WHEN IT BECOMES EXPEDIENT TO EXHALE FRIVOLITIES FROM OUR SYSTEMS

‘Uneasy’ they say ‘lays the head that wears the crown’ this axiom perfectly fit into the situations in African countries and particularly Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populous nation.  Though, it is generally believed and agreed that the passion and patriotic desire to salvage the country actually propelled Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential ambition however if he had taken to heart Henry Kissinger’s wisdom that ‘power is the ultimate aphrodisiac’ he perhaps might have opted to remain out of public view considering his experiences in the recent times when full attention and searchlight were beamed on what hitherto could have been considered private matters. From the documentary where incursion was made into his family and private affairs preparatory to the elections, to his wife’s helicopter ride with Wale Tinubu and the alleged expensive wristwatch the First Lady wore at the inauguration ceremony, the list is long. In the deepest mind of the President those are things he strongly detests. He is an introvert of sort; he talks less and speaks only when it is necessary, he also find it extremely difficult to afford room for frivolous pleasures. It is known to those who could read between the lines that all he did during the campaigns, the dancing steps and others were resultant from prior messages that such should be done. Nigerians have become a hard nut to crack and it has become more challenging and difficult to be a leader at any level of government. Though past leaders are readily blamed for the woes the country have recorded it would be fair to state that the masses also directly or indirectly lend support and play good role in acting as stumbling block in the nation’s path and way to progress.

        Just like Nigerians are dynamic in assessing the nation’s teams ( the football teams in particular) same apply to the nation’s leaders and the development  has naturally turned them into an endangered segment of the society.

        One is particularly irked when some make vexing comments concerning political office holders. Many in their imaginations got Angelic statuses bestowed on them once they assumed office and in their own reckoning they must not in anyway err or have shortcomings. Total perfection is a normal characteristic and status they should ordinarily and automatically have in-built in them once they step into office.

        Particularly unlucky is President  Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerians have been noticeably exuberant in welcoming him. The expectations are too high and many even forget to realize he is this time the head of a democratic government. To some, the gate of prisons should have been opened for many people. He, they assumed should also maintain the standard of a pauper and also make his family members tow same line and get denied of luxuries of life. Such is indeed an inconceivable thought.

        Buhari is a retired General; his wife is the daughter of a First Republic Minister for Defence and certainly only a few Nigerians had such rare privileges. Aisha would ordinarily have uncles, cousins and nephews who by all standards have excelled in their chosen professions and recorded successes outside the precinct of the public sector.  Would it then be morally wrong if her brother or a friend decide to present her a wristwatch as a gift?

It is high time we dump the idea of criticizing for fun and doing things with mischievous intent, facing reality should be our new watch word and we should do away with irrelevancies. It is an established fact that there is no where in the world where a country can claim total perfection the systems still present loop holes which the unscrupulous elements utilize to their advantages.  The only thing is that in such countries corruption is not promoted, celebrated or allow to flourish unhindered. Like it has been stated repeatedly a discerning mind would know that the President is surrounded by the real politicians who have been on the field for years and have benefited from the decayed system. It is definitely impossible to assume he would be an island unto himself. He must have a political party and the party must have members he would interact with. Almost all Nigerians are beneficiaries of the decayed system but in consonance with the belief that a person occupying leadership position is like ‘a man sitting on a heap of refuse and enjoying it’ the total blame is readily placed on the doorstep of the leaders. If the system is functional and efficient, no one would short change the government in the payment of electricity bills, all taxable items, goods and activities would attract the appropriate rate, a traffic offender would also be shocked when the fine is deducted from his salary at the end of the month. The truth is that we have benefitted from the decayed system at different levels and in different ways. We should therefore be focused and be determined in ensuring the efficiency of the system rather than dissipating energy on who wear what and who ate what which is certainly cosmetic and demagogic. With Buhari as President the main advantage is that his almost zero interest in accumulation of wealth would assist him in taking the best decision in the best interest of the country.

