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 Daily
Independent Online.
* Tuesday, June 22, 2004.
Nigeria not fighting corruption, but talking of
corruption - Omoigui
Dr. Nowamagbe Omoigui is a Nigerian cardiologist
based in the United States of America. He was in Sierra-Leone recently to
witness the medal presentation parade of the Nigerian troops in the
United Nations Mission in Sierra-Leone (UNAMSIL). Omoigui, who has
carried out many research works on the Nigerian military, in this
interview with Abuja
Deputy Bureau Chief, Chris Agbambu, speaks
on corruption in Nigeria, the type of governance Nigeria needs and other
sundry issues.
Excerpts:
Nigeria is in dire need of the people, particularly its citizens in Diaspora, who can
contribute their quota to the development of the country. How do you
think you can contribute?
There are many ways to assist
in developing the country, but at this moment, United States happens to
be my base, there is nothing spectacular about it as there is no
condition that is permanent.
How long
have you been based in the United States?
I have been based there since
1985 though I come home to Nigeria virtually every year.
What is your vision for Nigeria?
Nigeria is passing through a
tough period in her history and we have a lot of challenges, a lot of
problems and a lot of obstacles, but what we need to do is to harness the
will to enable us break through the obstacles that are confronting us,
reach deep into our primordial history, reach deep into what we all know
to be the deep passions of Nigerians, very hard working and tough people.
By the grace of God, He will pull us out of our difficulties.
Nigeria has been bedevilled by a lot of crises—
political, economic, and even ethno-religious. In your own opinion, what
do you think is the solution to the crises?
In any nation of nations, a country of nationalities,
with the kind of complicated history and problems such as in Nigeria,
there is no one single problem, therefore, there is no one single
solution. We need to understand that we are not going to come out of this
by looking for simplistic solutions. The problems are complex, and the solutions
we are going to have are complex. But, one thing, which is certain and
non-negotiable is that we need the right type of leadership.
These problems are rather enormous. Everywhere there
is crisis and that is the reason for our not moving forward. Do you see
the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference as advocated by many
as a solution?
Those who are advocating for
Sovereign National Conference have not actually defined it, but I will
tell you what Nigeria needs as far as nationality is concerned. Nigeria
as a country has no policy on nationality, none. It is a subject we have
avoided from time immemorial. You cannot find any official document that
actually defines the nationality of Nigerians, which identifies what
their rights are, what their prerogatives are, what they can expect.
There is no such document and so what you have is a situation where
everybody writes his or her own rules. What are the rights? You can take
the Land Use Decree, for example. It just conveniently pretends that communities
and nationalities in Nigeria have no land, because that is what the
decree intended. But is that true? So, at some point, we have to sit down
and say to ourselves: what are the realities on the ground in this
country? There is no point telling ourselves lies. It is not about what
we want it to be, but what it is actually on the ground and then we
should do an appreciation and come to some kind of a compromise, some
kind of a meeting of the minds, as to where Nigerian groups to go and
until we achieve that kind of basic understanding in which we respect
each other, our differences, we don’t try to dictate to one another, we
don’t try to judge one another, but we set common long-time goals, and we
have a detribalised leader, who is assisted by multiple other leaders at
multiple levels in multiple industries, then Nigeria probably will have a
chance to move forward.
We
are operating a democratic form of government in Nigeria, which Nigerians
fought for, but it seems their aspirations and hopes are being dashed.
How would you react to this?
They are many types of
democracy, but the type Nigeria pretends it is operating is a classical
pseudo-American presidential system of the West and liberal democracy.
That is what is on the paper, but what actually happens in practice is a
far cry from that, and that is
where the problem lies. The people of Nigeria are not empowered
and because they are not empowered, there is no connection between their
will, either individually or collectively. What actually translates in
policy and action on the part of the government is a very little of
accountability at any level. So when you have no respect for the will of
the people and there is accountability to talk about, accountability is a
joke. I wouldn’t say that Nigeria is a democratic country, but a country
which has, at some level, made a decision to move towards democracy; I
don’t think we are there yet.
You talk about accountability, but it is obvious that
the government seems to be fighting corruption in all its ramifications.
The government says it is
fighting corruption in Nigeria, but there is a difference between what
you say and what is actually happening. When Nigeria starts actually
fighting corruption, I will let you know.
Do you mean we are just paying a lip service to
fighting corruption?
