— LORDBANKS

Earlier this month, the 10th of September to be exact, I found my way into a room full of politicians and professors. Intriguing combination, to be sure. And true to form, they were engaged in a conversation about what, on the face of it, sounds like a nebulous subject – Prebendal politics. Now everybody knows what politics is, but what the heck is prebendal? Well, I assure you of two things. First, it has nothing to do with Bendel state. Second, you’re very familiar with this concept, you just might not know it. I first came across the word sometime last year while I was reading up some stuff on Nigerian politics and found that the word’s first usage is usually credited to Professor Richard Joseph. According to the Wikipedia page on the subject;

Joseph used the term to describe the sense of entitlement that many people in Nigeria feel they have to the revenues of the Nigerian state. Elected officials, government workers, and members of the ethnic and religious groups to which they belong feel they have a right to a share of government revenues – source

Truth be told, I was pained that such a term could have been invented to specifically describe the Nigerian…er…situation. I wasn’t sure which hurt more, the existence of the term, or the sad reality of the truth of it. The fact that “Nigeria provides a perfect template for postcolonial Africa’s many travails”. The fact that what has now come to be known as the Adedibu phenomenon is considered a normal state of affairs. But I had since gotten over my momentary state of denial and moved on, till my eye was drawn to a tweet by @eggheader. Again, I was confronted with the term. This time however, the word’s context was positive, it was about an event tagged “The International Conference on Democracy And Prebendal Politics in Nigeria”.

The Prebendal Conference

Hosted by the Ekiti State Government in person of Governor Kayode Fayemi and in conjunction with two U.S based colleagues and scholars, Drs. Wale Adebanwi, and Ebenezer Obadare, the conference was convened in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the publication of Professor Richard Joseph’s seminal work on the Nigerian political landscape entitled Democracy and Predendal Politics in Nigeria. This was of course the work in which the concept of prebendalism was first expounded upon by the Professor, and it has since become a subject of study for a lot of academics in the field of politics, among whom were conveners, as well as a host of other distinguished scholars in attendance. I will not venture to attempt a detailed report of the proceedings, partly because it would be nigh impossible for me to reproduce with any semblance of accuracy or chronology, considering the sheer volume of complex and convoluted talk that pundits, politicians and professors of capable of (@saratu will get this). But what I find to be instructive is the fact that there are people in government who think it necessary to devote time and resources to the creation of platforms that facilitate intellectual political discourse between the state, the academic community and civil society. But then again, a cursory look at Kayode Fayemi’s academic and corporate antecedents suggests that he is a person truly concerned about the fact that 25 years later, Professor Joseph’s unhappy postulation about the state of the Nigerian polity still holds true. In my opinion, this is a positive development, it’s about time that the issues were addressed: The culture of impunity and crass disrespect for human and people’s rights; the idolatrous institutions of political patronage and godfatherism; the growing divide between the super rich and the garbage poor; the blatant use of state resources for private gain; the sub-optimal performance of the public sector; the systemic failure of the justice system; the inability of the government to guarantee peace and safety. All these and more were specific issues raised by the learned Professor and other persons in attendance.

Professor Joseph pointed out, and I totally agree with him, that the day’s discussion about Nigeria was part of a greater discourse in view of the current global crisis of governance and failures of leadership. The concept and practice of prebendalism is by no means endemic to Nigeria, it dates back to antiquity and has found expression in various forms all over the world. People everywhere feel let down by the ruling authorities and are showing it. In Tunisia, then Egypt, to Libya, Syria…people armed with education, information and social media are beginning to demand that the institution of government be accountable and use state resources in an honest and transparent manner. If these recent events are anything to go by, one might  venture to corroborate the prediction  that the times to come can only bring with them the increased participation of the people in the processes that govern their lives. So, then, the question is, when will Nigeria reach the tipping point and rid itself of that foul scourge that has dogged her every step for the past five decades? When will her people decide that they have had enough of prebendalism?

Taking The Talk To The Turf

Talking is a good thing, I’m all for it, it helps us put the issues in perspective. And the fact that Ekiti is taking a lead role in facilitating what they describe in their words as “the conception, elaboration and articulation of social progress” is something that I applaud. What I would not appreciate however, is if after the applause the actors in question take a bow and walk off the stage to hand us flyers for the next ‘performance’. Yes, a lot of that goes on all the time, endless talk, theatrics and magic tricks, lavish lunches and high level strategy sessions that end with the organisers “calling upon all concerned stakeholders to play their parts in ensuring that yada, yada, yada…”, or some such standard crap line. A load of BS in my humble opinion. Unless concrete resolutions, actionable goals, and clear lines of execution backed up by transparent monitoring mechanisms are defined at such fora, they amount to a colossal waste of time, except for propagandist purposes of course. Sadly, because of the fact that where I live was quite far from the venue, and as such was precluded from being present till the end of the program, I was not able to determine if practical outcomes were achieved by the end of the meeting. All I have to go on for the time being are the Governor’s apparent commitment to social media and other avenues of engagement, the promotion of citizen participation in governance, the creation of intellectual interfaces between involved stakeholders, as well as what appears to be mostly positive media coverage about the progress of his administration. That said, I also appreciate the fact that the effects of social reform take time to be apparent. I commend his efforts and anticipate positive results as soon as possible.

Purging our country of prebendalism and corrupt political patronage is going to take some doing. On the same day, the roads around the Falomo axis of Lagos Island were cordoned off for some person’s wedding from that morning till I left the programme and passed by at around past three. With every known kind of Nigerian security detail. Sad. Do I dare hope, like Professor Joseph, that subsequent gatherings to examine the subject of prebendalism will only have need to discuss it in an academic light, and as a thing of the past? Time will tell. And in that time, I will do my part.