Mr. President, we’re running out of patience

Are you beginning to feel exasperated by the repeated use of noble phrases such as ‘rule of law’, ‘due process’, ‘law and order’,’ peace and security’ while all around you are chaos, lawlessness, violence, poverty and death? Well if it’s any consolation, you are not alone; you are in fact one of a hundred and fifty or so million Nigerians that are battling with the same contradictions. To aggravate matters even more is the complete absence of any kind of palliative that could lighten your burden. No punching bag. Nobody to take the blame. Not even a scapegoat. Nothing.

In the past, and not too long a past at that, this wouldn’t have been the case; at least there would always be a convenient figure to take your venom, to absorb all the insults and blames, and then tell everybody to go to hell. And life goes on, happy happy; a scandal for every week, often, one for everyday of the week. Those were the bad old days of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was always there, for bad or for worse. Never missing in action, or inaction. Nowadays the walls around the Villa seem to have been reinforced with a soundproof concrete; no amount of screaming or wailing has any impact.

What’s happening? Nothing. OBJ’s successor, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua is content to leave all the action to rule of law and due process—damn it! Isn’t this process overdue, who’s processing it any way? Unfortunately you can’t blame a guy for playing it safe. After all, just a while ago we were all unanimous in the conclusion that the trouble with our democracy was the absence of the rule of law and a corresponding contempt for due process. So even by Nigerians’ standard it would be grossly unfair to blame President Yar’Adua for seeking shelter in the ambiguity of ‘the rule of law’, even if that rule of law is itself encased within a Constitution that is in need of emergency legal surgery. Besides, in its original form English law, which is the basis for our own laws is designed to protect power; not to restrain it; from England to Sokoto, Monarchs and Kings used to have power over life and death. The growth of Republics and Democracies, and the checks and balances which developed over time, never really changed the statusquo, only modified it. In America from where we borrowed the presidential system, the current president Mr. George W. Bush invaded a sovereign country, Iraq, against the wishes of the American Congress and the majority of Americans. His friend, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair supported him against the wishes of the British people and parliament. In Nigeria former President Obasanjo treated not only the parliament but just about everybody with open contempt. In all those instances the ‘rule of law’ was helpless against those abuses some of which turned out to have bloody consequences.

It is against this background that many Nigerians are beginning to feel genuinely concerned about Yar’Adua’s style and approach to governance. In case the president’s advisers are too busy ‘advising’ him to take notice of the public mood, a gradual sense of drift is slowly spreading among us. Last week, a traffic cop caught me using my cell phone while driving; when I apologized, the cop smiled and asked me to ‘show appreciation’ (I’m not making any confessions ). The same week I visited a sick friend in Wuse zone six, Abuja; while waiting for the gates of his house to be opened, another visitor came up behind me in his car. As the security man was trying to open the gates for the both of us, there were gun shots just across the street; people started running wildly, taking shelter or just putting distance between themselves and possible instant death: it was a robbery operation in the centre of the federal capital. The time was just 8.30pm! And if it is an exaggeration to say that it happens on daily basis, it certainly is no exaggeration to say that it happens every week.

Of course this may sound like a harsh assessment for a president that is apparently doing his utmost best to be humane, sincere and operate within the limits set by law; while at the same time having to cope with the distraction of the legal challenge to his legitimacy. But being a leader comes with a huge price tag, and he is no stranger to leadership.

Which makes some of his actions all the more curious. For instance, in his first official reaction to the sad events in the House of Representatives that have so far claimed the life of a legislator, the president, speaking through his Adviser on Legislative Matters, Mrs. Florence Ita-Giwa said that he would not intervene in the crisis. Nobody can, or should, quarrel with that. The trouble is, the president is already as involved as he could possibly be. By whatever means it is achieved, the president’s party, the PDP controls both the House and the Senate; second, the late Dr. Aminu Shuaibu Safana, the legislator that lost his life shortly after his participation in the rancorous session of last Wednesday was a passionate supporter of the Speaker, the obdurate Mrs. Patricia Etteh; and a close political ally of the president; also according to informed sources in the House, all but one House member from the president’s home state of Katsina are supporters of the obstinate Speaker. And above all, his party had taken a position, even threatening to recall members that oppose the Speaker. How on earth does Mr. President expect any reasonable, rational Nigerian to interpret this strange array of coincidences, if coincidences they are?

