Power without responsibility

It was Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s nationalist leader and foremost Pan-Africanist that popularized the concept of power without responsibility. Then, he referred to neo-colonialism as the worst form of imperialism because, “…for those who practice it, it means power without responsibility and for those who suffer from it, it means exploitation without redress.” The neo-colonialist exercises untrammelled powers without the corresponding responsibility that goes with the power. That is why Nkrumah considers this situation so dangerous to African states and advocated for the creation of an African Union, in the mould of the United States of America, to prevent Africa‘s former colonial masters from surreptitiously exercising destructive influence in their former colonies.

But it is not only former colonial powers that exercise power without responsibility in Africa. Another group is what Nkrumah refers to as the ‘invisible government’, a loose amorphous grouping of individuals, cabal, kitchen cabinet, or even godfathers as we call them here, who though unelected, wield untrammelled powers without any means of being responsible or accountable for the powers they wield. And in our polity dominated by ethnic politics, such groups are likely to be made up of the leader’s kinsmen or those from his part of the country.

The existence of this cabal around President Buhari has been an open secret. Even the President’s wife, at a time, alluded to the existence of such a group who “don’t know our party manifesto…don’t know what we campaigned for…” but who have now hijacked her husband’s presidency and are steering it in the direction of they so decide.

Right from the President’s inauguration, the cabal took full charge and, of course, exploiting the president’s obvious lack of understanding of economics and most complex issues of governance, as well as vulnerability due to old age. What makes the takeover by this shadowy group more complete is the tendency of the President, a highly provincial man himself, to over-trust and over delegate authority to his close aides and associates – appointed or not – who are mostly his relatives and or people from his part of the country. Stories abound of these powerful individuals determining key appointments. It is an open secret in the country that what is needed for a job, a connection or contract with the government is to get to meet a member of this powerful group.

President Buhari himself empowered this group early in his administration to be the clearing house and policy centre of his government and restricted even his ministers from accessing him except through this channel. This set the stage for all the impunity and extra-legal actions agencies of government have been taking these past years without any consequences. Some months back, it emerged the Inspector General of Police disobeyed the directive of the president and no disciplinary action was taken against him. Also, twice the Department of State Security (DSS) wrote to scuttle the Senate confirmation of nominated Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). It does not matter that both agencies were directly under the control of the presidency and the DSS was headed by the president’s kinsman.

There should be no mistake about it; this amorphous group of individuals is the greatest threat to our democracy. Prior to elections, they are always very quiet and invisible and only spring to life after the elections, grabbing and exercising powers they did not legitimately receive from the electorate and alienating both the people and those who had electoral mandate of the people in the process. In a normal democracy, the legislature, who constitutionally performs oversight functions on the executive, will publicly name and quiz such individuals and protect the Presidency from being hijacked. But in Nigeria’s case, even the parliament is about being taken over by this cabal to neutralize all opposition to their powers.

Nigerians must rise and respond to this threat, else they will wake up soon to realize that the democracy they fought so hard for to establish and sustain has been taken away from them.