Why has the nation ‘fountain of knowledge’ turned ‘fountain of anarchy’? Can we ever conduct a credible election in Nigeria? And if yes, how can it be done? Are we actually practising democracy in a true sense? And perhaps, is democracy the answer? Or should we explore alternative governance process? These are the questions been asked in the last few days following last Saturday Gubernatorial election re-run in Ekiti State. We may probably just need to remind ourselves that the election re-run was only to be conducted in 68 electoral wards (!). So why on earth has an election with only 25,000 votes for grabs turned into a ‘free-for-all’ violence? There has been report of widespread violence with political thugs are having a filled day. Journalists have also been attacked with machetes. We now understand that State Resident Electoral Commissioner has gone AWOL. We have also heard allegations and counter-allegations among the political parties of fraud. And as of Tuesday 28 April, elections are yet to commence in Oye-Ekiti, and therefore the gubernatorial election remains inconclusive.
The current situation is not an isolated case. These events are just a sad reminder of the ‘wild wild west’ of the second republic. Some of the older generation may remember the bloodshed caused by the political rivalry between the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). It is right to say that some of the victims of the mayhem have since not recovered. But the question remains, can there ever be a free and fair election in Nigeria?
The conduct of ‘free and fair’ elections is a collective responsibility of everyone. The government must ensure that it promotes an environment that will encourage a fair electoral process. And when I say ‘environment’, I mean the ‘electoral system’ in its entirety. Legislations and processes that support the electoral system must also be fair. The nation’s citizens and politicians are also charged with the responsibility of complying with the ‘rules of engagement’.
In Nigeria, what we have is a political system that is at odds with the principles of democracy. Our electoral process is devoid of any form of transparency. We have a democratic structure that is riddled with inherent conflict of interests. Our law enforcement agents have been compromised. The system grants enormous power to the incumbent. The electoral commission is not in anyway ‘independent’. How can an elected President be responsible for appointment of the INEC Chairman? The President is also responsible for the appointment of heads of law enforcement agencies. Now tell me, how can you unseat an incumbent who has all the state machinery at his disposal? We have seen situations in the past when law enforcements have been used to harass opponents of the ruling party. I remember Ex-President Obasanjo accused of using the EFCC to intimidate and harass opponents of his ‘third term’ agenda. I also need not to remind you of how ‘men in uniforms’ have colluded with the ruling party to snatch and stuff ballot boxes.
The effect of this obvious imbalance in our political system and democratic structure has rendered the opposition helpless. And that is why most of the opposition parties engage in thuggery, rigging and so on. The fact is, every political party in Nigeria is engaged in one form of electoral fraud or the other. The only difference between is that the ruling party is normally aided by other state agencies. The winner of an election is mostly determined by how much resources you have at your disposal to rig the election.
So how can we begin to address these problems? Until the principles underlying our electoral and democratic system is addressed, free and fair elections will only be a mirage. After 10 years of continuous democratic rule, I’m beginning to support the idea of a sovereign national conference. I used to believe that those clamouring for a sovereign national conference were doing so for selfish reasons. However, I have now come to realise that it is important that we start to redefine the structure of our existence as a nation. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not agitating for the break up of Nigeria. In fact, I believe our diversity, which is often seen as a challenge, is one of our greatest strength. However, the ‘bolts and nuts’ of our constitution needs to be re-engineered. We need to engage in serious discussions about on our style of governance. If we want to practice Federalism, let us practice true Federalism. The current Federal structure does not make any sense. There is too much power vested on the President. We do not have clear separation of powers within our governance structure. Our electoral process needs serious overhaul. We need a genuine electoral reform. Not the one currently being proposed by the current government. It is unlikely that any ruling party will support such a true electoral reform. And that is why these issues have to be discussed at a non-partisan level.
Until these fundamental issues are resolved, the Ekiti crisis will be a child’s play. With 2011 elections around the corner, how this crisis will pan out over the next few weeks will of course be a matter of interest to everyone.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
The Okiro Panel
The ongoing twist in the Halliburton bribery scandal seems to be never ending. Sometimes I ask myself, for how long will this government continue to take Nigerians for a ride? And as someone rightly said, the Halliburton bribery scandal is now ‘hallucinating’. This week’s inauguration of the Okiro Panel, set up by President Umaru Yar’Adua to investigate the bribery scandal, reiterates the obvious, that this government is a time waster when it comes to fighting corruption.
