Introduction
The topic of our discourse is anchored on three related assumptions. First, that the rescheduled elections will not be further shifted for security reasons. Second, that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will be allowed to conduct the general election without interference. Third, that the successful conclusion of the election will lead to a peaceful transition. In addressing the three assumptions, I am not unaware that Nigerians have been assured by the Federal Government that the handover date of May 29, 2015 remains sacrosanct. Notwithstanding such assurance, there are genuine fears that the imminent post election violence will lead to a disruption of the fragile democratic process. It is against this atmosphere of uncertainty that we shall x-ray the programmes of the political parties vis-à-vis the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy which all elected public officers are obligated to implement in the national interest.
The Subversion of the Political Transition
It is indisputable that the on-going campaign has polluted the democratic space. Tension has gripped the land as armed thugs are killing and maiming innocent people. Last month, the National Human Rights Commission confirmed that 58 people had been killed in political violence within a period of three months. Since then, scores of others have been hacked to death. Instead of arresting and prosecuting the perpetrators of such mindless violence, the heads of the police and other security agencies are celebrating the signing of peace pacts by political leaders. Last week, a security chief merely expressed concern over the growing wave of politically motivated killings in Rivers State.
From the information at my disposal, both the SSS and the Police had personnel at the venues of the political rallies where the killings took place. Yet, no one has been arrested and prosecuted. By the way, the prosecution of all criminal suspects has been put on hold in Rivers State, like in many other states in the federation, where the doors of the courts have been locked up by judicial staff who have been on strike since last year. On account of official impunity, the police has refused to arrest and ensure the prosecution of political parties and candidates that have continued to contravene the provisions of the Electoral Act. For instance, some highly placed politicians have been allowed to induce voters with dollars, rice, salt etc. contrary to section 124 of the Electoral Act.
The owners of some electronic and print media have joined reactionary politicians in spreading the gospel of hate in contravention of section 90 of the Electoral Act. Religious leaders who should speak out against the country’s inexorable descent to anarchy are alleged to have collected billions of Naira from corrupt politicians. At the end of a meeting recently hosted by a governor in one of the states of the South-South region, a group of ex-militants threatened to resume hostilities and stop the production of oil if President Jonathan is not re-elected by the Nigerian people.
Contrary to the provisions of the Constitution which have conferred the exclusive powers on the INEC to fix dates for all national elections, the National Security Adviser and service chiefs instigated a postponement of the general elections by six weeks on account of the planned onslaught against the terrorists in the North-East region. With assistance from the multinational force drawn from Benin, Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic the armed forces have retaken the several towns and villages which had been illegally seized and occupied in the North-East region by the forces of insurgency. Since the prosecution of the war on terror has not been concluded, there are fears that the rescheduled election may be further shifted.
The ruling party has taken advantage of the inefficient distribution of the Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) to call for the use of temporary voters cards. Although provisions were made for the costs of production and distribution of the Permanent Voters Cards and card readers in the Appropriation Bill of 2014, approved by the PDP dominated National Assembly and signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan, the ruling party has challenged INEC for insisting on using them. Since the INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega has decided to follow the law on the use of the PVCs and the card readers, the campaign for his removal has been intensified. A few days ago, the campaign was taken to a ridiculous extent when some ethnic groups which had won some juicy pipeline monitoring contracts from the Federal Government, caused their members to stage violent protests in some cities. Accompanied by the anti-robbery squads of military and police personnel, the protesters brandished guns and machetes and threatened to make the country ungovernable if Jega is allowed to conduct the elections.
