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30 May 2013
By Isa Ali Pantami
Governance is a trust, and it
requires delegation of power and division of labour
amongst aides, subjects, entourages and lieutenants of
the principal and executive officers in the corridors
of power in all tiers of government. This is primarily
done based on merit, integrity, portfolio and
professionalism in developed and/or responsible
countries in the world. Unfortunately the reverse is
the case in all tiers of government- local, state and
federal government of our darling modern Nigeria.
Frank Herbert opined that, "good
governance never depends upon laws, but upon the
personal qualities of those who govern. The machinery
of government is always subordinate to the will of
those who administer that machinery. The most
important element of government, therefore, is the
method of choosing leaders". In line with this,
ministers, commissioners, advisers, secretaries,
directors, assistants and security aides are an
integral part of those who govern as nicely argued by
Frank Herbert.
All leaders in their government and
cabinet as well, have naturally two sets of Aides-
Sincere aides and Evil aides. In a responsible
government, sincere aides who always speak the truth
are always honoured and cherished, while evil aides
are avoided and held responsible as the case may be,
for misleading government in their advice.
Paradoxically, in our motherland, evil aides are
always the most honourable subjects to their
principals. As a result of that, officially-appointed
and self-appointed advisory aides are the real
supporters of creating holes on the floor of our
sinking Nigeria in the ocean of pandemonium as
divinely vindicated by the infallible prophetic
framework of our discussion.
Interestingly, the prophetic model
of selecting advisers has been adopted for x-raying
the anatomy of aides in all tiers of government in our
contemporary Nigeria. Our infallible Prophet (Pbuh)
says: "(Our) Lord neither raised up any Prophet
nor did He authorise any person with ruling power but
for whom there were two types of Aides: One enjoins
upon him to do good and incites him to carry it out,
and the Other enjoins evil and encourages him to
perpetrate it: and the one who protected himself from
the evil aides is the one whom Allah divinely
protects" (Bukhaari RH reported it).
A leader has been divinely advised
here that integrity, honesty, knowledge, experience
and professionalism are the prerequisites to choosing
anybody as his aides, friends and associates. Prior to
nomination and subsequent appointment, he should
deeply check up the reputation of his aides. This
precautionary measure will serve as a safeguard
against the spread of corruption and injustice in
society and serve the cause of goodness. Secondly, a
leader should obey this advice, because this
discipline or adviser will not only keep him safe from
making faults but will also serve as a shield against
the machinations of wicked people and their
lieutenants as well.
However, this prophetic advice has
been ironically toggled by most of our executives in
power, because in modern Nigeria, ministers,
directors, commissioners, special advisers, special
assistants and security aides are mostly being
selected based on expertise in sycophancy, hypocrisy,
conspiracy and dogmatic followership. In very few
instances people are selected based on merit, and they
are indeed insignificant to bring any remarkable
change. As a result of that, they mostly end up
resigning, compromising their integrity, at least
physically or remain irrelevant in government.
In the Nigerian context, aides are
divided into two- officially-appointed aides and
self-appointed or oga-adopted aides. In both cases
sycophancy is mostly the automatic ticket for
relevancy and long-term tenure, while integrity is
mostly the automatic ticket for irrelevancy and
short-term tenure. Undoubtedly, sycophants always
follow His Excellency blindly and dogmatically. They
always tell him what he wants to hear. They show him
that he is always right, no matter what illegal
decision he takes. To them "Might" is "Right". The
main source of their allegiance is money. They say
what they don't believe in, and they believe in what
is impossible. If their master loves you, they always
pretend loving you, and if he hates you, they always
hate you with all enmity. Their credential is
ignorance, their working experience is conspiracy and
their area of specialisation is hypocrisy. And
perhaps, they get their promotion based on these
shameful and sinful attitudes. They always follow
their master wherever he goes; they never allow him to
have time for official activities, his family and
himself. They never tell him if other responsible
people commend him even once in a while, they only
tell him people's criticisms against him without being
just in their narration. This madness of sycophancy is
more glaring, if you look at how "educated" sycophants
recently tried to justify the unjustifiable removal of
the so-called fuel subsidy by government.
In another version of the
prophetic model, our beloved Prophet (SAW) says: "When
(our) Lord desires well for a Leader, He assists him
in appointing a Sincere Adviser who will remind him if
he forgets and helps him if he remembers. When (our)
Lord wishes for him contrary, He will leave him to
appoint a Bad Adviser who will not remind him if he
forgets, nor will he help him if he remembers"
(Bukhaari RH reported him).
Divine blessings lie in the
recruitment of good, sincere and scrupulous aides.
Such aides will be helpful to him in making sound
judgment, reaching right conclusions and guarding him
against leaning towards evil projects. However, if
these aides are self-seekers, flatterers and corrupt,
they will undoubtedly influence his decision-making in
a bad way. And one can believe that the end of the
leader will be far from being desirable because
history also supports this assertion and also cannot
lie. As for the Hereafter, he will be hardly safe from
the infernal torment.
I wish executive officers could
listen to this divine prophetic advice and heed its
reminder accordingly. They shall appoint sincere and
incorruptible people with proven integrity who will
tell them the truth, no matter how bitter it may be,
not evil and corruptible people who only dance to
their tune- the good, the bad, the ugly and the evil.
Undoubtedly, this is a fundamental component of their
success in leadership. A word is enough for the wise.
May Allah save our sinking Nigeria from drowning and
the machinations of sycophants.
Isa Ali
Pantami,
PhD
Candidate (Computing & IT) in the United Kingdom,
Lecturer,
ATB University, Bauchi, Nigeria
E-mail: isapantami@yahoo.com
This article was first sent to EsinIslam by the
writer, Brother Isa Ali Pantami on 14/04/1433H
(06/04/2012G) |
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