Nobody is asking the president to break the law or encroach into the functions of the legislature; but intervention here needs not be legal, as Mr. Festus Keyamo and many others have suggested, the president can intervene morally, politically and in his position as the leader of the country. Doing nothing, saying nothing can only lead to being nothing. The explanation offered by Mrs. Giwa that the president would not intervene because “he is a peaceful man” is lame, to say the least. Who told her that we want a peaceful man as president? We want a man that can bring peace; if Nigeria is enjoying relative peace today, it is because a war was fought to establish it. Peace is a very expensive commodity, and you don’t get it by folding your arms and watch your house fall apart. The rate of criminal activity today is among the highest in the history of Nigeria; and with Christmas and Sallah approaching, the situation can only get worse. Policemen mount illegal road blocks and extort money from innocent citizens while criminals kill, rape and maim with impunity; and yet we are being bombarded with nebulous platitudes. Let Giwa try discussing peace and rule of law with armed robbers and see how far she could go. We want rule of law to prevail, we want due process to be our process; but first we want to be secure, we want to be safe, we want to be convinced that we are being treated honestly; we want the lingering doubts in our minds removed, plucked out even, through prompt and decisive action on issues that affect us directly. In short Mrs. Adviser should please tell Mr. President that we are running out of patience. Or at least I am, and I’m a citizen. Why must people have to die before anybody takes anything serious?

Two down…

It is another glorious week for justice and everything that is good; and a another massive blow to injustice, impunity and everything that is vile and evil. Once again the Nigerian judiciary has risen up to the occasion in Kebbi State by nullifying the illegal election of the incumbent Governor Alhaji Sa’idu Dakingari. This column had predicted, like millions of other Nigerians that the nullification of the election of Alhaji Ibrahim Idris of Kogi State was only the second, after Anambra, in a series of other nullifications that are bound to follow. We still await Adamawa, Sokoto and many others.

That Dakingari is the son in-law of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua makes the verdict particularly significant. It is another testimony to the president’s resolve to give the judiciary the necessary freedom to sanitize the system. The president’s action is also in conformity with the Qur’anic injunction that

commands Muslims to support the course of justice even if it goes against our own relations. For this exceptional display of impartiality, a big congratulations to Mr. President.

Congratulations also to Alhaji Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa, the former Governor of Sokoto State and the erstwhile Presidential candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), on the strength of which petition the tribunal gave its verdict. Inspite of overwhelming temptation to resort to lawlessness Bafarawa, as the leader of the DPP had remained calm, and even paid a solidarity visit to the President, assuring him of his support. It is attitudes like these as displayed by the Mr. President, Bafarawa and of course the Judiciary that over time help to build a strong and virile nation for present and future generations.

But there are a few salient issues that the judicial system may need to address. One: if Dakingari’s name was illegally smuggled on the ballot paper for the April elections as the tribunal says, who was the culprit? Since it amounted to forgery, it is a criminal offence which requires further action. Dakingari is already talking about being confident of winning another election, perhaps he should be reminded that it is not as easy as that. There is also the issue of the PDP which must accept direct or indirect responsibility for its complicity in the criminal act. The starting point is to remove the party’s Chairman Col. Ahmadu Ali’s name from the list of Ambassadorial nominees. A person that would preside over such scandalous irregularities is the last thing any serious nation would send forth as a symbol of its values. Next case please.

And while we’re about it, it would be in order to remind the president that some of his aides are unsuitable for the role they are supposed to play. One of such aides is Mrs. Florence Ita-Giwa herself. She is the least qualified to speak about separation of powers and due process. She was a principal actor in the monumental acts of lawlessness involving the last legislature under Obasanjo. The colossal amount of money that was used to bribe members of the last legislature to support the former regime’s mindless assault on our constitution was done while Mrs. Ita-Giwa served the former president in the same position she is now serving the current president. Who is she kidding now talking about rule of law as if it is some kind of rap music that anyone can hurriedly put together to ensure the survival of body and soul? If we had the right instruments for measuring public opinion, the president would be shocked at the level to which his popularity has plummeted; and all these not because of any bad things he’s doing, but because of the things he’s not doing, like being, well, a little bit more visible and audible! Good guys don’t necessarily make good leaders.

