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El-Rufai’s dangerous swing
ANDY IKE EZEANI
Nasir el-Rufai,
minister of the Federal Capital Territory is a man with a mission.That much is
clear by his actions, his pace and his manifest impatient disposition which
receives ample graphic expression at critical moments by facial contortions. His
darting eye balls, animatedly dancing behind the frames of his prescription
glasses, especially when views he holds tenaciously to run into a wall of public
disapproval also betray what seems like a constant stir within him to march on.
This, without doubt, is a dogged man, a
man whose actions, usually controversial, seems to be backed up by a firm belief
within him in what he is doing. There is a problem with the man though; what
exactly his mission is at any point in time has never really been clear. May be
he knows.
At the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE)
where the el-Rufai whirlwind last registered its presence before its extant
outing at the FCT, the full verdict of the jury is yet to be returned. What is
not in doubt, however, is that the man can be single minded in the pursuit of
his goals. For him a target is like a bond, it must be met. As is also obvious,
the man wants to be taken seriously. Fair enough.
When it comes to courage, El-Rufai has
never been found wanting. The worry really is that he may, indeed, have more
courage than is good for him and his neigbours. For a man in a prime public
office this surfeit of courage could be precarious. The danger does not lie with
having conviction. The trial is in the capacity to define and handle authority,
for courage, "the confidence to act in accordance with one’s beliefs", could go
haywire if the interpretation by a public officer of his beliefs is not
seriously moderated. Nothing is as dangerous in a public office holder as a
mentality that one personifies a belief and ideology far more appropriate and
wholesome than that of any other. Here lies the root of the world’s present
problem with America’s George W.Bush.
A newspaper had once published an
interview in which El-Rufai reported declared that for anybody to work with him
the person must be angry.That, probably is what is called stating the
obvious.Nasir el-Rufai has always been an angry man.Bt then again, what
constitutes the basis of his anger remains unclear. Could it be that he is angry
with the Nigerian ruling circle and the mess they have made of our collective
existence? But then he has been right in their very midst all along. He may have
been screaming all the way, though. Is El-Rufai’s lot that of the quintessential
insider feeling like an outsider? May be.
Once more the anger in El-Rufai has found
a weighty public expression. Penultimate week in Abuja, the FCT Minister
announced the withdrawal of all the Certificates of Occupancy(C-of-O) ever
issued in the FCT.It sure takes anger and courage to do this. Alas, the danger
and flaws in this disposition in both El-Rufai and his boss President Olusegun
Obasanjo as public servants are once more jarringly exposed.
Meaningful public policies are not run on
the basis of anger and reprisals. Where that obtains as in recent instances,
suspicion is rife that something different from public good is the motive for
policies and actions.
In withdrawing no less than 230,000
certificates of occupancy issued by past governments, the Obasanjo government is
not only questioning the legitimacy of those governments, it has taken a step
that will set a dangerous precedence in the administration of Nigeria.
Consumed by the ardour its prevailing
power and authority, the Obasanjo government may not realize it for now, but
what it has done by the C-of-O action is to inaugurate a new regime in
instability that will, in the long run, render even the most cherished of its
legacies impermanent. In other words, any government that comes later can take
any, if not all the policies and approvals of the Obasanjo government, subject
them to new ridiculous scrutiny and finally reverse them to suit the whim of the
time. That too will be in the name of probity and public good.
Now, make no mistakes about it, the
issuance of C-of-Os in the federal capital territory over the years must have
been subjected to monumental corrupt practices. Many ranking government
officials and denizens of the FCT management must have made fortunes hawking
C-of-Os. Others must have dispensed of the prized allocation to loose consorts
and such as was the case with import licenses. If Obasanjo or El-Rufai is angry
at such abuse of the system over time, their anger is more than justified.
The challenge now is on how to handle the
bad situation and the disgust they engender. What the government has chosen in
tackling the problem is the most simplistic and least rigorous of methods, one
which is fraught with serious future implications.
The reaction of the Minister of Housing,
Mobolajo Osomo to the C -of-O withdrawal order is most instructive. For one, it
exposes the lack of profundity in the action.Secondly,it corroborates what has
always been suspected about the Obasanjo government; that it hardly subjects
serious issues of national affairs to rigorous discussion and debate even within
its cabinet before throwing them out on the public as policies.
Let us quote Osomo in some detail on this
matter; "so much depends on these C-of -Os.Some have been used as collaterals
for bank loans, while some financial institutions financed the erection of
structures based on evidence of possession of a C-of-O…There are a lot of
implications in withdrawing C-of-Os duly issued. The confusion in the economy
would be immense".
The Housing Minister was no less intrigued
also by the fact that the same FCT that issued C-of-Os to the Federal Housing
Authority (FHA) under this very government is now turning round to withdraw the
documents, thereby placing the houses the FHA has erected in jeopardy.
No less objectionable in the C-of-O
withdrawal action is what El-Rufai announced as steps that will lead to their
revalidation for an owner. Among the conditions that will be fulfilled for
re-certification, holders must show evidence of paying all the levies, fees,
fines, charges and outstanding bills in the FCT including the bills from the
Water Board as well as land development. In other words, someone who has had
right to a property over the last ten or twenty years will now be called back to
pay such multiple charges and levies as were not there when he secured his right
to the land. This sure is a land of impunity and debasement.
There is also the requirement that all
holders of the certificates must show up physically or present their photographs
anew to have the documents re-issued. This sounds like a disingenuous means of
finding out where all one’s enemies are hiding.
It is not surprising therefore, that it
has been all quiet since El-Rufai came out with the withdrawal of C-of-O
announcement. The reason for the silence is very obvious; this is a government
with a solid credential in bearing grudge and exacting vengeance. So who wants
to have his C-of-O eventually withdrawn for good.
If all this will restore greeneries,
public parks and healthy ambience in Abuja, nobody will quarrel with El-Rufai,
as long as the law and the rights of citizens are respected. The word across the
country, however, is that the government is after some people, so the whole
exercise was propelled by a spirit of getting even. May be some good may derive
from this rather bitter drive.
Nasir el-Rufai would have lost the very
moral basis of his anger and bearing however, if indeed this C-of -O withdrawal
policy and similar ones are propelled by nothing higher than a vengeful desire
to undo some folks, even if they are classified as enemies, be they of his boss
or of himself.
The Obasanjo government must find a way of
respecting the legitimacy of past governments. It should in a piecemeal basis
investigate the legality of the certificates of occupancy. It should also
concede that government is an eternal entity, so responsibility for sharp
practices of government officials whether in the past or at present belongs to
it no less. If only this very government can vouch that similar frauds and
corrupt practices of the past are not with it at the moment. If only it can
ensure that.
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