Convinced that the removal of the INEC boss is not likely to be endorsed by the Senate, as required by section 157 of the Constitution, there are speculations that he may be sent on terminal leave, any moment from now. As I argued elsewhere, “By the provisions of the Universities Miscellaneous Act, the retirement age of university professors is 70 years. Since Professor Jega is 58, he would not retire from the public service until he attains the age of 70 in 2027. In the conditions of service of university staff, there is no provision for pre-retirement leave but sabbatical leave, leave of absence, annual leave, casual leave, vacation leave and maternity leave (for female lecturers). As a public officer cannot go on pre-retirement leave twice, it will be absurd to ask Jega go on terminal leave as INEC chairman in 2015 and then as a retiring professor in 2027.”
Unknown to the majority of the Nigerians, including registered voters, not less than 14 political parties are participating in the forthcoming general election. But attention has been concentrated on the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress (APC), in spite of the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act which require the public media to give equal prominence to all political parties and candidates. The media have thrown caution to the winds by colluding with certain politicians to divert attention from the crises of youth unemployment, infrastructural decay, insecurity, corruption, currency devaluation etc. Thus, by giving undue prominence to the campaign of calumny and character assassination embarked upon by some politicians, the media have denied the Nigerian people the opportunity to make informed decisions on the candidates of their choice. All the same, the campaigns have centred essentially on corruption, insecurity and unemployment.
The Anti-corruption Crusade
As far as President Jonathan is concerned, corruption should be fought with technology as he does not believe in jailing corrupt people. On his part, the candidate of the APC, General Mohammadu Buhari has undertaken to declare his assets, grant autonomy to anti-graft agencies, and set up an anti-corruption court. Although these palliative measures cannot seriously addressed the menace of corruption in a poverty stricken environment, it is necessary to examine them. In demonstrating his commitment to the fight against corruption with technology, President Jonathan should collaborate with the INEC in ensuring that ghost voters are eliminated through the use of PVCs and card readers in the 2015 general election.
The creation of a special court to fight corruption being advocated by General Buhari is unnecessary as the Code of Conduct Tribunal is actually an anti-corruption court. But it has been under-utilised in the prosecution of corruption cases. Unlike the regular courts, the Tribunal has the power to order a vacation of office or seat in any legislative house, as the case may be; forfeiture of ill-gotten wealth; and to impose a ban on public officers from participating in politics for a period not exceeding 10 years. Any person convicted by the Tribunal is not entitled to pardon under the prerogative of mercy provisions in the Constitution. However, to function effectively, the National Assembly ought to amend the law establishing the Tribunal to clothe it with criminal jurisdiction in the area of economic and financial crimes, including official corruption.
However, the government cannot wage a meaningful battle against corruption without addressing the root cause of the menace. The capitalist system is based on ruthless exploitation, corrupt practices and fraudulent enrichment of the ruling class at the expense of the actual producers of the wealth of a nation. Through the imperialist domination of the economy and gross mismanagement by the local ruling elite, billions of dollars are taken out of Nigeria through capital flight. Thus, imperialism and its local lackeys have cornered the common wealth contrary to section 16(2)(c) of the Constitution which stipulates that the economic system shall not be operated in such a manner “as to permit the concentration of wealth or the means of production and exchange in the hands of a few individuals or a group”. To curb corruption therefore, the government should muster the political will to control the economy in the interest of the people and then proceed to arrest and prosecute individuals and corporate bodies that engage in corruption and allied criminal offences.
The selective prosecution of corrupt people in the society cannot be justified in law. The recovery of the looted wealth of the country stashed in foreign banks should be seriously pursued. From the Abacha loot alone, the Federal Government has recovered not less than $3.5 billion. The banks that kept the loot for about 15 years should be made to pay interests and damages. For some inexplicable reasons, the Obasanjo Administration limited the recovery to the Abacha loot. Since what is good for the goose is good for the gander, the Federal Government should request Swiss banks and other financial institutions to repatriate the wealth of the country found in the secret accounts of other corrupt public officers.
