Introduction
Once upon a time, there lived an English man whose pre-occupation was to protect and preserve the virtues of personal and institutional independence from the forces of governmental influence and control in the United Kingdom (UK). This illustrious man was called Lord Bingham who passed away in the year 2010. During his tenure as Lord Justice of the apex court in England, Lord Bingham, an endured virtue of personal independence, refused to meet with a government Minister of the Home secretary, Mr Charles Clarke to discuss the famous 9 Belmarsh case (UKHL 56). As an established human rights precedent of the case, Lord Bingham stated that “… locking up terrorist suspects without trial impinges on their human rights.” This short story of personal independence is an exemplary lesson which ought to be imbibed by public servants in Africa, especially Ghana and Nigeria, to manage their political systems, including socio-economic activities. Regrettably, there is significant wane in personal and institutional independence in several public institutions in Africa; particularly Ghana and Nigeria, which were once colonized by Britain and thus modelled their political systems after the English edifice.
The age of waned Independence in personal and Institutional structures in Africa
Majority of the problems confronting African states in the spheres of politics, economics and social developments emanate from the employees’ weakness to act with integrity and independence to discharge state duties aimed at promoting the general welfare of their countries without succumbing to external or governmental pressures. Examples of such waned independence can be drawn from the biased Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (INEC), which compromised and reneged its constitutional duty to falsify voting records as well as changed ballots cast for the opposition party, led by Peter Obi’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in favour of Tinubu’s All Progressive Party (APC) in the recent 2023 general election. Equally, a similar feat of limited independence was displayed by Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC), which strangely declared the 2020 general election results more than five times; with the chairperson of the EC failing to appear in the Supreme Court to answer vital questions regarding the disputed election results. Coincidentally and shamefully, both Supreme Courts in Ghana and Nigeria have impugned and compromised their institutional independence by pronouncing absurd judgments to favour the incumbent governments of both states. Recently, employees of Ghana’s ministry of finance were captured on social media platforms, who had lined up the street of the ministry to applaud the sector minister for delivering a favourable budget. Without doubt, such an open partisanship demonstrated by public servants not only renders them irresponsible but also as grossly biased. These traits are systemically ingrained in majority of public servants who are bent on promoting their selfish and political expedient ambitions to the detriment of the peoples and states’ developments.
Examples of Personal and Institutional Independence from Britain and USA
Specifically, in Britain, the public civil servants code guides and promotes the principle of integrity among all employees. In view of the code, “integrity means putting the obligations of public service above your own personal interests. This covers conflicts of interest, acting professionally and responsibly, handling official information sensitively and complying with the law.” Drawing on Britain and the USA as democratic models for Ghana, Nigeria and Africa at large, the following examples would suffice. In 1997, Clare Short resigned from Tony Blair’s cabinet in opposition to the Iraqi war; whilst in 2003, Robin Cook also resigned from the same cabinet by stating thus: “I cannot accept collective responsibility for decisions to commit Britain to military action without international agreement and domestic support.” Similarly, across the Atlantic Ocean into America and during the 2020 general elections, a public servant in the person of Brad Raffensperger, Georgia State Secretary, defied the sitting American President, Donald Trump, to rightly call the election for President Biden in the state of Georgia. Juxtaposing and reflecting upon the British and American examples in light of the performances of certain key institutions – judiciary and electoral commissions of Ghana and Nigeria- it is clear that limited personal and institutional independence exist to compromise and damage the growth and development of both countries.
The Missing Links of governance in Africa
Spuriously, beneficiaries of such expedient political ventures often argue that the democratic structures of Ghana and Nigeria are still in their nascent stages and thus need time to mature/grow. Whilst there is some validity to that claim, it is also the case that both states are over one hundred and twenty-nine years old in their democratic journeys; with Ghana recording 66 years and Nigeria 63 years of independence. Interestingly, the retiring age for public servants in Ghana is 60 years old therefore to propose that Ghana’s democratic system at 66 years needs further time to grow so as to develop strong institutional and personal independence to propel the growth agenda of both states reflects of a visionless and self-seeking leadership. After all, South Korea is a little over 70 years as an independent state yet it has achieved great and sustainable political, economic and social development to the envy of most western powers, because of strong personal and institutional independence prevalent in the country. Contrary, such values and principles are practically non-existent among public officials and institutions throughout the continent of Africa, a situation which greatly thwarts substantive socio-economic prospects of the citizenry.
Conclusion
Personal and institutional independence remain two of the critical principles to galvanise the democratic framework of African states toward securing the substantive socio-economic and political fortunes which had eluded the continent for several years. To achieve that substantive objective, vital institutions such as the electoral commissions and most importantly, the judiciary ought to respect their oath to administer justice “according to law without fear or favour, affection or ill will.” Upholding the dignity of office in performing these public duties towards all citizens regardless of political belief, religion, gender or race, will consolidate the individual’s inalienable rights and thus empower them to participate actively in the affairs of their states for the common good of the continent.
No Comments