It is difficult not to reflect on the Buhari administration’s symbolic gestures in the absence of much-awaited substantive actions. Last Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari, through the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Alhaji Shehu Garba, announced less than N30 million in his personal account with Union Bank Plc, company shares, 270 cattle, cars and houses, among other assets. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo disclosed his own assets as N94million, $900,000, £19,000, houses and others. But by declaring only their assets, without their liabilities, the President and his vice came short of fulfilling the provision of the 1999 constitution. The issue has become the source of controversy and anger and must be rectified immediately. If Nigerians must walk the talk of change, then the President must lead the way in doing things in the proper way.
Buhari and Osinbajo had, upon assumption of office, tendered the required documents containing only information about their assets to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), as pledged during the election campaigns. But the declaration lacked clarity; what was declared is vague, hence totally unacceptable. It is not enough to say the president holds shares in companies; Nigerians want to know how many shares. The assets need to be properly identified and verified. In addition to not declaring their liabilities, the declarations were also incomplete as the spouses of the president and vice-president did not declare their assets with their husbands. It is the law that where any spouse of the declarant is not a civil/public servant; such a spouse should make the declaration with the better half.
What this translates is a breach of Section 140 (1), of the 1999 constitution, which states: “A person elected to the office of President shall not begin to perform the functions of that office until he has declared his assets and liabilities as prescribed in this constitution and he has taken and subscribed to the Oath of Allegiance and the oath of office prescribed in the Seventh Schedule to this Constitution.” Public office holders, including ministers and special advisers, must also disclose gifts, in order to checkmate them from being subjected to graft.
This is not a question of interpretation or the ambiguity of legal doctrine. The Fifth Schedule of the constitution sets out what everyone holding political office must do or not do, which, by extension, compels compliance with the code of conduct. Section 142 (2) of the constitution also specifically compels the vice president to declare his assets and liabilities. Similarly, Section 172 also provides for declaration of assets and liabilities by public office holders, in conformity with the code of conduct.
President Buhari seems to have taken it as part of statecraft, for such is consistent with his character, as one driven by a populist backing for change. When the president has a history of frugality, a sense of accountability and has practically demonstrated his commitment in rejecting opulence and slashing his salary, then there is no excuse for non-compliance with the provisions of the constitution; otherwise, that being the case, the asset declaration may be described as mere gimmickry.
Notwithstanding, a public declaration of asset does not end with the ritual of the public exercise. The public must also be enjoined to become critical inquirers into the activities of those who hold public office. Knowing the tricks Nigerian public officers are wont to play on matters such as this, it is clear that some of them might engage in anticipatory declaration. It is anticipatory in that the public office holder declares assets which he/she has not yet acquired, but which he/she intends to acquire while in office. Therefore, all declarations must be made public, so that, anybody who knows anything contrary to what a public officer has declared should be motivated and empowered to come out with such information.
A public declaration, augmented by judicious investigation to ascertain whether what is declared corresponds with what exists in reality, is one of the clearest demonstrations of accountability and transparency. Being in the service of the public, a politician or public office holder must be able to account for what has been reposed in his custody.
Besides, a truly public declaration of assets commands the people’s trust, discourages the public officer from being attracted to public funds and instills probity in the system. In other words, to serve the public one must be able to subject oneself to proper public asset declaration. Therefore the need for the president, his vice and other public office holders to declare their assets together with their liabilities is underscored by the higher need for transparency and accountability in governance. It would seem that, the value attached to moral probity in public service is dependent on the moral whims of the country’s leadership. Since section 140 of the constitution compels declaration of assets and liabilities by political office holders, the expectation is that state governors, state legislators and members of the National Assembly will genuinely follow in this direction.
The public declaration by the president and his vice is more of a moral, than a legal, issue. Besides the fact of the incriminating mendacity of such a declaration without liabilities, it also undermines the control of the conduct of public officers, which the bureau envisages, and mocks the anti-corruption agenda of the Buhari regime. There is even precedence as the late President Musa Yar’Adua declared his own assets together with those of his wife. Besides the President and the vice-president, ministers and special advisers working with the president must also be made to declare their assets and liabilities as well as those of their spouses. The reason is to guard against presumptive and preemptive acquisition of wealth while in office.
Cognizant of the sentimental efficacy of the public declaration of assets, the President should translate this symbolic act into an instrument of national mobilization against the common misconception of public officers that government work is a profit-making business. The President and the vice-president should go above and beyond the call of duty by making their assets truly public with the honesty and sincerity of purpose, essential in tackling the problem of unjustified enrichment among public officers. For Nigeria to change for the better, ways must change; and the President must lead by example. Buhari should be seen to be laying a good foundation for a better future. He should be seen to be offering a clear vision of the change he promised. He should not deviate from the path of enthroning new values of good governance hallmarked by transparency and accountability. Then, and only then would the Nigerian people would be his partners in rebuilding the country.
