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By Adewale Sanyaolu, Lagos
The high level of impunity by government at all level and Nigerians in general has left the country with little or no gain from the dividends of democracy, a don at the Lagos State University (LASU), Dr Adeolu Oyekan, has said.
Oyekan stated this Saturday at a webinar organised by the National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity), Saratoga X Deck (Festac Branch) in commemoration of the International Day of Democracy with the theme ’’Impact of Impunity on Democracies: The Case with Nigeria’’.
The philosophy lecturer who was the guest speaker said the structure of the country as it is today doesn’t represent a true reflection of democracy and its ideals, adding that democracy is about giving power to the people and ensuring that they participate very actively in the governance process.
‘‘Participating in the governance process goes beyond coming out every four years to vote but it is about people participating in the leadership process even if the process is not working as much as they expect, they claim ownership and work together to make it work.
He lamented that the lack of consequences for action has emboldened those in leadership to carry on with reckless abandon.
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Oyekan said the normalisation of corrupt practices across different levels of Government is a sour taste in the democratic process.
The don, who is also a social and political commentator, raised the alarm that the issue of budget padding by MDAs has assumed a frightening dimension in the last five to six years has been a recurrent feature of our national live with nobody being apprehended or sent to jail.
Oyekan regretted that, people do these things repeatedly because they know there wouldn’t be consequences for their actions and that has made impunity to become a culture which has permeated all aspects of our national lives since the return of democracy in 1999.
He maintained that the non-adherence to the rule of law by the executives, especially at it relates to the disregard for court judgments is one that is becoming too many.
He said the trend by presidents and governors to overwhelm and try to pocket the different arms of government by being a stumbling block to the principle of separation of power has made the entire process to become a joke.
He said in many states today, the development has incapacitated the different arms of government from functioning properly to carry out checks and balances, stressing that the constant assaults on the judiciary is equally a reference in point.
To reverse the growing trend of impunity, he said citizens must hold their leaders accountable and not settle for less.
According to him, citizens must constantly interrogate their leaders, especially at it relates to cost of governance and projects.
‘‘It is not enough to applaud leaders when they carry out projects just because their predecessors didn’t do that much or any at all. But such projects must be interrogated in terms of quality and cost.
He said Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) must be more alive to their responsibilities by bringing some of the excesses of Government to the fore so that the awareness of citizens are awakened.
‘‘When we talk about CSOs, we mean the serious ones like NAS and others that are doing great job and do not have any political affiliation or being sponsored by a group for their own selfish gains.”
