Democracy, nation-building and national development

HISTORY has shown that once a trend starts in the international system, it usually runs its full course as we witnessed in colonialism, wars of independence, ideological bipolarity of the international system and globalization.     The message is that the fire of the current nation state nationalism is not going to extinguish soon. It has spread now to France where Marine Le Pen is the torchbearer.This has led her to state that “A whole psychological framework is breaking down. I think 2017 is going to be the year of the grand return of the nation state, the control of border and currencies”. (The Daily Telegraph, London 16 February, 2017) She takes the argument beyond ideology by stating that “The choice is no longer between left and right. It is a battle between patriot and unbridled globalism” (Ibid).  We need to gird our loins as a nation and be proactive in responding to events in the global system while striving hard to ensure internal cohesion. The 2015 elections provided a unique opportunity for setting the nation on an agenda of stability, unity and economic redemption and democratic consolidation. Nigerians always look for a Messiah for national solution. It was believed that one had invariably arrived. The problems were seen as multi-dimensional but he was perceived as having broad shoulders to carry them. Nearly two years after, we are back to the same game of leadership musical chairs. Nigerians now advocate again for the restructuring of the country. Indeed the agitation for the dismemberment of the country for self- determination is getting loud by the day.  It is not the discontentment of the opposition. Even within the ruling party, few who have courage to find their voices have spoken aloud. One example is a serving Senator from Kaduna State, Sheu  Sani.

He argues: “Buhari is an island in his government and by the time he is back, he needs to disinfect and fumigate his government because in his anti-corruption crusade, he is the only person who believes in the anti-corruption war, people within his corridors of power are simply Buhari in their faces but anti-Buhari at heart.” (ThisDAY 27 Febuary, 2017).  Another supporter of the ruling party who seems to have also been disappointed at the turn of events is a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Charles Soludo. He believes that “Buhari met a very bad situation when he assumed power, but he has made the situation worse”. He went further to submit that “Nigeria today is a fragile state with a failing economy. Some say failing in state; some say failed state… The truth is that this Government inherited a very bad situation, but it has made it very much worse” (The Punch, March 3, 2017). A respected newspaper columnist and University teacher, Ayo Olukotun, puts the problem in proper perspective by noting that:

The other point to make is that governance under the All Progressives Congress has hit such a rough patch, that even little achievements, which are yet to be consolidated, are being ticked off by some as huge gains. That is another way of introspecting that mediocrity had become the new normal to such an extent that any departure is considered extraordinary… In this context, the gains of the anti-corruption programme and the successful advances against Boko Haram were hardly enough to offset the inclemency of weak governance and a failing economy. (The Punch, March 3, 2017).”  The anti-corruption crusade of the present regime and the containment of the menace of the BokoHaram are the flagship achievements of the administration so far. The continued revelation on corruption can only compound one in terms of the steer magnitude of the greed and the insatiable propensity to embezzle. It seems to me that corruption has assumed the colour of public service in Nigeria. However, we must not be deceived since corruption in Nigeria is not regime determined. It depends on which administration is opening up the cankerworm of another administration. Infact, it seems as if there is accelerating geometric progression in corruption scale from one administration to the other.

As commendable as the present effort on corruption containment are, there is still a pertinent question. What permanent, enduring, durable and self-sustaining mechanism has been or is being instituted to ensure that war on corruption is not only one regime effective? The bane of leadership in the developing world is that a regime thinks of policy to last its tenure not realizing that the success of a policy must transcend a particular regime or administration. On Boko Haram, any student of warfare and insurgency will acknowledge that a war does not end in a day. When parties have signed an agreement to end hostilities, there could still be pockets of resistance. So the administration has undoubtedly subdued and reduced the capabilities of the Boko Haram insurgents. However, there is a need for policy imperative to delimit the probable re-emergence of Boko Haram or any other insurgency. In other words, how is the nation being moved from the continuumof conflict to a template of development through effective restructuring of the architecture for conflict management?

A  troubling policy trend under this administration is the slowness in decision-making. Damages are often done before redemption is sought. Nothing seems to epitomize this policy lethargy as the free fall of the national currency against internationalised currencies. For example, the naira was already exchanging at 520 to a dollar before the CBN eased the stranglehold on access to dollar. The reasonable question to ask is why did the CBN wait for so long to consider another policy alternative. Is this a product of decision-making inertia or professional incompetence or political interference? Whatever was the reason, it is a reflection of leadership failure that ought not to have been allowed to happen.

• Being excerpts from a Keynote Address delivered by Professor Kolawole at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, recently.