22 Mar 2009 |
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We need to get rid of our sycophancy culture Ayo Akinfe Last week, the good and the gracious gathered in Katsina for the opening of the Umaru Musa Yar’adua University. Not surprisingly, no fewer than six governors were present at the event and as expected, they, like everyone else there, eulogised the president and sang his praises to high heavens. Apart from the host Governor Alhaji Ibrahim Shehu Shema, other governors present included those from Niger, Ogun, Kebbi, Zamfara and Adamawa States. Also in attendance were federal ministers and top dignitaries from within and outside the state. No doubt, many of those in attendance had no business in Katsina that day but alas, the culture of sycophancy that dogs Nigeria meant that they could not just but help themselves. Before we go into the business of what who and who was doing there, can we first of all address the problem of the naming of the university. For years, there had been an ongoing argument about what name the citadel should be called, with the family of one of Katsina’s past emirs insisting that it should be called Dikko University. The group insisted that Emir Dikko, as one of the past traditional rulers of Katsina had contributed immensely to the development of the state, hence deserved to be honoured. When the university project was originally conceived during the tenure of the then Governor Umaru Yar’Adua, this would not have been a problem but as he has since become Mr President, that argument ended. We live in a top-to-bottom society in which the higher up the social and political echelon you are, the more likely you are to get your way. Even if those at the very pinnacle of society are not interested in their praises being sang, monuments being erected in their honour or structures being named after them, there will never be a shortage of sycophants willing to do so on their behalf. Although there are no set rules for naming monuments, the standard convention anywhere in the world is that you do not name buildings, vessels, organisations, hospitals, institutions, airports, etc after living people. Such facilities are generally named after those who have departed in appreciation of what they offered to society while they were alive. On certain occasions, there are instances when structures are named after people who achieved and have retired to their homes as private citizens but this is the exception rather than the norm. What is totally unacceptable is for people in office to preside over the immortalisation of themselves. For instance, in 1999, the Kogi State governor established a university and named it Prince Abubakar Audu University. Fortunately, the name has now been changed to the more appropriate Kogi State University but had Governor Audu still been in office, I doubt if this would have been the case. Just looking at the way our rulers are so keen to propagate themselves as much as possible while in office, I wonder if they ever look at precedents from around the world. Even in South Africa, very little is named after Nelson Mandela. Like most men of dignity, Madiba has made it clear that he does not appreciate hero worshipping and getting facilities up and running is what is important. What our bosses have yet to grasp is that when they depart, if they did well while in office, their good deeds will be remembered. One just needs to look at the number of facilities named after Tafawa Balewa, Ahmadu Bello, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Aminu Kano, etc to appreciate this point. As Dora Akunyili is busy rebranding Nigeria, I think this is something that needs to be looked at in her quest to make us look like a serious and responsible nation. Why on earth for instance would any foreign investor take a state governor serious if invited to invest in a project that bears his excellency’s name? To any outsider, such a project looks like nothing more than an avenue for personal aggrandisement at best. At worst, it appears to be a conduit for personal enrichment. If only our rulers knew how off-putting their egotism is, maybe they would reconsider things. If Professor Akunyili is serious about rebranding Nigeria, she really has to get legislation passed prohibiting acts that make us look like ignorant amateurs in the way we conduct business. Why was the Katsina State University not named after one of the state’s departed illustrious sons like Hassan Katsina for instance? Where we have failed woefully as a people is in our inability to condemn what borders on criminality. In pursuit of crumbs that may fall from the table, we applaud what would revolt people anywhere else on the planet. What business did the governors of Niger, Ogun, Kebbi, Zamfara and Adamawa States have at the launch of a state university in Katsina? Have they not got their own states to run, their own educational institutions to build and a host of other domestic problems to address? Professor Akunyili has to address this too in her rebranding project. We need clear guidelines stipulating what is appropriate behaviour for public officials. If I were say an investor looking to plough money into Adamawa State and saw that rather than be at his desk working the state governor was hobnobbing in Katsina, it would put me off. Like corruption, irresponsible economic management, the abandoning of our infrastructure, the neglect of our environment and the disregard of our social services, sycophancy is another cancer that eats at our collective national hearts. Our leaders simply do not know how to conduct themselves and need the statute book thrown at them outlining what is acceptable behaviour and what is not. Personally, I think President Yar’Adua should have set a good example by declining the offer of the Katsina university being named after him but even if he did, personal responsibility is no substitute for having systematic guidelines. Until we resolve this sycophancy culture matter, the revolting praise-singing nonsense with the ensuing corruption it fuels will continue unabated. Ayo Akinfe aakinfe@aol.com
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