Less than one month to the April 2011 general elections, Nigerian political parties have once again been invited to sign a Code of conduct to guide their activities before and during the polls. The first of such Code of Conducts was signed shortly before the 2007 elections.

1. The 2007 Code of Conduct provided that: IPAC [the Inter-party Advisory Council] would elect a chairman and a secretary for a one year term to be rotated among members.

The tenure of the pioneer chairman and secretary elapsed [by their own admission] since June 2010, but they are currently still holding office and are encouraged in this illegality by the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC]. This is despite the fact that that same Code of Conduct states in article [5] under Rule of Law;

It shall be the sacred and binding duty of political parties to ensure strict compliance with this code of conduct and assist the security agencies and electoral officials in apprehending and punishing their members who attempt to, or flout the provisions of the code, the electoral act and or INEC electoral guidelines.

2. The 2007 Code of Conduct states further: All political parties shall separate party business from government business. as such, political parties shall not utilise public resources for party activities and shall not permit any of its sponsored candidates holding public office to use public resources for the purpose of political campaigning in elections.

But what do we find in practice today? President Goodluck Jonathan, all state Governors who are candidates for the April 2011  Elections, all ministers, all senators, all members of the federal house of representatives, all members of the states Houses of Assembly, all commissioners,…in fact all elected office holders in Nigeria today have merged party business with government business.

3, The 2007 Code of Conduct also states inter alia: All political parties shall have equal/equitable access to public owned print and electronic media, as guaranteed by law.

But everyone knows that all public owned print and electronic media in Nigeria today have been turned into private propaganda machinery of the political parties in power at the respective levels.

Codes of Conducts are meant for people of honor and integrity, not for the average Nigerian politician. Nigeria is a nation where the highest office holders and politician agree on one thing and proceed to do the opposite without blinking. It is a nation where if one goes to a court of law and presents a case of a breach of agreement, especially, political agreement as demonstrated most recently, the court can prove beyond any reasonable doubt that indeed there was a breached  agreement but that there is nothing it can do about it.

States electoral commissions

The 2007 Code of Conduct as well as the 2011 revised version of it are designed to give the impression of fairness, and concern or commitment to a level playing field for Nigerian political parties and their candidates, but situations on the ground makes total nonsense of such pretensions.

In Nigeria, Independent Electoral Commissions which are set up by the various state governors are 100% loyal and dependent on those governors and their parent political parties. In at least 90% of all the so called elections such bodies have conducted in Nigeria, they have through hooks and crooks invariably returned the candidates of the political parties whose governors set them up.

Federal legislators

The federal legislators who have had the effrontery to harass the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria for helping to bring to light the amount of money they were ripping off the nation monthly and who in truth individually collect per month at least double the amount of annual grants given to political parties are standing for the same elections as candidates of those political parties, 90% of which have at present no representations in the national assembly. What manner of fairness is this and how can the so called Code of Conduct help matters?

Who should be parties to codes of conduct for Nigerian elections?

If we in Nigeria are indeed interested in a meaningful Code of Conduct, then we need to deepen our thoughts about this. When we do so, we shall identify bodies that must be brought into the arrangement to give it meaning. The bodies are indeed those that break all rules of fairness and public order. The groups and bodies include but are not limited to: INEC, The Police, the SSS, the EFCC, the Code of Conduct Bureau, the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission, the Federal, States and Local Governments, and certain members of the international community.

INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] being the body charged with the responsibility of conducting elections amongst other duties must be fair to all political parties and to that extent shall not strive to undermine the interests of the parties. Recently, INEC invited political parties to a meeting, gave them guidelines for the elections and room to make their own recommendations promising that the final guidelines would be released after that. The guidelines are yet to reach the parties.

Police, SSS, EFCC, Code of Conduct Bureau

When the African Renaissance Party was to hold its national convention, the office of the Inspector General of Police was informed in writing and urged to send officers to ensure that there was no breakdown of law and order, but the police did not send anyone. When the PDP held its own convention, the same police flooded everywhere with its officers. This is not fair. Other political parties have their own stories. The bottom-line is that the Nigeria police should be made to subscribe to some Code of Conduct in that respect.

The EFCC has been known to be always eager to go after members of the opposition especially when elections are at hand as of now, but when cases are made against prominent members of the government, the EFCC lives grossly under expectation. I recall to mind when that was serious commotion in the Federal House of Representatives and certain members of that House made serious allegations to the EFCC and the EFCC promised Nigerians that it would swing into action. Nothing was done.The Code of Conduct Bureau falls under the same category as the EFCC in its selection of the opposition as targets.

Nigerian Broadcasting Commission

The Code of Conduct guarantees equal access to public owned media. This is totally meaningless if it is not observed by the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission. So, the NBC must be an integral part of any useful Code of Conduct in that respect.

Federal, States and Local Governments

All talks about separating public government business from political party business are useless if the Federal, States and local governments are not somehow compelled to observe them.

The International Community

The International Community in Nigeria have always been partial and are often times in the habit of publicly endorsing candidates for Nigerian elections. This is irresponsible.If a member of the international community can endorse a candidate for an election in public, we can only imagine the type of assistance it may extend to such candidates and their political parties in private.

Which way for Nigeria?

Things are getting worse in almost all aspects of life in the Nigerian society. The culture of violence is creeping into the polity. Terrorism is a reality in Nigeria. Political rallies are events to dread. A bomb blast in Niger state reportedly left 10 people dead. The 50th independence anniversary on the nation witnessed a bomb blast and another such blast happened within the grounds of a military barracks in Abuja and Nigerians are yet to see anyone convicted for these. Blinded by greed and quest to remain perpetually in power, the powers that be are always too quick to point accusing fingers in the direction of their political opponents.

Nigeria is a nation where extreme partisan politicians who spend all their youthful days pushing sectoral and parochial agenda, once they become elderly, especially where they are close to the corridors of power and can extend illicit patronage are automatically branded Elder Statesmen. The truth remains that the politician thinks of the next election while the statesman thinks of the next generation. There are too many politicians in Nigeria, but too few statesmen.

African Renaissance

Nigerian elites are largely impervious to reason and adamant to correction. For instance, all of them drive around in vehicles and fly in airplanes manufactured by nationals of other countries. They do not ask: Why are we not manufacturing our own cars, jeeps, airplanes? What is wrong with us and with our polity?

Why is it that the nation earns more than 40Billion Naira everyday and the overwhelming majority of the citizens are wallowing in abject poverty? Why is it that the average Nigerian youth is doing everything possible to get out of Nigeria? Why are thousands of Nigerians today trapped in Libya? Why is the average Nigerian female university graduate turning to prostitution to survive”? What is wrong with us? Why are we suffering so much in the midst of plenty?

Since 1999, we have spent over 75% of our time talking about politics and how to govern ourselves but never get it right. Since independence we have borrowed governance systems from everywhere, we are prepared to learn from everyone but never from ourselves and from the history of our own peoples. 

Africa needs to put in place massive programmes for its renewal- economic, political, social, and intellectual. It needs to accept its weaknesses to itself and needs to communicate with itself first and foremost. Is the universal saying not true that God helps those who help themselves-Joel Netshitenzhe.

Nigeria is the first born of Africa and must wake up to this responsibility. We must take Africa to the promised land. We must solve all our political and economic problems and help other nations of Africa to solve theirs. We must guide the rest of Africa out of poverty and intellectual dependency. Nigeria must lead the rest of black Africa in the campaign for African Cultural Renaissance.

By Yahaya Ezeemoo Ndu
National Chairman, African Renaissance Party [ARP]