CITIZENS, CONSTITUTIONS, INSTITUTIONS AND SYSTEMS -- PART 1

Mentuhotep II: First King of Middle Kingdom ancient Egypt; The Egyptians created the first institution of government; the idea of citizens, laws and systems which lasted at least 3000 years. Winkipedia

Louis Egbe Mbua

When the moral fabric of a society cracks up; and the crack spreads rapidly from the top of the establishment to ordinary citizens in an uncontrollable manner, then the system has failed perpetually; and must be changed so that it could be replaced by the most benevolent system. Historical facts point to the ruins of ancient civilisation which had reached their zenith but ultimately failed. It can be safely said that failure starts with the people who control the levers of power --the establishment -- who run the variously created institutions; write up the constitutions and make the system work in a civilised environment.

The main cause of such a decline is normally linked to a decline in moral standards in every sense of the word by a majority of its citizens. During the Bill Clinton Presidency, in the entire 1990s, it can be inferred that the former America President presided over one of the longest, most enduring, robust and “feel good” economic boom America saw last century. It has now been shown to be a temporal hitch as the credit crunch and economic collapse returned with a vengeance almost 20 years later, in 2007/2008.


What Bill Clinton showed was that it is possible to engage in some kind of immorality with a 25 year old Monica Lewinsky (That Woman), albeit in a small way, and at the same time stay as president with good economic and political credentials. Good and fine. But the consequences are that the next president may find nothing wrong with engaging in a small or big malfeasance as we are witnessing in this US election drama where George Bush won in 2000. In 2003, he went on to fulfil this prophesy – executing futile and senseless war in Iraq on the foundation of a very big lie about Iraq possessing chemical weapons or weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The consequences have been disastrous economically, morally and politically with catastrophic human and material costs. Is this, therefore, beginning of the decline and fall of the USA? That is an academic question.

This, one dares to believe, is how nations start to decline and with it the institutions, law and order and the overthrow of its constitutions; and the eventual collapse of the system with the subsequent suffering of its citizens. The Roman Empire was one of the greatest and long-lasting empires that the world has ever known. Edward Gibbons in his "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" wrote, "The gentle but powerful influence of laws and manners had gradually cemented the union of provinces. Their peaceful inhabitants enjoyed and abused the advantages of wealth and luxury." It lasted almost 2000 years. At its peak, it controlled almost the entire known world from Great Britain to Egypt in Africa to Persia in Asia. With good and upright leaders albeit dictators-for-life such as Julius Caesar, they practised a form of constitutional democracy in their Senate. They built institutions and almost perfected the system with its citizens living in enormous luxury.

Then came final the blow. Its leaders became corrupt, engaging in all kinds of violence, debauchery, tyrannical acts, incest and pornography, paganism, theft and laziness and ridiculous pleasure and orgy.In one narrative, the Historian William Kinglaman wrote that: "On the banks of the Tiber, the older members of the Roman Aristocracy vied, not entirely willingly, to see who could spend the most money on the luxury goods that were offered for sale in booths, while their sons and daughters competed in obscene dramatic productions and athletics contests." These were games designed by Emperor Nero in conjunction with the establishment that eventually led to breakdown of the system; and the consequent down fall of the Roman Empire. In fact, Caligula, the Roman emperor, blew the entire Roman treasury within a year after Tiberius. So, who is to blame here? Corrupt leadership or bad institutions? Is there any pointer as to what good institutions are? Which comes first in priority? Human leadership or institutions?

In the Cameroonian and African context, what we saw in the last three decades was the decline and fall of middle-income countries from glory to ignominy where the entire Africa, Cameroon in particular, became poor indebted countries overnight.. Are we to say that Cameroon did not have institutions and many good laws before the present regime came to power? Did the Cameroon citizens not create state- run institutions such as the PMO, POWECAM, functioning airports and seaports, a state Airline? Or are we to say that these were not institutions built by citizens? While one has to credit the Ahidjo regime with reasonable economic achievements, I believe the present government must be held fully responsible for the moral decadence that is today in the Cameroonian social, political and economic life.

Once corruption has set in, most of the time introduced by morally bankrupt leaders, it permeates the society and affects all citizens whether there are good laws and a constitution or not. If the judiciary, some high-ranking government officials; the legislative arm and the police are corrupt institutions -- who citizens emulate -- then what use is the law, institutions and constitution? What becomes of the citizens in such a system?