The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

Governors vs deputies: Democracy or autocracy?

Nigerian democracy since 1999 has been an interesting cocktail. There have been some developments but yet there have been some serious challenges too. The political party structure in the country has not seen a very remarkable progressive change. This has made it very viable for politicians who push the rhetoric of ‘no permanent friends or permanent enemies’ as reason they oscillate from one political party to the other depending on where their interests are better served and the permissiveness shown in upholding any principles.

The Nigerian political party system ought to be restructured to function for the democratic process in ways that the political parties are driven by ideological convictions that would encourage membership based on principles being pushed by the political parties. It is very funny how in matters that would benefit some politicians, they cite examples of United Kingdom and the United States of America with two major political parties, the Tories democratic and Labour and the Republican and Democratic parties respectively as models.

The political party structure in these two viable democracies has made it possible for the countries to have a functional and sustainable democracy. An adherence to the rule of law and the constitution keeps every political actor on track in ways that every politician is held accountable.

Conversely though, the Nigerian democracy seems a bit directionless given the wobbly nature of political parties and their systemic lack of accountability with their members. As late Chuba Okadigbo, a political scientist and lecturer once said in an interview, Nigeria does not really have political parties, what they have is a gathering of people who seek their political interests. This might be a bit of an exaggeration but in it is some sense the perception of an insider-player at the time. Not much has changed years after his death.

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The Roundtable Conversation has over the years expressed concern over the constant rift between Nigerian Presidents and their Vice Presidents and some governors and their deputies. The rift between former President Obasanjo and his former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar was so tense that OBJ at the time allegedly had to kneel to beg him. On the reverse side, Atiku Abubakar allegedly tried at some point to use the governors to upstage his boss at the time. The fight doesn’t seem to have abated. Former President Muhammadu Buhari and Prof. Yemi Osibanjo had their own differences even though most alleged crisis was credited to the infamous ‘cabal’ at Aso Rock. Nevertheless, the rift earned the nation some development setbacks.

The Roundtable Conversation has watched the conflicts between Nigerian governors and their deputies since the return of democracy in 1999 till date and concluded that Nigerians seem to miss the point when they focus all their attention on the presidency, important and powerful as the office is. Governors in Nigeria almost operate as imperial rulers.

The litany of quarrels between governors and their deputies are legion. From the South East, former governor Orji Uzor Kalu was at daggers drawn with his former deputy now Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe. Rochas Okorocha quarreled with two of his deputies, Jude Agbaso and Eze Madumere. From the North West, we had former governor, now APC chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje and his deputy Prof. Hafiz Abubakar, From South South, former governor Victor Attah and Chris Ekpenyong, From South West, Ayodele fayose and Abiodun Aluko, Olusegun Mimiko and Ali Olanusi, Again from North West, Isa Yuguda and Garba Gadi.

Today, Edo state governor, Godwin Obaseki and his deputy Philip Shuaibu have made headlines. Ondo state governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa have been in the media for long, each being projected by their supporters as the victim or villain. In all these, the people bear the brunt and development suffers. Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world for a reason. The people seem not to hold their governors to account. Governors operate with so much power and they revel in the euphoria that Nigerians only point to the presidency for the failure of leadership.

The Roundtable Conversation sought the views of former Senator Grace Folashade Bent on ways to mitigate the perennial conflicts between governors and their deputies. To her, these aberrations further highlight the defective nature of our constitution. The constitution did not really define clearly the duties and roles of Vice Presidents and deputy governors. Then you have sycophants around the corridors of power who stoke embers of hatred. This seems to be their only way they survive as that gives them some relevance.

Most of the political jobbers feed their principals with false narratives just so they remain relevant. On the other hand, the governors often seem very undiscerning. They often fall to the antics of political hangers on. They buy the narratives hook, line and sinker with little emotional intelligence. Again the state houses of assembly members seem not to know their roles in ensuring good governance. They often take sides and allow themselves to be used as puns on the chessboard of politics. The conspiracy theories around the corridors of power increases the chances of divisive political actors.

To her, the constitution seems defective and we must do enough to correct this and clelearly define roles. The houses of assembly should start doing their jobs and stop taking sides for purely political gains. Their interest must be good governance and strictly playing their constitutional roles. To Senator Bent, the legislative arm is very relevant in democracy and people elected at that level must be serious enough to understand that their roles are defined and they are not mere appendages to the executive. A constitutional review can solve this problem of Vice presidents and deputy governors and their principals. The legislature at both state and federal levels can hold presidents and governors accountable in ways they become more loyal to the constitution. This is the system that works in functional democracies she insists.

