PROXY PRESIDENCY’S POUND OF FLESH
By Livy-Elcon Emereonye
When a few individuals become bigger than the people, democracy is in danger. When unelected power brokers dictate the actions of elected leaders, constitutional governance is under threat. And when those entrusted with the responsibility to defend institutions become instruments of their captors, the people and the institutions they represent are in grave danger.
There is perhaps no more dangerous political and institutional arrangement than one in which those who possess legitimate authority are no longer the ones effectively exercising it. It is even more disturbing when individuals without constitutional or electoral mandates assume the powers of decision-making, dictate the direction of leadership and manipulate the machinery of governance or institutional administration to serve their private interests.
This is the frightening reality that the concept of a proxy presidency represents: a situation in which an elected president’s authority becomes a convenient instrument for advancing the interests of an unelected individual or a small cabal operating behind the scenes. It is a dangerous arrangement that, if allowed to take root, can undermine constitutional governance, compromise public institutions and turn the collective destiny of millions into the private enterprise of a privileged few.
The tragedy, however, is that this phenomenon is not restricted to national politics. The same dangerous syndrome can emerge within professional associations, where elected officers may become subordinate to influential individuals or cliques who seek to exercise power without the corresponding mandate, accountability or constitutional authority.
Whether in national government or professional administration, the underlying danger is the same: the elevation of individuals above institutions, the substitution of personal interests for collective welfare and the gradual erosion of the constitutional principles upon which legitimate leadership depends.
There is virtually no limit to the depth of wickedness a selfish, power-drunk and morally depraved individual can descend to in the desperate pursuit and preservation of personal interests. When greed becomes the driving force of political or institutional ambition, human conscience is sacrificed, established safeguards are undermined, and the height of man’s inhumanity to man can reach unimaginable proportions.
But what happens when such tendencies find expression through the abuse of presidential authority? What happens when the highest political office in a country becomes a convenient instrument for advancing the selfish interests of individuals who neither possess the constitutional mandate nor have the courage to seek the people’s approval?
Nothing captures this dangerous possibility more vividly than the prospect of a proxy presidency.
Imagine having a president who, for whatever reason, is unable to exercise the full measure of the authority and responsibilities constitutionally vested in that office. Imagine a situation where the individual entrusted with the enormous responsibilities of the presidency is reduced to a mere figurehead, taking instructions from an ‘Oga’ who operates behind the curtains. Imagine a presidency in which an unelected power broker or a small cabal effectively determines the direction of government while the constitutionally recognised president remains in office.
What should anyone expect from such an arrangement?
What happens when those who ought to be accountable to the people become answerable, in practice, to an individual or a handful of individuals whose authority has never been conferred by the electorate?
More disturbing is the possibility that such an arrangement could create opportunities to circumvent constitutional scrutiny, evade questions of legality and provide convenient cover for the abuse of public power.
Of course, this scenario may sound imaginary. However, wherever circumstances raise legitimate questions about the independent exercise of presidential authority, the people must not be intimidated into silence. They have every right to demand clarification, transparency and assurances that constitutional provisions are being respected.
The presidency is a constitutional institution, not a private inheritance. Government is a public responsibility, not a personal enterprise.
When presidential authority is compromised, the consequences go far beyond the occupants of the corridors of power. Institutions become vulnerable to manipulation, public resources may be exposed to private interests, accountability can become selective, and innocent citizens may ultimately pay the price for the ambitions and excesses of a few.
THE PROXY PRESIDENCY SYNDROME: WHEN THE SAME ANOMALY INFECTS PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Interestingly, this dangerous phenomenon is not exclusive to national politics. It can equally manifest within professional associations and other organised institutions where individuals or small groups become so desperate to control the machinery of leadership that they undermine the very constitutions and democratic principles that sustain such organisations.
Consider a professional body where members elect their leadership and entrust elected officers with the responsibility of managing their collective affairs. What happens when an individual or a small clique, having acquired considerable influence, begins to dictate the direction of the organisation from behind the scenes?
What happens when elected officers become mere instruments for implementing the wishes of an unelected power centre? What happens when the governing structures, constitutional provisions and collective interests of members are subordinated to the personal ambitions of a few?
Is that not another version of a proxy presidency?
A professional association is not the private estate of its president, past presidents, influential members or political godfathers. Its leadership is a responsibility conferred by its constitution and the collective mandate of its members. No individual, irrespective of seniority, financial influence, professional accomplishments or political connections, should be permitted to exercise authority beyond the limits established by the institution’s governing framework.
When an individual becomes bigger than the institution, when loyalty to a personality supersedes loyalty to the constitution, and when elected officers surrender their independence to powerful individuals, institutional democracy begins to die.
The danger is even greater when members who ought to defend the integrity of their professional body become silent spectators, either because they benefit from the prevailing arrangement, fear victimisation or consider those being disadvantaged to be their opponents.
Such institutional capture, whether in national governance or professional administration, is a recipe for disintegration. The consequences may differ in scale, but the underlying principles are the same: abuse of authority, suppression of collective interests, institutional manipulation and the dangerous elevation of individuals above established rules.
A professional body that cannot protect its constitution from the ambitions of a few influential members risks losing its institutional independence, credibility and relevance. Ultimately, it ceases to serve the collective interests of its members and becomes vulnerable to the private agenda of those who seek to control it.
CAN A FEW INDIVIDUALS BE BIGGER THAN THE PEOPLE?
