Obodooyinbo | Other News

By Son Gyoh

One stream of expense in the three tiers of government in Nigeria that seem limitless in defiance of all standards and ethics of accountability is the security vote presided over by the governor's office at the State level and the security structures at the presidency. Of particular concern is the manner in which security vote is (mis)appropriated by State governors for all manner of activity. At every turn we are quick to copy the American system of presidential democracy without its accountability elements. The Nigerian public need to begin to query some of these undefined but obvious leakage points that allow for unrestricted plunder of state resources.
It is important the audit officials in both the federal and state legislative body enlighten Nigerians on what constitutes security vote, where it falls under State budgetary allocation and what sort of figure constitutes reasonable expenditure given the resource capacity and nature of security threat/demands at the State and federal government. It is self delusion to suggest that this kind of expense should or cannot be monitored even if this may be an acknowledgement of the crisis of legitimacy of elected executives; we are not in a war situation. Besides, state governments have consistently failed to deliver electoral promises on account of limited revenue we cannot therefore turn a blind eye to an expense head that put limitless pressure on scare resources. In many cases these expenses involve the withdrawal of large sums of money not for the procurement of security hardware or legitimate security logistics but as a cash pool for the personal pleasures of the chief executive, his entourage and retinue of frequently idle hangers on. This limitless pool has also been known to provide many governors an avenue to plunder public funds stashed away in different accounts home and overseas, with some of the more common craze being buying houses in South Africa and holiday largess to patrons and mistresses.
When we advocate good governance and better accountability in the face of ever increasing budget deficit particularly at the State and local government levels, it becomes only expedient that the necessary agencies or arms of government with a responsibility to ensure the proper use of funds put a cap on when it becomes necessary to investigate excessive bills on security vote. The State legislature needs to check such expenses against the security needs within the state and the purpose of frequent overseas trips against the benefits such trips bring to the state. Even where assumed benefits are apparent, restrictions can be put on the appropriation of such monies. It is also important to inform the public where this money comes from and how it is accounted for. It may sound populist but one of the ways the leadership could improve their security is to embark on projects that improve income security for the locals and refrain from imposing candidates on the people at local elections.
The monitoring of security vote will certainly halt the gravy train for zealots and plug a seemingly legitimate point of leak as the governor's should be required to make available for audit annual disbarment under such security appropriations. We need to be more proactive in the so called fight against corruption by opening up some of these closed alleys that provide legitimate cover for official graft.

Open your eyes to a cartel, not a cabal

By Son Gyoh

A SECTION of Nigerians have for sometime been obsessed with the idea of a northern cable, particularly in this period of political tensions on the prospect of a power shift. But even before the events of the past 100 days, it was always clear that the reality of a northern cabal existed only in the imagination of the political ‘South' that misread the relatively higher political cohesion in the core north. This fear of a faceless cabal is conveniently exploited by political power brokers and wheeler dealers in the north, whose interest are purely self serving as reflected in the drama surrounding the disappearance of President Yar'Adua .
Without getting bogged down with the discredited notions of a still functioning northern cable once described as the Kaduna Mafia by Dr. Mvendaga Jibo (an intellectual from the middle belt and ex-publicity secretary of defunct NPN), what exist today is a federated cartel of political harbingers cashing in on a resource rent economy. Anyone familiar with Paul Collier's (Oxford economics Professor) Bottom Billion book that analyse the multiple development challenges that threaten countries endowed with vast natural resources will be the wiser. The summary is that politics, governance and development become negotiating theatres for the allocation and distribution of unearned profits or ‘rents' accruing from national resource wealth. This is precisely Nigeria's current nightmare where Jonathan was matched with his ailing boss on the whims of the distribution and allocation structure of a resource rent cartel.
Today, we have a lame acting President, who is a product of bargains within a vibrant rent seeking establishment in doubt of his own legitimacy and who lacks the courage to assert his authority. This has nothing to do with written power transmission from Yar'Adu ,as the basis of his continued absence has been made a private matter and therefore impeachable. Jonathan's inaction is probably the biggest threat facing Nigeria today and not the estranged first lady Turai, who is acting on the raw instincts of self preservation. Why has Jonathan allowed the continued treasonable subversion of his authority continued unchecked? The undercover shipment of a serving president and the unchallenged information blackout on him and the entire nation on the true condition of the President is subversive. Inspite of the goodwill from across Nigeria, Jonathan's inaction has continued to subvert his own authority with each day that passes, exposing his incompetence to lead the Nigeria Nation.
At the level of the parliament, we have co-opted members of this same rent cartel who are protective of their own positions knowing that the dubious power sharing formula of the ruling political party has come to haunt them. Clearly, if Jonathan becomes substantive President, he Party's rent sharing formula will force a change in parliamentary leadership positions. The irony is that the many groups that were quick to jet out to Saudi Arabia have not shown the same zeal to ascertain the Presidents condition back home in Nigeria, simply because there is no rent incentive to pursue the matter locally.
There are two ways forward as it is. First is for Jonathan to assert his authority and go for extensive reshuffle using his own trusted officials and throw up the challenge for his authority to be challenged in which case a proceeding for impeachment of the absentee President will be the logical path. The second is that the legislators summon the medical and security officials to brief the nation on the true condition of the president as to determine his ability to continue in office and how long his medical leave may be justified. This is of national important and all other internal party considerations are secondary.
What should be clear to all Nigerians by now is that a party built on regional power allocation as an end to itself presupposes that the President's primary responsibility is to his region or possibly religion than the federation. PDP has proved beyond doubt to be a self serving political cult that holds supreme the interest of a cartel of rent seekers who put their interest well above that of the nation. This is certainly not what the average Nigeria bargained for, but will we ever rise above the blinding greed that allow such systems to put us in greater danger of poverty, insecurity and constrained opportunity in the global arena?

Full article available on: www.awarenessfordevelopment.org