The Culture Of Impunity And The Quest For A Better Nigeria -By Clement Uwayah

Every society in all nations of the world is governed by rules and regulations enshrined in the country’s constitution. In addition, there are usually other specific organs and measures: statutory laws, edits, acts, legislations, agencies, and others. These cover and ensure that all manners of possible deviations, negative acts and outcomes are adequately preempted, prevented, or as the case may be, judiciarily or otherwise prosecuted as falls due. These are in consideration of the irrefutable fact of the tendency and proclivities of human malfeasance in contradictions to the expected.

The obvious fact of human tendencies for contrary acts is age long, dating back to the first creations. Such tendencies gave room to the biblical ten commandments and also explains the near helpless state of Apostle Paul when he said in the book of  Romans 7:18 -19, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I found not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do”.

Going further down confirms the Apostle Paul’s visible concern and worries, but with a consolation that only the Grace of God could make him overcome such tendencies. While the Grace of God is indeed sufficient for all things, it certainly is not a license for repeated misdemeanour by everyone. The existence of laws to checkmate daily activities is the way of getting societies going the right direction. No society thrives in the absence of enforceable laws.

What happens in a society where the laws and acts of legislations are somewhat unenforceable, unenforced, or pervertable? Every malfeasance in society ought to have a corresponding punitive measure to curtail its reoccurrence. When malfeasances are not adequately addressed and punished as expected, it graduates to impunity and further degenerates to near normalcy. Impunity means free from punishment, discipline and negative consequences.

From all intent and purposes, impunity is an evil wind that blows ‘bad air’ and ultimately pollutes society. Any country where impunity reigns must of a necessity find difficulties in driving its growth and development. It becomes worse when impunity is perpetuated also by the leaders themselves, and most often, that seems to be the elixir to a negative toxic culture. At that stage those in power and corridors of power will become above the law.

One could justifiably situate Nigeria’s growing culture of impunity to an offshoot of certain provisions intended to ease the running of government. This is in the form of executive immunities, which ultimately gave room to executive rascality. Such rascality seemed to have also gained prominence during the military era. The suspension of the Constitution and use of decrees made the military era unquestionable, with those that dared it suffering heavily for their actions.

When one recalls the ugly incidences of several aborted political movements in the early 1990s and the eventual annulment of the much acclaimed free and fair elections, then it becomes clear that the above postulation is undeniable. While one may not fault the wisdom behind immunity, its unconscionable twinning with impunity may be unarguable. However, the fact that no one remains in power forever ought to create self-restraints, but alas, our political leaders even after exiting offices, still carry the semblance of one with a life time immunity, courtesy of impunity.

The level of impunity in Nigeria is high, growing daily and unfortunately now a culture. It  is in all areas of our existence. When the armed forces and other paramilitary agencies block and narrow our roads and highways indiscriminately and thereby create daily unimaginable traffic. It is a strong indication of the impunity with which they operate. Such heavy blockages are often serving as open illegal money collection points for the Police and other law enforcement agencies from motorists under whatever guise.

This reflects how decadent, unchecked, and perhaps unrestrainable they have become. When motorists on their part, especially the commercial drivers deliberately obstruct traffic flows in the guise of picking passengers, it is also because they have continually escaped the supposed punitive actions. Unfortunately, our law enforcers have severally been caught wanting and may be inferentially referred to as aids to social malfeasances. In all our public offices and establishments, operations are either at the workers’ pace or with so much laxity. The interests of the people served are never at heart, yet with so much palpable corrupt practices that have so permeated the system.

One can go on and on to mention all the unwarranted acts of impunity that daily stir us in our faces, making the society deep in lawlessness, with those who dare to challenge it often seen as aliens and busy bodies. There is now almost a complete loss of moral burden in our every day conduct and we seem to have settled for it. How do one contend with the fact that offenses of unimaginable scales could so often be downplayed on?

Our unabated corruption and corrupt practices obviously stems from our inability to curtail impunities. Indeed, there can be no sustenance of corrupt practices where punitive actions are meted as falls due. The weird incidences of grass cutter, snake, monkey swallowing money and associated embezzlements of this administration paved the way for new waves of dramatic fainting and stylish evasion of probes and questioning processes.

Instead of advancements in national development, our growth is in corrupt practices, and one could almost insinuate some forms of corroborations amongst the perpetrators of these evil. They seem so chronologically arranged that at the height of the hue and cry over one, another happens. Thus, we have constantly seen some distractive tendencies that makes every past action almost  less questionable and forgettable.

How else do we reconcile the sweeping under the carpet of such mind blowing and damning revelations. The example of the NDDC reckless and mindless expenditures within a short period within a lockdown, is a classic example. With the innumerable and very damning reports and situations of unchecked impunities in our country, the question that readily comes to mind is, would our society ever get better? How is it that we have allowed absurdities to become our lots, to the extent that we now condone boastings about them?

As a result of the high level of impunities, we now have virtually everything gone wrong and sour. Our institutions and organs have been so weakened to a helpless state and anything now goes. Anything and everything that is publicly owned is handled with so much recklessness in favour of thriving private concerns. In the healthcare sector, it is usually a case of referrals to privately owned hospitals to the burden of patients. Private ownership of schools which was to complement the government efforts have now become the  entrepreneurial destinations of same people who needed to make public schools work. This cuts across our primary to tertiary institutions. Same goes for all sectors, and it now seem so logical to use public positions for private establishments and enrichments, directly or indirectly. No doubt, these are the aftermaths of a society with impunities as a culture.

Conclusively, it must be emphasized that the quest for a better society would remain a mirage as long as impunities remain unchecked. To enhance checks, our laws need some comprehensive and urgent reviews, to make punishments enforceable. For instance, it could serve a deterrent lesson to others if a traffic offender is engaged in hours of compulsory and verifiable environmental sanitation exercise in public than as presently handled.

The same measures may apply for other offences. Truth is, the mention of prison terms and options of fines for some category of offences make them look unenforceable, because take or leave it, patriotic reports or enforcements could turn out to prick one’s conscience and eventually dissuasive. Our societal decadence is a direct reflection of the absence of enforceable laws, resulting in the high level of impunities which has now grown into an undesirable culture. These impunity needs to be totally rejected and fought using better legislations and enforcement as a panacea.