Accountability to the people

By Theo Adebowale
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Nigerian politicians have resisted every effort to make them accountable. Many elected politicians avoid their constituents either by not visiting the constituency and if they do, they distract them from engaging them on stewardship. Public officers who are alleged of unlawful or criminal breaches avoid the police and employ several tactics to prevent prosecution. The Senate President sought and secured several court injunctions to frustrate his prosecution in the Code of Conduct Tribunal. Senate activities were paralysed whenever he was to appear in court as other Senators, on solidarity followed him and turned the appearance to a carnival. At the end, the court had to discharge and acquit him. Another Senator from Kogi who is suspected of complicity in a murder case adopted the theatrics, jumping out of police van on motion, locking up himself in his residence but claiming to be out of station until he succeeded in getting re-elected into the Senate.

There are many other cases among legislators at the National Assembly. A Chief Executive of a state who was alleged to be involved in corrupt practices, until his tenure expired, he is immune from any form of prosecution. As such he is a candidate in the yet to be concluded gubernatorial election in his state. This may not be an unusual case. To be sure, some past governors had been prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), and convicted by the courts which jailed them. But the arm twisting adopted by a former governor of Ekiti State who continues to move about free suggests that many public officers particularly in the states and local councils may believe that they can still get away with such crimes. State legislators do not even seem to be concerned by the activities of the EFCC or Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC). Not much was heard of the ICPC until 2018 when it prosecuted a Professor in South West that was accused of sexual harassment. The Professor was eventually jailed.

The judicature was not exempted from the virus of non accountability, only that there is an aura of honor and majesty about the temple of justice’ which was not penetrable by certain criminal elements and tendencies. But recent developments have proved the perception to be incorrect. More significantly, the defiance and alacrity with which politicians rolled out the drum of war, senior barristers combat the Executive for daring to sanction the Chief Justice of Nigeria for breaching the code of conduct suggests that there are principalities and powers ever ready to prevent sanction of anyone who has breached any provision of the law, and allow impunity to obliterate sanctions on irresponsible conduct of officials. What more certain analysts are quick to point out an attempt to victimize the ethnic or sub ethnic group which an erring official comes from.

In the last House of Assembly election, there was a twist. A returning legislator, member of the ruling party in Ikare was sanctioned by the electorate. His constituents saw the ballot as an opportunity to deal with him for neglecting his constituency believing that vote buying or sweet talking would make them overlook his neglect of the constituency. He was roundly defeated by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, who was otherwise unpopular in that community. This suggests that politicians and other public officials are either accountable to their constituents or are given the booth, an effective way of ensuring accountability.

If politicians can be sanctioned this way, it must be encouraged because it would ultimately lead to sanity in the system. Hitherto, community members who distinguished themselves in business, academia, sports, military, and politics were rewarded on account of distinction. It would be in order if those who grace themselves in public service are also brought to book. Community members would start to remember: the child of whom you are. A chieftaincy title holder who has been fingered may be suspended from the palace. Their biodata would be displaced at local events. Thereby charity once again would begin at home, and vices would have an inconducive environment.

Meanwhile, let us begin to make accountability a watch word at formal and informal levels. God bless Ikare voters.