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By ALBASHIR
There is no doubt that the incumbency factor has
been the most effective rigging machine in the hands of those in
power. Balewa used it to ‘overthrow’ Awolowo, in the West, during
the first republic. In 1983, Shagari deployed it to dismantle the
UPN in old Oyo State. It backfired in Ondo State, making violence to
reign supreme. This was how the people countered rigging. In 2003,
Obasanjo applied it to remain put.
For sure, without it he could not have achieved these feats.
Nigerians were clear in their minds that, he didn’t win the 2003
presidential elections as it also happened in 2008 in many
instances. The rigging machine did the job for their crafted
successes.
What are the components and instruments of this machine? Its block
engine consists of the security agencies; its main bearing, the
electoral authorities; and its grease, political thugs: with the
president as its driver. These four constitute the machine.
Obasanjo introduced a new dimension during the 2003 “elections.”
Hitherto only the police were deployed to handle the rigging device.
At least this was the case in 1964 and1983. Badly wanting to
continue, in 2003, the military and all Para Military agencies were
engaged to assist in doing the job. Also, for the very first time,
the electoral authority was empowered to become openly and
flagrantly partisan, in its outlook, conduct, operation and
utterances in 2007, its key officers made no pretences that they
were paid agents of the PDP in general and Obasanjo in particular.
Ehindero was always on TV disclosing, to Nigerians, the arsenal at
his disposal. It was also the first time the police ever made known,
politically, their fighting power.
The issue here, however, is not what they did but rather why they
did so. We must appreciate the case of the security agencies who
work under orders and must act accordingly no matter how bad any
such orders and with a character like Obasanjo, who sees his
personal interest as weightier than the law and more important than
a worthy public policy, even a room for dispassionate analysis, in
the interest of public good could easily be branded disloyalty if
not worse - Treason.
T.Y. Danjuma once said that an officer must take full responsibility
for obeying unlawful orders. In the world of Obasanjo, whose
contempt for the rule of law was legendary, the fine tradition
between lawful and unlawful orders was always mired in the promotion
of self interest and the advancement of personal indulgences.
Thus, in such a situation, the top brass of the agencies mentioned
do not have room to maneuver but to dance to the ugly whims of the
political master. Even if they are given protection under the law
against some unwholesome presidential temptations, it would hardly
work with an over-bearing political leader, once more, such as
Obasanjo and many could be like mind once in power.
Given the fact of this assertion, it is attempting to advance that a
law be enacted to protect officers and men from obeying unlawful
orders. The horizon doesn’t read its workability. What is workable
is that all heads of security agencies vacate their positions six
months before national elections, but could still be re-engaged by
the new president if he so wishes. Furthermore, where a court annuls
an election and re-election takes place, the officer deployed to
oversee that constituency be retired and persecuted accordingly. For
example, if a governorship election is annulled and a reelection
holds, the commissioner of police or Brigade commander in charge of
that state at the time of election, be relieved of his appointment
and prosecuted. Next time, no such officer would allow his men
engage in open rigging as it took place in the past.
In addition, it may be necessary to look into the mode of
appointment of the key officers of these agencies. Presently, it is
an entirely presidential responsibility; which partly explains why
they have been so manipulated. We may borrow from the Americans: the
confirmation of their appointment by the National Assembly and by
extension their disengagement. This may give them protection from
executive. However, when account is taken of INEC’s open
partisanship, which even the presidential tribunal complained of
recently, this would not be a terrible solution.
It is something to seriously worry about how Obasanjo eroded the
professional mien of some of these agencies by driving them hard in
to the deep womb of partisanship to service his personal interest
and his alone. With all due courtesies, this was the motivation
behind the frog-jump promotion of Ribadu, from Assistant
Commissioner of Police to Assistant I.G. within a period of about a
year or so and according to undenied media reports without following
the due process. The promotion may have been merited as some say,
but it is the first of its kind, at least, in rcent years. Those who
rationalise that he got the favour, not necessarily on account of
how he fought corruption but more for his harassment of the
political enemies of the president, may not entirely be wrong. At
the heart of it all was a reward for preoccupation with the
advancement of his personal whim all those years. This has been the
costly problem of the polity i.e., seeing private interest as public
policy and worse against all known provisions of the law.
The thrust of this submisison is to effectively ensure that next
time around no one messes up the security agencies by unlawfully
engaging them to be deeply involved in his personal political war
and private interests to the detriment of others and the larger
society. Which is to say that no electoral reform would be complete
unless and until these agencies are insulated from the madness of
partisanship into which they were forcefully dragged in the past.
Social
Responsibilities And Implications
By OLUWAYEMISI BOLAJI IBRAHIM
Social Responsibility is viewed differently by
different people. Some see social responsibility as good industrial
relations while others see it as doing good or making charitable
donations. None of these views are wrong, provided there are
appropriate backings. Two strong opposing views exist in this
context which are the classical notion that social Responsibility
means that organizations should be efficient in discharging their
duties. Milton Friedman, argued that there is one and only one
social responsibility of business which is to use its resources and
engage in activities designed to increase its profitability. This
should not be done through fraudulent means. Peter Drucker is also
in support of this notion. The neo-classical view, want to see
businesses to be less and more social or charitably inclined in
their activities. This school of thought posits that every
corporation should ensure that it shoulder the social needs of the
society it resides.
Having identified various perception of “social responsibility, I
will like to define social responsibility” as commitment to the need
and plight of the general society by indigenous organizations.
Business organizations can be referred to as social institutions,
who like other organizations have moral obligations to assist the
society. Most of the chaos and problems experienced in the
Niger-Delta region for instance, would not have aggravated to its
present state, if those organizations residing in those areas had
responded to the call, and fulfilled their obligations as and when
due.
As a matter of fact, most of our organizations have immensely
contributed to atmospheric and environmental degradation experienced
by various communities. Other hazards include; health hazards, noise
pollution etc. It is obvious that roads leading to some companies
are so bad, that motorist suffer from constant puncture of tyres; as
nothing is done as welfare package to compensate the people and
remedy the situation.
Residents close to the petrol-chemical companies such as the
refineries suffer from inhalation of toxic chemicals that induce
heart related problems on its victims. Other challenges are oil
spillage on our water surface, which kills the aquatic animals and
destroys farmland; the surroundings are littered with waste products
and residue from factories. All these and many others too numerous
to mention, pose great threat to the survival of inhabitants.
Significantly, the floods that lead to the wearing away of the earth
surface, has its driving force in the excess mining of mineral
resources without refilling ‘the vacuum created.
We must emphasize however, that the socialists and pseudo-socialists
would generally regard business to be selfish pursuits undertaken by
private entrepreneurs in the framework of a capitalist system. They
would as well argue that unless businesses are socially responsible,
the capitalist system would lead to a situation of mass exploitation
rather than to the satisfaction of the greatest discovered behind
the doctrine of social responsibility. This philosophy is a demand
from private businesses to change their mode of operation,
conscience, and orientation from a perspective of “caveat emptor”
(Let the buyer beware) to that of “Caveat venditor” (Let the seller
beware). The general suggestion is that social responsibility should
be discharged at various levels.
i. Responsibility to owners of the firm
ii. Responsibility to consumers.
iii. Responsibility to employers.
iv. Responsibility to government
v. Responsibility to the immediate community where the firm conducts
its activities.
For a business to embark on proper planning of activities, it is
important for such to ensure the judicious use of resources and
operate efficiently thereby producing desirable results, which
include;
l. Producing goods in desired quantity and quality.
2. Maintaining a satisfactory and satisfied workforce.
3. Ensuring least cost and most efficient method for operations.
4. Engaging in non-deceptive advertising and
5. Marketing products through desired channels.
Every business has a social responsibility to guarantee the survival
of the firm, which is high importance to society. Since businesses
generate employment and revenue for the economy, it means a higher
standard of living for the people.
Social Responsibility to be discharged by organisations includes:
1. Making available to the government the time and energy of some
managers for national development purposes.
2. Charity donations in times of national disasters e.g flood,
drought and fire.
3. Paying tax promptly without fiddling with the books to reduce the
amount of tax payable.
4. Engaging in worthy causes e.g awarding scholarships to students
and supporting educational institutions through endowments of
various descriptions.
5. Repair bad roads and make them motorable e.t.c.
Corporate Response to Social Responsibility.
Certain analytical model of response to social responsibility has
been identified thus;
a. The regulatory model
b. The defensive model
c. The deceptive model
d. The accommodating model
Each of the above models will be briefly explained.
A. The Regulatory Model: - Businessmen operating under this
philosophy obey all the laws and regulations of the land, to the
fullest. They carry out their operations without deception or fraud.
This response strategy is not recommended for business because it is
too risky and it does not inspire much goodwill by the public.
B. The Defensive Model: - This approach believes that managers are
not even “competent” to decide the society goals for which the
shareholders money should be spent. This rather frightening approach
to social responsibility demand is not wise because some social
responsibility demands are just and reasonable. This response
approach faces great adds with so many pseudo-socialists around who
hypocritically cheat the masses under various disguises.
C. The Deceptive Model: - This approach basically attempts to
deceive the public. It pretends to undertake some social development
projects while the cost is passed to the customers in the form of
higher prices of lower dividends to the shareholders. This approach
corrupts public officials and prevents them from legislating
otherwise, good laws. It may on the one hand award scholarship,
which would be highly publicized and on the other hand refuse to pay
its workers good wages, and vice-versa.
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