By Abiodun Komolafe
Sir: Without doubt, much of our current national disconnect stems from a fundamental defect: we are operating a democracy while remaining acutely unaware of the unwritten rules that anchor it – chiefly, the social contract between the leaders and the led. Worse still, even those benefiting most from this democracy seem to doubt its ability to engender true development. Tragically, we remain a people who base vital decisions on the sentiments of religion, ethnicity and gender, rather than on merit or national interest.
You do not “rule” in a democracy; you govern. The distinction is fundamental, yet it remains one of those unstated boundaries our political class routinely crosses. That said, Nigeria’s erosion of quality is largely due to the collapse of what we might call quality control. Standards are down across the board, in every facet of national life. The country whose personnel and structures were once greatly admired by African nations that obtained independence after us is now a thing of the past; we have moved away from being a shining beacon for others to emulate. This is tragic, and it is a key to understanding why over 139 million people are trapped in multidimensional poverty in a major oil-producing nation that should, by now, be a post-COVID one-trillion-dollar economy. How indeed are the mighty fallen in the heat of the contest for modernity?
Again, the current administration must remember the profound warning written by Italian political philosopher Antonio Gramsci from his prison cell: “The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.” Sad that Nigeria is living through these very symptoms today, manifest in the terrifying realities of kidnapping, terrorism, banditry and economic stagnation. We are, quite literally, living in Gramsci’s “age of monsters.”
To regain quality, the social contract must be reinforced in favour of the overwhelming majority and their families. We must return to the standards we once held during what now looks like a golden age. The “Nigerian factor” must never again be used as an everyday excuse. The self-depreciation must stop. Nigeria must now insist on quality control, making international best practices the baseline for all operations.
In reality, true self-development requires those at the helm to take the bull by the horns. Nations like China, Malaysia and India succeeded because they committed to a vision. They refused to succumb to the policy somersaults that plague others; and, predictably, they are now reaping the rewards of that discipline.
Out of higher standards of quality will come a more equitable and just society based on shared prosperity, in line with the central ethos of the social contract. This is how that society becomes more productive, turning productivity into the engine room of a balanced economy that will eventually drive out poverty. After all, there is no gain without pain – just as there can be no Easter Sunday without the sacrifice of Good Friday. A focus on production would increase revenue and boost incomes, serving as the essential first step towards escaping the poverty trap. This is “old hat”, a concept exhaustively analyzed by development economists over the last 50 to 60 years, many of whom have rightly earned the Nobel Prize for their work. Therefore, the path is well-known. Unfortunately, it is a path that cannot be taken by an “Aristocracy of Labour” fixated solely on short-term personal aggrandisement.
We know from economic history that shared prosperity is a magic formula to incentivize the population into attaining higher levels of production. It is also true that higher levels of production generate more funding for education, health and both social and physical infrastructure. The gains are huge, meaning that equity, like quality, can only be achieved if it is based on a vigorous interpretation of the social contract.
Propriety can only be achieved in a country striving for higher standards of quality, equity and social justice – all propelled by increased production. Propriety cannot be ascertained in a dog-eat-dog economic framework. It can only come about through guaranteed minimal standards, an acceptable quality of life, and the aspirational desires of the overwhelming majority of the population.
History has a way of masking harsh contradictions … Had Nigeria not sadly jettisoned the Lyttleton Constitution, we would have achieved all of this 66 years ago. Under the Lyttleton Constitution bedrocked on production, our country was on its way. On October 1, 1960, Nigeria possessed one of the most promising emerging economies in the world. Fast forward 66 years, we have slid drastically down global rankings. The facts are incontrovertible.
Even if the principalities and powers of entrenched interests prevent us from returning to the structure, tone and core argument of the Lyttleton Constitution, we must go back to its accompanying ethos and norms. In an unstated way, these values had the development of a social contract as their operating driving force.
• Abiodun Komolafe. Email: ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk.
Mobile: 08033614419 SMS only.
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