Nigeria has not started fighting corruption, but talks
about corruption. Nigeria is a very interesting country, when you turn on
the radio, you are constantly hearing religious sermons. The country
looks very religious and yet the society is so decadent, and that is what
makes Nigeria particularly difficult, because people know what is right,
they talk about it, they verbalise it, they pretend like that is what
they are actually doing, but they are doing exactly the opposite in their
private life. Until we can stop being hypocritical and actually mean what
we say, and do what we mean, I don’t think we will be serious. I know
Nigeria very well. I grew up there, for anybody to say that Nigeria is
fighting corruption is a joke of the century. Nigeria is not fighting
corruption; Nigeria feels it is fighting corruption.
What is your view about the abortion by the
government of the mass rally organised by the Conference of Nigerian
Political Parties (CNPP) against bad governance in Nigeria?
Again, I don’t have all the facts, but I do know that
the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), either as a whole or
in part, because there were some splinter groups that decided not to take
part, wanted to hold this mass rally in Abuja and that there were issues
regarding obtaining police permit, and the government certainly was not
happy about it. I also know that the timing of the rally was sensitive,
coming on the heels of government declaration on security breaches issue
and the director of the State Security Service (SSS) actually met the
organisers trying to make them to change their mind and understand the
critical issue at hand. That is something to be considered, it can’t be
brushed aside. If the government feels that the particular timing of a
certain event threatens the public security in a way that is not in
anybody’s interest, it is the responsibility of that government to point
it out. But that is not the real issue, but the other part of the picture
is that Nigerians do have the right to rally when and whenever they
choose to rally and express their views, when and whenever they choose
to, as long as they don’t become a threat to the public order. So the
balance that needs to be found in Nigeria is how do you guarantee that balance
between state security, public security and individual right without
creating a situation whereby you give uncontrolled powers to the police
to use their discretion to decide that they are not going to allow a
certain rally, just because they don’t like the views that are being
espoused. And I think that is where the National Assembly needs to come
in to be able to strike that balance. I have always been uncomfortable
with the notion of getting a police permit to rally, I think there is
something fundamentally undemocratic about that. I think the police need
to have the guidelines for the notification of a rally, I think there is
the need to be a framework for you to gather and do things in a certain
place at a certain time, just like the Hyde Park in London. You are free
to say what ever you like there, things of that nature. But I think there
is something dangerous about saying that the commissioner of police of
the state has to permit it, because knowing our people, that just opens
the door to abuse. But at the same time, there is also the need to
protect public order. The problem is where do we begin to draw the line,
because the police said we would actually advise against this rally,
because we don’t think we have the resources and the infrastructure to
guarantee the security and stability at the rally. That is one thing. It
is another thing to say you are not permitted to express your political
views that makes a different issue. But with time, we will find a happy
medium. The SSS had a point clearly after what appeared to be revelations
in the newspapers about security breaches, a rally of this magnitude
being contemplated does have the potential to get out of hand, and to
lead to an unprecedented development, so they had a point. The rally organisers
and the people of Nigeria also have a point that they do deserve the
right, and that they need to be protected by the law to protect their
rights to convene wherever they choose to. So that is something that we
need to work out.
As a keen observer in the unfolding events in the
country, do you think Nigerians are being given the governance they
deserve at this time?
I want to say
that Nigerians are being given the governance they need, but I will say
Nigerians are being given the governance they deserve at this time,
because every society deserves the governance they get. If a politician
comes to my village and divides N500 to everybody and we take it and them
turn a blind eye when fake votes are put in the ballot boxes, or fake
results are announced, then we have accepted the quality of whatever
leadership that results. You have to come down to people’s insistence on
the quality of leadership they want, not only at popular level but also
within political parties and within all other segments of the organised
society. Once you accept a certain premise, don’t complain about the
result, and that is what I mean by saying that Nigeria deserves the
government that it is getting. Nigeria is not getting the government it
actually deserves but it deserves what it has, and until Nigerians are
ready psychologically and physically to pay the price for the kind of
leadership at multiple levels. People always think leadership means only
the President of the country. No, there are multiple levels of
leadership, no one president of the country can change Nigeria, we
require leadership at a multiple level, we need conspiracy of the mind,
at multiple levels, and until we are ready to do what it takes to get
that leadership in various sectors of the economy, you are stuck with
what you have. It is painful to see what happens in Nigeria, very
painful, a country with the kind of potential it has and growing up there
as a child. Looking back at the dreams that my generation and I had, it
is extremely painful thinking what Nigeria could have really been. But
what can one do? You have to play the card the way it is. I believe very
strongly that once we start being honest with ourselves, we understand
our strength and weakness as a people, strengths and weaknesses of the
various systems in Nigeria, things will begin to work fine. There is a
lot of discipline in the rural areas of this country. You go to the
villages, there is law and order, there are structures, the place is
neat, water runs, there is light. How come water does not run in the
urban areas and in the governmental system? Why is it that we have these
multiple layers of segmented differences between the systems in the
country? We have a constitution that looks very nice, very detailed and
very well written, but there is no sense of sectionalised institutionism
in the country. It is often violated, Nigeria problems are very many and
very deep, but I think until we start to look at Nigeria not from a top
down model which is how the British set it up, but from a bottom up
model, when legitimacy is derived from the bottom, not from the top, I
think we are going to have problems for many years.