Finally my condolences to the family of the late Dr. Aminu Shuaibu Safana; the President, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, the Governor of Katsina state, Barrister Ibrahim Shehu Shema, the Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Dr. Abba Sayyadi Ruma, the House of Representatives and the people of Katsina State and the nation at large. May God pardon Dr. Aminu and forgive his short comings as we pray for Him to pardon our own short comings as well; and may God grant his surviving family members the fortitude to bear the loss. In his death is a lesson for everybody.
Mr. President, we’re running out of patience       
 
  Written by Garbadeen Muhammad, deengarba@yahoo.com, on 20-10-2007 19:00
Views 5
 

Are you beginning to feel exasperated by the repeated use of noble phrases such as ‘rule of law’, ‘due process’, ‘law and order’,’ peace and security’ while all around you are chaos, lawlessness, violence, poverty and death? Well if it’s any consolation, you are not alone; you are in fact one of a hundred and fifty or so million Nigerians that are battling with the same contradictions. To aggravate matters even more is the complete absence of any kind of palliative that could lighten your burden. No punching bag. Nobody to take the blame. Not even a scapegoat. Nothing.

In the past, and not too long a past at that, this wouldn’t have been the case; at least there would always be a convenient figure to take your venom, to absorb all the insults and blames, and then tell everybody to go to hell. And life goes on, happy happy; a scandal for every week, often, one for everyday of the week. Those were the bad old days of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was always there, for bad or for worse. Never missing in action, or inaction. Nowadays the walls around the Villa seem to have been reinforced with a soundproof concrete; no amount of screaming or wailing has any impact.

What’s happening? Nothing. OBJ’s successor, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua is content to leave all the action to rule of law and due process—damn it! Isn’t this process overdue, who’s processing it any way? Unfortunately you can’t blame a guy for playing it safe. After all, just a while ago we were all unanimous in the conclusion that the trouble with our democracy was the absence of the rule of law and a corresponding contempt for due process. So even by Nigerians’ standard it would be grossly unfair to blame President Yar’Adua for seeking shelter in the ambiguity of ‘the rule of law’, even if that rule of law is itself encased within a Constitution that is in need of emergency legal surgery. Besides, in its original form English law, which is the basis for our own laws is designed to protect power; not to restrain it; from England to Sokoto, Monarchs and Kings used to have power over life and death. The growth of Republics and Democracies, and the checks and balances which developed over time, never really changed the statusquo, only modified it. In America from where we borrowed the presidential system, the current president Mr. George W. Bush invaded a sovereign country, Iraq, against the wishes of the American Congress and the majority of Americans. His friend, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair supported him against the wishes of the British people and parliament. In Nigeria former President Obasanjo treated not only the parliament but just about everybody with open contempt. In all those instances the ‘rule of law’ was helpless against those abuses some of which turned out to have bloody consequences.

It is against this background that many Nigerians are beginning to feel genuinely concerned about Yar’Adua’s style and approach to governance. In case the president’s advisers are too busy ‘advising’ him to take notice of the public mood, a gradual sense of drift is slowly spreading among us. Last week, a traffic cop caught me using my cell phone while driving; when I apologized, the cop smiled and asked me to ‘show appreciation’ (I’m not making any confessions ). The same week I visited a sick friend in Wuse zone six, Abuja; while waiting for the gates of his house to be opened, another visitor came up behind me in his car. As the security man was trying to open the gates for the both of us, there were gun shots just across the street; people started running wildly, taking shelter or just putting distance between themselves and possible instant death: it was a robbery operation in the centre of the federal capital. The time was just 8.30pm! And if it is an exaggeration to say that it happens on daily basis, it certainly is no exaggeration to say that it happens every week.

Of course this may sound like a harsh assessment for a president that is apparently doing his utmost best to be humane, sincere and operate within the limits set by law; while at the same time having to cope with the distraction of the legal challenge to his legitimacy. But being a leader comes with a huge price tag, and he is no stranger to leadership.

Which makes some of his actions all the more curious. For instance, in his first official reaction to the sad events in the House of Representatives that have so far claimed the life of a legislator, the president, speaking through his Adviser on Legislative Matters, Mrs. Florence Ita-Giwa said that he would not intervene in the crisis. Nobody can, or should, quarrel with that. The trouble is, the president is already as involved as he could possibly be. By whatever means it is achieved, the president’s party, the PDP controls both the House and the Senate; second, the late Dr. Aminu Shuaibu Safana, the legislator that lost his life shortly after his participation in the rancorous session of last Wednesday was a passionate supporter of the Speaker, the obdurate Mrs. Patricia Etteh; and a close political ally of the president; also according to informed sources in the House, all but one House member from the president’s home state of Katsina are supporters of the obstinate Speaker. And above all, his party had taken a position, even threatening to recall members that oppose the Speaker. How on earth does Mr. President expect any reasonable, rational Nigerian to interpret this strange array of coincidences, if coincidences they are?