Dr. Constance Ikokwu, a veteran journalist, political analyst and deep thinker believes that we just have to obey the law. There are no ambiguities in the law that states that when a president or governor is incapacitated, the Vice President of deputy governor should take over. On the other hand, the law also provides that if a president or a governor decides to disobey the law, the legislature at either the federal of state level should impeach him or her. However, the sad part is that somehow in Nigeria, the legislators often do not understand their duties in the constitution and that is exactly why the governors continue to operate with imperial mindset.

It can be challenging when the legislative arm do not understand their roles ab initio. Again we have to review the constitution and clearly delineate the roles of deputy governors in our democracy. For now, the deputies almost depend on the governors to tell them what to do in a way that feels like they exist at the mercy of governors. The governors often exercise too much powers and that is possibly why their positions are coveted. They appear too tyrannical at some point. They often go above and beyond to exercise those powers and in the process, their deputies become the collateral damages of a system that created them in the first place.

To Dr. Ikokwu, the structure of Nigerian political parties becomes very worrisome when these governor/deputy issues come up. In the first place, the two are representing a particular political party flawed as they might be. People would expect that the political parties ought to step in when the interpersonal conflicts between the governor and his deputy becomes too disruptive of governance and distracts both the two and the people. The chairmen of political parties should be more concerned. One thinks the internal conflicts should be resolved by the party executive under the chairman of any party in question.

Again, she feels that it might help that governors and deputies understand themselves better before collaborating and not just to win an election. That way, the two would be in a better position to work together. In cases where the governors deviate from pre-election agreements or begin to be too tyrannical, a deputy governor can work away and not behave like they are both in a boxing ring.

Again, Ikokwu believes that the Nigerians seem to focus on the presidency and ignore governors who often behave like emperors. The governors often have a lot of funds and powers at their disposal and as such have the tendency to be corrupted such absolute powers. She believes that the people must begin to understand that governors have roles beyond the titles. They ought to be held accountable by the people.

Ikokwu recommends that more attention from the people, civil society groups and all other agencies of good governance will put more pressure on governors to be more responsible. Civil Society groups must decentralize their operations from Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt and spread across the states to sensitize the people about the roles of governors across Nigeria. The klieg lights must be on the governors so they can shift some attention from the presidency to the states for a more functional country. A lot of the governors take the people for granted.

The Roundtable Conversation believes that democracy cannot function optimally if elected persons continue to bring personal nuances to leadership positions. The dysfunctional system surreptitiously gives energy to governors in Nigeria not to be totally accountable. More often than not, they even hold the presidents to ransom stalling some development projects and policies.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in her book, “Fighting Corruption is Dangerous” gave a peek into the abuse of power by governors who manipulated the Governors’ Forum then chaired by Rotimi Amaechi to subvert her efforts as the then Finance and the Coordinating minister of the economy. The effects still reverberates today with the level of poverty in Nigeria. Action must be taken to reverse this ugly trend. Governance is not a personal fiefdom.

December 9, 2023
Ondo political crisis and Abuja Accord

Trust, once destroyed, takes a long time to rebuild. In politics, what is expected is total, undiluted loyalty, no matter the test of time.

Those who have been in politics for many years are conversant with these rudiments of relationship in the corridor of power. Those who are likely to enter its murky waters later should start developing endurance strategies.

Politics is beautiful, yet hazardous. The ultimate goal, according to Obafemi Awolowo, is the attainment of power. Though power is alluring, it often becomes intoxicating. Officialdom is electrifying, yet slippery.

Government is a lucrative business and the only route to it is through politics. In our clime, this has become more of an occupation than a vocation. In the corridors of power, competition is stiff; the battle is better imagined. Power, as it is now internalised, is not served a la carte. Those in power are strengthened by resources and the ability to wield it by coercion. The losers in the power game are left in the cold. They become liabilities; they slip through circumstantial vulnerability.

The dark side of politicking is that once a crisis erupts, fence-mending becomes compelling yet difficult to achieve. A crisis resolution is as tedious as creating and escalating conflicts. Politicians who easily forgive a partisan sin of betrayal are rare. It is doubtful if anyone, even if he tries hard to forgive, can ever forget what may be perceived as backstabbing from a political family member.

