The Nigerian Economic Case in Ethics
February 13 2017 By Abiodun Giwa
President Buhari in london with two of his party's chieftains, who visited to confirm the state of the president's health.
Nigeria's President Muhammed Buhari is yet to return to Nigeria, against expectations that he could arrive on Saturday. There had been protests by Nigerians, who said they were dissatisfied with his government's economic agenda, and that they were in hunger.
Vice President Yemi Osibajo, the acting president, had told protesters that the hard time is part of the price, which Nigerians would have to pay to arrive safely at the promised land.
Virtually every Nigerian agrees that the economic situation in the country is hard and that the situation getting harder everyday. But government appointees disagree. They are saying that Buhari's presidency is the best thing that has happened to Nigeria, because the government is reportedly fighting corruption.
Vice president Osibajo is convinced that without the setback caused by the unexpected drop in the price of petroleum worldwide, the country would have been in a better position economically, compared to current experience of hunger in the country. He has not said anything about what the country will do or doing, to alleviate the current hunger in the country.
Just as the government is struggling with efforts to convince Nigerians that the government has not derailed from its election promises of a better life for Nigerians, another Nigerian politician, James Ibori, the former governor of Delta State, pursued by corruption fights to Dubai and London; jailed in London for money laundering, returned to Nigeria and welcomed with fanfare by his people in the Delta State, with memories of how good he was as a governor, who assuaged their hunger.
Ibori's celebrated arrival in Delta State and his thanksgiving remark that he is not a thief, brings to the fore the question about the role of government in relationship to the people. Should government allow people to die in hunger, while it is busy pursuing objectives it has chosen, against provisions to take hunger away from people's homes? Or is government supposed to leave the people in hunger, irrespective of what may have caused the situation?
The government in Nigeria has said time and time again that no one should expect it to perform magic in the face of the sudden drop in the country's revenue. It has said, in effect, that the drop in oil prices and the revenue have caused it to be unable to fulfill its election promises, and consequently leaving majority of Nigerians in hunger. God provided the Israelis with the Manna, when Moses complained to God, that they were hungry, and that unless something was done, they could be rebellious. Moses was a leader and he averted the hunger faced by his people. What are Nigerian leaders doing?
Many Israelis died during their journey to the promised land, not as a result of hunger, but age and others were destroyed due to disobedience. Do people care about whether a leader is a thief or not, as long as he or she is able to make life comfortable for them? And do people care whether a leader is a saint or a thief, when he or she is making life uncomfortable for them or he or she is not able to address the issue of removing them from discomfort earlier than expected or as expected due to any genuine reason?
The Nigerian case is good for a study in ethics. President Buhari has been holed up in London, taking care of his medical needs, to be able to remain alive to attend to the Nigeria'e political and economic challenges. He was not there to witness the protests against his government. and the Ibori's celebrated arrival. What is certain is that If Ibori and Buhari stands for election in Delta State, a man Buhari's predecessor had pursued with corruption fights to Dubai, to London and the jail house, would win the election.
Many people are saying that the current economic situation in the country is capable of creating more corrupt politicians and that when parents are not able to feed their children or forced to seek means to do so at all cost, it defeats the purpose of a genuine fight against corruption and presents a modest proposal type of an agenda, based on Jonathan Swift's poem "A Modest Proposal", about the dire situation in Ireland, at the time he wrote his piece.
Vice President Yemi Osibajo, the acting president, had told protesters that the hard time is part of the price, which Nigerians would have to pay to arrive safely at the promised land.
Virtually every Nigerian agrees that the economic situation in the country is hard and that the situation getting harder everyday. But government appointees disagree. They are saying that Buhari's presidency is the best thing that has happened to Nigeria, because the government is reportedly fighting corruption.
Vice president Osibajo is convinced that without the setback caused by the unexpected drop in the price of petroleum worldwide, the country would have been in a better position economically, compared to current experience of hunger in the country. He has not said anything about what the country will do or doing, to alleviate the current hunger in the country.
Just as the government is struggling with efforts to convince Nigerians that the government has not derailed from its election promises of a better life for Nigerians, another Nigerian politician, James Ibori, the former governor of Delta State, pursued by corruption fights to Dubai and London; jailed in London for money laundering, returned to Nigeria and welcomed with fanfare by his people in the Delta State, with memories of how good he was as a governor, who assuaged their hunger.
Ibori's celebrated arrival in Delta State and his thanksgiving remark that he is not a thief, brings to the fore the question about the role of government in relationship to the people. Should government allow people to die in hunger, while it is busy pursuing objectives it has chosen, against provisions to take hunger away from people's homes? Or is government supposed to leave the people in hunger, irrespective of what may have caused the situation?
The government in Nigeria has said time and time again that no one should expect it to perform magic in the face of the sudden drop in the country's revenue. It has said, in effect, that the drop in oil prices and the revenue have caused it to be unable to fulfill its election promises, and consequently leaving majority of Nigerians in hunger. God provided the Israelis with the Manna, when Moses complained to God, that they were hungry, and that unless something was done, they could be rebellious. Moses was a leader and he averted the hunger faced by his people. What are Nigerian leaders doing?
Many Israelis died during their journey to the promised land, not as a result of hunger, but age and others were destroyed due to disobedience. Do people care about whether a leader is a thief or not, as long as he or she is able to make life comfortable for them? And do people care whether a leader is a saint or a thief, when he or she is making life uncomfortable for them or he or she is not able to address the issue of removing them from discomfort earlier than expected or as expected due to any genuine reason?
The Nigerian case is good for a study in ethics. President Buhari has been holed up in London, taking care of his medical needs, to be able to remain alive to attend to the Nigeria'e political and economic challenges. He was not there to witness the protests against his government. and the Ibori's celebrated arrival. What is certain is that If Ibori and Buhari stands for election in Delta State, a man Buhari's predecessor had pursued with corruption fights to Dubai, to London and the jail house, would win the election.
Many people are saying that the current economic situation in the country is capable of creating more corrupt politicians and that when parents are not able to feed their children or forced to seek means to do so at all cost, it defeats the purpose of a genuine fight against corruption and presents a modest proposal type of an agenda, based on Jonathan Swift's poem "A Modest Proposal", about the dire situation in Ireland, at the time he wrote his piece.
