Eliot Spitzer and Nigerian Governors
Eliot Spitzer and Nigerian Governors
By Reuben Abati
Sunday, March 16, 2008
No one should be surprised that the Nigerian mass media is not so excited about the mighty fall of the Governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer from grace to grass. Nor has there been any frenzy at home here, over "the woman who brought down a Governor", whose identity has now been established as Ashley Youmans, a.k.a Kristen or Ashley Alexandra Dupre, the 22-year old woman through whom Eliot Spitzer pursued a suicidal fantasy. There were other call girls of course, and in total the disgraced Governor spent about $80, 000 on prostitutes, with Ashley, now the heroine of the Spitzer saga, being paid $3, 000 per hour. Translate that into Naira: we are looking at N354, 000 per hour!
Sexual misconduct, the type that has brought down Spitzer from the Olympian heights is taken for granted in Nigeria . Nigerians run a different kind of society where free sex, illicit sex, transactional sex, and polygamy is regarded as a part of the perks of office where public officials are concerned. If Eliot Spitzer had been a Governor in Nigeria , the undue excitement that his sexual peccadilloes have generated would not have been an issue at all; he would have received fulsome praise for being an alpha male.
And if he so wishes, he could even go ahead and marry Ashley, and of course the event would have been attended by all the important dignitaries in Nigeria . Many more would scramble for the invitation cards, and in typical Nigerian style, Ashley could have ended up as First Lady, with the Governor's original wife, Slida Wall Spitzer, being advised to go on temporary leave. Our two societies are simply different, but I suppose there are lessons that we can learn from the humiliation of Governor Spitzer and related events.
What exactly did Spitzer do? And why is his case so important, with even mainstream newspapers like the New York Times opting for the kind of trashy journalism that the Spitzer/Ashley story has inspired? Spitzer was Governor of the state of New York from January 1, 2007 to March 12, 2008. Trained in Princeton and Harvard Law School , this son of a successful real estate mogul, earned a reputation as "Mr Integrity" when he served as Attorney General. He advertised himself as the very symbol of decency. He campaigned against corporate corruption, and sought to protect the American investor. He was in this regard popularly known as the "Sheriff of Wall Street". He rode on the back of this popularity to run for office as Governor of New York in 2006, winning by a wide margin.
As soon as he assumed office, Spitzer began to campaign about ethics. He talked down on everybody and was known for his brashness, although he was admired for his intelligence, energy and ambition. He was even being proposed as a future Vice president or President of the United States . As Governor, Spitzer gave interviews condemning organized prostitution as a form of modern slavery. He also signed into law, legislations which prescribed penalties for those who patronise prostitutes. But now, Eliot Spitzer has been shown to be a hypocrite.
He has been caught in the act of marital infidelity and dishonesty, leaving his wife and three teenage daughters to patronise a high price, prostitution ring, the Emperor Club VIP which supplied him a steady ring of prostitutes at $3,000 per hour, with the latest being Ashley, the pimpernel with the synthetic breasts. In America , this is a serious crime. Spitzer, the former hero of liberalism, is now a disgraced man, damaged, and abandoned. "Mr Clean" is now also known as "Client 9" in FBI's wiretap documents. The Emperors Club on its website says it is in a position to make life "more peaceful, balanced, beautiful, and meaningful". Well, ask Eliot Spitzer. On March 12, he was forced to resign as Governor of the state of New York or he would have been impeached.
Prosecutors in the office of the Attorney General of the United Sates are now investigating him for possible criminal offences, and if a case can be established against him, he would be made to have his day in court. The likely charges against him would be laughed to scorn in the Nigerian context. Prosecutors are talking about corruption and abuse of public trust. In Nigeria , state Governors routinely abuse public trust; they use their positions to pursue narrow selfish interests. And they get away with this. Consider for example, how the matter of former Governors Joshua Dariye of Plateau state and Diepreye Alamiyeseigha of Bayelsa was treated. These Governors were indicted for money laundering, but there was little outrage against their misconduct.
Today, Alams is a major friend of the Presidency. Spitzer used his own personal funds to patronise prostitutes, it has not yet been proven that he took public funds, and yet there is already so much furore. In Nigeria , Spitzer would have used state funds. Ashley would have been kept in posh hotels at home and abroad and at government expense. She would have been rewarded with contracts and may be a state or national honour. She and her other friends could even be given either official appointments or sponsored to win political seats. And nobody, no SSS, no Nigeria Police would have raised any eyebrow. Indeed, she would have ended up as a strong power-broker, instead of dreaming about a career as a singer or swim suit model. What career can be better than being the bedroom partner of a state Governor! At $3, 000 per hour?
US Prosecutors are also likely to accuse Spitzer of illegal transportation of prostitutes across state lines. This is not an issue at all in Nigeria . It is common knowledge that Nigerian Governors patronise prostitutes, they chase school girls including under-aged girls, if they so wish they could specialize in other people's wives, or female contractors, and all of these can be transported across state, national and international lines! Prosecutors are also trying to find out whether or not Spitzer used campaign funds to pay for services rendered by prostitutes. A Nigerian Governor will consider this a joke. Have you forgotten the PTDF funds, out of which a brand new car was bought for a former President's girlfriend? Campaign funds? I dare say if contract-seekers get to know that a Nigerian Governor is interested in call girls, they will on their own provide a year-round supply for his pleasure.
