Institutions or kinsmen, can President Tinubu be different?

By Otuedon Vincent

Like a bird that hastens to a trap and does not know it was for its destruction, so are the leaders who feel obligated to entrust their administration to their kinsmen. It is not true that all Nigerian leaders are bad, some of them are among the best individuals on earth but whether good or bad you will always be a victim of what you do not know. The government of kinsmen, by kinsmen and for kinsmen is self-destructive. You cannot use kinsmen to achieve the mandate of an institution. Tribalism is a snare; it is the scrawniest and most parochial approach to leadership.

It is time to stretch-out scouting for help, any administration that does not appreciate and annex the fragrance of diversity in Nigeria is heading for a brick wall.  As defective as the Nigerian constitution, its position on equitable representation is unequivocal. The experience of the former President should still be fresh in our memories, he had all the security chiefs from his own enclave and choice appointments we know the result. If president Tinubu dares open up the corrupt practices of President Buhari’s kinsmen during his eight years tenure, he may be risking the health of the old man. Leaders need to understand that the sentiments that becloud their appointments are the beginning of their undoing.

It is empowerment of institutions first, not kinsmen. Institutions are like the home of a hunter where he returns to keep his catch. If the home does not have doors to safekeep, all the hunter produces through the hunting season will end in futility. Even if your enemy or a dummy is the head of a working institution, it will still help you succeed, but if you make your kinsman the head of a failing institution, you will fail gallantly. This is one of the clogs on our wheels, the work of government is the work of institutions not the work of kinsmen. No matter the nobility and integrity of your kinsmen you gather around yourself, they will fail colossally without effective and efficient institutions.

The truth is, people are indifferent of tribal sentiments in desperate times, Nigerians will most likely not mind if most political appointees are from one region provided there are headways but it will be insensitive to stick to the old tradition of “it is our turn” in the face of obvious national difficulties. More often than not kinsmen come to office to maximise turn to their advantage and not to serve. If surrounding oneself with kinsmen had been helpful it would be unpatriotic to discourage it, over time it has proven to be a major window of corruption that leaves their employers in regret.

Vincent Otuedon is a legal practitioner and President Liberty Harbingers Network