States And Local Government Corruption Nigeria’s Undoing

GREAT IMO JONATHAN

 Most of what have been talked about corruption is focused on the Federal; not much is being said about the other tiers, especially Local Governments in Nigeria. Yet these are the two most important tiers of Government relevant to the development of our people, because that is where they live. Because Local Governments in Nigeria are not developing infrastructures in our communities businesses and industries are not being encouraged to set up in local area, thereby jobs are not being created for our youths in their localities. 

Many of them end up migrating to cities in their numbers in search of ever declining job opportunities. Where many of them are unable to find something meaningful to do, they go into crime comfortable because they are not easily known in the city where multitude mill around without proper identity. 

I am concerned about the corruption that is preeminent at the State and Local Government levels, perpetuated by Governors. Governors and Local Government Chairmen come and go but communities remain the same. Rather than improve, community infrastructures are decaying. Some of the roads we have today were built during the first republic or during the Military era. 

Apart from individual citizens, who managed to build new houses in their communities, nothing new is happening in rural communities. Things are getting worse, health centres are being closed down, overgrown with grasses or are operating at abysmal level. Primary schools are still what they were in the 70s and some communities still don’t have electricity in this 21st century or there no electricity supply where through self help the people were able to install power themselves. Yet we are not  talking of non existing street lights in these communities. 
Yet Local Governments get billions from Federal allocation  yearly. 

And we have been clamouring for more devolution of powers to the States and Local Government. We thought that we needed to give more powers and money to these tiers so that we can accelerate development. This is because the role of States and Local Government in our national development and the need to devolve more powers to them is not in doubt. 

But with the large scale corruption ongoing at these two tiers of Government, it will be a waste of resources. Governors in Nigeria have become emperors; State Houses of Assembly are now appendages of governors’ offices as they are populated by local cultists, who are personally nominated by Governors for doing dirty jobs and mobilizing thugs and other cultists for purposes of intimidating or annihilating opposition in their state. 

Local Government Chairmen are usually not elected but appointed by Governors and they too are a bunch of cult boys doing Governors biddings at the Local Government levels. Some of the Governor’s even complete their two terms of eight years without conducting one Local Government election.

More worrisome is the fact that they are not doing this for the benefit of their people. In appointing those that will administer the Local Government or anointing people for State Houses of Assembly, their intentions are not to deliberately bring onboard the best and the brightest in their state. Character and competence are never considered. They are more comfortable anointing criminals and cultists, who are loyal to them than giving credible and competent persons the opportunity to contribute to the development of their state. If you are not a member of their cult and you are not ready to swear to a blood oath, they do not want to have anything to do with you. They prefer violent characters because politics for them is a do or die affair and its about primitive material acquisition.

What is happening at the States and Local Governments today is barbaric. Governors are pocketing Local Government allocations and looting state resources in different guise. Monies meant for grassroots development are not being invested into the Local Government. The only thing they do is to settle political appointees, royal fathers, political godfathers and their cult boys. Next is to pay civil servants, who themselves only go to work when allocation comes. 

The political class is focusing on looting Federal allocation while they share internally generated revenue with their criminal counterparts in the civil service, leaving the people with nothing but hopelessness and desperation. Most civil servants you see at the Local Government wearing bathroom slippers are millionaires and some of them own estates, landed properties and houses in various parts of their state. Moreover, they are accomplices of the political class; they help them perfect their papers for looting. 

Nothing gets done at the Local Government levels and not much is being done at the states. With few exceptions, governors and their boys are pocketing both IGR and Federal allocations. Even when they attempt to do one or two things for the people they end up overinflating the cost and pocketing more money. Thereby, the local communities keep retrogressing while a few amongst the people keep getting fat and entrenched. 

Our people are left to fend for themselves or get involved in any crime of their choice; internet fraud, armed robbery, kidnapping, prostitution, vandalism, human trafficking, illegal mining, illegal oil bunkering, drug trafficking, fake drug distribution and outright ritual murder for money. What a pity!

Agreed, corruption at the Federal level has been unimaginable but as we continue to clamour for more devolution of powers to the States and Local Government, there is the danger that corruption and incompetence at those two levels will finally consume Nigeria if nothing is done quickly.

To mount a campaign against corruption without challenging the frontiers of existing thinking is really to pay lip service to idea of enforcement of law and order. As we engage in the fight against corruption at the center, there is the need to extend the fight to States and Local Government. Particular attention should be paid to Local Government in order to free Nigeria. It is very important because the inability of Government at all levels to develop our infrastructure is a major cause of our underdevelopment and crime. It promotes social crisis.

The progress of our nation without doubt depends substantially on the seriousness, focus, vision and discipline of those in leadership position at all levels and tiers. But indeed development at the grassroots is central to solving many of our problems.

We must be watchful of our Governors and Local Government Chairmen at all times against issues of due process, accountability and transparency and be ready to evolve and involve relevant constitutional procedures for litigation against any infringements or violation of oath of office. 

With the exception of few, most elected Governors and their stooges at the various Houses of Assembly and Local Government Chairmen don’t have passion for their job, or compassion for their people. Some times, you can even notice that some of them don’t have the intelligence to have very full knowledge of the problem they are expected to solve or that they are expected to be honest as distinct from being dishonest about their office.

Because of their moral standing, a lot of them cannot enforce law and order neither can they task the people to get involved in the development of their state. This character issue deprives them of moral authority to enforce collection of taxes, when they have been levied, it deprives them of the authority to enforce laws that have been made, and as they seek to be popular they have been unwilling and sometimes unable to enforce laws, lest they be exposed.

We must, as a matter of urgency, begin to tackle corruption at the State and Local Government levels vigorously even as the fight at the Federal level must be intensified. Because if we insist on pursuing old methods that have not worked for us, we have no right to aspire for change.

– Great Imo Jonathan writes from FCT, Abuja.