allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Spitzer - What Lessons for Nigerian Politicians? (Page 1 of 2)

Although, the United States of America (US) has practised democracy for over 200 years, Nigerians who know that their country's civil rule is patterned after that of US expect ample similarities between the two democracies. But reverse appears to be the case. Omololu Ogunmade reviews a recent experience in the US and its lessons for Nigerian politicians

Eliot Spitzer, the immediate past governor of New York in the United States, set another world record penultimate Thursday, when he honourably took his exit from office. Spitzer, a renowned lawyer and former attorney general of the United States, who specialized in investigating crimes, financial crimes as well as prostitution, threw in the towel in submission to the will of the people, having been allegedly caught arranging to meet a prostitute at a hotel in Washington D.C. This attitude, in the conception of Americans, implied that Spitzer lacked the moral fortitude to hold forth as their governor.

Spitzer's misdeamenour came to the citizens of the state as a rude shock because he was perceived to have himself fallen victim of societal ills, which he had spent a substantial part of his life to unravel.

The development has however secured the attention of a number of Nigerians who felt compelled to juxtapose Spitzer's experience with situations in Nigeria, notably among elected office holders. In the views of such concerned minds, the situation invokes nostalgic feelings, recalling that Nigerian politicians do not shift grounds even when apparently caught in gross misconduct and even corruption. Instead, they hold tightly on to power, rather than toe the path of honour by taking their exit when they have apparently failed. Certain observers, who analysed the trend, reasoned that if Spitzer were to be a Nigerian, he would have caused the polity to be heated up or had to be impeached before he could leave office.

Some of them compared Spitzer with the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Maurice Iwu, who despite conducting the election adjudged by some commentators as the worst so far in the history of Nigeria, has held on to office, despite several calls for his resignation. Similarly, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mrs. Patricia Olubunmi Etteh heated the polity up to ten times than it had ever been, resulting in the death of her fellow colleague, Aminu Safana and was only extremely humiliated, before she could leave office. Those who call for Iwu's resignation anchor their calls on beliefs that the INEC boss lacks the nerves to retain his seat as the head of the national electoral body.

Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, who was sworn in as governor of Bayelsa State on 29 May 1999 ran into a major scandal when he was arrested and detained in London on charges of money laundering in September 2005 by London Metropolitan Police officers who allegedly found £1 million cash at one of his London homes. He jumped bail in December 2005 from the United Kingdom by allegedly disguising himself as a woman. He has however denied this allegation. Inspite of the scandal, he held on precariously to the governorship. He was eventually suspended from his party, the People's Democratic Party (PDP), one week earlier before being impeached by the Bayelsa State Assembly on December 9, 2005. Alamieyeseigha after his humiliation was replaced by his Deputy, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the incumbent vice president.

Commentators have also reasoned that Spitzer's comment upon his resignation speaks volumes in relation to democratic norms which stipulate that people are the ultimate custodians of power. For them, Spitzer's submission to the demand of the people that he no longer commanded the dignity to hold sway as their governor depicts very clearly that ultimate power in a democratic setting does not reside with the elected officials, but rather with the electorate.

One of such notable Nigerians who hold this view is the gubernatorial candidate of the Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA) in the last governorship election in Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaje. Agbaje who admitted that Spitzer's attitude was not different from that of Nigerian politicians, however, noted that the major difference is that whereas, politicians occupy varying elective offices, the people are the ultimate rulers in the United States. He noted however, that the development is antithetical to what obtains in Nigeria, where peoples' will, demands and yearnings are mere expressions or perhaps conceptions that are neither delivered nor honoured by politicians.

This according to Agbaje becomes justifiable, recalling that Spitzer remarked while filing in his resignation notice that he had opted to quit in order to forestall his private woes overriding the wishes of the people who elected him into the office. "I cannot allow my private failings to disrupt the peoples work," Spitzer had said. Agbaje therefore, noted that Nigeria needs to invest so much in public enlightenment and public education with a view to getting the masses acquainted with notions that they are the rulers while elected politicians only act on their behalf.

Said Agbaje: "That's a practical case of power residing with the people, because the case you are talking about, if you remember, the first day the governor came out, the issue of resignation did not even arise in his speech. And if I remember well, he stated clearly that he didn't believe that his private life should be an issue in public governance, but then the people felt otherwise.

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