Toheeb Babalola
Last Thursday while seating patiently on a stool at the corridor of a school in Ibadan ,a newspaper’s headline caught my attention on my mobile phone. A major appeal was the headline which reads, “Adeleke Appoints Nephew, Aregbesola ally as board chairmen”. A few hours before this an international news site, Yahoo News reported the same Governor appointing his sister-in-law. I was worried and angry regarding the scenario. “There are many thousands of fresh graduates and qualified individuals from poor family backgrounds that could fill the positions. Is this an affirmation that wealthy people want to die in wealth and leave the poor behind”, I soliloquized?
Nigeria, a country with a President and 36 Governors overseeing over 200million people. The destiny of this populous country in West Africa lies in its 1999 Constitution (as amended). Either at the Federal or State level, the executive arm of government is given the right under the Constitution and Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) to nominate and appoint not just anybody but individuals that qualify for an election, to the position of Commissioners and Ministers. While the legislators at the national assemblies and State Houses of assembly are also given 21 working days to meticulously scrutinize the nominations of the Executive (President and Governors).
However, there has been a recurring situation among the executive arm of government, most especially the Governors, turning the public offices into family affairs in the public space. Nigerians had and still witnessed many sitting Governors across the federation, appointing their family members, including spouses, siblings, nephews and in-laws into key positions in their cabinets. Interestingly it has been proven many times there are much more qualified members of the public who can outperform these relatives as well as cronies of governors.
This practice has raised questions about transparency, accountability and fairness in the governance system. It has also given rise to conflicts of interest and nepotism. It must be acknowledged this is not peculiar to the present administration alone. There have also been cases at the international level where this act is frowned at. But within the Nigeria setting, we believed ex-Imo state governor Rochas Okorocha was the first executive governor to be openly challenged on this.
The ugly development came to limelight in a news report published by the Premium-Times when then Governor of Imo State in South East Nigeria, Rochas Okorocha appointed his Sister, Mrs. Ogechi Ololo as the Commissioner for happiness and Couples’ Fulfillment in 2017. In spite of the fact that the appointment generated criticism and debate in the public space, Mrs. Ogechi Ololo stayed in office.
With such uproar, many believed others should have learned their lessons but what is obvious from present realities is that leaders here never learned anything but will rather pursue personal goals over the governed. The immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, appointed Fatima, daughter of the former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, as his Special Assistant on Non-Governmental and Civil Society Organizations in 2019.
Justifying his decision on the appointment of Fatima, Femi Gbajamiala stated that,”Fatima is an extraordinary young woman. I have watched her struggle when she was at her lowest and noticed how she never lost faith and “she walks confidently in the direction of her dreams”. From this excerpt, can we say that there are no extraordinary graduates or individuals that walk confidently in the country aside from Fatima?
A really annoying scenario is the recent appointments of two family members of the Governor of Osun State Nigeria, Mr. Ademola Nurudeen Adeleke in the State cabinets. Mrs. Adenike Adeleke, a sister-in-law to the Governor was appointed as a Commissioner on Wednesday while Mr. Rasaq Salinsile, a nephew of the Governor was also appointed as the board Chairman of the Teaching Service Commission. To further increase his level of insensitivity, the governor appointed a no long distance relation as the Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission.
Although, there is no legal instrument that can curb the Governors from making such decisions, however, the possibility of currying negative image from the electorate (people) looms large for the governor. A general perception that public offices are being abused by the Governors to serve their personal interests cannot be ruled out.
In the minds of these politicians, they do have a right to appoint whom they could vouch for or trust were the reasons behind such appointment. But do the people who trust them with their votes by electing them into power deserve this?
The sole implication of these unacceptable trends perpetrated by Nigerian Governors will result in the loss of public trust. Democracy is about inclusiveness and full participation of the people in decision making. Appointment of individuals into public offices based on family-centricity leads to nepotism and no sense of belonging. Everyone deserves a place in government through representatives.
In order to curb the existence of this development, I will recommend that the legislators should enact a bill that will restrain the relatives of either President or Governor from holding many public offices so that fairness may prevail
Nigeria Grassroot News
The above is an opinion of the writer, in order to preserve its originality, minimal changes were made.
Photo credit: The Punch
