STRUCTURE AND THE LAW

At the last constitutional amendment exercise, lawmakers failed to address the issue of defection from one political party to another. It is clear that our politicians do not fully appreciate how dearly their vicissitude and manipulation of the polity will cost. This is one ill that is not peculiar to any political party; they are all of the same cloth and all abuse our mandates.  The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Party (APC), as well as the remnant of other parties such as APGA and Labour Party, are guilty of this political prostitution, they all applaud whenever a strong politician switches allegiance. However, the ruling party has not taken the formal announcement of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, of his defection from the PDP to APC lightly.

Tambuwal has always been a double-edged sword and has fought vigorously for the independence of the House. This has not endeared him to his party. In this respect Tambuwal, the man, must be commended. He has tried to stand up for the truth and has gone against his party whenever he has felt that they are steering the polity off course. This quality is required and must be admired in the House of Representatives. He has spoken his mind and has on occasion criticized President Goodluck Jonathan. For instance, it was Tambuwal who made the “your-body-language-encourages-corruption” statement to the President.

President Jonathan and his party are now ready for a war that would consume Tambuwal’s political career and attempt to render him worthless to APC. His security detail has been withdrawn in a similar fashion to the fate of Governor Rotimi Amaechi and former Governor Murtala Nyako suffered when they defected. Meetings are being held to exploit loopholes in the 1999 Constitution to institute impeachment proceedings against Tambuwal the way the Emir of Kano was tactically removed from office as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. My two cents to Mr. President is that he should tread with caution.  The consequences can be grave in deciding how to tackle this matter if not handled with legitimacy and decorum. The Speaker is fully aware of his own strengths. He is aware of the fact that unseating him could lead to the PDP losing its fragile numerical strength in the House. What a mess all this uncertainty brings!

Section 50(1) (b) of the Nigerian Constitution states thus: “There shall be a Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves.” What party these principal officers should belong to is a matter for their determination. The PDP should not cry over spilled milk when, only weeks ago, they were the beneficiary of cross-carpeting in Governor Segun Mimiko. The people of Ondo State did not vote the PDP into power; they voted for the Labour Party. But the governor defected to the PDP without vacating his office as governor. Why the double standards?  A former APC executive, Tom Ikimi, recently decamped to the PDP to a rousing welcome, so was the case of former Borno State governor, Ali Modu Sheriff. What is different now?

    

Had we done the right thing by putting the matter of cross carpeting to bed ab initio in interpreting our constitution correctly, we would not be in this messy situation. Every politician here wants to take advantage of the lopsided advantage presented by this loophole, and now it is overheating the polity and threatening to disrupt civil order. My take on this issue of decamping has not changed: A defector who holds an elective seat is a thief if he/she defects and holds on to that seat. The people should not tolerate it because he/she has robbed the electorate. The courts should have been called upon a long time ago to clarify this. The last attempt by the High Court in Ekiti State to interpret a law, culminated in the court being overrun by thugs and the judge being beaten. And this is Nigeria in 2014!

As beneficiaries of our lax political system, our representatives in the legislative arm of government have refused to tackle the matter from the standpoints of morality, good governance and the law; something they swore to do. If Ondo people wanted a PDP candidate, they would have voted for the late Olusegun Agagu instead of Mimiko. If the Sokoto electorate wanted an APC rep, they wouldn’t have voted for Tambuwal. Ordinarily, mandates cannot be transferred unless an aggrieved party steps down and elections are held to replace him.

Institutionalizing weak institutions will blow up in our faces and will overheat the polity. The President would do well in protecting and tasking the Judiciary to clarify and put his house in order.

EBOLA AND SUCCESS

This is a spectacular success story. It shows that Ebola can be contained but we must be clear that we have only won a battle; the war will only end when West Africa is also declared free of Ebola.

It was with these words that the World Health Organisation (WHO) representative, Rui Gama Vaz, declared Nigeria Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) free, after 42 days or two incubation periods of 21 days each. These days, with glad tidings few and far between, we cannot harp enough on the importance of this piece of cheering news. I have since read and watched various foreign media analyses on how we got this one right. However, we all seem to miss the divine intervention that was key to our success here. It must be now clear to the whole world that Nigeria is God’s own country. The divine so worked out for Nigeria that even our shortcomings became sources of strength in tackling Ebola. Hallelujah!

Our penchant for fright as a people is well perceived. Maybe this could be traced to years of demoralising military dictatorship and civilian recklessness. Our day-to-day life is ruled by fear so when the index case of Ebola was announced, we had more than enough reasons to panic. We knew how inadequate our health facilities were and how ill-equipped the few in existence were. We understand the situation of our land and sea borders; how porous and susceptible to external infiltration we are. In fact, we know how possible it is for aircraft to depart or enter our airports, and how due process can always be sacrificed when some naira notes exchange hands. Above all, doctors in the public health sector were on strike! Facing the menacing Ebola virus seemed insurmountable by our standards.

