Politics Of Hunger

Kunle Oderemi, Lagos

Yar'Adua

The new seasons of festivities are around the corner. The nation’s political leaders, especially those holding elective offices, will soon begin to give account of their stewardship. The annual ritual of budget speeches will gain ascendancy with financial experts thereafter analysing the contents of the budgets and trying to situate the provisions in appropriate contexts.

In counting its blessings, the administration of President Umaru Yar’Adua, is bound to list the success of the amnesty deal with the repentant Niger Delta militants as, perhaps, its most remarkable feats in 2009. The administration has since embarked on series of programmes to consolidate the gains of the deal. It should be acknowledged that the clemency to the former militants has eased tension in the country, creating an enabling environment to boost its external revenue through an appreciable increase of Nigeria’s daily output to 1.8million barrels per day.

To further demonstrate commitment and sincerity to the deal, the president has sent a Supplementary Appropriation Bill for endorsement by the National Assembly to execute some critical projects in the Niger Delta region. It is believed that the President will present the 2010 Budget to the legislature on November 19.

The action will open the floodgate of state budgets, which bear grandiose appellations such as Budget of Hope or Consolidation. The president reasons, “This is crucial to rebuilding confidence and trust in the amnesty initiative, enhancing production and providing revenue flow to the federation account, mitigating investment risks, as well as boosting full realisation of the nation’s economic potential.”

Except in a few states, the impact of the billions of public funds leaders holding elective offices claimed to have injected into the system remains unfelt. Most of their achievements have been on paper as the scourge of poverty, ignorance, diseases and access to the basic things for survival is ravaging more Nigerians. The rapacious appetite of the ruling class and the entire elite for corruption is a major stigma. This has given rise to the public fury over the move by the authorities to de-regulate the down stream sector of the oil and gas industry. The fear and suspicion is that the policy could further impoverish the hapless common man. The fear is underscored by past experiences, as the official hikes in the domestic prices of petroleum products have not justifiably reflected in the life of the people. Rather, they led to a sharp increase in the cost of living in the country.

Upon his return from a self-imposed exile after military exit from power in 1999, elder statesman, Chief Anthony Enahoro, reminisced on the enabling environment he and other first generation leaders and nationalists promoted in Nigeria. He recalled that their dream was that the nation would be able to build on the firm foundation towards taking the nation to the next level. But with fit of anger, Enahoro declared, “Even the beginnings we established long ago are today in jeopardy. Independence, democracy and modernisation, which were our goals and our battle cry, have not yet been achieved irreversibly.”

The majority of the nation’s 140 million population reside in the rural areas, where the basic things of life like electricity, pipe-borne water and motorable roads are virtually non-existent.

Today, those vulnerable members of the population remain neglected despite frequent assurances through official policies and programmes of a new dawn in the horizon. Unfortunately, the common trend among elected officers is to give a token to the citizenry instead of seeking to deepen democracy by promoting values that could engender sustainable human development.

Many of the socio-economic and political crises are traceable to one major factor: lack of openness, which is one of the major pillars of democracy. In our own context or environment, governance has been reduced to cultism, where secrecy is a sacred bond. According to Dr. James Odiakwu, a Lagos-based commentator, the lack of access of the citizens and the media to information on national matters breeds corruption and highhandedness by many public officers.

“Nigerians, especially the media, do not have access to vital information on contract details, drafts of the budget and even some parliamentary proceedings, particularly the reports of committees, salaries and allowances of public officers and public expenditure record,” he said.

The direction of the various anti-poverty policies evolved in the past years and 2009 begs the issue rather than addresses as the critical crises arising from the problem of unemployment. There is a lot of emphasis in giving mere handouts to youths, who form the large army of the unemployed. A society that believes in giving out motorcycles to its youths so that they could become okada rider cannot be said to be grooming worthy future leaders. A more perceptible leadership will rather promote skill acquisition and development in such area that could energise general growth and prosperity without mortgaging the future of any segment of the population.

One of the useful lessons from the conflict in the Niger Delta region is that the propensity for Nigerian leaders to take the citizens for granted has grave consequences. It has taught the leaders that they cannot continue to pretend that all is well during imminent crisis. It is also instructive that no one would be spared if a little spark becomes a conflagration, which will neither recognise class nor creed. In a topic entitled, “What is the Problem with these Public Officers, Dr. Johnson Odesola, who doubles as an Associate Professor of Divinity with Trinity International University, in 2006, expressed concern on the tendency for leaders to disconnect themselves from the people once they get into public offices.

“I don’t know what the matter is with those placed in positions of responsibility, especially in government, but they seem to have a high propensity to mismanage the resources placed in their charge. They thus steer away from a path that would bring about long -term financial security for those who own the resources,” he said.

He cited the case of how a king in one popular state in Africa went on a shopping spree buying “a top-of-the-range BMWs for each of his many wives, million dollar limousine for himself and banned the photographing of the same to try and stem the hostile reactions he would get from his people.” Yet, he hailed from a country rated as one among the poorest in the world. The situation may not be different from what is obtainable in most parts of Nigeria today. The gap between the electorate and those holding public offices in trust keeps widening, because those budgets of hope have turned out to be budgets of misery laced in deceit. The current serious financial squeeze in the banking sector has succeeded in further eroding the purchasing power of the citizens.