It is not surprising that the declaration of assets worth about N50 billion by Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has continued to generate considerable public interest.
This is perhaps, the first time in recent times a governor would make public his assets. He also set record as the first public officer to file details of those assets on the eve of his inauguration even when the laws establishing the Code of Conduct Bureau CCB stipulated a three-month timeframe for the exercise.
These should have stood him out for commendation given the high prevalence of corruption in our public life and the imperative to stem the tide. By the measures, Makinde has provided the template for the public to hold him accountable in and out of office. The point he seemed to have made is that if assets worth more than his official earnings are traced to him on exiting office, he should be made to face the raw teeth of the law. That should be something to cheer about.
But we live in a clime of abject poverty with a few swimming in scandalous opulence. It is therefore little a surprise that the disclosure of such huge amount of funds and assets has come with its own challenges. Issues have been raised in some quarters as to how a single individual could possibly amass such huge amount of money and assets in the face of debilitating poverty. And this has tended to take off the shine from an action that should ordinarily, have been received with considerable applause.
But the governor did no wrong. Nigeria’s poor rating in the world’s poverty index is none of his making. Neither can he be possibly held liable for the woes of this country. He was only obeying extant regulations regarding assets declaration by public office holders. If he is considered stupendously rich by local standards, it is no fault of his. After all, the capitalist system we run thrives on such inequalities. Makinde seemed to have followed the pattern set by late President Umaru Yar’Adua when in June 2007 he made an open declaration of his assets. Yar’Adua had then asked his vice to follow his example but his ill-health and subsequent death did not allow that visionary move to be fully appreciated.
Before now, some key public officials of the government have been arraigned at the Code of Conduct Tribunal CCT for either failure to declare assets, concealment of assets or lack of full disclosure. The case of the immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen is still very fresh in the mind. Makinde was just being mindful of all that.
Curiously, questions have been raised as to how he could have acquired such stupendous wealth in this country. Issues were bandied in some quarters as to the amount of taxes he pays to the government and his level of social responsibility to his constituents. Some even went to the ridiculous length of calling on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC and other relevant bodies to have him investigated. Investigate him for what offence?
Sadly, what should have stood out as an example of emulation was seemingly diminished by scathing remarks as to how he made his money, the level of taxes paid and the corporate citizenship of some of his companies. By dwelling more on the negative side of the action, we lost a good opportunity to appreciate the heuristic vale of the exercise. For a government that has the war against corruption as one of its cardinal programs and had taken some unconstitutional steps to hound those suspected of fraud related offences; that was a good opportunity to celebrate the gains of the war.
One would have expected the government to positively hype up that development commending the approach to other elected and appointed public officials. But for some inexplicable reasons, that opportunity was allowed to be drowned by derisive remarks and unhelpful scepticisms.
Now what are the issues? Here is a governor that dutifully declared his assets in keeping with extant regulations. He did not just stop at that, but went further to make them public even before being sworn-in. And that has become his crime for which he must be hounded? What an irony! If he had opted to go it secretly as most public officers do, would anybody have known the worth of his assets to warrant calling for a probe? And which of the two options serves public interest better- secret declaration as has been the order of the day or open declaration on the eve of inauguration now pioneered by Governor Makinde?
The later obviously better serves the course of probity and accountability. It is a sincere move stemming from the heart of one who has nothing to hide. The impression it generally conveys is that of one who made his money genuinely and therefore has nothing to fear by making that information public. I stand to be contradicted.
Questions as to how he made his money, the amount of taxes he paid and his overall positive impact on the society are essentially diversionary. They are not relevant to the situation and cannot be used to smear an example worthy of emulation. Moreover, there is the inherent danger that such negativism could scare away public officers who may wish to toe the same path.
We would have lost a lot of mileage in the war against corruption if by those scornful remarks and negativism we end up discouraging those who might be spurred by Makinde’s action to follow the same line. But then, probity and accountability in public offices would be better enhanced if public officers are bold enough to make public the overall worth of their assets. It will also give inkling on income distribution within the Nigerian society.
How people make their money, the level of taxes they pay and issues of corporate citizenship are not entirely out of place. But they are irrelevant at the point of assets’ declaration. There are statutory bodies charged with those responsibilities. If they fail to discharge their duties as at when due, that is their cup of tea.
And if one may ask, what have we done with those few Nigerians that control the entire wealth of the country almost exclusively? Why have our anti-graft agencies not probed into the sources of their wealth including those of them that have held public offices in this country? That should be the real issue and not the avoidable distraction in attempting to stigmatize a governor, honest enough to avail the nation of his total assets standing.
It is for the relevant agencies of government to verify the claims contained in his assets declaration forms to ensure that all his depositions conform to facts on the ground. That is the way to go; the basis for holding him accountable when he leaves office. Anything other than that will be diversionary and counterproductive. We should encourage others not only to make their assets declaration public but to do so a few days before they assume office. This will stem the observed penchant by unscrupulous ones for anticipatory declarations within the three months’ timeframe.
But more seriously, the CCB must buckle up in its verification of claims deposed on oath by public officers. It does not speak well of the agency that little is heard of discrepancies, concealment of information or lack of full disclosure in the assets declaration forms of key public officers except when they have issues with the authorities.
That was exactly the situation with the former senate president, Bukola Saraki. Onnoghen’s case also followed the same predictable pattern. These tend to convey the miserable impression that the CCB just like its EFCC counterpart are increasingly becoming tools in the hands of the government to hound perceived enemies. These key institutions must be retrieved from increasing slide to partisanship to remain relevant to their mandate.