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Reinventing politics, governance and society for 21st century Nigeria (1)

By Enyinnaya Abaribe
03 July 2015   |   3:03 am
A keynote address delivered by Senator Abaribe, distinguished alumnus, to the 83rd University of Benin Alumni Association Worldwide Council meeting held at Aba Sports Club, Aba, Abia State on Saturday 27th June, 2015. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I am genuinely humbled by the choice you made to have me address a gathering of this magnitude…
Abaribe

Abaribe

A keynote address delivered by Senator Abaribe, distinguished alumnus, to the 83rd University of Benin Alumni Association Worldwide Council meeting held at Aba Sports Club, Aba, Abia State on Saturday 27th June, 2015.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I am genuinely humbled by the choice you made to have me address a gathering of this magnitude and significance. It is not often that deep thinkers in the academia indulge politicians like me when the conversation centres around politics, governance and the pursuit of the ideal; because, let’s face it, many in Nigeria believe politicians have failed the country. And I am a politician, one who is not ashamed to so admit, that I seek public office to be able to do more good to a greater number of our citizens.

In my observation, often times when topics like the theme for this lecture crop up, only leaders of the academia or heads of civil society organisations are invited to talk, and in so doing, those who are perceived to be the problem with the society – the politicians themselves, people like myself – are effectively side-lined from conversations aimed at correcting politics as it is currently played, and therefore, postpone any prospect of changing the game.

In such moments, one is left to wonder how we aim to change politics and governance without first attempting to change the politician in content and character. Or, is there anyone in this hall who does not think, just like I do, that reinventing politics and governance means to first alter the thought patterns, worldviews and personal philosophies of the key actors in the politics and governance of the society? The Alumni Association has, by this choice to get a politician to talk politics and governance, made a statement about what it wants for our society; a changed politics geared towards engendering accelerated national development.

So the significance of this invitation is not lost on me. I consider it a genuine effort to begin the drive for change right from where it matters most; the heart of the politician. Although we (I mean my fellow politicians) are not many here, but if I leave this hall today with a new mind-set about politics and governance, you can be sure that I may be able to influence one or two of my colleagues in the Senate, and gradually, slowly but steadily, our society adopts the new spirit. I therefore thank you very much for this rare honour.

This is more or less like home-coming for me. You know it was in the University of Benin that my immersion into the pool of intelligentsia occurred, and it was where I got my rough edges sharpened and my entire crude being refined as an undergraduate. I went on to pursue my Master’s Degree in the same institution before I took up a lecturing job at the College of Education, Benin City and the Ambrose Alli University now known as Edo State University. My mates here …..will recall Ekewan Campus, (104 Ekewan Road) and “Ugbowo.”

Ultimately, I left lecturing to join corporate Nigeria from where I answered to my present calling; public service. A few months ago (when I was running for the primaries for Governor), a group of journalists asked me to say the problems I thought the next governor of Abia State would inherit from the outgoing governor. I told them that the challenges of development in every state in Nigeria will also be exactly the same, that is, if you are in Abia, you will have to confront underdevelopment, massive unemployment and infrastructure that is not at par with what you need for a 21st century economy and then of course the basic ones of education, health, environment and agriculture.

I said so because I have been to many parts of Nigeria, and apart from Lagos and Abuja, every other state is almost the same in terms of development or, rather, lack of it. Yes, there are a couple of towns – or cities -which have grown over time with slightly impressive infrastructure, but these are just few, and do not touch every part of the states where these towns are. Uyo is one of such towns or cities. Port Harcourt is one of them. You may add Enugu, the town of Kano, Kaduna town and a handful of others.

In summary, ours is a country not developed, and we have to seek for ways to reinvent politics and society for national development.

I don’t want to pretend that I’m still a scholar, and therefore will approach my discussion from the standpoint of an actor in politics and governance. Remember I boasted earlier of my unwillingness to ever deny being a politician.

My understanding of ‘reinventing’ anything is to recreate it, to change it so that it appears to become entirely new. How do we recreate politics, governance and our society? Let’s explore.

I think we know what politics is; the system and processes that lead to ascension to positions of power, influence, authority through which an organized control can be exercised over a human community. This is my personal definition of politics. For a democracy, after politics comes governance. A quick glance at Wikipedia tells us that ‘politics is exercised on a wide range of social levels, from clans and tribes of traditional societies, through modern local governments, companies and institutions up to sovereign states, to the international level.’

My simple definition of politics derives from my approach to this topic as a practicing politician. While in the position of power, influence and/or authority, governance is expected to commence. At the point – or immediately after the commencement – of governance, the society expects – or is expected – to feel the touch of the government. Works, policies and programmes of those in positions of power should be seen to touch every corner of the society.

This is because, what we today see as the modern state or society derives its modus from the age of enlightenment, during which the concept of social contract emanated. The theory of social contract, a theory that is well known to, I can say, every scholar here, typically addresses the question of the emergence of the civil society and the legitimacy of the state and governments. Of the great theorists of social contract, I’m fascinated by the works of Thomas Hobbes, the English philosopher. Of course my appreciation for the Hobbesian theory of modern state in addressing our topic is because of what I see as close relationship to our case as a society. And this choice does not in any way reduce the weight of works done by other philosophers of that era: Hugo Grotius, John Locke, Samuel Pufendorf, Immanuel Kant and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Thomas Hobbes writes in his classic work on statecraft, Leviathan, about what life was before the emergence of the modern state. This life was one in which everybody was almost equal in faculties of the body and mind, that is, ‘no natural inequalities are so great as to give anyone a “claim” to an exclusive “benefit”’. This means everybody had the power and liberty to go any length in preserving their own lives and protecting themselves from others who equally were at liberty to seek self- preservation. In this state, called the state of nature, there was no injustice because there was no law.