However, it is important that we understand that it is not compulsory that members of his family should also opt for his preferred austere way of life, while I agree that it would be morally wrong for them to use the office he occupies to accumulate illegal wealth, we should not expect them to maintain the standard seemingly of that of an average school teacher. In the Holy books, we have read how Prophet Noah’s son opted out of his father’s ark and in the not-too-distant part Faruk,  son of Alhaji Umar  Mutallab went the way of a terrorist and the father was never one, we are also yet to have evidence that Lawrence Anini’s father was a robber. Saved from being misconstrued, I am not in anyway canvassing that members of the president’s family should maintain a flamboyant lifestyle or be corrupt. Far from that, I only want to prepare the minds of Nigerians that more of such scandals would crop up and people would sensationalize it particularly because of the long anti-corruption stance of the President.

We should not ordinarily expect other family members to compulsorily adopt his austere way of life, the truth is that not all his family members would take to his austere way of life and considering the quality of friends and contacts they now enjoy by virtue of the President’s position it would be fool hardy for anyone to expect them to live a life of penury. In the pre-colonial days it was regarded as a special privilege and status to be a palace aide.  Why?  You would ask. The proximity to the seat of power got such people well positioned to be beneficiaries of gift from the people. Gift is part of our culture, and it should not be given the coloration of a bribe or graft ‘when a handshake passes the elbow it becomes a wrestling’, therefore a legally responsible person would know when such becomes a bribe or a graft and once the person offering the gift does not in anyway seek to influence anything in his/her favour or make it a bargaining platform or power, it is in order. Admittedly, trust building between the government and the citizens would make the people feel carried along in the business of governance; efforts should however be directed to keeping the government on its toes and sniff for serious scandal if there is any.  Being an alarmist would simply make the people in power display pretence and use political gimmick to merely take actions that would only make them popular and not translate to anything tangible.   Buhari appears to be falling for this and the planned slashing of his salaries was widely reported. How many presidents ordinarily rely on salaries to get anything done?

 That also brings us to the issue of appointments, Nigerians have also played to the gallery on the issue, certain views and opinions that are presented are indeed funny. Agreed, there is need to reduce cost of governance, however a sort of misplaced priority should not set in. Some even ridiculously suggested appointment of only 10 ministers and 5 aides by the president. Many are indeed ignorant of the way government businesses are conducted.

Agreed that some might have abused such by having many aides than necessary nothing should be spared in ensuring efficiencies of system,  it is when there is an efficient system in place that the desired aim of getting things turn round on the positive lane could be achieved. The main challenge is not the issue of the number of the appointments made or the size, the emphasis should be on the quality of the team and its ability to effectively work towards delivery of dividends of democracy. Reduction in size of cabinet for the mere sake of it would be clearly unwise. Such action would make jobs laborious for the few ones in charge and efficiency would naturally fizzle out. It could also result in system failure as non-performance of duty due to tiredness and fatigue would be the order of the day. Nigerians should assist the new President by staying away from issues that could get him distracted and the earlier we realize that Muhammadu Buhari is a man like us and not an angel from the angelic worlds the better for us.

Nigerians should not miss the point and play to the gallery over trivial issues that are considered not extra-ordinary. The main task before the government is how to stop the fraud and the siphoning of fund in the oil sector, how to ensure the executive arm of government becomes circumvent in its use of power and the strengthening of the legislature’s oversight power and functions. Once there is accountability and an almost zero fraud in the oil sector, more funds would be available for capital projects and having had a new orientation the legislator would become a disciplined set of people and would in its oversight functions put the executive on its toes and ensure things are done properly. Dissipating energies on trivial issues is sort of criminal when issues of high poverty level, huge youth unemployment, insurgency, epileptic power supply, corruption and other issues are begging for attention

-Akinlolu Abayomi is an Ilorin based journalist