(With the theme, ‘Enhancing Accountability: Limiting Vulnerabilities’, the Nigeria Accountability Summit 2024 continues today in Abuja. Below is my keynote speech at the opening session yesterday morning)
I am aware that when you talk about accountability, people think you are referring to money. But accountability is much more than that. For me, nothing illustrates the real essence of accountability better than a story I once shared in my column. Concerned that her son was addicted to eating to much sugar, a mother sought appointment to see the legendary Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi. When she finally did, with her son in tow, she said: “The whole nation listens to you, please tell my son to stop eating sugar, as it is not good for his health”. Ghandi replied, “I cannot tell him that. But you may bring him back in a few weeks and then I will talk to him.”
Upset and disappointed, the mother took the boy home. Two weeks later, she came back. This time Gandhi looked directly at the boy and said “Son, you should stop eating sugar. It is not good for your health.” The boy nodded his head and made a solemn commitment to heed the admonition. Puzzled, the boy’s mother asked Ghandi, “Why did you send us away two weeks ago when you could have simply told the boy what you just did?”
Gandhi smiled and said: “Two weeks ago, I was eating a lot of sugar myself.”
That, for me, sums up what accountability is all about.
I am delighted to be here this morning for the Nigeria Accountability Summit (NAS) 2024. I understand that the two-day programme is basically for assessing the progress made in achieving the 8-point agenda of the current administration and related priority areas for government at the subnational levels. I remember that in August 2023, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun presented the ‘Roadmap for the Economy’, which highlighted eight priority areas for the administration. They are food security, poverty eradication, economic growth and job creation, access to capital, improving security, rule of law and fighting corruption. It is more than one year since that public proclamation, and the jury is now out as to whether anything concrete has been achieved regarding those lofty objectives.
Since I am not familiar with what President Bola Tinubu has done with his 8-point agenda, I would prefer to restrict my brief intervention this morning to the general notion of ‘accountability’ which is of great importance in all aspects of human endeavour. However, I may also say a few words about the promised food security, job creation, rule of law and all that before I take my seat, although I am more interested in the outcome of your overview of the 8-point agenda.
Accountability is a core pillar of good governance and its relevance in one’s personal and public life cannot be overemphasised. Indeed, at the heart of any meaningful development is accountability and it is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (as amended). Section 15(5) states that: “the state shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power; emphasising the government’s commitment to accountability and transparency.” This is further amplified in Section 16(1): “It is the responsibility of the state to harness the resources of the nation and promote national prosperity and an efficient, dynamic, and self-reliant economy for every citizen.”
There can be no better definition of accountability than the one proffered by this institution. “The concept of accountability is central to discussion related to problems not just in the non-profit and corporate environment but also in the public sector,” quoting from your website. “It is the acknowledgement and assumption of responsibility for action, products, decisions, and policies including the administration, governance, and implementation within the scope of leadership role or employment position and encompassing the obligation to report, explain and answer for resulting consequences.” That for me says it all about why, without accountability, it is impossible to deliver on the public good.
In its ordinary meaning, accountability is an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility for one’s action. It is being held answerable for accomplishing a goal or assignment. It is being self-aware, admitting one’s mistakes and accepting the consequences of one’s actions. Thomas Paine, who authored ‘The Rights of Man’, once wrote that, “a body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.” The tragedy of Nigeria is that the people and institutions responsible for oversight of public expenditure are themselves not accountable. You find the greatest lawbreakers among our lawmakers. Many of our Judges promote injustice. Let’s not even go to the religious sector where clerics mouth what they neither practice nor believe in.
Some centuries ago, a famous philosopher, Joseph de Maistre famously said: “Every nation gets the government it deserves.” What he meant was that it’s up to the citizens of every nation not only to elect the right leaders, but also to hold them accountable. Unfortunately, Nigerians do not perform this sacred duty; they don’t act as a bulwark against bad leadership. Indeed, a former Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, said in his book, ‘Reclaiming the Jewel of Africa’ that the average Nigerian citizen “needs to be reminded what it means to be a citizen all over again.” This, of course, is not to suggest that accountability is only for elected officials. For example, citizens should also be accountable for paying tax. Perhaps that is where the problem lies because we live in a country where most shirk this obligation. In countries where the majority of people pay taxes, there is a strong demand for good governance.
Meanwhile, there is no way we can talk about accountability without the private sector. In Nigeria, the lack of transparency and accountability we see in the public arena is enabled by the private sector. Yet, a lack of accountability in the private sector is as insidious as that of the public sector because of its impact, according to Léonce Ndikumana, a globally renowned Burundian Professor of Economics. As he argued, such lack of accountability “causes severe waste and misallocation of financial, human, and natural resources, thus retarding growth and social development.” And when enormous ill-gotten wealth is captured by the private sector in an environment such as we have in Nigeria today, going by the conclusion of Transparency International, “income inequality is increased and a state’s governing capacity is reduced, particularly when it comes to attending to the needs of the poor.”
Let me now briefly examine a few issues in the 8-point agenda of the Tinubu administration that this session seeks to interrogate. Let’s start with economic growth and food security. Going by the latest World Bank’s ‘Food Security Update Report’, Nigeria is among a few countries that have seen a significant rise in the number of people facing acute food shortages. Year-on-year inflation also surged by 5.98 percent points, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which last week released the latest Consumer Price Index report, revealing that the headline inflation rate for September rose to 32.70 percent. You can all draw your own conclusions.
That millions of Nigerians go to bed hungry every night is no longer a subject of debate. But it is naive to believe that the food crisis can be resolved without addressing the underlying security problems. With arable land and a good climate, we can adequately feed ourselves. The challenge is that most farmers have abandoned their farms due to fear of being kidnapped or killed. If the security of these farmers is assured, the prices of commodities in the market will slowly but surely come down. Without decisive action on that front, the hunger crises will only deepen, and fuel social unrest. That said, we must commend the military for the sacrifice they continue to make on behalf of our country as they tackle the security challenge.
In a recent post, former Commandant, Nigerian Naval Engineering College, Sapele, Rear Admiral Michael Johnson (Rtd) said any democracy, whether liberal or conservative, participatory or representative, “that doesn’t embrace the highest standards of accountability coupled with justice, equity, and fairness will ultimately fail,” just as “belt-tightening philosophies without accountability will not make the citizens trust those in government.” I agree with him. Telling Nigerians to sacrifice without government officials’ taking the lead is an exercise in futility. If Tinubu wants to succeed, those who serve under him must prioritise the public good, exercise their duties with integrity, and manage public resources judiciously. Now that there are reports that the president is considering a cabinet reshuffle, it is also important to understand that the cost of governance must be drastically reduced. Having 48 ministers at a time when most Nigerians can barely feed does not make economic sense.
When we talk about how a lack of accountability defines public conduct in Nigeria, the situation is worse at the subnational level. Indeed, as things stand in Nigeria today, as I have had cause to point out on several occasions, accountability diminishes as you move from the centre to the other units: states and local governments. In most of the 36 states, governors behave like emperors with the speakers of their states houses of assembly mere errand boys/girls who serve and could be removed at their pleasure. The logical result is that the promise of good governance embedded in the theory of decentralization is being delivered in the breach.
(NOTE: The so-called cabinet reshuffle was announced yesterday afternoon. Five Ministers were sacked. Seven new Ministers were appointed to replace them. So, instead of reducing the number that was already unprecedented, the president only added more. At the rate he is going, we may soon have 100 Ministers!)
As I take my seat, let me congratulate my Aburo and co-convener of this conference, Olusegun Elemo and other members of the organising team. I look forward to the outcome of your sessions today and tomorrow. For us to develop as a country, there must be oversight at every level of government to check public expenditure. There is also a burden on the people to constantly wield their power to vote in the right people at elections, and to organise civic activities to demand accountability from their leaders. If Nigerians want to be respected in Africa and beyond, there must be accountability at various levels of government and in the society at large.
Credit: Olusegun Adeniyi