According to the Oxford advanced learners dictionary, oath is defined as a formal promise to do something or a formal statement that something is true. An oath of office is a declaration a person takes or makes before undertaking or assuming the duties of that office, usually a position in government, an association, before the person exercise the powers of the office.
Oaths of office are a statement of allegiance to the government or people; some are affirmations of loyalty to a constitution or other legal scripts or to a person. Professions swear to statements that they will serve the people; plaintiffs and defendants swear to tell the truth in court and even couples also swear be it in court or church that they will love, care for and be true to their partner.
Modern democracy is incomplete without oath-taking. At the inauguration of an administration, the President, his Vice, governors and their deputies, ministers, commissioners and other appointees takes Oath of office.
As another May 29 handover date approaches, Nigeria’s new sets of political leaders that will be elected at the polls and those who would be appointed afterwards shall once again be stepping forward to take an oath which will enable them to assume full responsibility of their respective offices.
Over the years oath-taking in Nigeria has been reduced to a mere mockery of a failed system and the sensibility of Nigerians. Government officials are as guilty as professionals in the discharge of their constitutional obligations. Their attitudes are a complete departure from their oath of office. They often deride the same people they have sworn to serve and protect. Denial of campaign promises and total disregard to the provisions of the constitution they swore to uphold is the order of the day. Neither the professionals nor political office holders are excusable on this matter.
The core of oath taking has suffered a shipwreck and our society is sinking! Apart from the funfair and the wasteful ceremony that usually characterizes oath taking/swearing-in in Nigeria, the whole essence and core value of the exercise ends with the funfair and merriment of the day. As soon as they get into office, political office holders almost immediately begins to act contrary to the contents of their oath of office. Executive and legislative recklessness, high profile corruption, harassment and intimidation of the electorates, and all sorts of misconducts and abuse of office with impunity are usually the order of the day.
Contrary to the contents of the Hippocratic Oath, doctors usually abandon their duty posts to embark on regular strikes. Lawyers are now dubbed liars; they manipulate the judicial system to suit their friends and the “highest bidder” contrary to the oath they took. Accountants and clerical workers have transformed into “pen robbers”.
There is urgent need for our institutions to be strengthened. It is meaningless for an elective or appointive office holder to mount the podium to take an oath of office when our institutions aren’t adequately empowered to bring offenders of oath breaking to book.
The EFCC, ICPC and the Code of Conduct Bureau have been reduced to toothless bulldogs. The agencies saddled with the responsibility of upholding the rule of law are the ones breaking it and aiding injustice. The reason why Nigeria’s voice is no longer respected amongst the comity of nations is that we do not obey our laws; our leaders are the chief breakers of the rule of law. What made countries like the USA and China so great today is their strict obedience to their own laws, and offenders are squally brought to book by their strong institutions, no matter who is involved or how highly placed the offender.
Right here in Africa, a former Egyptian President was sentenced alongside his sons, this is a perfect example of a “working” institution and Nigeria should learn from that. Our political office holders are aware of the loopholes in our laws which their friends in the judiciary will capitalize on in helping them evade justice.
Before the advent of religion, cases of corruption and indiscipline were minimal in Africa and Nigeria; this is because we had our traditional ways of oath taking which deals instantaneously with defaulters either by striking them dead or afflicting them with strange and untreatable illnesses.
With the use of Juju, Sango and other traditional methods we wouldn’t need the ineffective EFCC, ICPC or code of conduct tribunal to be chasing anyone all about. The efficacy and potency of our traditional oath taking methods cannot be overemphasized as anyone who breaks or goes contrary to the contents of the oath will be hit instantly with the repercussion of doing so.
This would serve as deterrent to others and ultimately restore sanity, uprightness, honesty and integrity into our system and governance. The fear of the consequences of going contrary to the traditional oath alone will eradicate all forms of corruption and stamp out official indiscipline.
– Hussain Obaro writes from Lokoja, Kogi State
oseniobaro@yahoo.com
