial integrity of our country; its generals have returned to confirm Alozie Ogugbuaja’s assertion that they do nothing but drink pepper soup; gossip and it won’t be long when they would start planning coups. If this was the state of our country, we would not have survived 30 months of grueling civil war and build the pseudo-nation that we now call ours.