Leadership Failure And State Capture In Nigeria – Obasanjo

Keynote Address By President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR At the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum, Yale University New Haven, Connecticut, USA, November 15, 2024

Without being immodest, I will begin by saying that it is appropriate that I was invited to deliver the keynote address at a gathering in honour of the late Professor Chinua Achebe. Not just because I have been Head of State and President of Nigerian on two different periods of our beloved nation’s history – most will agree fairly successfully – but because I have known the man, his work, and his values for as long as our Nation has been in existence. He was a great and distinguished Nigerian.

Yale university would be correct in their belief that Achebe belongs to the world – and therefore to them as well – but I am here to tell them that he is an African Icon that belongs to Nigeria first. The Igbo amongst us – his own ethnic people – will remind us that within Igboland he is known as “the Eagle on Iroko” – the “king of the birds” perched on the tallest tree in the African rainforest – a title that encompasses the reverence and awe in which he was held.

As Head of State of Nigeria, I oversaw the establishment of the Nigerian National Merit Award (now known as The Nigerian National Order of Merit Award (NNOM)- Nigeria’s highest award for outstanding academic and intellectual contributions to the growth and development of Nigeria.

The young people in the room will be pleased to know that the first recipients of this prestigious award were Professor Chinua Achebe, Professor Teslim Olawale Elias, Professor Thomas Adeoye Lambo, and Alhaji Abubakar Imam. They were all conferred with the merit award in 1979 by a debonair, young Head of State named Olusegun Obasanjo. I was 42 years old at that time. That same year, Achebe accepted a national award from me as well. That he later, developed an aversion to National Awards is a topic for Yale University’s epistemological researchers to uncover.

I invoke jest to parlay into a much darker topic for which we are gathered here to address: The failure of governance in Nigeria and the near collapse of our Nation State. What better way to tackle this uncomfortable topic than to revisit a short, classic treatise published in 1983, called The Trouble with Nigeria, by non-other than Chinua Achebe.

Leadership: The Nigerian Conundrum Achebe opens that slim book like this:

“The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership.”

In hindsight, this forty-one-year-old prescriptive analysis on the root causes of Nigeria’s leadership crisis is quite moderate and appropriate. It is at least not as desolate as the diagnosis provided by Robert

Rotberg and John Campbell, two prominent US intellectuals – the latter a former United States ambassador to Nigeria to boot:“Nigeria has long teetered on the precipice of failure,” they argue. “Unable to keep its citizens safe and secure, Nigeria has become a fully failed state of critical geopolitical concern. Its failure matters because the peace and prosperity of Africa and preventing the spread of disorder and militancy around the globe depend on a stronger Nigeria.”

At least, they acknowledge that Nigeria – the most populous and economically viable country on the African continent – is, as the Americans will popularly put it, “too big to fail…” Let us not fool ourselves, there is a lot to be concerned about, where Nigeria is concerned. For one, Nigeria’s GDP has declined from $510 billion – after it was rebased in July, 2014, by then Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and colleagues – to the recent revision downwards by the IMF to $199 billion today. By the end of my tenure in 2007, the country’s average GDP growth over my 8 years in office was 6.59 per cent (reaching 15.3% in 2002) – one of the highest in the world. This increase was attributable to the quality of the leaders we had in our government – the eminent, late, Bola Ige, General TY Danjuma, Adamu Ciroma, Sule Lamido, Mohammed Arzika, Liyel Imoke, Jerry Gana, Kanu Agabi, the aforementioned Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and several others who came on board in my second term. One of the stars of that cabinet, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, Former Minister of Solid Minerals and later Education of Nigeria is also here today.

Other reasons for the country’s robust growth at the time can be attributable to reforms we instituted, especially in the private sector and service delivery. They include the liberalization of the telecommunications sector, the recapitalization exercise witnessed in the banking sector in 2004, pension scheme and administration and many areas of production and productivity and investment. I must not forget debt relief.

The genesis of the Leadership Crisis

Home grown, American based, political science experts Professor Obasesam Okoi and MaryAnne Iwara, in a recent article published by the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs explored the complex, cacophony of factors at the root of Nigeria’s leadership conundrum:

“The failure of governance in Nigeria manifests in the declining capacity of political leaders to recognize systemic risks such as election fraud, terrorist attacks, herder-farmer conflict, armed banditry, and police brutality and put in place the necessary measures to navigate these challenges.

In contrast with the current system in which leadership is attained through bribery, intimidation, and violence, Nigeria needs a system of governance that is founded on the pedigree of its political leaders and the education of its voters.”

So, what is to be done? I am sure you ask. To tackle and symbolically cut-off the head of this hydra-headed monster, Nigeria must address a number of these challenges head-on.

Strengthening Democracy

“The government is us; we are the government, you and I.” – Theodore Roosevelt

I dare say that, that is when democracy works and delivers.

The 2023 elections in Nigeria were “a travesty” by all rational measures. Following that problem prone exercise, electoral system reform is now among the top targets for change in Nigeria. Global think tanks such as the Pew Research Center, The Carnegie Foundation as well as the Electoral Knowledge network suggest that there should be three principal areas of focus – Legal, Administrative and Political. Electoral Management Bodies ( EMBs) – INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) in Nigeria – as well as its stakeholders will need to play distinct roles within the rubric of each area.

Legal: Many scholars and some well-meaning Nigerians believe that Nigeria needs to take a closer look at our Constitution. We may have to “amend our constitution, electoral and/ or related rules, and regulations to enhance the integrity, relevance, and adequacy of the legal framework within which the INEC delivers its services. This may include institutional reform of the INEC itself.”