The War on Terror
With the support of the multinational force drawn from neighbouring countries, the Nigerian armed forces have carried out successful operations against the satanic Boko Haram sect in the last few weeks. In the process, the terrorists have been dislodged from many of the towns and villages illegally seized and occupied by them since last year in the North-East region. Although the war on terror has not been fully won, the armed forces and the Federal Government deserve commendation for the success recorded so far in the task of restoring the territorial integrity of the country. With the recent acquisition
of vital weapons for the armed forces by the Federal Government, it is undoubtedly clear that the troops have been mobilised and motivated to discharge the constitutional duty of defending Nigeria from the forces of internal insurrection and external aggression.
In view of the disclosure by the Federal Government that it has just acquired adequate equipment for the armed forces and invited foreign instructors to train the soldiers on the use of such equipment, the officers and soldiers who had consistently demanded for weapons to fight the war have been vindicated. Therefore, the military authorities ought to discontinue the
ongoing trial of officers and soldiers by the General Court-Martial sitting in Lagos and set free the 70 soldiers who were convicted and sentenced to death for mutiny by two courts-martial which sat in Abuja last year. Since the alleged offence of mutiny arose from the legitimate demand of the convicted soldiers for adequate weapons to fight the rag-tag army of the Boko Haram sect, their conviction and sentence can no longer be justified.
As the area annexed from Nigeria is being liberated by the armed forces, the terrorists have resorted to the bombing of markets in the other parts of the North. While the onslaught against the terrorists continues, the Federal Government should be prepared to implement the recommendations of the Ambassador Usman Gilmatiri presidential panel on insurgency in the North-East region. In addition to the joint military operations with the armed forces of the neighbouring countries, the Federal
Government should embark on a special programme to address the problems of child education and youth unemployment in the North-East region. Since the police and the armed forces are constitutionally charged with the responsibilities of maintaining law and order and defending the territorial integrity of the nation, the award of contracts to militias for monitoring pipelines and the policing of the country’s territorial waters is illegal and unconstitutional.
Provision of Social Welfare
No doubt, there is no ideological difference between the two leading political parties in the country. As unapologetic defenders of the capitalist system, they cannot see any basis for confronting imperialism for the destruction of the economy of the country. Although both parties are committed to the status quo, they are prepared to grant some concessions in the area of
social welfare. At one of the PDP rallies, the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala claimed that the Federal Government had employed two million people in the last three years. Since that figure translates to about 54,000 employees per state, including the FCT, the Minister should be made to provide details of the newly recruited staff. Although the number of job losses within the period have not been collated, the Minister should ensure that funds saved from the removal of not less than 100,000 ghost workers from the payroll of the Federal Government is invested in job creation.
The APC has undertaken to fund an effective social welfare for the vulnerable segment of the society. In particular, it has promised to pay N5,000 to the 25 million poorest citizens per month. The PDP has countered by saying that there are no funds for such an ambitious programme. Although the APC has not joined issues with the PDP on the matter, it is pertinent to state that there are sufficient funds to provide social security for the Nigerian people beyond the tokenistic offer of N5,000 per month. In the management of the economy, the system has continued to provide ‘intervention funds’ for members of the comprador class. In 2009, not less than N2.1 trillion was committed by the Central Bank of Nigeria in collaboration with the Federal Government into key schemes for economic development.
The benefitting schemes included the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (NGN69b); Commercial Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (NGN200b); the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NGN200b); Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Scheme (NGN200b); the SMEs Restructuring and Refinancing Scheme (NGN200b); and Power and Airlines Intervention Fund (NGN300b). In defending the release of the funds to the rich, the CBN claimed that, “The Federal Government of Nigeria and CBN instituted the intervention programmes to enable key players in the economy have access to finance” adding that “access to credit remains important to agricultural value-chain.” (Mrs. Sarah Alade, CBN Acting Governor, MSME News March 3, 2014).
It is on record that the privileged beneficiaries of the aforementioned loans and other huge loans procured from commercial banks were unable to liquidate them. As the banking system was going to collapse, the CBN had to bail out the banks with a loan of N600 billion. As if that was not enough, the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) was quickly established to take over the toxic debts of the rich, worth trillions of Naira. In an article titled “Waiver for the rich, hard labour for the
poor”, a respected economist, Mr. Henry Boyo said “Although AMCON purchased the stockbrokers’ toxic assets at a discounted price of about N42bn, in reality, the current value of the underlying assets or collaterals is only about N19.6bn, according to the minister. Consequently, AMCON’s over N2tn incursion in the money market may, in reality also, be worth less than N1tn at current valuation; thus, AMCON may ultimately have flushed another N1tn public funds down the drains.” (The Punch edition of December 1, 2015.)
The candidate of the APC has said that the economy will be private sector driven. Pray, which private sector is the General talking about? The beneficiaries of contract bazaars, duty waivers? Or the beneficiaries of AMCON waivers? Or the importers of fuel products and oil thieves? Or the buyers of public assets in the name of privatisation and liquidation? Or currency speculators and round trippers? Essentially, the private sector is an extension of the public sector in Nigeria. Since 1999, the economy has been mismanaged by the private sector constituted by rent collectors. In the process, the national economy has been ruined completely. According to an enquiry conducted by the House of Representatives, the Obasanjo Administration wasted $16 billion on the power sector. After injecting several billions on the sector, the Nigeria Electric Power Authority (NEPA) was eventually privatised almost two years ago, without any noticeable improvement.
Shamefully, Nigeria is the only oil producing country which imports petroleum products for domestic consumption. In 2011, the National Assembly appropriated N245 billion for fuel importation, but the Central Bank released the sum of N2.3 trillion on the recommendation of the Federal Ministry of Finance. Since then, not less than N1 trillion has been earmarked for fuel importation annually, in addition to billions of dollars spent on the turnaround maintenance of the nation’s refineries. At a public hearing held by the Senate in 2012, the Comptroller General of Customs disclosed that the nation had lost N604 billion due to indiscriminate duty waivers granted by the Federal Ministry of Finance within a period of 9 months.
Sequel to the crash in the price of crude oil, the Federal Government announced that austerity measures would be imposed on the hapless Nigerian people. Because of the gross mismanagement of the economy by the government and its allies, workers are now owed salaries for months. After the elections, the people are going to be made to bear the brunt of the looting of the treasury and the costs of running the government. But in spite of the grinding poverty in the land, Nigerian legislators are said to be the highest paid in the world. The country’s public officers equally receive the highest estacodes in the world. With over 10 aircrafts, Nigeria has the largest presidential fleet among the developing nations in the world.
The Dollarisation of the Economy
Under Section 16 of the Central Bank Act 2007, the power to fix and determine the exchange rate of the Naira is exclusively vested in the Central Bank. But the CBN has abdicated that statutory duty to the so-called market forces. For instance, the Monetary Committee of the CBN devalued the national currency in November last year by fixing the exchange rate at N168 to a dollar. But market forces have increased the exchange rate to over N220 to a dollar, while the International Monetary Fund is insisting that the Naira be further devalued. In justifying the reckless devaluation of the Naira last November, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria blamed it on the falling price of oil in the international market. However, the CBN governor has asked Nigerians to accept that devaluation would come with pains but would lead to benefits in the long run. This is a reminder of the mantra of the discredited Ibrahim Babangida junta when it accepted the prescription of the International Monetary Fund to devalue the Naira under the dubious Structural Adjustment Programme in 1986.
Although Mr. Emefiele did not explain why some other oil producing countries have not devalued their currencies, he has publicly admitted that the factors causing the continued fall in the value of the Naira are beyond the control of the Central Bank and the Federal Government. Contrary to official claim on the cause of the devaluation of the Naira, the policy was largely induced by the illegal dollarisation of the neo-colonial capitalist economy of the country. In utter violation of the Central Bank Act, rents are fixed and collected in dollars in the high brow areas of Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and other cities in Nigeria. Some institutions charge tuition fees in dollars. On a daily basis, traders are allowed to buy millions of dollars to pay for all manners of goods including toothpicks imported from China, United Arab Emirates, Turkey etc.