Also, there was no common might – or political power – to keep the free man restricted. So you could say it was a free reign of entropy in the state of nature. Little wonder Hobbes says life in this state was “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” In Hobbes’ treatise, the modern society emerged when men in the state of nature agreed to give up some parts of their individual rights, handed same over to the state and agreed to choose those who will assume the powers to oversee their affairs.

There are two key elements of this contract. The first was that they agreed to establish society by collectively and reciprocally renouncing the rights they had against one another in the state of nature. The second one is that they imbued one person or assembly of persons with the authority and power to enforce the initial contract. In other words, to ensure their escape from the state of nature, they all agreed to live together under common laws, and create an enforcement mechanism for the social contract and the laws that constitute it. This person – or assembly of persons – is what we know as government today. This theory might be called a mere philosophical fiction, but bears close resemblance to what you could see in countries officially described as failed states. Life is brutish and people just wake up and hack others to death. Even parts of standing states where respect for constituted authorities and agents of state have diminished or just non-existent, you could see the brutishness of life.

Ours is a society erected on the ideals of the modern state. But collectively and individually, we have yet to attain the prosperity level such organised system can usher in, like the type observed in the Western societies which practice the same form of politics and governance as us. From the foregoing, therefore, the imperative for reinventing our society is no longer debatable. It should begin with our politics and then through governance touch every end of the society. If this fails to happen, we can as well kiss peace and security good bye in the long run.

So, what is wrong with our politics? I’m sure almost everybody here will chorus ‘’Corruption!’’ Well, I have a few things I consider wrong with our politics, and corruption is not topping that list. Corruption might be the symptom, I do think some other things underlie the act. I’ll explain.

I came straight from my village for this event. And before I went to bed last night, I had at least 50 people to see, all members of my constituency, many of whom came with financial demands. So, from where I stand, a serving government official elected by the people, I see societal pressure on people in government. My salary has no provision for carrying the burden of such a large number of people. So for me to be loved by these people, I must continuously dole out money, sometimes large enough to be appreciated by them (because sometimes you give people money and they see it as small).

I have also observed that this coming to ask for money isn’t a one- off act, each time I am around, those who had come before repeat, while a new set joins them. The thinking is understandable. Their brother, uncle, in-law or son is a Senator. They want to collect their share of, you know what it is called, ‘national cake’. What I just described is pressure, huge one, which is exerted on the Nigerian public office holder. It is not peculiar to me. Everybody in government will tell you the same thing. There seems to be a belief out there which holds us out as money bags.

(Of course, the recent uproar about our collecting 21m Naira as ‘wardrobe allowance’ is not helping matters. Even when it was clarified that the story was a hoax and our so-called wardrobe allowance was 42k naira no member of the public seems impressed.)

The next is the processes that throw up elected public office holders. Money for elections may have been as old as our politics. I don’t know when it started. But you must agree with me that many Nigerians demand money from politicians before they either support their campaigns or even vote them at the polls. That raises the question; just how much is enough for political contest? The late Dora Akunyili – God rest her soul – once complained of how she almost went broke contesting for a Senatorial seat.

In an interview she granted Punch Newspaper, she said, “there is also the issue of high cost of contesting elections in this country… In my case, I had to literarily beg for funds because the cost of campaigning for the senatorial elections was simply far beyond whatever money I had saved before entering the race.’’ If you have to borrow to be able to win elections – this is aside the other normal demands like publicity and logistics which cost so much – what happens when you get into government? And if you have a reason to seek re-election, knowing how much it cost you to get voted in the first time, how will you plan for your re-election bid? Public service, by its nature, is cruel to an officer’s time and comfort. Yet the person who wants to offer his service is subjected to purse-emptying ventures just to win elections. From my reality, the politician is pressured into failure by the society, our own society.

But that’s not as it appears from your reality, that is, if you have not contested elections before. From where you stand, the problem of politics could be non- performance, corruption, thuggery and other vices that are constantly mentioned by those in the civil society.

My sincere wonderment is; how does a society that places huge financial demands on public office holders expect the same people not to steal money? Which should be solved first? Stopping family, relatives and friends from making financial demands or stopping the politician and public office holder from giving?
But before you answer, and I imagine you will be answering when this lecture is over, do not forget to consider that these demands from citizens maybe genuine. They may be indeed hungry, sick, in need of money for their wards’ school fees. The requests might be pleas from real men and women who do not truly have.

Also, the politician, apart from giving on humanitarian grounds, might want to give for fear of electoral loss. So while proposing a workable solution to this challenge the cost of getting into public office poses, let all the elements be properly situated in the equation.

The few other challenges many have complained about in the past are fast changing. Our elections are becoming more transparent and credible, thuggery has almost vanished from our political landscape. And I don’t know who you will attribute these successes to, but I attribute it to my former president, the leader of my party PDP, a man whose decency reflects in his conduct of state matters.
To be Continued

• Abaribe is also a former Deputy Governor of Abia State

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