Reforms without reformers

I was going through my digital copy of BusinessDay newspaper of 9 October, 2016 when a story that the “Buhari-led government is going to spend an estimated minimum of N30 billion of taxpayers’ money on another electoral and constitutional project” caught my fancy. It was a disturbing news but I had to align myself with critics who believe that for Nigeria’s democracy to be sustained, we need to properly reform our electoral process. But why spend N30 billion on electoral reform when Nigeria is in economic recession? This is a time the nation must get its priorities right as to how monies are being disbursed from the nation’s treasury. What elected and appointed political office holders should be doing now is to firm up workable strategies on how the nation’s economy could be restored to the path of growth.
One of the major questions political economists usually ask is: why do governments fail to adopt reform recommendations which are believed would improve security and economic well-being of citizens? A former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker, has this to say on reforms: “We all know what to do, but we don’t know how to be re-elected once we have done it.” I concur with his view, and this is the genesis of reforms without reformers in most nations of the world. The report of any reform may either take the convener to court for electoral offences or it could be the basis for voting the government out of office.
Political reformers are politicians who promise voters during campaigns that all questionable activities in government concerning corruption would be addressed. But once they are elected or appointed into public offices, all promises made are not kept. Indeed, political reformers are very scarce in Nigeria because they want status quo to remain. When status quo remains, politicians benefit from it immensely, instead of working assiduously to change and improve the society.
Several reform committee reports weren’t implemented in the past. For instance, several recommendations made by the Justice Muhammadu Uwais Electoral Committee which was convened by ex-President Yar’Adua haven’t been fully implemented. After the Uwais committee report was submitted in 2008, there was a white paper issued by the federal government. The white paper was to enable stakeholders understand the philosophy behind the committee’s work, comprehend various issues deliberated upon by the committee in order to make appropriate decisions. There are reports indicating that the sum of N20 billion was spent by the Uwais electoral reform committee. With the new electoral reform convened by the Buhari-led federal government, it implies that the sum of N20 billion has gone down the drain.
If you think the nation is blessed with political reformers, what about the constitutional review committee convened by the Jonathan government in 2014? The report is somewhere in the Presidential Villa collecting dust. Ex-President Jonathan didn’t have the courage to implement any recommendation of the committee. After losing elections in 2015, Jonathan simply left the committee’s report in the Presidential Villa. Subsequently, he went gallantly to Otuoke, Bayelsa State.
Inaugurating a new electoral reform committee now is a political strategy. When I thought about this political move, one won’t be totally wrong to predict that the Ken Nnamani-led electoral reform committee is one of the many grand strategies to be executed by the APC-led government to stay in power beyond 2019. But I’ll not be surprised if President Buhari does not implement the recommendations of the Nnamani electoral reform committee.
Please let me digress a little. Recently, I read a story about Florida’s Constitutional Review Commission which is required to meet every 20 years to review the state’s constitution and to recommend changes. The takeaway from the story, however, is “that the job doesn’t come with a salary and requires a full year of research review, travel, public testimony and deliberations”. “It is one of the most influential and consequential volunteer positions in the state.”
Back to the main story. If a good job is to be done by the newly constituted electoral reform committee in Nigeria, it requires serious commitment of time. But why is it difficult for the federal government to ensure that reform committees are constituted for volunteers with requisite qualifications? I have argued that those who have the time to participate voluntarily may lack the knowledge to serve alongside politicians. I am anxiously looking forward to the day when Nigerians aspiring to be members of reform committees would apply voluntarily for such national assignments without salaries to discharge such responsibilities.
The argument advanced by a friend is that most Nigerians with full-time jobs will not be interested in participating in such a national assignment. What about retirees? He responded that “retirees that have the expertise and time may not have the political connection to be appointed”.
In this austere time, there should be “lean thinking” by all elected and appointed office holders at all tiers of government. Critics want to know why the federal government is wasting a colossal sum of money to review reports of previous electoral and constitutional reform committees. Political analysts have argued strongly that those in government should not be deceived that an average rational Nigerian voter can be fooled with another electoral reform committee.
So, will the recommendations of the Nnamani electoral reform committee provide a headway for democracy in Nigeria? Time will tell, as the federal government has always demonstrated the lack of political will to implement recommendations of previous reform committees. Anyway, electoral reform is unlikely to lead to employment and growth without economic reform necessary to address the demands of Nigerians. Nigerians are waiting for the recommendations of the newly inaugurated electoral reform committee. The political uncertainty is very high as the nation’s economy is going through some turbulence. Reforms are good, but the outcome of the forthcoming elections in Nigeria will be independent of reforms because voters are now wiser than what they used to be.

MA Johnson