Debo Adejugbe: The beginning of power might not augur well for Nigeria (Y! Politico)

by Debo Adejugbe

Debo Adejugbe Y! Politico 2

One of the poster boys of that era is our present President who has gone on to break records in corrupt endeavors and in the process, templated “how not-to-do-it” in government.

In his new book, “The End of Power”, published on March 5th, 2013, Moisés Naím posited that revered global institutions are losing their edge and ability to be feared and respected. Naim, a former World Bank executive director and former Venezuelan trade and industry minister, makes a strong –somewhat controversial- case of declining power across the boardrooms, institutions of government, military and religions. He echoed the probability that companies in the top tier of their industry in the 80s, falling off their league tables has drastically increased to double of what it used to be, in recent years.

To paraphrase one of the reviews: Naím defines power as “the ability to direct or prevent the current or future actions of other groups and individuals,” and he claims that it works through four different channels—the threat of force, codes of accepted behavior, persuasiveness, and incentives or rewards. He further suggested that coercive potentials are undermined by increasing numbers of people who are healthier and more informed, many of whom live in jurisdictions that are more porous, less deferential to authority and harder to police. Naím supplements this broader view with discussions of the decentralization of global business, changes in how wars are fought and similar current developments.

His views and summation could be deemed outrageous in a world where China –with a concentration of power in the hands of few- is not only becoming an extremely powerful political and economic influence but a point to rally around in the world; couple this with the rise of corporations who are fast spreading their wings abroad and having enormous influence in the affairs of countries harboring them and the rate at which corrupt African leaders are divesting the resources of their states to stabilize the economy of far stronger and developed nations, the main fulcrum of the book could be questioned.

Naím explained that “Power was once concentrated at the top and those who held it erected careful barriers to keep challengers away,” but as of “Today, insurgent forces dismantle those barriers more easily than ever, only to find that they themselves become vulnerable in the process.” It makes for compelling argument and reasoning but I can’t but try reasoning the Nigerian way when analyzing Naím’s views. He seemed so sure of his point and gave well laid, though not totally convincing, points to buttress what he termed “the end of power”.

He insisted that a threefold revolution characterized by “More, Mobility and Mentality” is challenging the existing model of power, and he explains this in clear terms: “More” stands for more people, more countries and more wealth; “mobility” entails both physical migration between and within countries and includes the communications revolution; “mentality” refers to the increasing openness of people to rejecting the status quo (typified by the recent uprisings in the Middle East).

When lumped, “the ‘3 Ms’ have made power easier to get, harder to use and easier to lose.”

My reasoning might be inchoate but I inserted the “Nigeria factor” while not totally dispelling compelling “developed worlds” negation of the view. My mind roamed to the Obasanjo era that built powerful political blocs that shared our commonwealth. The era threw up powerful individuals who, not only built powerful corporations, but made them the harbinger of our economy, chairing the economic team in turns and getting the best deals for their companies.

It was during this era that Nigeria sold so many of her profitable – even if not totally exploited- ventures to these individuals who have gone ahead to thrust themselves into several exclusive rich lists that the mind can construe. People like Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Femi Otedola, Jimoh Ibrahim, TY Danjuma and several others grew in leaps and bounds. Their businesses thrived beyond economic forecasts and variables; they earned heaps of money and some colluded further to buy more public institutions that were given fashionable names and emblems.  In less than eight years, we as a nation surrendered majority of our power to this bloc and with it went our economy. We became an economy that was incongruously obvious.

The same era threw up DSP Alamieyeseigha, Lucky Igbinedon and James Ibori. One of the poster boys of that era is our present President who has gone on to break records in corrupt endeavors and in the process, templated “how not-to-do-it” in government. We definitely can’t be wrong to say the rich and those in government are becoming more powerful, wealthier and are now wielding enormous power that can change the course of our history. Yet, we became their hagiographers and never questioned their motives. This is a total negation to Mr Naim’s thrust in his book.

Naím maintained that it’s not just the Internet and other technological innovations that are driving these trends (of the decline of power) – it’s also the flow of goods and services in the global economy and the spread of democracy or, at least, the decline of authoritarian regimes. In 1977, autocrats ruled 89 countries; by 2011, the number had fallen to 22, according to Naim. In Nigeria’s case, the flow of goods and services has accompanied the return to democratic rule and that industry belongs to the bloc.

As recently stated by experts that the poor represents Nigeria’s largest tribe, followed closely by the unemployed, little wonder that food has now become an avenue to pique our attention? All the basics needed to make it daily are concentrated in one –or in our case few- hand(s). The food industry, oil sector, Telco companies and countless other important industries panders to the whims of these few.

Naim definitely presented a strong but nevertheless flawed case, I don’t share that view when it comes to my country. The power of big corporations and government officials is getting stronger with every passing day and it makes one wonder “when is our Uhuru?” The end of power is not realistically in view if you follow these arguments as Nigeria, our elites and even foreign corporations like Shell operating in this country comes into the mix.

Without doubt, we are witnessing the beginning of power in Nigeria, unless, of course, we rise up to do the right when the time comes. That time is now!

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Debo Adejugbe is a trained Telecommunications/Electronics Engineer and a certified IT professional living in Lagos. Dad to amazing Hailey and an advocate against Sexual and Domestic Abuses. Debo has political sympathy for the Labour Party. He tweets from @deboadejugbe

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

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