Haven’t we seen it all before? Once upon a time, there was the Pius Okigbo Panel which looked into the ‘1991 Oil Windfall’ during the Babangida regime. Then, there was the Oputa Panel, which look at human right abuses post-1966. Lately, we have also had the Uwais Panel on ‘electoral reform’. However, government’s track record on the release and implementation of Panel Reports has not been very convincing. The politics been played with the Uwais Panel report speaks volume about the insincerity of the Yar’Adua administration. And for me, the inauguration of the Okiro Panel might just spell doom for the current investigation of the Halliburton bribery scandal.
The investigation panel is headed by the Inspector- General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro, and includes Chairman of the EFCC and a representative each from the Office of the National Security Adviser, Nigerian Intelligence Agency and the Department of State Security Service. One of the justifications for inaugurating the investigation committee was the need to get ‘vital’ evidence required to prosecute those found to have compromised themselves.
The questions we need to ask ourselves is, ‘do we need to set up a panel consisting of the Inspector-General of Police and EFCC Chairman before vital evidence can be obtained from the law courts’? We all know that this investigation started in the US, but was the US Director of FBI or CIA engaged to investigate Halliburton? I can remember reading anywhere that the US set up any ‘high level’ committee to investigate the allegations levelled against Halliburton. I want to believe that the US investigation would have been carried out by officers. This is considering that the former US Vice-President Dick Cheney was the CEO of Halliburton when these crimes were committed.
This is not the first time foreign companies have been found guilty of bribery in Nigeria. We are all aware of the AG Siemens and Wilbros cases. So, why was a panel not set up to investigate these cases? Or is the Halliburton case any different from the Siemens and Wilbros cases? My concern is that this panel will spend the next eight weeks wasting taxpayers’ money, while embarking on a wild goose chase. I wouldn’t be surprised, if their first assignment will be to fly across the Atlantic, claiming estacodes, all in the name of gathering evidence. For starters, it will do Nigerians a lot of good, if the government can disclose the how much budget is made available to this panel. We have already seen the Attorney-General junketing all over the since in the last few weeks ‘gathering’ evidence.
I’m right to believe that the investigation and prosecution of Halliburton in the US did not just start two months ago. For those who may not be aware, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opened a formal investigation of Halliburton's involvement in the bribery scandal in June 2004. I also found out that, the Nigerian government ordered its own investigation in February 2004. This suggests that the Nigerian government commenced its investigation before that of the US Justice Department. So what was the outcome of the 2004 investigation? The fact that an investigation was carried out in Nigeria in 2004, and that no one was charged is also a confirmation that the previous Nigerian administration is an accomplice and can be accused of ‘cover up’.
My view about President Yar’Adua on corruption is, as genuine as he may look, this man will be shooting himself in the foot if he dares attempt to fight corruption. Either directly or indirectly, he his one of the biggest beneficiaries of corruption in the country. It is common knowledge that his election was bankrolled by some of the nation’s most corrupt individuals. As silly as it may sound, some of the PDP Presidential aspirants (who were heavily enmeshed in corruption) had to drop their ambitions and support President Yar’Adua after they were been threatened with prosecution.
Also, we are now been told that the Attorney-General cannot prosecute any individual without the approval of the President (!). I don’t know when the AG’s discretion to exercise prosecutorial powers became subject to the approval of the President. If that is case, why not appoint the President as, the Commander-In-Chief and Attorney-General of the Federation. If I can remember, we were once told that the EFCC, ICPC and the Police prosecutorial discretion are subject to the Attorney-General’s approval, in compliance with ‘rule of law’. And now that the AG has to seek the President’s approval, someone probably needs to explain to me where the separation of powers and ‘checks and balances’ lies in the government.
Considering this government’s track record, I think I can predict the outcome of this panel investigation. The panel will submit its report in eight weeks as planned. President Yar’Adua will inaugurate another panel, which is likely to be headed by the Attorney-General to review the findings of the report. Mr Attorney-General will then recommend that the evidence tendered in the US courts to charge Halliburton officials were not obtained through due process (what ever that means!) and therefore, it cannot be tendered in Nigerian courts. To affirm his support for ‘rule of law’, Mr President will accept the recommendation., and that will be case closed!
