It just occurred to me to check out the dictionary definition of ‘responsibility’. Since computers have made life easy, and also made us lazy, I couldn’t be bothered to look for one of those thick collection of sheaves bound in some ugly looking and poorly designed cover that we call ‘dictionary. It would have been boring, not to mention inefficient use of my energy and biological resources. Instead, I simply typed the word into an Encarta search bar and bingo — as the American’s would say – I had a definition. The state, fact, or position of being accountable to somebody, or for something, is what Encarta defined responsibility to be.
Why am I wasting your time with this? It’s simple; we refer to our leaders — elected, appointed or imposed — as people occupying positions of responsibility. Some may say leaders occupy positions of authority, which is the right or power to enforce rules or give orders (also Encarta definition). But permit me to view leadership first from a perspective of responsibility, before switching over to the authority angle.
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Simple logic and elementary common sense therefore dictates that if our leaders are those who occupy positions of responsibility, then they are accountable to us, and for us. This is in tandem with the definition of democracy as the government of the people, by the people and for the people. If I turn it around; our leaders are accountable for us and to us. Period! Being accountable for us implies that they are saddled with the task of taking decisions on our behalf and in our own favour. Being accountable to us implies just that — they are answerable to us, the people they lead. Quite simple, right?
If it was, I wouldn’t bother writing this piece. The Nigerian experience has made this simple concept a complex maze of an enigma that requires many a genius to unravel. Our leaders have failed to understand the lessons history and common sense have to offer with respect to responsibility. A responsible man appreciates the fact that Newton’s third law of motion has universal applicability; that actions beget reactions. In other words, every choice has consequences and the only thing anyone can do in respect of the two is to make a choice. After that, the consequence must follow. No one can choose both action and consequence. Once a choice is made, then the die is cast; the corresponding consequences must follow. One can only reap what one has sown!
Farouk AbdulMutallib made a choice to be the agent of the devil. Today, and for the rest of his life, he must live with the consequence of that choice. If he had chosen instead to put to good use his pedigree, the influence of his parents, the expensive British education, the positive side of Islamic teachings and the lucky pedestal life has placed him on for the good of his country, the consequence would have been different. While it may be easy for us to quickly condemn the young misguided man, the truth is, he is no different from the charlatans that parade themselves as our leaders. How are they the same? They, like the young AbdulMutallib, make choices without pondering and ruminating over the consequences of their choices.
A couple of these appointed jokers — led by none other than that notorious and indefatigable fellow with a difficult name, who calls himself the Attorney General of the Federation, but looks more like the Attorney General of the Federation of corrupt men and crooks — are now brazenly telling us that an outgoing Chief Justice of Nigeria can swear in the incoming one. This is akin to packaging fresh cow dung in New Year’s gift wrapping paper! It is discombobulated reasoning and illegality being cloaked with lack of shame and being presented by people who should know better to people who know better! If these clowns succeed, they would have set a dangerous precedent. It would mean that an outgoing Speaker can swear in an incoming Speaker; an outgoing Senate President can swear in an incoming one; and an outgoing President can swear in an incoming President! Ditto for Governors. What then happens in the event of what the Hausa’s call ‘Tazarce’? We would then have a situation where one swears in himself! That would be a spectacle wouldn’t it? That would be madness! Can they not see that as a result of this, the executive arm of government may wake up one day and decide that it does not need the Judiciary or the Legislature any more, or vice versa? Can they not see that this is a recipe for disaster? But of course, these guys are all for expediency, which has always been the bane of our leaders. They have all suffered from both acute and chronic myopia. Doing what these frauds are advocating is definitely sowing the wind. And guess what will be reaped?
The fact that Nigerians are disenfranchised with the ruling class cannot be overemphasized. The common man feels that he has been ‘boboed’ (according to Femi Kuti) by the political rulers of the day. The euphoria that greeted the inauguration of the so called ‘fourth republic’ has since given way to apathy, despair and a sense of helplessness. If the swindlers occupying positions of responsibility have any sense of discernment, they would know that this is not the time to play ‘kalo-kalo’ with Nigeria’s destiny. The pulse on the street indicates that Nigerians believe beyond reasonable doubt that the nation is literally being raped by the very people that are supposed to protect it. They see their leaders abuse their offices and watch helplessly as avenues through which such leaders could be sanctioned are placed out of their reach. The sanctity of the ballot box is a fairy tale and constitutional options of petitions and recall are nothing but the figment of their imagination. Nneka, who is one of Nigeria’s most creative musician said “one day, the bushmeat go pursue the hunter” and everybody can see that if the Nation maintains its present course, that day would come sooner than later. One only has to read comments and blogs by Nigerians on websites that allow them do so, or talk to the common man on the street, to know this. Unemployment has reached the highest heavens and poverty is everyone’s companion. Stable electricity is something experienced in every country that is not experiencing an outright war except Nigeria. Industries are packing up and relocating to countries they would not consider going to on a good day and retrenchment is no longer news. Even some war-torn countries have better roads than Nigeria, where our roads have become death traps and Federal and State Governments are doing next to nothing to ameliorate it. Basic necessities and amenities of life are beyond the reach of the vast majority. Even education, which by the way is a right not a privilege, is becoming a tall dream! Our leaders unashamedly go to other countries to treat common-place sicknesses. It is not as if we do not have the wherewithal to equip our hospitals and schools with the best resources known to man! It is not as if we cannot afford to provide state-of-the-art infrastructure for ourselves. It is just that our leaders have refused to be responsible! Period!
The unnecessary suffering inflicted on the people by our selfish, greedy and visionless leaders have even led to passionate calls for revolution, military intervention, regional secession and all manner of crazy things that should not be contemplated by decent minds. Of course these calls are misguided but persist, primarily because most people see such options with the same fascination a teenage virgin dreams of romantic escapades. Those making them are sliding into the same pit our leaders are wallowing in; one in which they fail to appreciate that once a course of action is chosen, corresponding consequences must follow without negotiation or reprieve. They don’t understand that any of those options will definitely involve unnecessary bloodshed and other acts of barbarism, and that ultimately, what would be achieved would be far different from what they fantasize about as the experience of other nations has shown. However, even a goat can remember that it has teeth and can put them into good use when cornered. In order words, we have a fertile climate for growing whirlwinds and our leaders are sowing the wind!
By virtue of the positions of authority that they occupy, our leaders have been empowered to take decisions that will favour those they lead. They have been given the right to enforce rules for our own good. Sadly, they have chosen to enforce rules for their own good, and for our own peril! That is why they used their armed convoys and sirens to break traffic rules. That is why they use law enforcement agents to unleash terror on the innocent and protect transgressors. That is why they abuse us by denying us electricity, while they use our money to make insane budgetary provisions for fuelling the generators in their official and unofficial residences. What they need to understand clearly is that in the long run, they will reap what they are sowing. What they steal from us for their own perceived good, will turn out to be the reason for the catastrophe that befalls them. If they refuse to be accountable to us, they will be accountable to someone greater than us! But if the growing apathy of the masses to the ruling class is anything to go by, then they may never live peaceably enough to enjoy the proceeds of the crime they are committing against the people they are leading.
Finally, one is bothered to note that though the lessons of history are obvious enough for these jesters to see, they behave as if they are amnesiacs. Where we are today as a nation, is as a result of the choices our leaders have made in the past! And I do not know any decent person, except perhaps Madam Rebrand, who is happy with the state of our nation. When you sow the wind, you will definitely reap the whirlwind. The sad thing is that our elected, appointed and imposed leaders are doing just that. How irresponsible can they be!
Yila Bako ([email protected]).
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