NGF and the rest of us
Citizens have been watching with disappointment the lingering crisis in the Nigerian Governorship Forum (NGF), a pressure group formed by the governors to pursue their common interests, and especially to actively engage the Federal Government on issues revolving around revenue allocations.
The crisis of leadership in the governors’ forum and the resultant division is hugely distractive. Governors are constantly in Abuja rather than their states. Even the provision of good governance in the various local governments in their states is secondary. Their concentration on the activities of NGF in total neglect of their jobs could be likened to a student who abandoned studies for union activities on campus. This is regrettable and suggests voters’ interests are irrelevant.
NGF is established as a pressure group whose major interest is to speak with same voice in matters concerning federal allocations to the states. Sule Lamido, governor, Jigawa State, succinctly stated this much in an interview the other day. “If tomorrow the issue is about sharing money, the governors of Akwa Ibom, that of Lagos, that of Zamfara, Bayelsa will be on the same frequency because they all want money. So, the issue is not about persons, but it is about what do we get as governors from the federation account which is defined as ours,” Lamido said.
For some months now, the 36 governors have been at loggerheads over the leadership of their forum. While they fight for personal aggrandizement, provision of infrastructure and efforts at generating revenues for the proper running of their states are relegated to the background.
Concerned Nigerians are appalled by governors that cannot organize simple elections, but are quick to resort to political brigandage. The innuendoes and pointers to manipulation from the presidency, even if they are true, presents the governors as those who do not possess the political maturity, sense of responsibility and integrity required to occupy their esteemed offices.
Any wonder why there is lawlessness across the Nigerian space. Laws are not obeyed, rules are broken with impunity, democratic processes and ethos are thrown overboard, prebends, prebendalism and predatory practices hold sway everywhere.
It must be stated that the political elite and ruling class show no good examples. This display of recklessness and lawlessness has given much impetus to the level of criminality in society. Recently, some armed robbers reportedly justified their nefarious activities by saying they were encouraged to do so by the corrupting influence of political office holders.
No desired or sustainable progress can be made in any society where leaders decide to conduct themselves improperly. Elected public office holders, from the least to the highest were voted into power not to serve their parochial and prebendal interests, but to pursue with all their being what serves the interests of the electorates.
We urge the entire ruling class to tread with caution, and display political maturity especially as we move closer to 2015, avoiding creating disharmony that may trigger ugly occurrences. We believe that the time and resources that the governors are wasting on their endless journeys to Abuja to hold NGF meetings, court for favours from the Presidency and engage in political pussy-footing of all sorts could have been channeled into meaningful projects.
For instance, a faction of the NGF spent the entire penultimate weekend in Abuja for its meeting and the next day, the group had a consultation with Olusegun Obasanjo, former president. These are unnecessary activities that ridicule democracy. And this is the time to put a halt to this monumental political drama that yields no good for Nigeria’s democracy.