Haven’t we seen it all before? Once upon a time, there was the Pius Okigbo Panel which looked into the ‘1991 Oil Windfall’ during the Babangida regime. Then, there was the Oputa Panel, which look at human right abuses post-1966. Lately, we have also had the Uwais Panel on ‘electoral reform’. However, government’s track record on the release and implementation of Panel Reports has not been very convincing. The politics been played with the Uwais Panel report speaks volume about the insincerity of the Yar’Adua administration. And for me, the inauguration of the Okiro Panel might just spell doom for the current investigation of the Halliburton bribery scandal.
The investigation panel is headed by the Inspector- General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro, and includes Chairman of the EFCC and a representative each from the Office of the National Security Adviser, Nigerian Intelligence Agency and the Department of State Security Service. One of the justifications for inaugurating the investigation committee was the need to get ‘vital’ evidence required to prosecute those found to have compromised themselves.
The questions we need to ask ourselves is, ‘do we need to set up a panel consisting of the Inspector-General of Police and EFCC Chairman before vital evidence can be obtained from the law courts’? We all know that this investigation started in the US, but was the US Director of FBI or CIA engaged to investigate Halliburton? I can remember reading anywhere that the US set up any ‘high level’ committee to investigate the allegations levelled against Halliburton. I want to believe that the US investigation would have been carried out by officers. This is considering that the former US Vice-President Dick Cheney was the CEO of Halliburton when these crimes were committed.
This is not the first time foreign companies have been found guilty of bribery in Nigeria. We are all aware of the AG Siemens and Wilbros cases. So, why was a panel not set up to investigate these cases? Or is the Halliburton case any different from the Siemens and Wilbros cases? My concern is that this panel will spend the next eight weeks wasting taxpayers’ money, while embarking on a wild goose chase. I wouldn’t be surprised, if their first assignment will be to fly across the Atlantic, claiming estacodes, all in the name of gathering evidence. For starters, it will do Nigerians a lot of good, if the government can disclose the how much budget is made available to this panel. We have already seen the Attorney-General junketing all over the since in the last few weeks ‘gathering’ evidence.
I’m right to believe that the investigation and prosecution of Halliburton in the US did not just start two months ago. For those who may not be aware, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opened a formal investigation of Halliburton's involvement in the bribery scandal in June 2004. I also found out that, the Nigerian government ordered its own investigation in February 2004. This suggests that the Nigerian government commenced its investigation before that of the US Justice Department. So what was the outcome of the 2004 investigation? The fact that an investigation was carried out in Nigeria in 2004, and that no one was charged is also a confirmation that the previous Nigerian administration is an accomplice and can be accused of ‘cover up’.
My view about President Yar’Adua on corruption is, as genuine as he may look, this man will be shooting himself in the foot if he dares attempt to fight corruption. Either directly or indirectly, he his one of the biggest beneficiaries of corruption in the country. It is common knowledge that his election was bankrolled by some of the nation’s most corrupt individuals. As silly as it may sound, some of the PDP Presidential aspirants (who were heavily enmeshed in corruption) had to drop their ambitions and support President Yar’Adua after they were been threatened with prosecution.
Also, we are now been told that the Attorney-General cannot prosecute any individual without the approval of the President (!). I don’t know when the AG’s discretion to exercise prosecutorial powers became subject to the approval of the President. If that is case, why not appoint the President as, the Commander-In-Chief and Attorney-General of the Federation. If I can remember, we were once told that the EFCC, ICPC and the Police prosecutorial discretion are subject to the Attorney-General’s approval, in compliance with ‘rule of law’. And now that the AG has to seek the President’s approval, someone probably needs to explain to me where the separation of powers and ‘checks and balances’ lies in the government.
Considering this government’s track record, I think I can predict the outcome of this panel investigation. The panel will submit its report in eight weeks as planned. President Yar’Adua will inaugurate another panel, which is likely to be headed by the Attorney-General to review the findings of the report. Mr Attorney-General will then recommend that the evidence tendered in the US courts to charge Halliburton officials were not obtained through due process (what ever that means!) and therefore, it cannot be tendered in Nigerian courts. To affirm his support for ‘rule of law’, Mr President will accept the recommendation., and that will be case closed!
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