The imperative for moral rectitude in governance

When I was approached to be the guest lecturer for the 2024 Very Reverend Father Slattery Memorial Lecture, I quickly recalled the reputation and standing of Reverend Father Dennis Slattery, who, though an Irish missionary in Nigeria, was a foremost speaker and campaigner for Nigeria’s independence; he was a sports enthusiast and sports promoter of repute, a visionary administrator of education who pioneered technical education in post-primary institutions in Nigeria with the founding of St. Finbarrs College Akoka in 1956 and, above all, he was a moral compass for discerning Nigerian leaders, especially in the immediate pre-independence period. Indeed, these were the qualities and attributes that informed my conferment of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) on him as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2001.  

Again, I recalled the exemplary moral disposition and courage of some of my younger colleagues in the military who attended St. Finbarrs College like Rear Admiral Patrick Koshoni, Colonel Mike Akanji, and Brigadier General Cyril Iweze, just to mention a few.  For those of us leaving secondary school in the mid-1950s or entering university, Father Slattery was a household name and we followed him, particularly in football.  He was a sort of hero. He made significant contributions to the development of the game in Nigeria in the 1950s.

Father Slattery set his feet on Nigerian soil for the first time in May 1941 during the 2^nd World War.  In fact, the convoy of ships among which Father Slattery was in, was attacked by the Germans and some of the ships got sunk.  From 1941 until his demise in July 2003, Father Slattery was in Nigeria except when he went for further studies or on leave.  He was Irish and white in skin colour but he was a Nigerian at heart, in action, orientation and in his missionary, educational, and militant anti-colonial, politico-religious weekly Nigerian Catholic Herald.

With the personality, reputation, and achievements of Father Slattery, I gladly and enthusiastically accepted to give the Lecture for this year to honour his memory.  I had hoped that I would be with you physically until I received the invitation from President Museveni of Uganda to be with him on 18 and 19 September.  Please accept my apologies.  The subject given by the organisers to give the Lecture is also very alluring and very topical and relevant, “The Imperative for Moral Rectitude in Governance”  There are four important words in this subject matter as we go along.  And they are Imperative, Moral and Morality, Rectitude and Governance.

Imperative indicates something of vital importance, something crucial and not to be ignored or neglected.  It is something that is very essential, of utmost importance and absolutely necessary.  It is something of a command and must be made to happen.  It is domineering and well above others.

Moral is an adjective from morality which entails and concerns principles, values between right and wrong and correct conduct, behaviour, thinking, saying and action with moral compass content – beliefs and process regarding right and wrong.

Rectitude goes along with morality and using the word ‘moral’ to qualify rectitude is just to underline the importance of rectitude which itself is morally correct behaviour, thinking, action and reaction.  It is both right and righteous.  Rectitude also entails acceptance and approval by the people concerned for their own good and in their own interest.

Governance is the action or manner of administering a state, organisation, or any human institution.  It is the act or process of overseeing and oversighting the control, management and administration, welfare and well-being of human institutions of any group at any level.  It entails ethics, character, attributes and values.

Going on from here, we can see that governance at any level is an important aspect of directing human affairs for good or for ill.  We have also seen that governance covers the administration of any human group, big or small, and the main objective is the welfare and well-being of all the individuals that make up the group.  This begins from the family level through the state level to the international organisation and corporate conglomeration.

The most important demand of anybody involved in governance at any level but particularly at the state level is accountability.  If you are going to be granted and trusted with governance of people – putting their welfare, well-being and interests in your hands -, they have right to make categorical and important demands of you.  This is where and how rectitude comes in.  It is again morally correct behaviour, thinking, action, reaction and saying.  But here, we want to focus on governance at state level where politics come into play.  Politics are the activities associated with the governance of a country, state or area.  These activities are normally aimed at improving and enhancing the status, welfare and well-being of citizens or members of the human institution or organisation.  Politics and governance go hand-in-hand.  Where there are bad politics, there is bad governance.  The foundation of good politics is moral rectitude – appreciation of right and wrong and doing the right, being righteous.

There must be morality and principles which must manifest from character, attributes and values in politics and subsequently in governance.  If you have no character, morality, principles and moral compass, you will have no rectitude which is must have for good governance and effective delivery for the welfare and well-being of the people.  If morality and character are essential for the path of rectitude in governance, the imperative of moral rectitude in governance is overwhelming and unsurpassed.  There can be no crown without a cross nor can there be gain without pain.  There can be no good governance without good character and moral rectitude.

Let us look at what we have today and we may be able to understand why we are where we are.  Some erroneously claim that there should be no morality, principles, rectitude and character in politics.  When they lie, they give politics as an excuse.  When they steal, they give politics as an excuse.  They turn politics into a bad thing but it is not politics that is bad but themselves.  If we have men and women of no character in politics, you will have bad politics and bad governance.  If you look clinically at the people in government today at both executive and legislative levels, some of them should be permanently behind bars for their past misdemeanour and criminal misconduct.  You cannot expect thieves to give good judgement in favour of the owner of the property.

The first thing that shocked me when I went into politics was the level of corruption of election officials which was taken as normal.  The second was the level of general and criminal misbehaviour which was taken with levity and impunity.  We were at a meeting and a man lied and I confronted him, and the next thing he said is, “It is all politics, Sir”.  Every bad thing they do is passed on as politics which means politics has no room for morality, principles, rectitude, ethics, good character and attributes.  These are, of course, not true.  People invariably bring what they are into politics and into governance.  And because of the suffocating and polluting influence of the bad eggs, the whole tray of eggs may be regarded as bad.  Therefore, those who are people of honour, integrity, and decency, following the path of morality, principle, integrity and rectitude should never deviate because it is imperative for good politics and good governance.  Where they are absent, there will be little hope for development, growth and progress overall.

Is there a way out from the dungeon that we are in – lack of peace, security, stability, and predictability and with almost everyone sinking into greater poverty, economic misery and deep despair?  Yes, there is.  We need transformational leaders rather than transactional leaders, truth instead of lies, honesty instead of dishonesty, integrity instead of disintegrity, hope instead of despair, the production instead of deduction, and inclusion instead of exclusion and marginalisation.  God has given us all we need to be a great country but we have often squandered it.  We need to go back to basics and for re-armament and those things that we did to make things good in the past – avoiding waste domestically, eliminating corruption, leading by example, and avoiding debt.  But we must work for togetherness, fear God, and seek the face of God in all things.  Where we are is not the right and proper place for Nigeria and Nigerians.

Thanks for listening.

Obasanjo, a former Nigerian president, spoke virtually on Thursday at the memorial lecture of Denis Joseph Slattery, the late cleric. The event was organised by the Old Boys’ Association of St. Finbarr’s College at Civic Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos.