Confronting Nigeria’s Pervasive Culture of Impunity :
You don’t need to be versed in law or sociology to have heard phrases like ‘the Hobbesian jungle’ or the ‘state of nature’ (where life is nasty, brutish and short). For the majority of Nigerians, this is a daily reality. While some may attribute this state of affairs to the poverty in the land and the dwindling opportunities for economic and social advancement (especially for our young people) it is necessary at this point in our national life to add another, equally potent, factor – namely, the propensity of the average Nigerian to flout the law at any given opportunity.
A few days ago, a viral video captured an elected Nigerian lawmaker, Honorable Alex M. Ikwechegh, who represents the Aba North & South Federal Constituency of Abia State in the House of Representatives, in an altercation with a driver for one of the ride e-hailing services, Bolt, during which the legislator asked the driver heatedly, ‘Do you know where you are? Do you know who I am?’ before proceeding to slap the driver for ‘disrespecting’ him. The lawmaker also refused to pay the driver, (identified as Stephen Abuwatseya) for a service, and boasted that as a member of the national assembly, he could make the driver ‘disappear’ – and nothing would happen. He reportedly also broke the driver’s phone and tore his clothes, and threatened to lock him in his generator house as further punishment.
The driver could be heard in the video saying intermittently in low tones, “I did a job for you and you have to pay me.”
Apparently, Abuwatseya had driven to the lawmaker’s residence in the Maitama district of Abuja to make a delivery. On getting to the residence, he saw Ikwechegh seated outside his home, and asked him to come over to the vehicle to receive his delivery. Incensed by the driver’s irreverent tone, Ikwechegh proceeded to descend on him in the manner described above – even challenging Abuwatseya (when he saw that the driver was recording the incident) to “go and call the Inspector-General of Police,” if he so wished.
Hon. Ikwechegh, who was reportedly invited by the police for questioning over the assault, has since expressed ‘deep regret’ for his remarks and actions, saying he and Abuwatseya “… have reached a respectful resolution” to the incident, which he described as “a teachable moment” and “a humbling reminder of the necessity for restraint and self-control, especially in challenging circumstances.”
Nevertheless, there has been a torrent of condemnation (especially on social media) at the legislator’s action, as some Nigerians see it as one more example of the impunity which our political leaders and other powerful people in the land have mastered over the years, and calling for severe sanctions against Ikwechegh.
Sanctions or not, however, the incident begs a rather unsettling question that Nigerians must ask themselves – and confront the answer head-on: Is this attitude of impunity and disregard for basic human decency the sole preserve of government and people in power? Is this some character flaw that people suddenly acquire when they get into positions of authority? Or is it part of our larger culture as Nigerians? Where do these ‘leaders’ of ours come from, anyway? Mars? Or Jupiter?
Our leaders, obviously, come from amongst us. The stark truth is that the lawlessness of people in high office is simply a reflection of who we truly are, and what evil we are capable of when we get the opportunity (especially when we know for sure that we can get away with it).
So, in a sense, Hon. Alex Ikwechegh is you and I; most of us are Ikwecheghs – to a greater or lesser degree. The question, “Do you know who I am?” sums up our general attitude to the law; most of us regard laid-down rules and regulations as an inconvenient distraction whenever they stand in the way of our basest impulses. To be fair, those impulses (to steal, to take advantage of others, to dominate others, to rape, even to kill or otherwise ‘make disappear’) are endemic to all human societies. But it seems that some societies (especially in the Western world and parts of Asia) have succeeded far more than others in taming those impulses – thanks to the instrumentality of law, which in those societies is truly no respecter of persons.
Recall the statement made in 2009 by then-US President Barack Obama on his trip to Ghana? ‘Africa does not need strongmen; she needs strong institutions.’ Nowhere is that statement more relevant than in today’s Nigeria, where institutions are either extremely weak or non-existent. It is a country where the law is not just an ass but a spider’s web – able to trap the poor and weak (society’s ‘insects and flies’) but powerless against the influential and well-connected (society’s ‘lions and elephants’). It is a country where a democratically-elected President (sworn to defend and uphold the Constitution) could stand in a roomful of lawyers, as former President Muhammadu Buhari did at the 2018 NBA Annual General Conference in Abuja, and declare boldly that the rule of law would ‘take a back seat’ when it comes to the protection of ‘national’ interest (as narrowly defined by him and his cohorts, rather than by the law courts).
Our challenge as individuals, in the face of the increasing unruliness in our society, is, first, to embark on a bout of soul-searching, to ask ourselves, ‘Am I part of the problem – or part of the solution?’ Second, we need to recommit ourselves, as families, as communities and as a nation, to taking care of the little things that mark us as sane, civilized humans (keeping our environment clean, for instance, or driving with consideration for other road users, or waiting our turn in a queue, and so forth). Perhaps, if these habits become ingrained in us, we can then make the transition to thinking about the larger things that keep a society safe, secure and prosperous, a society where the law simply cannot be subverted without serious repercussions on those who would sacrifice the general good for their selfish ends.
What will it take to achieve such a state of affairs? How do we hold back the barbarians, the glorified ruffians and the rampaging forces of anarchy that are even now banging at the gates of our humanity and demanding entry into our most sacred places?
Some say it will take a revolution.
For many right-thinking Nigerians, though, the solution lies in restructuring our country in all its ramifications –not just the polity, but also our institutions, to make them stronger and more able to rigorously enforce our laws and hold offenders (no matter, how highly-placed) to account.
Otherwise, one dares say, our lives will continue to degenerate in quality and scope, and our nation will descend to the very bottom of human civilization and entrench its unwanted reputation as one of the world’s epicenters of socio-economic misery – indeed a Hobbesian jungle where the powerful (and indeed anyone with an instrument of authority, be it a uniform, a gun, or even a platform) will always answer the summons of law and the demands of human decency with that arrogant question: Do You Know Who I Am?