Right from the moment Liberian-American Patrick Sawyer set foot on our soil, God’s providence started fighting Ebola on our behalf. That this first case was recorded in Lagos (and not elsewhere else) was highly significant to its containment. And what if the man wasn’t admitted at Dr Ohiri’s First Consultants Hospital, Obalende, in Lagos, where one of his hero doctors, the late Ameyo Adadevoh, was on hand? Dr Adadevoh was harassed, pressured, intimidated and even threatened with a lawsuit to release Sawyer, but the hospital stood their ground and quarantined the diplomat. Those of us who know Obalende would understand the danger had they succumbed to intimidation and released Sawyer.  The late Dr Adadevoh was a great-grandchild of one of Nigeria’s early nationalists, Herbert Macaulay. May her soul rest in peace. Also, the majority of the 8 fatalities recorded during the outbreak were health workers. They were national heroes by the strictest definition of the word. Bravo to the private sector.

Above all, we saw how government should work during the outbreak. There was synergy, sincerity, accountability and a high sense of responsibility to the people. The Lagos State government and the Federal Ministry of Health worked collaboratively with development partners. There were joint press conferences and a single information clearinghouse. We didn’t have to hear from Professor Onyebuchi and then wait for Governor Fashola’s version.  Response and tracking mechanisms were near impeccable, as shown when the virus was transported to Rivers State. Once there, similar concerted effort, commitment and hard work were put into containing the situation. For once, we did not have to devise conspiracy theories and finger pointing. No political gimmicks played out, despite the fact that cases were recorded in Lagos and Rivers – APC-controlled states. Perhaps, this is an instructive factor in the victory over Ebola.

While we celebrate victory over Ebola, we should hearken to the counsel of Rui Gama Vaz that, “Nigeria’s geographical position and extensive borders makes the country vulnerable to additional imported cases of Ebola Virus Disease.” We must therefore share our success story with our ravaged West African brothers by teaching and comparing notes with them on how to tackle the disease. Also, there are still challenges in our health sector. This victory should not be used to mask those challenges. 

However, by far our biggest lesson in containing the Ebola virus is that we’ve been given a first hand template of how things should work. If we intend to grow as a nation, Ebola has offered us a model. We cannot solve our problems divided, embittered and intolerant. We cannot solve our problems without carrying the people along and without being accountable to them. The way to solve our problems is the way we cheer the Super Eagles when they do us proud and how we criticize them when we are let down. No APC, no PDP; no Christian, no Muslim; no North, no South; no Yoruba, no Ibo, no Hausa; just Nigeria. That is the way to go.

THE ALL-ABOUT-ME-NO-MATTER-WHAT SYNDROME

The Adamawa State power tussle, where the immediate-past acting governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, has returned to his previous post as the speaker of the house is a classic case. Fintiri’s four-month reign as the chief executive of the state highlighted the confusion that has been created in Adamawa by the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP’s) quest for power. From the onset, it was clear that an opportunistic Fintiri capitalized on the resolve of Abuja to dethrone former governor Murtala Nyako for waging war against Mr President. Fintiri offered to be used by the PDP, knowing full well that if he succeeded in booting out Nyako and his deputy, Bala Ngilari, he would be well positioned as acting governor to deploy machinery towards his election as a substantive governor.  The PDP and Fintiri struck a symbiotic accord founded on illegality. The speaker’s civilian coup was bankrolled by the PDP; the idea: to wrestle the state from the hands of the opposition All Progressives Party (APC) even though they are not popular there.

The deputy governor, a PDP stalwart, was coerced and bullied into resignation, despite his constitutional right to assume the office of governor in the absence of Nyako. The initial strategy was an impeachment joint ticket, but what was his crime? He is a PDP member and did not defect like his principal. Other PDP members should beware. He was forced to resign under duress and was booted out, until the court reinstated Ngilari as the governor as due process was not followed.  In Ekiti State, the courts have not been allowed to wade into the controversy, with an High Court Judge being beaten and now the courts being sealed by the military until the governor-elect is sworn in by which time the immunity clause would have taken effect and the law supposedly can do nothing. As social commentators and citizens we shouldn’t belittle the desperation of these people, as they are doing untold damage to the stability that rules and regulations and respect bring to the land.  

Our President (and I do not use the word “our” lightly) should understand that he is the leader of the country, the chief executive officer of the entire nation, not the poster child of his party. The president is definitely not just the leader of the PDP. These illegalities perpetrated under President Jonathan’s watch only lend credence to those who said his body language encourages corruption. Quite frankly, he did not create corruption; he inherited it. But whether he is putting enough into tackling it is another matter entirely. In a democracy, a strong opposition is key, because it brings balance and debate to our polity – essential ingredients for a healthy democracy.

