By Aishatu Kabu
A few weeks ago, I watched a video of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the current Emir of Kano, His Royal Highness Muhammadu Sanusi II. In a speech on good governance, democracy, and the rule of law, he argued that Nigeria is practically a “classless society.”
He gave an example: If we randomly picked 109 Nigerians to replace the current Senators, nothing about how things are done in the Senate or House of Representatives would change.
Since that day, that statement has stayed with me. Everywhere I go, I listen to how Nigerians speak and how things are done.
Then, I saw an action that made the Emir’s statement painfully relatable.
Yesterday, we woke up to a post on the timeline of the former President of the 9th Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan. The photo showed two young men from Yobe North, with him standing in the middle, announcing their recruitment into the Defence Intelligence Agency. He proudly listed it as one of his achievements.
Let me repeat that: Not just any Senator. A 4th-term Senator. The President of the 9th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. But here’s the question that kept me up: Since when did “facilitating recruitment” become part of a Senator’s job description? Anywhere in the world? But here we are, normalizing the not normal in Nigeria.
The Problem.
A Senator. A Former President of the Senate. Announcing a recruitment he facilitated.
For an Intelligence agency. On social media.
And to be fair to the former Senate President, he is not alone in this. In Nigeria today, only the Army, Police, Civil Defense, and other paramilitary agencies openly advertise jobs. Even with favoritism in the final list, at least the process is public. Apart from them, everything else is senators, members of the House of Reps, and “big men” sneaking in their children and loved ones.
Another sign of our “classless society” is this:
Instead of citizens organizing to demand accountability and transparency in recruitment across all sectors, what do we do? Common men start gathering money to “buy” a job slot from civil servants who should uphold civil service rules.
Let’s say it loud: DIA, like other intelligence agencies, has a statutory recruitment board for a reason: security, vetting, and merit. When we bypass that process for “constituency slots,” we don’t just break civil service rules. We compromise national security.
In Nigeria, we have created a system where access is not by merit. It’s by connection.
That is the opposite of a classless society.
The Other Side of the Coin
To be fair, lawmakers aren’t the only ones at fault.
Today in Nigeria, many constituents judge their Senator or Rep by only 2 questions:
1. How many jobs did you secure for us?
2. How many constituency projects did you bring?
These are people we elected to make laws and provide oversight over the executive arm.
But we judge them like HR managers and contractors.
How then can they deliver their real mandate when we reward them for doing the wrong thing?
The Broken Promise
This is where the Government-Citizen Accord is broken.
A true social contract says:
Government’s side: Create a fair, transparent, merit-based system. Follow the Constitution. No shortcuts.
Citizen’s side: Demand institutions, not favors. Judge leaders by laws made, not jobs “magically” secured.
What Really Defines Us?
We are a classless society indeed because we choose to normalize the not normal every day.
Should we normalize a nation where your surname, your Senator, or your Rep determines your future? Or should we normalize a nation where your competence does?
We will not get to a classless society by celebrating the not normal. We will get there when government keeps its side of the accord, and when citizens demand institutions over individuals.
So today, I’ll ask you: What are WE normalizing?
Because that answer, that is what will define us as a nation. And it takes both government and citizens to redefine our nation.
Aishatu Kabu wrote from Maiduguri, Borno state