Administrative: This will require several levels of intervention:

• Integrity of INEC officials. As a matter of urgency, we must make sure the INEC Chairperson and his or her staff are thoroughly vetted. The vetting exercise should yield dispassionate, non-partisan, actors with impeccable reputations. Nigeria must ensure the appointment of new credible INEC leadership at the Federal, State, Local government and municipal – city, town, and village levels – with short tenures – to prevent undesirable political influence and corruption, and reestablish trust in the electoral systems by its citizens. The INEC Chairperson must not only be absolutely above board, he must also be transparently independent and incorruptible.

• Political: Nigeria must find a way to prevent electoral interference at every level. Protecting elections from foreign as well as local malevolent actors is critical. Doing away with their malign influence is crucial for safeguarding democratic integrity and ensuring that election outcomes truly reflect the will of the people. On the local level, we should implement and enforce clearly defined financial regulations for political campaigns, establish effective control and enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance with financial regulations; and intensify activities to prepare and secure the voting infrastructure – such as safeguarding the technology used to collate, transmit, verify, and disperse election results.

• Cybersecurity level: Prior to elections, we should have a transparent exercise (witnessed by international observers) where so called “penetration testing of the election system and infrastructure” is conducted for all to witness and verify.

• Prevention of Electoral violence: Nigeria must ensure the physical security of the commissions and voters. Our security apparatus must be professionally trained to protect our citizens during elections not to be participants in electoral malfeasance.

• Foreign interference can undermine public trust in the electoral process and distort the democratic decision-making that underpins the nation’s governance. Additionally, preventing such influence and interference helps maintain national security and protects the sovereignty of the electoral system from external manipulation.

Voter Registration and Identification: We must ensure that our voter rolls are accurate and up to date and free from interference from the political class or any other corrupting influences.

Ballot Security: INEC must ensure that it institutes ballot security to prevent tinkering or unauthorized access – manually or by cybercriminals. Ballot security also means the secure storage and transport of ballots to collation centers to prevent any form of interference.

Vote Counting and Reporting: Let’s be clear: The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC Election Result Viewing Portal (IReV) are two technological innovations that prior to 2023 were celebrated for their promise. They were to “potentially” enhance the accuracy and transparency of our election results, eliminate the threat of election rigging, and boost public trust in electoral outcomes. These technologies were touted by the INEC chairman himself. In the end, these technologies did not fail. INEC willfully failed to use or implement them which resulted in widespread voting irregularities. It was a case of inviting the Fox into the hen house.

Improving our Educational System: The French statesman and lawyer Maximilien Robespierre famously stated that:“The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant.”

The great Nelson Mandela reminds us that: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Our own Achebe implores that “A functioning, robust democracy requires a healthy educated, participatory followership, and an educated, morally grounded leadership.”

Professor Obasesam Okoi and MaryAnne Iwara call for epistocratic governance and electoral practices, greater civic engagement and provide a salient explanation of Nigeria’s election woes and a path forward:

“In Nigeria, the majority of citizens are uneducated on political issues. Simultaneously, those who are highly educated are increasingly becoming indifferent to political participation; they have lost faith in the power of their votes and the integrity of the political system…in Nigeria, there must be significant improvements in literacy levels so that citizens are educated about the issues and can use their knowledge to make informed decisions about Nigeria’s political future.

It is important to mention that Nigeria’s political elites have exploited illiteracy to reinforce ethnic, religious, and political divisions between groups that impede democratic ideals…The Constitution must ensure that only citizens who can formulate policies and make informed decisions in the public’s best interest can run for public office. When the Constitution dictates the standard of [ governance], informed citizens will be better equipped to champion political leadership or determine the qualifications of their leaders.”

Unfortunately, like many other sectors, the educational system in Nigeria has collapsed. Nigerians are excelling in every academic discipline globally, why have we allowed our educational system to rot back home? In order for Democracy to thrive, we must collectively rebuild our once envied educational sector.

The starting point for me is paying adequate attention to popular education to ensure education for all. A situation where 24 million children that should in school and are out of school does not augur well for our present and our future.

The second task here would be to pull together the ‘best and brightest experienced minds’ in education to help us achieve some of the following goals:

• Revamping our entire educational system. Mediocrity runs rampant in many spheres of Nigerian society. There has to be an increased emphasis on excellence, accountability and performance at all levels including within the Educational sector to salvage it.

• This will require great leadership and financial commitment from the private and public sectors. I know that we can get support from our development partners.

Transparency: We must put in place post-election audits and transparent processes – clear documentation and paths for meticulous and free and fair voting, and credible electoral system – that builds trust and comfort for all stakeholders and voters.

Again, more on Cybersecurity: “In an age where cyber threats are increasingly sophisticated, protecting election systems from hacking, data breaches, and other cyberattacks is vital. This includes everything from the security of voter databases to the protection of websites used to report results.” We saw this cybersecurity failure play out during the last election and we must make sure it never happens again.

Impunity: Politicians corruptly getting themselves declared as winner in an election where votes do not matter and asking winner declared loser to go to court where justice cannot be assured is the easiest and best way to kill electoral democracy.

Corruption in Nigeria

“Among a people generally corrupt, liberty cannot long exist.” – Edmund Burke.

Let me return to Achebe and the Trouble with Nigeria for clarity of perspective on the Nigerian dilemma. According to Chinua Achebe:

“… Corruption goes with power; …therefore to hold any useful discussion of corruption, we must first locate it where it properly belongs – in the ranks of the powerful…Corruption in Nigeria has passed the alarming and entered the fatal stage; and Nigeria will die if we keep pretending that she is only slightly indisposed.”

Ranked 150 out of 180 countries in the Transparency International 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index,1 Nigeria’s ranking places it in