The fundamental question, therefore, is this: Can an individual, or a handful of individuals, become bigger than the millions of people whose collective mandate gives government its legitimacy?
Can a few individuals become bigger than the thousands of professionals whose membership, contributions and collective sacrifices sustain their association?
Can a society, in the name of political correctness, convenience or partisan loyalty, remain silent when constitutional principles are undermined and public institutions are compromised?
Can members of a professional body continue to look away when the integrity, independence and collective interests of their institution are being compromised simply because they are not the immediate victims or because those suffering are perceived opponents?
Can we continue to look away when innocent citizens lose their lives, livelihoods and fundamental rights simply because we are not directly affected or because the victims belong to a political camp we do not support?
Absolutely not!
The greatest danger to any society or institution is not necessarily the existence of wicked and power-hungry individuals; it is the silence, indifference and complicity of those who possess the capacity to challenge wrongdoing but choose to look away.
Indeed, the silence of the supposedly decent, the compromise of the influential and the collaboration of stakeholders can provide the oxygen that sustains dangerous forms of political misconduct and institutional abuse.
When wrongdoing is tolerated because its victims are considered political or professional enemies, society gradually legitimises the very injustice that may eventually consume everyone.
Today, the victim may be your opponent. Tomorrow, it could be you, your family or someone whose welfare you hold dear.
No society or professional institution can sustainably defend injustice against one section of its population or membership and expect justice to protect another.
THE STATUS QUO MUST BE CHALLENGED
This madness must stop!
The status quo must be challenged, and every attempt to convert public institutions or professional associations into instruments of private domination must be resisted.
Any exercise of public or institutional authority outside established constitutional boundaries must attract legitimate scrutiny. Those who facilitate, finance, protect or participate in abuses of power must be identified where evidence warrants, independently investigated and made to answer for their actions.
There must be no sacred cows, no untouchable political godfathers, no professional godfathers and no privileged class above the law or the constitution of an institution.
Anyone whose conduct raises legitimate questions about the exercise or abuse of public or institutional authority must be subjected to appropriate investigation and, where evidence establishes wrongdoing, the full consequences of the applicable law and governing rules, irrespective of political influence, financial capacity, professional standing or proximity to power.
The partners in any wrongdoing must not be allowed to hide behind the authority of an office they neither legitimately occupy nor constitutionally control. Responsibility must be established through credible investigation, and accountability must extend to everyone whose actions or omissions contributed to the abuse.
THE PEOPLE MUST RISE ABOVE POLITICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL DOCILITY
The people, on their part, must abandon the dangerous culture of political docility. Similarly, members of professional associations must reject institutional cowardice and the culture of unquestioning loyalty to influential individuals.
Their resistance must be collective, determined and sustained.
Peaceful mass mobilisation, public accountability campaigns, independent investigations, judicial intervention, constitutional remedies and other legitimate democratic mechanisms must become instruments of collective determination.
Let nobody mistake the people’s restraint for weakness. Neither should anyone interpret their patience as an unlimited licence to perpetuate injustice.
Self-preservation is one of the fundamental instincts of human existence. A people who fail to defend their collective interests risk surrendering their future to individuals who may have little regard for their welfare.
Equally, professionals who fail to defend the integrity of their association risk handing over their collective heritage to individuals whose personal ambitions may ultimately destroy the institution.
The responsibility to protect society from political criminality, institutional destruction and the abuse of authority belongs to everyone, irrespective of political affiliation, ethnicity, religion or social standing.
Likewise, the responsibility to protect professional institutions belongs to every member who values the integrity, independence and future of their profession.
The time has come for the people to rise above partisan sentiments, reject political intimidation, confront institutional complicity and reclaim their rightful place as the ultimate custodians of democratic legitimacy.
The time has equally come for professionals to rise above personal interests, political alliances, intimidation and misplaced loyalty, and insist that their institutions remain governed by their constitutions rather than the dictates of individuals.
No man, no political family, no cabal and no proxy power structure can legitimately claim ownership of a nation or a professional institution.
NOBODY IS ABOVE THE PEOPLE OR THE LAW
Power belongs to the people. Authority must answer to the law. Institutional leadership must answer to its constitution and membership. And those who abuse public or institutional trust must face the consequences.
The pound of flesh demanded by a proxy presidency must never be extracted from the innocent, the vulnerable or the defenceless masses.
Neither should the pound of flesh demanded by institutional godfathers be extracted from innocent members who dare to defend the integrity of their professional association.
If there is a price to pay for political or institutional criminality, let those responsible pay it through lawful accountability, not by sacrificing the lives, rights, dignity and legitimate interests of the people.
No individual or cabal should be allowed to lord it over the populace or an entire professional membership and expect to escape accountability. Influence is not immunity. Seniority is not sovereignty. Political power is not ownership of a nation, and professional eminence is not a licence to subvert institutional democracy.
Enough of the impunity!
Enough of the manipulation!
Enough of the dangerous politics of domination!
The people must rise. Professionals must reclaim their institutions. The law must prevail. And sanity must be restored!
Let no one take silence for ignorance nor leniency for weakness. For whatever reason, the one who creates the proxy presidency must resign or be impeached; and the proxy president must be taught bitter lessons by the populace through the demand of accountability. Power belongs to the people not just the cowards that live in the world of fantasy, abusing privileges and taking others for a ride forgetting that the same pound of flesh they receive in cash today may be demanded of them in kind tomorrow!
