A COMPASS FOR THE MURKY WATERS OF POLITICS – THISDAY Newspapers

Monday Philips Ekpe

I accepted this role for three major reasons. First, the author is well known to me as someone who is focused, passionate and thorough. Second, even though this book is largely set in the Nigeria of 2006, its thematic immediacy or relevance is clearly not in doubt. And, third, having spent over three decades working in the media and also now teaching same, I humbly say that I am very much at home with the contents.

Prefaced with quotations from the eternal words of Jesus Christ and one of the enduring expressions of the 17th Century English thinker, Thomas Hobbes, The Singularity Clause makes no pretence about the rationale for its presentations, arguments and submissions. In one breath, the reader sees divine guidance and dictates in the affairs of mortals. At the same time, he or she like Hobbes is bound to make enquiries that relate to the real reasons for governments, their indispensability or otherwise to our corporate survival, the appropriate modes of interactions and transactions between governments and the populace, the true source of authority, and the very essence of political power.

Sincerely, the first time I saw the title of this book, my mind went to syntax, the branch of linguistics which bothers itself with how words are brought together to construct excellent phrases, clauses and sentences. Remember what your primary school teacher taught you about singular nouns, how they must go with fitting verbs for a clause or sentence to make sense? Luckily, two dictionary definitions of singularity came to my rescue. One: unusual or distinctive manner or behaviour (peculiarity). Two: a point or region of infinite mass density at which space and time are infinitely distorted by gravitational forces and which is held to be the final state of matter falling into a black hole. The latter depiction of the word, singularity, especially, is indeed ominous.

If you are eager to further break down the singularity riddle, you may go straight to Chapter 4 of Book One, The Quest for Power. And just in case you need a whetting of your appetite, listen to this statement by, you guessed right, Nicolo Machiavelli in his classic, The Prince, as captured in this section. According to him, The prince ought to read history and study the actions of eminent men, see how they acted in warfare, examine the causes of their victories and defeats in order to imitate the former and avoid the latter. A noble counsel, you may say, but then how many Nigerian leaders at all levels of government today are sober enough to engage themselves with such non-mundane matters? What we see oftentimes are men and women in official positions who act as if the future does not exist; as if they hold special keys that determine fate; as if the privileges of the moment will never end; as if they can decide what the people would do with their bungled legacies tomorrow. In short, as if they have received assurances from the Almighty that they will escape from the consequences of deliberate abuse of public trust.

Thankfully, however, the writers intention is not to frighten his readers or paint a picture of despair and irredeemable collective destruction. Rather, he provides in lucid language, informed accounts of some events that threatened the very foundations of the then nascent Nigerian democracy, notably the failed efforts of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to prolong his stay in office.

The core strengths of this treatise include adequate illustrations from the various parts of the country, spotlight on equally nationally spread personalities, painstakingly researched facts, appropriately acknowledged referencing, and well blended and applied quotes. Above all, this book is written in liquid prose instead of the rigid style that subject matters of this nature are often presented in. All these attributes make The Singularity Clause a compelling read. A fast reader can actually be through with the 105-page publication in one or two hours. In a world that is increasingly a victim of self-inflicted rush, the brevity and compact expressiveness demonstrated here are, in my opinion, among its key selling points.

The ten chapters here, each with a catchy title, are concise and frank. The Human Society that opens the book draws its validity from the creation story as recorded in the Holy Bible. Nigerias perennial monster called corruption appears here alongside a domineering figure in the Book of Genesis named Nimrod. The Need for Good Governance looks at what critics label as the fallacy upon which our constitution stands, that is, We the people Dr. Enyioko is of the view that irresponsible or incompetent administrations inevitably breed chaos. Most parts of the country are now theatres of fear or violence or both.

But while the present government should not bear the whole blame for this season of anomie, excuses are also not acceptable at this point. Calls for separation are growing louder and the author seems to directly address the ethic agitators in our midst. As he puts it, For the pro-balkanization groups, there are no agreed lines on how to split Nigeria. Some would prefer a rip along religious lines, while others along ethnic or economically homogenous lines. This hope would be kept alive from generation to generation without realization for the pro-dismemberment groups, and simultaneously forge a close band of unity in the majority of citizens, who have come to see a great strength in the dictum, unity in diversity. Lovers of One Nigeria may now shout, Amen! Those words written many years ago have become even more critical now.

Democratic Institutions starts with 10 rhetorical questions and proceeds to matters relating to constitutional amendment. The Essence of Party Politics presents a historical run from pre-independence Nigeria to contemporary times. Readers can also obtain useful information about the functions of political parties. Ideology in Perspective begins with five profound rhetorical questions and moves on to shed light on Dr. Enyiokos conviction that any politics rooted in ideologies naturally proceeds with the productive involvement of the citizenry. He is certain that when the people participate fully on the basis of their political philosophies, in his words, The epoch of charlatans, political nitwits and vampires involvement in politics strictly for what they would get out of the system, would be gone forever. This sounds like a very tall dream to me. The poser is, when will that day come? At the moment, from what the eyes of most Nigerians can see, it will take a miracle to achieve a reversal of the current downward spiral of the moral fabric of our longsuffering polity.

The chapter titled, Funding provides an insight into legitimate and surer ways political parties can fund their programmes and also thrive. Electoral Umpire x-rays the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which was led by Prof. Maurice Iwu at the time. The Electorate visualises the power possessed by the voting public beyond balloting. The writer thinks that even after elections, people can force the government to address their grievances through protests, for instance. The role of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria PLC (Transcorp) in Obasanjos plot for a third term in power also appears here. Against decorum, good judgement and the codes of the private sector, some of its leading actors listed in this section pulled their clouts and resources together in support of the inglorious agenda. Similarly, there is a roll call of the National Assembly members belonging to the 2007 Movement who withstood that conspiracy.

The last chapter, aptly captioned Profiling Result Oriented Politicians, is garnished with quotes from Robert Greenes The 48 Laws of Power. It is the authors hall of national models that parades former governors, senators, other politicians, technocrats and business titans. I wonder if Dr. Enyioko is still proud of all of them 15 years after.

My little quarrel with this book borders on the structure. Two quick examples will suffice. One, I do not see the need to further break this modest volume into three books. If the author had allowed the work to flow as a long essay, the purpose would still have been accomplished. This particular exercise is, therefore, at best, redundant. Two, after earning a place on the front cover, The Transcorp Phenomenon is brutally buried in Chapter Five of Book Two and denied a well-deserved prominence. That is unfair.

I must quickly add that none of these perceived flaws robs The Singularity Clause of its importance and pertinence. At a time when centrifugal forces are on the loose in our beloved country, nationalist efforts like this one should be appreciated and promoted.

The author is precise about his mission as declared in the Introduction: The Singularity Clause is a compass to help politicians navigate through the murky waters of Nigerian politics. It is a self-help manual that will arm its readers with the requisite theoretical knowledge and practical experience needed to compete robustly. I believe he has kept faith with that goal.

Dr Ekpe read this review of the book, The Singularity Clause: Obasanjos 3rd Term, the Transcorp Phenomenon & Deep Political Discourse, written by Dr. Elvis C. Enyioko, at Merit House, Maitama, Abuja, on June 24, 2021

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A COMPASS FOR THE MURKY WATERS OF POLITICS - THISDAY Newspapers