Civics for leaders

Except for a few outliers, various administrations across the country, from the presidency to state governments, will wrap up their tenure in two weeks. Meanwhile, preparation is in top gear for the inauguration of new administrations to run the affairs of the states and the nation for the next four years. Despite its experience of strains and stresses, the democratic system of governance appears to be developing reliable tap roots in the core of the nation’s political soil.

Yet, as with any human-made device, the strain and stress that impacts the system are largely avoidable. But also, where they have been inadvertently allowed to intrude our political space, they, unlike the proverbial metal bracelet on the wrist of the Orisa priest, can be removed. Therefore, we must keep hope alive for a more robust democratic adventure ahead if we set our mind to it.

We keep referencing the past when the system appeared to give us some level of satisfaction as well as hope of further progress. The reason we have retrogressed over the recent decades is not in our blood. Rather, it is due to our complacency and the blame is mostly on the leadership. But, again, the good news is that it is not a genetic disorder; and if we work hard at it, it is not irreversible.

The complacency arose mainly from the disconnect between the requirements and expectations of a democratic system and the efforts we make to prepare ourselves for its success. As this column has often averred, as flawed as the 1999 Constitution is, Chapter 2 of that document captures admirably the fundamental tenets of democratic governance and its desirable outcomes on human happiness when it keeps a decent balance between citizen rights and responsibilities.

The disconnect is clear: while we brilliantly elucidate the tenets and outcomes of democracy, we fail woefully in the matter of preparing ourselves for their achievements. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, and we cannot reasonably expect an output that aligns with input when the nature of the latter is completely at odds with the essence of the former. You don’t plant pineapple and expect a harvest of oranges.

Before we embarked on the journey of democratic governance in the 50s, and independence in the 60s, all citizens, young and old, prospective leaders and followers, were well prepared through an effective program of formal and informal civic education.

Civics, the formal education of citizens, is the study of the rights and responsibility of citizenship, and the obligations that we owe each other as members of the political community. It was a compulsory subject in primary schools throughout the country even prior to independence. And what we learned in civics class only validated our long-term traditional understanding of social relationships in the community.

We learned, for instance, that the community of citizens is greater than any one individual; that we owe one another respect and compassionate care; that each has a moral obligation to contribute his or her quota to the community and the community has a responsibility to take care of its young ones so that, as they become adults, they feel a sense of obligation to pay back. We learned that crooks and frauds, egoists and freeloaders are anti-social elements and must be treated as such.

The first set of leaders that emerged before and after independence were also the first products of this civic education program. Therefore, they were fully prepared for leadership role in the new nation. And it showed. They developed effective programs of public education which also prioritized economic development with a moral bias through the continuation of civics in schools. They led with example in the matter of ethical leadership. Their only defect, and a major one as such, was their primary focus on their immediate zones of affection instead of on a pan-Nigerian agenda.

The soldiers that struck in January 1966 justified their action by appeal to what they considered the defect of regionalism, which in their view, bred the disunity and threatened disintegration, which they abhorred. They desired a national unity that had eluded the first-generation leadership. But they pursued their objective in a vacuum, and without adequate attention to citizenship education. Therefore, the products of their leadership development efforts were anything but what civics and civic education envisioned. MAMSER was hollow.

Military leadership training produced emergency contractors, student leaders with itchy fingers and inordinate ambitions, and new-breed politicians as possessive individualists with deep throats. Subsequent civilian transitions have only built on this unfortunate legacy of kleptomania and exacerbated it. Ethical Revolution was a hoax.

The story has not changed in the last twenty years of the 4th Republic. And change it must, if we are to be relieved of the strains and stresses that now threaten the foundation of our democracy and of the nation. From the political corruption of vote buying to the economic corruption of pen-robbery, from the egoism of freeloaders to the sectionalism of nationalities jostling for ascendancy, this republic will crumble under the weight of its mountain of challenges unless something gives.

What must give is leadership malaise to which followership has only responded from time to time. With an impaired vision, a people can hardly survive, talk less prosper. The miseducation of leaders during the military era emphasized conspicuous consumption and a sense of entitlement that is alien to our cultures. That sense unfortunately resulted in the justification of excessive leadership compensation based on imagined sacrifice. But what sacrifice does a lawmaker makes that a policeman doesn’t? Lost in all of these is the ability of leaders to effectively preach to followers the gospel of selfless sacrifice for the nation.

This leads us to the promise of Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution with its statements, first, of the ideals that make collective sacrifice for the nation worthwhile and, second, the policies that are to be pursued to realize those ideals. And it unequivocally assigns the duty and responsibility to “conform to, observe and apply the provisions of the chapter” to “all organs of government and all authorities and persons exercising legislative, executive or judicial powers.”

Included in the provisions are the “principles of democracy and social justice” presented as the foundation of the republic. For this foundation to endure, however, the constitution identifies three sets of fundamental objectives. First, the political objective is to promote “unity and faith, peace and progress.” Second, identified as its social objective is the establishment of a “social order founded on ideals of Freedom, Equality, and Justice.” Third is the economic objective, which is to “secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status.” For each of these objectives, there are policy directives for their realization. However, from my point of view, a policy directive that encapsulates all of them is the directive to ensure that “there are equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels.”

Imagine if every administration even if since only 1999 has made the slightest efforts to discharge the responsibilities that these constitutional provisions impose on them. We would have little or no reason to worry about cults, bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers, etc. For, we could reasonably expect that such governmental efforts would yield positive results that are visible to everyone, so much so that even if they do not all benefit equally, those that don’t would understand that they are not deliberately discriminated against.

Instead of that desirable approach, many leaders hustle and jostle for their selfish interests and those of their immediate families, and this sends a message to citizens that they must follow suit or be damned. But not everyone has easy access to government coffers. Those that don’t and are desperate to make it at all costs end up engaging in violent pursuits of their dreams of conspicuous consumption.

As we embark on another four-year political journey, our leaders must go back to the basics of civics and civic education, shed their ugly cloak of egoistic greed, and lead with the fear of God. It is the straight path to the greater good of human happiness.