The Moral Quandary in Nigerian Politics
By: Deji Yesufu
It was Edmund Obilo, the Ibadan radio broadcaster, who first drew my attention to the matter of “state capture” within Nigerian politics. Obilo suggested that the Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, might be seeking to capture the Nigerian state. What that means is that Tinubu is looking at becoming a maximum ruler, a dictator of some sort, or, at the very least, Tinubu might be looking at possessing more powers in his government beyond what he is constitutionally entitled to. Those who fear Bola Tinubu capturing the Nigerian state point at what is happening in Lagos State. Since he left the seat of the Governorship of that state in 2007, Tinubu has dictated who leads that state and who doesn’t. If that is not “state capture” in its literal sense, then the phrase means nothing.
My concern in my essays revolves around the question of morality. As a minister of the gospel, one of the outcomes that I hope to see following my preaching is that the moral compass of members of my congregation increases. I do not expect them to become perfect – I am not perfect either. I, however, expect that they are labouring in their little corners to be better people–better husbands; better wives; better children; better workers; better citizens of the country, etc. Since I write for a nation to read, I expect that the moral compass of my readers will improve. I expect Nigerians to be better people. I expect to see less corruption in public office. I expect the fear of God to dictate the motives behind people’s actions, and not money. Unfortunately, I do not see these things. It appears that the moral compass of Nigerians deteriorates each day. The people of this country have succeeded in making good out of evil and turning evil to good. I will explain with some anecdotes.
Someone told me recently that his civil servant friend is looking forward to the 2027 general elections. He explained that this guy, in the last election, 2023, cashed out big time. He happened to have manned some sensitive departments during the elections and was influential in doctoring certain figures. This civil servant guy is now looking forward to the 2027 elections, where he hopes that he can man those offices again and enjoy some pecuniary advantage like he did the last time. I have heard that money changes hands in some of these electoral collection centres, but I did not know that it has become this endemic. One person said that a political party offered his friend $50,000 to change the figures in favour of another party in a recent election in this country. I was in Portharcourt in 2023, a few months after the elections, and I saw that the state government still had police vans manning sensitive facilities around the State INEC office. It is alleged that the voting was so rigged in Rivers State that the government ensured that the police were still on duty long after the elections had been concluded. This was to forestall any possible uprising or protest.
As I think on the moral quandary in Nigerian politics, and how every sense of right and wrong has been exchanged in this country, I remember our founding fathers. I have been reading a lot of Obafemi Awolowo’s essays in recent times, and I cannot help but see two opposing realities in the sage’s writing. Awolowo believed two things: that a people deserve to be at liberty and never to be colonised by a foreign nation. Second. Awolowo believed that Nigerians could govern themselves. I dare to say that the sage was right on one and wrong on the other. Yes, every nation deserves to have liberty, but the testimony that has greeted the Nigerian reality since independence is that it appears Nigerians cannot govern themselves. If we can, I do not know why we are unable to produce worthy leadership in this country.
State capture is possible when two things happen in a society: when money becomes the controlling factor in that society, and one man possesses that money. What will happen is that that man will buy up all the institutions in the country, and the people in those institutions will pave the way for him to capture the state. This man will have the judiciary, the legislators, the police, the army, the press, and all opposition in his payroll, and he will do and undo. He could even champion the process of changing the constitution to allow him to have not just a third term in office, but also for him to be president for life. When money is lord in a society, the man who possesses these resources becomes the one whom everyone worships. There, the state has been captured.
In 1958, Obafemi Awolowo delivered a lecture to a gathering of people in the Nigerian Union of Journalists. There, he traced the history of journalism and explained how journalists began to be called the fourth estate of the nation. He also mentioned in that lecture that Napoleon Bonaparte said that he feared the media way more than the guns his enemies could bring against him at war. What does that mean? It means this: even when a society has been captured by one man using his wealth, men of goodwill can still withstand his hegemony. The way it is done is through public opinion, which is often provided by the media. When Awolowo made these statements, the main media in those days were the print media. Today, we have social media, electronic media, print media, etc. If anyone captures the Nigerian state today with his money, all of us should blame ourselves for it. We have no excuse for allowing it. Wisdom, carefully written in a text and published for the wider community to read, is sufficient to burst the authoritarian hold of anyone seeking to capture the state. The reason why a military coup is near impossible in Nigeria today is beyond whether the coup could be successful or not; it is mainly because public opinion is heavily against military rule in Nigeria. And if the soldiers dare truncate our democracy again, they will not survive a week in office.
I write all these essays because I am convinced that righteousness can exalt Nigeria. This country is beautiful. We still have people who fear God in this country. There are people in this country who pray for Nigeria daily, and God will answer that prayer. When he does answer that prayer, one of the things that we will see happen to our society is that the moral compass of our people will improve. Money will no longer be the determining factor for how society must run; the rich man will no longer be the one who dictates happenings in our society; wisdom will triumph over wealth; and Nigeria will get better. What gives me hope concerning this country is that God sees this nation; he has preserved this country, and Nigeria will fulfil a great destiny God has prepared for her. Perhaps, the day will come when nations will rush to Nigeria to find out how we have become so successful. Nigeria can be a Singapore – nay, Nigeria can be greater than Singapore.
Deji Yesufu is the pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan. He is the author of HUMANITY. He can be reached at [email protected]
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