Accountability. Noun. The obligation of an individual or organisation to account for its activities and accept responsibility for them.
Over and over again, Nigerians are told that they must hold their leaders accountable. That was the advice given by the visiting Prime Minister of Britain, Mr. David Cameron, when he visited Nigeria and spoke at the Lagos Business School a couple of years ago. Nigerians could not agree more. The issue which we have been unable to resolve is: Just how do we do it? Of course, we now know that we can wait for four years and vote out those whom we do not want anymore as leaders; that is, assuming the best of all possible worlds where each single vote counts and the winner announced by INEC is actually the person whom the people have chosen. But then, is that all there is to accountability – the hope of booting out a bad leader after four years? What happens during those four years while he or she is in office? How can we ensure that the people we have elected do not misgovern us, and that with impunity?
And talking about impunity, the nation has continued to witness it in its crudest and most ferocious form, and yet nothing concrete resulted from the various probes into the affairs of several of our public institutions. For example, we learnt that although about N250 billion was budgeted for subsidizing the cost of petroleum for the Nigerian people in 2011, over N2 trillion was actually paid out! One wondered where all that excess money came from, since the subsidy account should have been empty once the amount budgeted was exhausted? Apparently, companies simply showed up with documents stating that they had imported such and such a quantity of petroleum into the country and they were paid because – wonder of wonders – the amount of petroleum actually brought into the country was not being monitored, according to our Finance Minister. How could you pay for goods you have not set your eyes upon?
The profligate spending which occurs during the campaign season is a cause of serious concern in a country where much needs to be done to improve the living standards of the people. With the way money was spent in 2011, one wondered where the ruling party got the funds to run a campaign which was certainly unique and memorable in terms of the gaudy display of affluence involved. From billboards erected all over the country to uniforms worn at each and every public rally – and were they numerous! – to the sheer number and variety of advertisements in the print and electronic media, it was demonstrated to Nigerians that “money was definitely not the problem, but how to spend it.” If we felt 2011 was already too lavish in terms of spending, what is going on currently must leave us speechless. How come over N21 billion could be raked in at a single sitting?
Given this troubling reality, what would be the responsibility of citizens in demanding accountability? Is it our business to find out where the monies that were contributed came from or not? Can we simply keep quiet and believe that these huge sums of money came completely from private pockets, and therefore are no concern of the citizens? My take in 2011 was that the various “missing” funds probably helped to get many of our elected officials into the positions they currently occupy – including those who sat in the House of Assembly to conduct the various probes. Even members of the Assembly who themselves were fingered as having participated in illegal activities continue to sit in those chambers to make laws for us, law-abiding citizens of the country. How can that be an acceptable state of affairs?
It is clear that good governance will not be delivered to us on a platter of gold. We must wrest it from our ruler-leaders by ourselves. Of course, there are some among us, the general populace, who enjoy the perquisites of the leaders’ corruption and therefore prefer to maintain the status quo; however, the majority of us must resist them and organise ourselves to bring about the change we desire and deserve. One way in which this could be done is by refusing to honour leaders (both past and present) who neither deserve nor have earned it. Let us stop inviting them to make speeches at our gatherings. Imagine the insult of having a former president lecture on the importance of building institutions when all he did during his tenure was to elevate the interest of individuals (family, friends and colleagues) above that of the nation! Furthermore, where possible, let us be bold to speak out against the injustices and corruption they perpetrate, and demonstrate our dissatisfaction in any peaceful and non-destructive way we can. This was done, for example, by some Nigerians in the United States of America who resisted a female Minister and prevented her from making some empty, insincere speech at an organised event. Such occurrences should be multiplied.
Let us begin to systematically strip honour from people who have not earned it. For too long we have ascribed honour to individuals, merely because they occupy a particular position. It is time to let those who are privileged to rule over us know that our trust must be earned, and that the government derives all its powers and authority from the people.
