I am however concerned that this political culture of moral paralysis that is fast taking shape in the Nigerian political space portends grave danger to our nascent democracy and encapsulates the very elements that could crash it sooner than one expects
By Sonny Ogulewe
In 1988, my dean, the legendary Prof Claude Ake, during one of his rare seminal lectures painfully remarked “in Nigerian politics there is no morality”. One of my course mates quipped “so Prof, you mean in Nigeria, politics is not a Hail Mary affair?” and the old Prof just bent his head in affirmation. Then, yours sincerely was of the opinion that the moral paralysis in our political space was either unnecessarily over exaggerated or intentionally over dramatized. Sadly, just recently I have realized how wrong I was. Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa’s recent volte-face has not only confirmed the sad reality but affirmed the legend’s anecdote in explaining the inner components and mechanisms of a typical Nigerian politician. Prof may your soul continue to rest in peace.
The seer that the legend was, Ake in one of his works Social Science as Imperialism, had advised that “we cannot fully understand politics by looking only at the manifest political behavior. It is necessary to look at the underlying propensities, attitudes, values, and beliefs which define the context in which the political act takes place” The book was first published in 1979, exactly 46 years ago, yet, it remains valid, affirming the hypothesis that “the more things change they more they remain the same”. In Nigeria, “primitive accumulation and conspicuous consumption” remain the key drivers or the “underlying propensities” of political participation and Senator Ifeanyi Okowa’s macabre dance penultimate week squarely fits into this hypothesis. I shall explain this.
Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa is a trained physician, who once served as Secretary to Ika North Local government Area of Delta State, Chairman of Ika North Local government, Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources; Commissioner for Water Resources and later Commissioner for Health in Delta State, Secretary to Delta State Government; Senator for 8 years, Governor of Delta State for 8 years and lastly the Vice Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in the last election. He also had the rare opportunity to have successfully produced a loyal successor. Sen. Okowa recently defected to the All Progressives Congress APC
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His lame and rather preposterous excuse, was that he wanted “his people” to be wired to the national political grid. What a putrefying and weak characterization of a fast-evolving criminal culture of political survival within Nigeria’s political space. Although, a trained physician, it is obvious that going by his public service record, Sen. Okowa never effectively practiced medicine or earned a living beyond politics. One could therefore explain why he considered defection to the APC his best opportunity to continue to feed from the public purse and a convenient escape from the law for alleged misappropriation of public funds.
Against the background of Okowa’s defection and within the context of Ake’s hypothesis, Prof Eme Ekekwe offers more lucid explanations for this political volte-face. In one of his scholarly works; Class and State in Nigeria, he had posited that one of the key drivers of political participation in Nigeria is criminal accumulation because “ what is accumulated through the normal means is so much more inadequate especially given that (largely false) bourgeosification –that is , conspicuous consumption and ostentatious living and a life –style that is generally beyond the means of socially available surplus”. Essentially, Okowa’s recent defection squarely fits into this criminal appetite of the political elites, who having developed an unsustainable life –style beyond credible means now seek to be wired to the national power grid to preserve this odious culture and seeming criminal enterprise.
Ake in another of his works, Democracy and Development in Africa, again explained that Okowa’s action was convenient because in Nigeria “ the normative , institutional , and ideological mechanism that would have made power subject to constitutional restraints and accountability ‘do’ not exist”, instead the system is permissive of these vexatious compromises, which essentially have encouraged politicians like him to seek immunity from alleged financial malfeasance by wiring themselves to the “national power grid” that would ultimately undermine the full application of the rule of law and deny the people the least democratic right of political accountability.
Interrogating the values which Nigerian politicians like Okowa and others hold sacrosanct may not be a difficult task. Again Ekekwe explained that “since those who pursue money and capital hardly acknowledge the existence of rules or ethics except those that encourage their growth and multiplication, morality goes out the door… therefore corruption is not an issue of ethics or morality; it should be seen, instead as a technical terms for capital accumulation” This is the bourgeoning political culture or value which Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa holds sacrosanct and which actually informed his recent political choices as he could not contemplate life outside power and its easy access to criminal dividends.
He has equally confirmed the popular saying that “the end justifies the means” and what my dear friend Chima Nwana, a lawyer once told me that “philosophy, morality and faith are difficult principles to sustain in an atmosphere of unethical compromises”. I am however concerned that this political culture of moral paralysis that is fast taking shape in the Nigerian political space portends grave danger to our nascent democracy and encapsulates the very elements that could crash it sooner than one expects. It would be a monumental disservice to this great country therefore if this Okowa’s N1.3Trillion alleged financial malfeasance considered as one those systemic elements is swept under the carpet because he is now “wired to the national power grid” and allowed to escape justice.
If Sen. Okowa were innocent of the alleged monumental fraud, he would have dared the EFCC and the ruling party by either resigning from politics or refusing to be compromised, but stay to prove his innocence. Michela Wrong in one of her works It is Our turn to Eat, had advocated that “there comes a time in a man’s life when fate offers him a chance to do something significant” even at the risk of personal discomfort, but Okowa chose the path of infamy with a deceptive smile of innocence. Ultimately, by wiring himself to the “national power grid” he has technically stripped himself of the moral strength to argue his innocence of the allegations of impropriety and the courage to stand with the people at these challenging times. I had respect for him, but after his latest political choices and the weak reasons he advanced, I saw a man very weak in morals and in political sophistication.
To those many Nigerians who are awake, it pathetic to note that our political milieu is fast becoming criminally dysfunctional, irredeemably illusory and potentially tragic. But to those who former President Goodluck Jonathan alleged “are pretending to be sleeping” particularly the “political molue”drivers and the “motor-boys” of this wrecked and wobbling one-chance molue who have been settled at the garage, it may sound exaggerated and inconsequential but the truth remains. I am part of majority of Nigerians who are historically circumspect of the ominous signals and its consequential effects on the health of our nascent democracy particularly this monstrous drive towards 2027 that appears to have compromised all the democratic values that we hold so dear. May God help us and grant our President the grace to accept the truth.
Sonny Ogulewe Ph.D, wrote from Abuja
