Abuj – Mr Nnamdi Nwaodu, the Director of Research, Centre for African-American Studies, Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo, has called for return to African way of judicial administration.
Nwaodu made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on the sidelines of a Conference on Africa Political Culture.
“Except the political culture of Africa is revisited, we will continue to be backward in various aspects our culture whether social, economic and judicial, in the administration of our communities,’’ he said.
He said that it was imperative to review the continent’s political culture “since some of the political problems we have hinge on political culture and practice.’’
Nwaodu expressed regret that Africans had abandoned their culture to follow the ‘’white’’ culture.
He explained that tribe-dominated political culture had seriously destroyed politics in the continent.
According to him, President of U.S. has never made his administration to favour anyone, but the country, while in Nigeria, it favours individual.
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He urged politicians to work for better Nigeria and not to be self-centred.
Also speaking, Prof. Osisioma Nwolise, Head of Department, Political Science, University Of Ibadan, told NAN that Nigerians had deviated from Africa’s past cultural practice.
Nwolise said that there was need to revisit pure African traditional culture, ‘’which our children know little or nothing about these days’’.
He cited the example of Boko Haram which people thought was government affair only, ‘’but when the problem started, that was when we knew that there were gaps in training, security and military capabilities unlike in the olden days’’.
He also said that applying pure African culture and practices would put politicians in check, recalling that in decades gone politicians were made to swear before a deity to ensure that they did not deceive the masses with promises.
According to him, in the African tradition of our fore fathers, those who stole were made to swear at the village square and the results were usually got within three days.
But now, he said, the borrowed culture allowed the people to misbehave and there were no adequate laws to prosecute corrupt persons.
He advocated that politicians and other public officials who stole between N1 million and N5 million should be sentenced to 10 years imprison with hard labour.
Nwolise added that those who embezzled N6 million and above should be given life jail.
According to him, armed robbers who stole N10, 000 are being executed; why not politicians and other public officials.
“If they cannot be executed like the robbers, then that is injustice,’’ he said.
He advised politicians to run away from corruption, saying ‘’corruption destroys leaders.’’ (NAN)
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