The end of excuses

Also published in Daily Trust

Despite the impact of the current intensified economic crisis on, particularly, the ordinary Nigerians, which has degenerated to the extent of government’s inability to pay monthly salaries on time, one of the most interesting things that made the current political dispensation particularly interesting and indeed promising, is the fact that it is largely composed of almost all the proven and yet to be proven non-corrupt and progressive individuals who have, over the decades, either earned their reputation from their impressive performances in their respective previous positions, or have simply been able to earn the trust of Nigerians due to their insistent condemnation of corruption and corrupt government officials.

As it steadily takes shape especially following the recent confirmation of the ministerial nominees by the Senate, this political dispensation, as represented by both its legislative and executive arms, includes many popular radicals, anti-corruption activists, human right activists, critics and progressive public affairs commentators who have over the years relentlessly advocated transparency in governance, due process and the rule of law, to the extent that they came to be regarded as the embodiments of what they have respectively advocated.

Also, in addition to President Muhammdu Buhari who has meritoriously earned his reputation of exceptional honesty and dedication that made him one of the few most trusted public figures in the history of the country, this political dispensation also shows off its many former public officials e.g. former state governors, former ministers, legislators and former chief executives of various government departments and agencies whose achievements in their previous respective legislative and executive positions were largely better than that of many of their predecessors and counterparts.

Though these people might yet not be the best in the country after all, yet considering the real or perceived integrity of many of them on the bases of which the elected among them won their elections and the political appointees among them were appointed, Nigerians can, this time around, realistically expect to see a real change that would finally end their constant yearning for non-corrupt leaders who would  check the country’s persistent degeneration resulting from the endemic corruption and impunity that the successive civilian and military administrations nurtured, perpetrated and entrenched in the country over the decades.

After all, many of these people were consistently condemning previous governments’ officials, criticizing their policies and proffering solutions to the country’s numerous complicated problems, hence since they are now occupying the same legislative and ministerial offices previously occupied by the people they used to rightly or wrongly term corrupt and incompetent, all they need to do now is to simply dust off their respective accumulated articles, which they have written over the years, and implement the values of honesty and integrity they have always preached in them, and indeed enforce these values in their respective legislative offices, ministries, agencies and departments.

Besides, contrary to what obtained until recently when they used to rely on mere reports about corrupt practices to criticize government, they are now in a position to have first-hand experience of what is going on in the corridors of power. They are therefore particularly morally obligated to not only engage in corruption but to also expose it and its perpetrators, and indeed influence the government to ensure that corrupt practices, at least in their offices and areas under their respective jurisdictions, are checked and the perpetrators are duly prosecuted and appropriately punished.

Moreover, with Muhammadu Buhari as president, they can confidently rest assured that they will never be witch-hunted for doing the right things, contrary to the situation until recently when principled public officials would be discouraged, sidelined and even victimized for their stance against corruption and insistence to adhere to their ethical and professional obligations in the discharge of their duties.

They would therefore have no excuse whatsoever should they fail to deliver. Besides, notwithstanding their previous theoretical advocacy for transparency and good governance, and their equally theoretical stance against corruption, they are now in a position to prove or disprove their sincerity in reality, which would, as a matter of course, confirm their sincerity or reveal their hypocrisy, as the case may be. 

Though Nigeria’s persistent leadership failure has for decades been rightly and primarily linked to fraudulent and corrupt presidents and heads of state in particular whose lack of sincerity to tackle corruption frustrated many patriotic and principled Nigerians committed to doing the right things, President Buhari’s assumption of the presidency following his election victory, the election victories of many of his like-minded political allies who were elected as legislators and the appointments of the other like-minded as political appointees, can be rightly regarded as the end of what persistently appeared to be an endless yearning for leaders with adequate moral capital necessarily needed to turn things around in the country.

This therefore explains and indeed justifies Nigerians’ high expectations for this political dispensation to deliver, after all, the country simply can’t afford to fail this time around.