Nobody is asking the president to break the law or encroach into the functions of the legislature; but intervention here needs not be legal, as Mr. Festus Keyamo and many others have suggested, the president can intervene morally, politically and in his position as the leader of the country. Doing nothing, saying nothing can only lead to being nothing. The explanation offered by Mrs. Giwa that the president would not intervene because “he is a peaceful man” is lame, to say the least. Who told her that we want a peaceful man as president? We want a man that can bring peace; if Nigeria is enjoying relative peace today, it is because a war was fought to establish it. Peace is a very expensive commodity, and you don’t get it by folding your arms and watch your house fall apart. The rate of criminal activity today is among the highest in the history of Nigeria; and with Christmas and Sallah approaching, the situation can only get worse. Policemen mount illegal road blocks and extort money from innocent citizens while criminals kill, rape and maim with impunity; and yet we are being bombarded with nebulous platitudes. Let Giwa try discussing peace and rule of law with armed robbers and see how far she could go. We want rule of law to prevail, we want due process to be our process; but first we want to be secure, we want to be safe, we want to be convinced that we are being treated honestly; we want the lingering doubts in our minds removed, plucked out even, through prompt and decisive action on issues that affect us directly. In short Mrs. Adviser should please tell Mr. President that we are running out of patience. Or at least I am, and I’m a citizen. Why must people have to die before anybody takes anything serious?

Two down…

It is another glorious week for justice and everything that is good; and a another massive blow to injustice, impunity and everything that is vile and evil. Once again the Nigerian judiciary has risen up to the occasion in Kebbi State by nullifying the illegal election of the incumbent Governor Alhaji Sa’idu Dakingari. This column had predicted, like millions of other Nigerians that the nullification of the election of Alhaji Ibrahim Idris of Kogi State was only the second, after Anambra, in a series of other nullifications that are bound to follow. We still await Adamawa, Sokoto and many others.

That Dakingari is the son in-law of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua makes the verdict particularly significant. It is another testimony to the president’s resolve to give the judiciary the necessary freedom to sanitize the system. The president’s action is also in conformity with the Qur’anic injunction that

commands Muslims to support the course of justice even if it goes against our own relations. For this exceptional display of impartiality, a big congratulations to Mr. President.

Congratulations also to Alhaji Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa, the former Governor of Sokoto State and the erstwhile Presidential candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), on the strength of which petition the tribunal gave its verdict. Inspite of overwhelming temptation to resort to lawlessness Bafarawa, as the leader of the DPP had remained calm, and even paid a solidarity visit to the President, assuring him of his support. It is attitudes like these as displayed by the Mr. President, Bafarawa and of course the Judiciary that over time help to build a strong and virile nation for present and future generations.

But there are a few salient issues that the judicial system may need to address. One: if Dakingari’s name was illegally smuggled on the ballot paper for the April elections as the tribunal says, who was the culprit? Since it amounted to forgery, it is a criminal offence which requires further action. Dakingari is already talking about being confident of winning another election, perhaps he should be reminded that it is not as easy as that. There is also the issue of the PDP which must accept direct or indirect responsibility for its complicity in the criminal act. The starting point is to remove the party’s Chairman Col. Ahmadu Ali’s name from the list of Ambassadorial nominees. A person that would preside over such scandalous irregularities is the last thing any serious nation would send forth as a symbol of its values. Next case please.

And while we’re about it, it would be in order to remind the president that some of his aides are unsuitable for the role they are supposed to play. One of such aides is Mrs. Florence Ita-Giwa herself. She is the least qualified to speak about separation of powers and due process. She was a principal actor in the monumental acts of lawlessness involving the last legislature under Obasanjo. The colossal amount of money that was used to bribe members of the last legislature to support the former regime’s mindless assault on our constitution was done while Mrs. Ita-Giwa served the former president in the same position she is now serving the current president. Who is she kidding now talking about rule of law as if it is some kind of rap music that anyone can hurriedly put together to ensure the survival of body and soul? If we had the right instruments for measuring public opinion, the president would be shocked at the level to which his popularity has plummeted; and all these not because of any bad things he’s doing, but because of the things he’s not doing, like being, well, a little bit more visible and audible! Good guys don’t necessarily make good leaders.

Finally my condolences to the family of the late Dr. Aminu Shuaibu Safana; the President, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, the Governor of Katsina state, Barrister Ibrahim Shehu Shema, the Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Dr. Abba Sayyadi Ruma, the House of Representatives and the people of Katsina State and the nation at large. May God pardon Dr. Aminu and forgive his short comings as we pray for Him to pardon our own short comings as well; and may God grant his surviving family members the fortitude to bear the loss. In his death is a lesson for everybody.