The lesson of the Ondo State political crisis is the neglect of the ethics of moderation, which, in Plato’s view, proposes that a rational balance should be maintained in all human pursuits.

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This requires a sort of native intelligence. Besides, navigating the difficult political waters requires a good knowledge of history which lesson is often ignored by actors at their own detriment.

The current political impasse, exemplified by the collapse of loyalty, fidelity and trust, is typical of Ondo politics. The state is addicted to governor-deputy governor rift, which has often polarised the ruling parties and drawn negative attention to the state.

In the Second Republic, the reticent Governor Adekunle Ajasin and his deputy, the mercurial Chief Akin Omoboriowo, who were paired by their leader, Awo, to complement each other, parted ways in their first term; in fact, barely within two years. The protracted crisis that ensued defied solution, even to the surprise of the national leadership of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).

Many years after, Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who is too direct, undiplomatic, frank and predictable, was at loggerheads with his erstwhile deputy, Agboola Ajayi, a highly talented and experienced grassroots actor with an uncanny capacity for maneuvering, almost a maverick.

The sources of conflicts are similar to what currently obtains. The accompanying predicament is also the same. As the number two eyes the seat of number one, there is resistance and split in the once indivisible and united camp, thereby creating stress and distress for the ruling platform.

In the process of maintaining loyalty or shifting alliance, neutrality becomes a cardinal infraction. Clandestine meetings are held. There is mutual suspicion. Rival camps indulge in bickering, rumour mongering, propaganda, embellishments, campaign of calumny, character assassination and mutual liquidation.

In this particular circumstance, there is a rush of emotion. There is no vacancy at Alagbaka House in Akure, the seat of government. The chief occupant is only indisposed. No mortal is insulated from illness. It is pathetic of the Ondo State APC, which midwifed a government, that it could not put its house in order. While the opposition is lamenting being out of power, those in power cannot manage their achievements and exploits.

This period of protracted illness, political uncertainty and anxiety calls for sober reflection. The gladiators are unfair to their leader and custodian of the mandate, Akeredolu, who assembled a formidable team that is now being divided over next year’s succession game.

It is a failure of leadership on the part of the deputy governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, that he cannot hold forte effectively, be the alter ego of his boss, ensure unity, foster cohesion, inspire team spirit, make sacrifice and promote an attitude of abnegation. That is why the State Executive Council (Exco) meeting could not hold for three months and the feeling started growing in the public domain that governance was on hold in the Sunshine state.

The position of deputy governor in the Nigerian presidential democracy is very delicate. A state’s Number Two citizen is the typical spare tyre. But, he could be easily catapulted to the front burner during an emergency. To weather the storm, the occupant needs patience, skill, tact, humility and support of the Exco, party leadership and other critical stakeholders.

The distance between the powers of the governor and his deputy is wide. As the vice president of Nigeria is not perceived as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces – since he is not so called by the constitution – the deputy governor is not designated the Deputy Chief Security Officer of the state. Neither can any deputy governor be chairman of the state executive council.

The constitution favours the transfer of power to the deputy governor to act, in certain circumstances. But because of the level of political culture in the country, the title of “acting governor” is a mere appellation when the ailing governor is still alive, signing bills and giving directives, although he is not in Akure, the state capital. The loyalty of the majority still goes to the boss, who is kept abreast of events by commissioners, special advisers and other aides that are appointees of the governor and colleagues of the deputy governor.

If deputy governors are conscious of these limitations, the option left to them is to embrace the reality, endure the pains of constitutional restrictions and exhibit unconditional loyalty, which is the only asset that can endear them to their power-loaded executive governors, the only undisputed leaders, who casually delegate powers to them.

Paradoxically, across the states of the federation, many members of a governor’s team could be envious of the powerless office of the deputy governor because of the prospect it holds in an unexpected moment. Political envy is inevitable, and it stems from the fact that if there is a cordial relationship between the governor and his deputy, the latter’s ambition to succeed his principal is a monumental threat to the aspirations of other stalwarts and competitors.

Also, if the unexpected happens, the deputy governor may be the ultimate beneficiary. But, it is wishful thinking to anticipate any calamity. God is the decider of human fate.

Akeredolu, in his wisdom, picked Aiyedatiwa as his deputy. Being from Ondo South Senatorial District, where APC will source for its next governorship candidate, many believed that he had an upper hand. At what stage did the gulf occur between the deputy and the governor? This is a question for Aiyedatiwa.

It is gratifying that the APC national leader, President Bola Tinubu, has intervened in the Ondo crisis and brokered a truce. Those calling for a legal solution are correct, but elders who have suggested a political solution are not fools.

Having provided a rare opportunity for soft-landing for the two warring camps, the terms of the political solution agreed upon at Abuja before the president should be strictly adhered to. The peace deal, if well implemented, can lead to suspension of tension.

Aiyedatiwa is at the centre of the crisis and controversy. Indeed, the deputy governor, his recuperating boss, the House of Assembly and the party are in the eye of the storm. The onus is on him to ensure that the peace accord does not suffer. He has a chance of either becoming the gainer or loser, depending on how the deal is implemented.

Compliance with the Abuja resolution is challenging. It involves the principle of “give and take.” What even matters now is not the survival of Ayedatiwa or Akeredolu but the welfare of the state and survival of the party that gave birth to the government through the electorate. Leaders of both camps are expected to be less inflexible but more condescending. Hypocritical commitment may herald a collective doom.

The implications are as follows: since Ayedatiwa has made a unique commitment to party leaders that he will sign an undated letter, it is incumbent on him to avoid any act that will compel the lawmakers to exploit the situation to remove him. It is an unusual, unprecedented and delicate situation.

It is easy for the House of Assembly to comply with the discontinuation of the impeachment move, if the peace terms are not violated. But, there is a challenge. The deputy governor has to be wary of the three personalities monitoring his activities. Speaker Olamide Oladiji is head of the aggrieved House of Assembly that has an axe to grind with him. APC State Chairman Ade Adetimehin is a staunch loyalist of Akeredolu. Secretary to the State Government Oladunni Odu is Aiyedatiwa’s rival in the quest for the governorship ticket of the party in next year’s election.

In the final analysis, Aiyedatiwa is now at the centre of the matter, more than his boss, whose indisposition in the course of his tenure has thrown up the current brouhaha. The deputy governor is in the position to either ensure the success or failure of the peace deal.

December 2, 2023
Why Emefiele remains in detention in spite of bail

That embattled former Governor of Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, remains in prison custody 10 days after he was granted bail by a High Court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is one puzzle that many Nigerians are finding difficult to unravel.

Fools have tried and wise men have failed trying to decipher why the former boss of the nation’s apex bank and his coterie of wealthy friends could not muster a paltry N300 million to get him out of the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Centre.

Could it be that the financial muscle of the former CBN chief renowned for dispensing gestures in billions of naira was overestimated? And if that were the case, what of his numerous friends and associates believed to have benefitted hugely from his alleged bouts of bonanza? Is it a case of him being abandoned by his friends at such critical moment?

Reliable sources told Sentry that Emefiele’s continued stay in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Centre was neither because he could not produce the sum required for his bail, nor the case of his friends failing to rise to the occasion, but a deliberate ploy to keep him in prison for reasons based purely on self-preservation.

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The detainee and his closest associates are said to have weighed the options of plumping up N300 million to gain his freedom from the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Centre, only to be picked up by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) whose custody would be much more hostile than his present abode.

The assumption is that the authorities somehow wish to keep the banker out of circulation for the time being. This is what’s driving the suspicion that EFCC would quickly grab him at the least opportunity.

A source said: “It is laughable for anyone to think that Emefiele cannot raise N300 million to secure his bail from Kuje Prison. The truth is that he feels that he is better off remaining in the prison than being kept in the custody of EFCC which would not be as friendly as where he is now.

“Besides, he is not yet a convict, so he would be treated as a VIP at the correctional centre. He would be able to receive guests, east what he pleases, whereas, at EFCC, he will most likely be kept in solitary confinement.”

It’s a no-brainer therefore why the relatively attainable bail conditions haven’t been met.

December 2, 2023
Can Nigeria win its drug war

Elements of the Nigerian society have since the 80″s been besieged by the menace of hard drugs: destroying lives, families and our immediate society. A close look at the situation provides no comforting auguries, as statistics available show that 14.4 percent (14.3 million Nigerians) of persons ranging from the ages of 15 and 64 years have abused or have engaged in the abuse of drugs.

Now, despite the creation of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA in 1990, it’s funding and several reforms as an establishment designated to fight and make the nation one that is drug free has struggled in such a fight, as drug prevalence as well as the tendency for these drug barons to make our shores a ready haven for both the transiting and it’s destination seems to be growing and at a most alarming rate.

