The recent public declaration by President Goodluck Jonaathan that he didn’t “give a damn” about publicly declaring his assets still calls for serious concern. But the concern here is not just about his boastful refusal to publicly declare his assets. The undignified use of language implied in the presidential statement was shocking, to say the least. And the declaration also reeks of subliminal insinuations of what our leaders probably think of Nigerians, and say about national affairs, in the recesses of their minds and closed door discussions.
The President, by his statement, might be encouraging other public leaders at various levels not to “give a damn” about accountability and transparency in governance. He might be telling Nigerians complaining about the state of the nation to “go to hell.” In fact, the President might be echoing the opinion that Nigerian leaders don’t really care about good governance, as long as they enjoy the privileges of occupying public office.
Now, in a country where leaders “don’t give a damn” about national interests, the people become damned. And to be damned is to be unlucky, ruined and condemned to substandard existence. It is that crude state of existence which the 17th century English philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, in Leviathan depicts life as being “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
Is the evidence not there all around us, showing that Nigerian leaders do not really care about the citizens? Today, not many Nigerians can boast decent standard of living. A principal reason is simply that the economy is in a shambles. The reason the economy is in a mess is because the government is mismanaging it. When we add the factor of pervasive corruption by public leaders to their gross mismanagement of the economy, the result is economic deprivation of many Nigerians. This manifests in joblessness, under-employment, inflation, poverty and frustration of dreams and goals. Yet, our leaders “don’t give a damn.”
Sadly enough, the same leaders cannot even provide the enabling environment for citizens to help themselves economically. The basic infrastructure needed for productive economic activities are still sorely lacking. Roads and transport systems across the country are as woeful as ever. Electricity is still a rare privilege to access. And the frightening insecurity of lives and property is even a most daunting challenge now. Isn’t it time the concerned authorities gave a damn?
Talking of insecurity, the “I don’t give a damn” attitude is evident in the routine unfulfilled promises government makes every time a crisis befalls the nation. Indeed, presidential assurances in moments of crisis have become mere bureaucratic memos issued without the intent to act on them. For instance, since the Boko Haram conundrum started threatening the public peace, President Goodluck Jonathan has repeatedly promised an end to it. Earlier this year when he attended a global forum in Seoul, South Korea, he assured prospective investors that terrorism in Nigeria would soon be a thing of the past. We are now in the second half of the year, and the level of insecurity is only getting deadlier. But who gives a damn?
For over two weeks running, the long-forlorn Plateau State has been under murderous attacks by sectarian terrorists. Two lawmakers at the federal and state levels were killed in one of the attacks. Many others lost their lives. The nation was shocked by the dimension of the massacre. The Presidency, as usual, issued condolence and condemnatory statements. The President promised that the culprits would be “fished out.” All the huff and puff of presidential remonstrations had hardly fizzled out when two villages in the same Plateau State suffered fresh attacks on Tuesday.
Now, which kind of government is this that doesn’t follow up its promises, assurances and warnings with corresponding actions? One would expect that maximum security would have been put in place to forestall a repeat of such horrendous killings in Plateau State and other areas of violence in the North.
But it all seems as if the government is not only clueless, it is also powerless about securing our lives. Why then do we maintain several security agencies with hefty funding if the will and initiative to provide tight security for citizens are grossly lacking? Why do we have a government at all if it can’t fulfil its basic responsibilities to the governed? Don’t our leaders give a damn that every Nigerian’s life is sacred and our security should not be treated with levity?
Interestingly, the “I don’t give a damn” expression is aped from the Western world where governments “give a damn” about people-centred governance. For instance, the American government does give a damn about the security and safety of every American. That is why the White House, FBI, CIA and other organs of American government would go any length to secure American lives. That is why the 9/11 terrorist horror in the U.S. has not repeated itself a decade after.
And it’s not just because the American government leverages on sophisticated counter-terrorism technology, but it shows the political will, sincerity of purpose, seriousness of attitude, urgency of action and responsible commitment to make good its promises of security of lives and property. The Nigerian government should imbibe those lofty attitudes too. More than ever, we need leaders who give a damn about securing our lives, property and socio-economic wellbeing.
Onifade wrote from Lagos via adebiyigood@yahoo.com
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