Other likely charges include traveling at public expense, (Nigerian Governors, their wives, mistresses, and relations always travel at public expense!) or involving state employees in illegal activities. Candidly, if Spitzer had been a Governor in Nigeria , it would have been his privilege to assign some of his aides to the minding of his prostitutes. Spitzer is being accused of concealing payment. He would not have needed to conceal anything. There are persons in Nigerian corridors of power today, special assistants, etc whose special brief is to help recruit ladies for the Governor and his friends. Spitzer would have loved to be a Nigerian. But now in the United States , he is being hounded for unbuttoning his zipper for high-priced call girls. He has contracted something worse than the clap.
He is now being portrayed as an example of the hypocrisy of politicians and how appearance is not always reality. He has failed the big test in matters of this nature: he got caught! He is the big loser and the big winner is the call girl, Ashley who is now an overnight celebrity. She has inspired hit songs, adult magazines are offering money in excess of one million dollars for her to pose nude, her lawyers are issuing threats for the unauthorized use of her photographs, career women who work nine to five and have to endure the hardship of office life are openly envying her for collecting so much money, tax free, for helping an adventurous big man to fulfil his sexual fantasies. In Nigeria , nobody would have paid this Ashi girl any attention in ugly circumstances such as this.
Are the Americans better than us in matters like this? Is all of this about values or the invasion of privacy? I think the first useful lesson to be taken away from the Spitzer saga is the burden of responsibility that Americans place on their public officials. A position of public trust is something sacred. Near super human qualities are required from public officials. When they err, they are hardly given any chance. The difference is that in Nigeria , public officials generally, not just Governors see and treat their positions as an opportunity to defraud the state and cheat the people. They commit all the offences committed by Spitzer, their moral turpitude knows no bounds and when they are caught in the act, they claim that they are being victimised. They evoke sentiments of tribe, religion and ethnicity. They resort to blackmail.
The Spitzer saga should remind Nigerians by way of comparison of Section 308 of the Nigerian Constitution under which Nigerian Governors hide to commit all kinds of atrocities. Spitzer could not claim any immunity. Besides, the parliament of New York was ready and determined to impeach him if he did not resign his position. Nigerian lawmakers are easy to compromise. They would have collected bribe, and they would have passed a vote of confidence in the Governor. Nigerian leaders do not resign when they have acted dishonourably and have been exposed. Remember Patricia Etteh and the stubborn fight that she put up?
If Spitzer had been a Nigerian, he would have accused imaginary enemies of trying to harm him, and he would have claimed that it is the Deputy Governor, or the Lt. Governor (as known in the US), or an aggrieved Godfather who is behind his travails. Spitzer was unmasked by an attentive state security agency, the FBI, and by a vigilant media. In Nigeria , state security agents would have been compromised. If they found any damaging evidence of the Spitzer/Ashley nature, they would have been more interested in enjoying similar privileges at the Governor's expense.
There has also been so much talk in the US media about how Mrs Spitzer has been humiliated, about how she is devastated; if she were Nigerian, she will not be expected to complain at all. Her friends would in fact have been congratulating her on her luck that the husband had chosen to chase call girls. It would have been worse if he had decided to keep mistresses and have other children out of wedlock. In Nigeria , it is part of the privilege of being a big man to mix sex and politics!
Last Monday, Spitzer was succeeded as Governor by former Lt. Governor David A. Paterson. Paterson is now the first black man to be Governor in the state of New York , and the first blind man to occupy such a position. Paterson , with characteristic humility said on assuming office that he felt like he is reaping the benefits of an exam written by others, but if he had been a Nigerian he probably would not have reached his present position. Nigeria is unfair to its disabled people. A blind man? Even those who can see clearly are having problems making a headway in Nigeria . Paterson studied in Columbia and Hofstra Law School . He served for 22 years in the New York Senate before becoming Lt. Governor to Spitzer.
In Nigeria , he would have ended up on the streets of Lagos with a cane in his hand, a young lad leading him, begging for alms in the traffic. The state and the community would have conspired to deny him a chance to realise his potentials. And if he is the determined type who manages to break through the blind ceiling, he would meet a brick wall sooner. Can you imagine a Nigerian political party fielding a blind man as Deputy Governor? Voters would have rejected such a ticket. Even his kinsmen would have protested that taking a blind man to represent their interest in government is an attempt to marginalize them. They will prefer a man who can see things for himself. But look at David Alexander Paterson, he is likely to end up a better Governor than Spitzer.
The Spitzer story is all told a human story. It is not just a story about politics, but a story about leadership and management. Eliot Spitzer was very good at criticising others, catching corporate thieves and talking about all the ills of the world including the evil of prostitution, but he could not manage himself. There are leaders in every aspect of our society who are mere talkers and not doers. Spitzer has shown that talk is cheap truly. As in politics, there are managers in Corporate Nigeria as well who use their positions, and company resources to patronise prostitutes, to transport women across state lines, and who involve employees in illegal activities, and yet they are the loudest custodians of company ethics.
Human beings have a tendency to be dual faced. Persons have demons within that they are fighting, even when they pretend to be well on the surface. Spitzer's Greek tragedy teaches that old lesson again: "there's no art to find the mind's construction on the face." But in all of this, Nigerians are closer to the French than the Americans. The French, like Nigerians, have no qualms about sex, of any shade, in the corridors of power.
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