Unfortunately, a similar crisis is happening in Rivers state, though they are being met with strong resistance. Both sides are perpetrating the abuse of power and lives have been lost. Edo State is brewing. Legislators are under constant attacks from “unknown” sources. Even the state Assembly is not immune from attack, with thugs shooting and damaging private and government property, all in the name of intimidation and impeachment.

In Ondo, the governor has returned to the PDP – the same party which but for the Judiciary, had stolen his mandate. Now, members of the state House of Assembly who have refused to decamp are being persecuted.  In Ekiti, I repeat, the Judiciary – the third arm of government – has been shut down and militarized so that the anointed Governor Fayose could escape prosecution for his lawlessness. Courts and Justice will only resume after his inauguration. What message are we teaching our youth? If the sanctity of the Judiciary cannot be protected, how can citizens look up to it to protect their rights? The NJC has let us down by not protecting and upholding the institutions from where they derive their legitimacy. We now see that politicians are bent on dismantling the legal instrument that brought them to power.  What will we be left with but a downward spiral to anarchy that nobody here will escape?

  

I feel ashamed to be a Nigerian when our leaders display such immaturity, violence and greed. I suppose it is a reflection of who we are, so it is no wonder the rest of the world looks down on us. What a disappointment to the black race! Our leader the President should appreciate that this is all happening under his watch. He should be mindful that at best he would be with us for another 4 years. Will this be worth it? Is this the legacy that he wants to leave behind? William Shakespeare said “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” We should all mark these words.

THE RULE OF LAW

For obvious reasons, events in Ekiti State cannot escape the socio-political radar. How often do we get to hear about an assault on a judge at a state High Court premises by thugs loyal to a governor-elect? Even those who are playing politics with the matter accept that Fayose’s supporters assaulted the judge in his presence. People like Senate President David Mark should understand that the Judiciary, our courts of law and judges are an institution – an arm of government, which interprets our laws and dispenses justice. Yet, when the Chief Judge of Ekiti submitted a petition to the National Judicial Council accusing Fayose and the police of complicity in the attack on and harassment of judges and court workers, all Mark could say, in spite of the unacceptable violent conduct, is that nobody could stop Fayose’s inauguration. Coming from the Number Three Citizen of the country who should be distancing himself from such behaviour, that is frightening.

Let us assume that the law does not know the person in question, with a case still pending with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); should we forget that by supervising the beating of a judge he has broken the law?  Judges are principal officers of government mandated by the constitution to defend the laws of the land in conjunction with the law enforcement agencies, such as the Police. But when a judge is battered in the presence of the police, we truly have something to fear. Like many other Nigerians, I wonder why it is taking an eternity for the National Judicial Council to respond adequately to the petition it received on the matter.

For its own self-preservation and for the preservation of the rule of law, the NJC should treat the matter at hand with the expediency it deserves. I understand that judges are members of the bench not the bar, yet the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has a role to play in mounting pressure too. If this could happen to a judge, it is a strong signal to the body of benchers about how much the dispensation of justice can be subjugated by politicians. This is not an option for us. The NBA and the NJC should unite in rejecting this now and protect our democracy regardless of political affiliation. The judiciary must be apolitical. We are talking about the bedrock of our coexistence here, in that no society can survive without a set of principles, rules and regulations, as well as interpreters and enforcers of such regulations. 

If we need to fight to uphold the sanctity of the Judiciary the way the Nigerian Labour Congress and the people should stand up over the attempted abuse of workers’ rights, we should. NUPENG/PENGASSAN would shut down the country by refusing to lift petroleum products over grievances with the government. Nothing should be too much to ensure that the rule of law is protected at all times.

The first arms-for-cash saga had already dealt our reputation a heavy blow in the international community. Now we have another $5.7 million confiscated by the South African authorities. At this point, we don’t know what to call this: Illegal arms dealing or money laundering…or both. The American government has already denied the allegation that we sought the black market because they refused to sell to us. Our National Assembly has confirmed that they knew nothing of this until it boomeranged.  They have also been denied the right to debate the matter; it having been dubbed a security issue. Very convenient!

Furthermore, the lack of noise from Louis Edet House – our police headquarters – is deafening, apart from the congratulatory messages to our acting inspector general of Police, who received a national honour for a job well done, no doubt!

We cannot continue to allow our politicians to weaken our institutions and run roughshod over our rules and regulations. Nobody is above the law. Democracy is not about demi-gods and emperors; it is necessarily people-centred and must be driven by strong institutions. Democracy presents choices and alternative opinions.  A healthy opposition is one of the hallmarks of a healthy democratic society, together with the judiciary, law enforcement agencies and the media. All these are made up of our peers.  Without these institutions, we cannot protect the system from dictatorship.  We should be careful, lest we spiral back to that dictatorship and abuse of power that led us to clamour for democracy in the first place. The ruling party must be mature enough to protect the separation of powers and the opposition, as they are part of our construct. We all have a lawyer o! Let him or her know that we expect them to rise and say no and that we will stand by them. Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights.