A certain philosopher was credited as stating that
politicians think of the next election but statesmen think of posterity.
This wise saying finds practical application in the factual
political story of a bill for a Whistle-blower’s policy that was initiated as
far back as between 1999 and 2003, by then member of the House of
Representatives, Prince Ned Munir Nwoko. Sad, the bill was not allowed to see
the light of the day by centripetal and centrifugal forces, who were unwilling
to see the end of the ballooning regime of corruption tearing our nation apart,
and impoverishing millions of households in Nigeria.
While reflecting on what could have made the House of
Representatives not to pass that bill, I also reflected on how such a young man
from a privileged background could have addressed his mind to finding a lasting
solution to corruption. But I quickly recalled that, perhaps, the educational
foundation of this Idumuje-Ugboko-born prince may have created the necessary
platform that motivated him to initiate the bill; which, if it had been
successfully passed into law, would have inevitably saved Nigeria tons of cash
that have now been stolen and stashed in private offshore accounts of a range
of politically exposed Nigerians.
From every conceivable assessment, the King’s College,
University of London, United Kingdom is one of the few ivory towers that
provide profoundly rich educational tutelage to her scholars.
A certain ancient philosopher once stated: “A person is
exactly what he eats.” So, I can borrow an intellectual leaf from this
philosopher by saying that “a person is what he learns.”
Prince Nwoko (PDP, Aniocha North/South and Oshimili
North/South Federal Constituency of Delta State) obtained a Bachelor’s degree
(combined honours) in Law and History from the University of Keele, England and
a Master of Law from King’s College, University of London. Immediately he was
inaugurated into the House of Representatives, the maritime lawyer initiated
the whistle-blower’s legislation, which he unambiguously entitled: A bill for
an act to establish public funds recovery and reward commission.
Due to some inexplicable political intrigues and serious
bureaucratic bottlenecks, this bill wasn’t passed into law, despite the
sponsor’s courageous efforts for its passage.
The consequence is that we are now back to square one: 14 to
18 years after, efforts are being made
to dust up this unfinished business of
instituting a workable and seamless whistle-blower’s policy; so as to make the
anti-corruption fight the property and business of every Nigerian, from the
bottom to the top. Ironically, the executive is yet to bring up a bill to be
sent to the National Assembly to support the policy of whistle-blowing.
Even as the nation awaits the version that would be
initiated, may I use this opportunity to plead with the National Assembly to,
please, invite Hon Nwoko to brief them on the strategic components of his 1999
whistle-blower’s initiative.
This partnership has become imperative because – if Nwoko's
1999 whistle-blower’s initiative was followed up and passed into law – by now,
Nigeria would have reaped bountifully as a result of the fact that ordinary
people would have made the anti-graft crusade their own. And, if there is
ownership framework from the ordinary people, it would have been much easier
for anyone who sees anything to say it.
It bears repeating the fact that this attitudinal and
normative change is what the Royal Institute of International Affairs,
otherwise known as Chatham House, recently identified as the missing link or
weakest point in the fight against corruption.
In that report, this intellectual institution canvassed a
normative approach to connecting society and institutions in the fight against
corruption. This was exactly what the bill on whistle-blower’s policy as
contemplated in 1999 by Hon Nwoko was set out to achieve, from the benefit of
hindsight as someone who has gone through the bill myself.
We will return to debate on the merit of this legislation
and to establish the nexus between lack of continuity in policy-framing to the
widening scope of corruption in Nigeria. But first, let us review other
enduring bills he wrote and duly submitted before the House of Representatives.
Such bills include: A
bill for an act establishing a National Disability Allowance; A bill for an act
for prohibition of corporal punishment in schools; A bill for an act for compulsory vehicle road
worthiness test; National Youth Service
Corps (NYSC) reform bill (2000); A bill for an act to establish public funds
recovery and reward commission; A bill for an act for the establishment of a
National Minimum Wage council; A bill
for an act to standardise allowances and fringe benefits payable to
public/government officials; Bill for an act for continuity of evidence in
court proceedings; A bill for an act for compulsory professional indemnity in
Nigeria; A bill for an act for the protection of Nigerians abroad; A bill for
the amendment of Fire Arms Act; A bill for an act for the consolidation of all
decrees; A bill for an act for the prohibition of expensive burial rites in
Nigeria; A bill for an act for Community Legal Service; A bill for an act for
the convening of a National Conference; Bill for an act for establishing a
National Sports University, and A bill for an act for compulsory fire and
insurance regulations at homes and offices.
By way of observation, may I inform our readers that right
now, Prince Nwoko is vigorously pursuing a licence for the establishment of a
Sports University, which he has graciously decided to site in his quiet but
agrarian community in Delta State.
Back to our thematic issue of whistle-blower’s policy, may I
say that long before Chatham House came up with the 2017 reports in which it
computed the totality of the heist of public funds by politicians to be within
the region of $480 billion in the last 58 years, an erudite writer by name, Max
Siollun, had authored a well-researched book called Soldiers of fortune –
Nigerian politics from Buhari to Babangida, in which the author also queried
the absence of an institutional mechanisms for effective whistle-blower’s
policy.
Author’s words: “Why was all this corruption possible, and
why did the perpetrator’s get away with it? The lack of detail in press exposes
of corruption was a factor. They often presented in sensationalist rhetoric
akin to rumour and innuendo. They rarely contain substantiated detailed
instances of corruption that could be used to prosecute.
"Even when sufficient evidence existed, those supposed
to investigate corruption were unable to do so because they were appointed,
paid by, and served at the pleasure of those in the government they were
supposed to investigate and prosecute. However, there are other social and
cultural factors.”
The author listed these factors to be primarily identified
in a collegiate term as Patrimonialism, which is at the heart of Nigerian
governments, politics and society.
Political leaders, he affirmed, compete to appropriate a
“share” of national resources, which they can then redistribute to their own
community and personal network of followers. The resources accumulated by
political leaders, he added, are used to maintain their power.
Siollun averred:”The need to obtain access to state resource
is often camouflaged in verbal metaphors referencing basic necessities, such as
food and clothing. For example, Nigerians frequently refer to the practice of
consuming state financial resources for personal gain as ‘eating’. STATE
resources are seen as food or cake to be consumed by public officials.
“A politician that has become rich through the state is
often referred to as having ‘eaten’ government money. Patrimonialism has led to
a failure to distinguish between the public purse and private pockets.” The
author is visionary: because, only last week when the Yar’Adua centre in Abuja
hosted creme de la creme to a talk-shop on 50 years of Biafra, a two-time head
of state and retired Army General Olusegun Obasanjo, reduced the all-important
agitation for self-rule to the unequal sharing of the proverbial national cake.
The former president comically asked the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to
shelve their agitation for Biafra and embrace a united Nigeria because, in his
words, “there is enough cake to go round.”
This, basically, brings us to the imperative of disclosing
that this piece is a clarion call for the political class, especially the ones
at the National Assembly, to endeavour to become critical thinkers.
Alternatively, they should hire technocrats and good thinkers as special
technical assistants so they can deliver world-class legislations that would
stand the test of time; as well as address peculiar developmental challenges
that bedevils our country, such as corruption, insecurity, unemployment and
lack of good governance.
The absence of a strong institutional and legal framework,
such as the whistle-blower’s legislation, the comprehensive kind proposed in
1999 by Hon Nwoko, may have informed the findings by Chatham House, which
listed three solid missing points in the anti-graft war.
Chatham House stated that social norms of corruption are
limited to specific contexts and sectors in Nigeria. Social norms exist around
specific sectors and practices, for example, law-enforcement and bribery, but
are not as widespread as people may assume.
The findings of this research project show that social norms
drive the solicitation of bribes by law-enforcement officials, whereas the
giving of bribes is influenced more by circumstances and people’s beliefs about
what other people are doing. There are, thus, opportunities for targetted
interventions to address the specific beliefs and expectations that motivate
corrupt behaviour in specific sectors and practices.
Chatham House further found out that if the environment or
options change, behaviour will change.
“A clear majority of respondents in Nigeria’s rural and urban
areas know when a practice is illegal, and think that others know this too. But
individuals may engage in a practice that they know is wrong because they
observe others doing so, or as a rational response to a situation. In many of
the scenarios analysed in this study, corrupt behaviour was rationalised as a
response to the choices and pressures that people face.”
The researchers from the British Royal Institute of
international Affairs noted that collective action is sometimes impeded,
because people have misconceptions about what other people really think.
Survey respondents they met frequently underestimated the
extent to which fellow citizens believe corruption to be wrong.
Their words: “If people were aware of how commonly held
their personal beliefs are, they would be more motivated to act collectively
against corruption. Anti-corruption efforts may have the greatest chance of
success, if they stem from a shared sense of responsibility and urgency – and,
thus, foster collective grassroots pressure.
“President Buhari is certainly not alone in his high-profile
stance on corruption; a significant number of Nigerians agree that it is
morally unacceptable. The crucial step is translating this shared belief into
an effective and sustainable coalition for collective social action.”
The Presidency and the National Assembly are hereby
admonished to dust the 1999 whistleblower’s initiative by Prince Nwoko and use
it to embellish the copy they are working on, so the nation can have the
fortune of getting one of the best legal instruments supporting whistle-blowers
in their national task of battling the scourge of corruption. Luckily, this gentleman, Hon Nwoko is back in
Nigeria, to concentrate on his project of erecting an imposing Sports
University institution in Delta State. Currently, he partners the Federal
Government on a number of good governance projects, so it is easier to tap from
his enormous intellectual talents because, ‘charity begins at home.’
•RIGHTSVIEW appears on Wednesdays, in addition to special
appearances. The Columnist, a popular activist, is a former Federal
Commissioner of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission and presently
National Coordinator of Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA).
He can be reached via
08033327672 (sms only) or via doziebiko@yahoo.com
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