No doubt, the pressure on the dollar has recently increased due to the unprecedented demand from politicians in preparations for the 2015 General Election. Hundreds of millions of dollars were bought from the forex market to purchase votes during the congresses and primaries of political parties. A particular candidate has been linked with the distribution of dollars to traditional leaders and other influential groups in the country in a desperate bid to win the presidential election. In a bid to dollarise the economy and destroys the Nigerian economy, the CBN supplies millions of dollars to the foreign exchange market on a weekly basis. Although Nigeria has become the largest importer of the United States dollars in the world, neither the International Monetary Fund (IMF) nor the World Bank has ever questioned the reckless devaluation of the economy. Even, the National Assembly which is debating the 2015 Appropriation Bill, has not deemed it to consider the deleterious effects of the increasing devaluation of the national currency on the implementation of the Budget.
Since by virtue of section 16 of the Central Bank Act 2007, the currency notes and coins issued by the Central Bank shall be legal tender in Nigeria at their face value for the payment of any amount, it is illegal to dollarise the economy in any manner
whatsoever. Indeed, under section 20 (5) of the Act, any person who refuses to accept the Naira as a means of payment for any amount in Nigeria is guilty of an offence and liable to be prosecuted, and if found guilty shall be fined N50,000 or 6 months imprisonment. In Chief Gani Fawehinmi v. President, Federal Republic of Nigeria (2007) 14 NWLR (Pt 1054) 275, the plaintiff challenged the policy of the Olusegun Obasanjo Administration for paying dollar salaries and allowances to Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Ambassador Olu Adeniji, the ministers of Finance and Foreign Affairs respectively. The Federal High Court struck out the case for want of locus standi on the part of the plaintiff. But the Court of Appeal disagreed with the lower court.
In upholding the locus standi of the appellant to maintain the action, the Court held that the payment of salaries of any public officer in dollars was contrary to the provisions of the Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances etc) Act No 6 of 2002. In declaring such payment illegal and unconstitutional, the Court directed both ministers to refund to the Federal Government the money paid to them in excess of the salaries and allowances approved by law. Based on the decision of the Court of Appeal and the relevant provisions of the Central Bank Act, the management of the CBN should stop the further dollarisation of the economy.
Conclusion
From the foregoing analysis, it is undoubtedly clear that the neo-colonial capitalist economy has continued to increase misery and frustration in the land. But while harsh economic conditions are imposed on the people, the unjust socio-economic system has set aside loans and waivers that run into several trillions of Naira for members of the ruling class. Since the government is required by the Constitution to control and manage the economy in such manner as to secure the maximum welfare and happiness of all citizens, the Nigerian people should get organised and demand for the redistribution of the commonwealth from the political party that wins the forthcoming election.
However, there is no indication that the election will hold. If the INEC goes ahead with the conduct of the elections, there are fears that the exercise may be sabotaged by anti-democratic forces. If the election holds, the results may be rejected, leading to a post-election violence which may threaten the corporate existence of the nation. In the circumstance, an interim government may be established and saddled with the task of preparing the country for another political transition. In the alternative, a coup de tat that may be staged by the top echelon of the armed forces under the pretext of restoring law and order and fighting the menace of insurgency. The military wing of the ruling parties succeeded in Mali and Burkina Faso. But having fractionalised the country along ethnic and religious lines, the masterminds of the political crisis are not likely to profit from the perfidy. Therefore, the Nigerian people should be prepared for a long drawn out battle for the liberation of the country from political buccaneers and economic predators.
This Guest Lecture was delivered by Femi Falana (SAN) at the Social Weekend of the Life Theological Seminary, Ikorodu, Lagos on Saturday March 21, 2015.
