By Ogu Bundu Nwadike
By way of definition of terms, the title of this short essay has four key terms viz culture, rule of law, due process, and leaders. And the central theme of this essay is why it is very necessary for leaders and potential leaders to acquire the psyche of doing things, especially public things in ways and manners supported by rules and regulations.
Rule of law and due process share a lot in common. This is because both processes are complementary. You can’t talk of rule of law without talking about due process. And both demand carrying out of public duties and responsibilities in the lawful stipulated system and style.
Culture refers to the generally acceptable behavioural pattern of a people or a place in a specific aspect of the social interaction of the society. Sociologists teach that to every discipline or field of endeavour, there’s a culture. To that extent, politics has a culture, which anybody who wishes to play it must endeavour to patiently and often painstakingly learn.
A leader is an elected or appointed individual that takes responsibility for the organization and manage the men and materials under his care. In all cases of managing people and money right from the homes of individuals to the highest corporate office and position, leadership is a call to duty.
To that extent, there ought to be, at all points in time, higher number of leaders than the led. For instance, every normal parent is a leader. A class prefect or class captain in primary school is a leader. Any elected or appointed official in the government is a leader of a specific category. Ultimately, a governor and a president are leaders.
There’s this observation that among the corpus of problems bedeviling leadership and sustaining non-performance and eventual failure by a leader, the paucity of respect for rule of law and due process counts among the most crippling.
The disregard and disrespect for rule of law and due process do so much hurt and harm to desired leadership success. That is based on the fact that success remarkably depends on the extent a leader is amenable to conducting official business with strict obedience to laid down rules and regulations.
Incidentally, recourse to rule of law and due process is not acquired innately but by learning and practice. Experience is required to function in the realm of rule of law and due process, just as schooling and education, especially up to the tertiary levels, usually inculcate in young people and potential leaders the ability to lead. It continues to be reinforced with the benefit of experience in work and public service.
Without appearing too ethnic and clannish, the evolving propagation of the practice of rule of law and due process in Imo State by the governor, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha is a very welcome novel idea that possesses great capacity for meteorically catapulting the State to the highest heights of leadership and governance with high returns on investments for the State and the people.
Governor Ihedioha preaches and practices rule of law and due process in equal measure, with an exciting passion. He is a stickler to set down positive and rewarding system and style of doing things. The plans, policies, programmes and projects in his administration so far has reflected his faith and confidence in rule of law and due process.
It must have something to do with his public service career experience in the national legislature of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which has spanned cognately for about a quarter of a century. Gov. Ihedioha has a public service experience as a national lawmaker par excellence.
He was the celebrated Chairman of the House Committee on Marine Transport, 2003-2007. He was the exemplary Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, 2007-2011, Deputy Speaker, 2011-2015, and also Speaker in 2015! As a lawmaker, he cannot afford to be a law breaker. That’s why many people believe that with Governor Ihedioha, Imo State will be rebuilt!
Unfortunately, not all leaders are rule of law and due process friendly and compliant. They are impatient with rules and regulations. They bend the rules and often end up breaking them to suit their personal system and style. The end is always a disaster as such leaders post scorecards of poor performance and failure!
Permit me to cite the immediate past governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, as an instance of leaders that are not amenable to rule of law and due process. In fact, on several occasions, ex-governor Rochas Okorocha had to publicly confess and declare that he’s not interested in rule of law and due process.
The ex-governor embarrassed not a few people when he justified his disregard and disrespect for rule of law and due process by describing them as bureaucratic bottlenecks and time wasting system and style. And as such, all through his eight gruesome years of ruining Imo State, he never gave rule of law and due process a chance.
That’s why recently he stated that he was embarrassed that Gov. Ihedioha dragged him to court over his provocative, inciting public speech in which he encouraged his supporters to take laws in their own hands and defy the orders, instructions and directives of the governor of the State and his government. What that means is that Rochas never believed a sitting governor could sue an immediate past governor, even when rule of law and due process very much support that suit.
Anybody, no matter how highly placed he or she may be, that conducts himself or herself, by words or deeds, in such a way and manner that is capable of breaching the peace of the society should be arrested and prosecuted for constituting social nuisance. That’s the nature and features of rule of law and due process that Gov. Ihedioha preaches and practices!
Therefore, let ex-governor Rochas Okorocha not feel embarrassed but prepare to appear in court on the set date of the summons. He who brings home ant-infested fire wood has invited lizards to a surugede dance. If an elder behaves like a rat, youths will behave like cat to chase and harass him!
Leaders across Nigeria should take a cue from Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, the governor of Imo State to propagate and promote the art and science, theory and practice of rule of law and due process in all facets and aspects of running the business and rendering the service of leadership to the people and the society.
*Nwadike is the Special Assistant on Research to the Governor of Imo State.