What is your assessment of Nigeria military in
peacekeeping operations, having
heard the encomium poured on Nigerian troops during the medal
presentation? What is your advice to the military and the government?
In the context of this
question, one thing is very clear. Don’t make the mistake of allowing the
country to deteriorate to the state where there is war; that will be a
huge mistake because if Nigeria were to degenerate to that level, Somalia
will be a child’s play. Whatever happens, people should exercise
restraint, it is always better as Sir Winston Churchill said, it is
better to jaw-jaw than to war-war, no matter the provocation. Multiple
leaders of thought at multiple levels need to exercise a lot of judgment
and restraint in the way they handle things, the way they talk, what they
say, how it is said to try to make sure as we midwife Nigeria through
this difficult period. We should avoid the kind of extremes that lead to
the kind of disasters that occurred in Liberia and Sierra-Leone; that
will be my advice. But having said that, we then have to turn inwards and
identify all the facets of social injustices and do what we can to create
institutional frameworks that not necessarily solve all social injustices
(there is no society that has done that), but provide a mechanism for at
least resolving issues that impact on social injustice while respect the
complex multi-national, multi-traditional basic structures of the
country. I think if we can set up a system for attaining social justice
but at the same time balancing that with respect for Nigeria’s plurality,
then you can buy time, the time it takes you to then move the country to
the next level of development. If you don’t, you will probably be
consumed by crisis.
What is your interest in defence matter?
Well, I have always been
interested in defence and security matters right from childhood. It is an
old passion of mine even before I went to medical school. So this is what
I wanted to do for almost 30years. I don’t know why. I did almost join
the military but my father refused, but as a civilian I have always
continued to maintain the interest to read widely. My friend used to make
jest of me that I have more books in military affairs than in medicine.
Well that is fine, people have their professions as opposed to their
callings; some people like to play gulf, some like to go to bars, some
like to play around with women. I just like military history and writing,
that is my own. I have always been fascinated by the military as a
profession, historically and otherwise. I think I understand the way they
think and for some reasons, I don’t know why I do, since I have never
joined the military.
In a particular case of the Nigerian Force
in Sierra-Leone, back in 1998 or late 1997, I did write an article on
Nigerian foreign policy in Sierra-Leone. It was widely published back
home and over the years, I have kept in touch with various Nigerians and
Nigerian officers who served in the region keeping tab on what they where
doing. Coming to the end of the mandate of the UNAMSIL, I thought it was
the time for me to really come and see things on the ground, show support
to the troops, to the leadership of the troops in my own small way. I
know from interacting with soldiers over the years they don’t have the
freedom to express things publicly, which as a civilian, I do. And I know
that Nigeria as a society is not well informed as it should be about the
sacrifices and achievements of Nigerian soldiers in Sierra-Leone and now
in Liberia. I therefore thought that the medal presentation ceremony will
be an appropriate point in time since they are coming to the end of their
mission, to come and show personnel support for what they are doing, talk
to them, their prospect for the future and use my contact to try to
educate the Nigerian public about my observations in my own way.
My observations during the visits seem an indication
of relative peace. I have fears that if UNAMSIL withdraws, the bottled
anger in some minds will again explode. How do you feel about this
development?
That is always the
possibility. Peace, like love, cannot be legislated. If you cannot tell
two people, ‘I command you to love each other’ which is not possible, you
cannot keep peace which doesn’t actually exist, so you have to have a
holistic approach to it. That not only maintains law and order.
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