Buhari’s change and the change Nigerians envisaged -By Bello Ramon Adeniyi

Buhari arriving with elaborate welcome-party

When the Buhari campaign trail was fast flying around Nigeria with a promise of change, well-meaning intelligentsia presume the dawn of new era for Nigeria institutions. Corruption being one of the critical problem of various institutions in Nigeria, the change mantra seems persuasive and pronounces the APC as a competent political institution that can provoke political and economic change in Nigeria.

Courageously, Nigerians swarm the polling centres and move beyond aspiration for change. Nigerians use their thumb to affect change with the hope that the emergence of new political elite would bring about the desired change. May 29, 2015, Nigerians celebrates a new dawn in Nigeria political space, a new dawn tagged “democratic milestone” in Nigerian and beyond, and expects the change they started to serve as critical juncture that will produce desired change in Nigeria’s political and economic institutions. The emergence of APC government supposed to be the critical juncture, a major event or confluence of factors that will disrupt the existing political and economic balance within Nigeria. This critical juncture is expected to serve as a double-edged sword that will cause a sharp turn in the trajectory of the nation. In a critical way, Nigeria expect the emergence of its new political elite to open the way for breaking the cycle of extractive and enable an inclusive ones to emerge.

Fast forward to one and a half year later, change seems to be a pipe dream. The critical institutions that have stunted every form of political and economic progress Nigeria could have achieved in the last 56 years remain unchallenged. Just as the government intensify investigation against corrupt officials, perpetrators advance to open corrupt practices in which bribery and forceful extraction of rent is perpetrated in open space. The new scheme of corrupt institutions put to rest any form of doubt that government effort will yield any outcome as new scheme presents corrupt practices to Nigerians as a norm.

Today, hardly can one find a government institution in Nigeria without any open corrupt practices ___ substantiated by a recent address of the vice president at a recent convocation lecture ___ especially strategic institutions in charge of maintaining law and order in the society. The Nigeria Immigration Service and the Nigeria Police Force are example of government institutions that has concrete representation of an otherwise nebulous concept of open corruption in Nigeria. Even a foreigner visiting Nigeria for the first time can represent in bodily form the practice of open corruption within these institutions.

The critical questions beseeching answers now is how change suggested by APC and well-meaning intelligentsias seem ineffective at solving the relentless and indefatigable problems stunting Nigeria political and economic progress. Bearing in mind one and half years of APC government, if the change promised would occur, at least, a silver lining of change in Nigeria institutions would have suggested the presence of a new sheriff in town rather than the reinforcement of corruption in a more enterprising form.

If the concept of change failed to create progress as Nigerians and APC government suggested then the country in stuck in a quagmire and it problem is beyond what its people could demystify. Alternatively, is it possible that Nigerians and the APC failed to articulate the meaning of “change” to both entity before adopting the mantra as a roadmap to political and economic progress in Nigeria? The Buhari government has repeatedly reinstate its position on the need to eradicate corruption from various institution in Nigeria and this move is evident in the prosecution of corrupt government officials and past political office holders. On the other hands, Nigerians are calling for total restructuring of government institutions at the local, state and federal level, which hinges on redesigning the current rent seeking system.

The definition of change presented by both parties could fit into the change mantra, but only a change that reconstruct political and economic institutions could serve as required critical juncture which will precede any form of inclusive political and economic progress envisaged by Nigerians.

Countries such as England in the 18th century and China in the second half of the 19th century have benefitted from the political change, which is evident in sustainable economic progress both countries are enjoying today.

While Nigerian has mistaken the change of APC as their change, this reinforces the notion that APC and PDP are not so much different after all. Both parties propaganda involved strengthening government institutions that has been captured by imperceptible system of corruption. Hence, any form of input instituted to create a better institution is predestined to fail, as the current system preserves strong mechanism of capturing every form of reinforcement aimed at creating an effective and efficient institution.

With two and half years left for the current administration, the APC government still has the opportunity of creating the desired differences through stepwise reconstruction of public institution in Nigeria. This should start with political entities stirring the affairs of this nation. Building new and transparent system is germane and transparency should involve government institution being accountable to the people and earning their sustainability from the people. This will ensure that any political institution that fails to deliver on its mandate is susceptible to public scrutiny and such institution would seize to exist should it fail to align itself to the will of the people.

In addition, autonomy is important. Institutions that fail to account for its excesses should not be allowed to transfer its failure to another institution, there by exonerating itself from  failures (Local and State government). Similarly, public institutions that are hitherto appendages of political office holders should be restructured with a market like system where workers who fails to deliver on their jobs will not have the luxury of smiling to the bank at the end of the month. Likewise, a strong feedback mechanism must be instituted which will be manned by technocrats who understand the outcome of system collapse and whose remuneration and effectiveness is tied to a market like system.

In the change envisaged by Nigerians, any institution that fails to deliver on its mandate has no right to extract rent from the wealth of the nation, an example of which could be closing one of the country’s legislative body.

Restructuring public institution in Nigeria is the part to critical juncture that can engender political and economic changes, which will place Nigeria among the committee of nations where it rightfully belong.