Nigerians care about balanced ethnic and religious representation. It is enshrined in in the 1999 Constitution as Federal Character but the concept has been around in practice and policy since independence. This delicate balance of ensuring fair representation is so consuming that apparently past prime ministers and secretaries to the federal government have been known to walk around with spread sheets detailing the states, zones and local governments where government officials come from. Must be tiring. Still it is not clear what having someone in government from the same state, village or hamlet does for millions of Nigerians – ask the people of Otueke who have had a president from their backyard but no drinking water. Then again they have had governors from Bayelsa since 1999 and that has not made much difference to their lives either.
As the President’s appointments continue to generate waves for not meeting federal character, it might help those on all spectrums of opinion to keep certain things in perspective.
There might already be a surplus of Nigerians in government from the South East. There were alarms to this effect during the Jonathan administration and some on social media have dug up lists to show what positions people from the South East currently hold. Most of these roles are as director generals or chief executives of agencies which are presumably tenured positions and taking that presumption further, one may conclude that the president intends to honour these tenures and not get caught up with the legal resistance of replacing them before the expiration of their term.
However this only addresses the SE issue which is the most obvious because out of an alleged 42 appointments, zero have come from this region. What about the North Central, South South and South West with according to social media analysts have 3%, 17% and 10% of the appointments so far? The response from the Presidential media team that there are more appointments to come is unlikely to assuage passionate critics and worried observers without the full picture. If the Head of Service cannot or will not take the initiative to publish a breakdown of how faithfully the Federal Government has adhered to the federal character principle then maybe a freedom of information request will compel him to share. There are many reasons why it is important to have the full picture and diffuse the tension. The first is the most obvious – Nigerians have gone to war over the reality or perception of the marginalization and victimization of certain ethnic groups because of the fear of domination by any ethnic group over others. The second is that we just went through a grueling and highly divisive presidential campaign where ethnic and religious sentiments and stereotypes were allowed to fly unchecked. The wounds have not healed.
While it might be true that the future appointments will balance out what seems now like an unjust imbalance, the President and his team must be prepared for an escalation in complaints. It would be counter productive to wait until the process is completed to cry out because by then it would be too late. There is already a sense that the ministers’ list will not placate those who are outraged.
A few things are being lost in the ethnically charged interpretations of the most recent appointments. The first is what this mean for the future of the All Progressive Congress. The APC is still fragile, not quite yet a strong party despite the feat of winning 22 states and the presidency in the general elections and the fissures which could be papered over in the fight for the soul of the country are deepening daily. If the appointments of President Buhari fail to satisfy the federal character test, then APC will pay for it.
As a president who might contest for a second term, on the platform of a party that should want to be more than a one hit wonder, there must be some realization that there is political strength in support from all parts of Nigeria. Granted only 1.28% of President Buhari’s 15,411,527 votes came from the South East but often the way to deal with suspicion and hostility is not to stay away, but to draw closer. Is it better for these two hundred thousand people to crow to naysayers who did not vote APC, or for them to be the object of scorn for their belief in the change promised by the APC?
Merit and the benefits of an inclusive government are also being sidelined in the discussions. The argument that merit should trump fair representation and inclusiveness is tired and lazy (and not just because this is the argument used to keep women out of government) because where there is a will there is a way. The real problem is the pool from which candidates are assessed and selected. It is extremely small and skewed in favour of those already known to those making the suggestions. If three northern men of over 60 are asked to source for candidates, then the probability of other 60+ year old men from the north and south from the same college, university or golf club being selected is high. If there was going to be a dispassionate conversation about some of these 42 appointments and adjacent ones that would be a more revealing and interesting one.
Finally, in a country battling chronic insecurity, inequity and unemployment, a government which effectively reflects the diversity of a population that is 50% female and 70% under 35 will reap immense social, economic and cultural dividends.
Some day, the union that is Nigeria will be less occupied with the ethnicity of public office holders, safe in the knowledge that securing peace and prosperity for the majority means demanding equally from everyone in office that they do their jobs with integrity. Until then, we must continue to appreciate and expand on the scope of our diversity while refusing to sacrifice merit and character on the bloodied clay alter of ethnic and religious representation.
Ref: http://www.leadership.ng/columns/457468/can-we-expand-the-debate-on-appointments-beyond-ethnicity
No comments:
Post a Comment