The drug war waged by the NDLEA and sister agencies against these drug barons and their cartels has seen somewhat a seesaw of acheivements and jeremiads. On one hand, the agency has managed to bust criminal gangs and cartels and has sent many to jail, however despite all these, the drug business seems to be proliferating and like the Hydra of Lernea for every head chopped, two or more would grow. Such an impugnable situation given the paucity of resources at the availability of the agency allows these drug kingpins to run circles around it that it is yet a miracle that the NDLEA can afford to carry out this war.

The NDLEA over the years has not only pitched it’s battlements against local drug barons, it has also, given the nation’s strategic location in subsaharan Africa, as well as the fact that it is a major transit nation to a number of major continents namely Europe, Latin, Asia and North America and even within the African continent has engaged global cartels who’s earnings from such an illicit trade are a hundred times bigger than the meagre budgets approved for the drug agency over the years.

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There is then the emergence of new drugs such as tramadol, methamphetamine, Colorado, codeine, Rohypnol and skunk , these drugs have helped worsen the prevalence of drugs among Nigerians, majorly it’s youths. Social media these days has been rife with videos depicting the effects of these drugs on a number of users.

With these new drugs also come a couple of sophisticated means to either manufacture or traffic such drugs with the NDLEA lacking the manpower or surveillance intelligence tools to check such proliferation.

There is also the issue of corruption within the NDLEA and the fact that there exists some form of linkage between a number of these cartels and certain powerful and influential Nigerians. My interactions with some passionate NDLEA officers led me to a story about how a raid on a methamphetamine manufacturing centre in a particular SouthEast state had been frustrated by a prominent SouthEast businessman. One report described such a situation as the “elite involvement and protection networks” and went further to suggest that it was only due to the remits of Nigeria’s oil industry that had kept Nigeria away from the control of these drug barons.

When we corelate the relationship between drug abuse, youth restiveness and insecurity only then will we understand that until we are able to arrest the nation’s drug challenges deploying effective counter-narcotic policies which will take an all round approach in which agencies like the NDLEA will not only attempt to stem the manufacturing or flow of such drugs but also trace and follow the money which fuels such a trade and stop it’s flow, only then will we reduce such challenges as well as save generations yet unborn from the clutch of drug and substance abuse.

Government should also recognize that there are also a number of key factors driving the consumption of hard drugs in Nigeria. Such factors which include poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and social inequality are often cited as underlying factors that contribute to the huge demand for drugs amongst Nigerians particularly it’s youths.

Understanding this, efforts to address the drug war in Nigeria will also much require a multifaceted approach, including strengthening the NDLEA’s enforcement capabilities, ensuring more severe punitive measures for drug pushers, promoting social and economic development, and providing effective drug demand reduction programs. International cooperation and support are also crucial in combating transnational drug trafficking networks and disrupting the supply chain of illicit drugs.

Advocacy also holds a key to helping resolve the drug problem, government and it’s agencies can deploy such using schools, churches and civil society organisations, it’s aim would be to change the mindset of the general public and assist them.form or adapt to drug free lifestyles.

A drug free Nigeria is indeed possible and this drug war can indeed be won…

May Nigeria Succeed!

December 2, 2023
Are judges to blame?

There are at least two developments in recent times that have tended to lend some degree of support, even of an essentially superficial nature, to the claim in some quarters particularly on the part of those who lost out in election petition cases arising from the various 2023 elections that the judiciary in the country is corrupt and lacks integrity and credibility. It must be stated that never in the history of electoral jurisprudence in this country has judicial decisions aroused such enthusiastic interest, tension, and heightened public expectation as in the aftermath of the February 25 presidential elections. This was due to the decision of candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Mr Peter Obi, respectively, to challenge the electoral outcome in court each claiming that he won the election.

In the run-up to the verdicts of both the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PETP) and the Supreme Court (SC) respectively, the various judges on both panels were subjected to unprecedented levels of psychological intimidation, bullying by unrestrained blatantly political pastors and social media blackmail and harassment. Refusing to be cowed, the judges on both panels, delivered judgements unanimously upholding the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Attacks on the judges particularly on social media, which had hitherto reached a crescendo, were ebbing after the SC judgement on the presidential election appeals, when retiring Justice Musa Datijo, in delivering his valedictory speech on the occasion of his retirement from the SC, launched a withering onslaught on the integrity of his colleagues and the credibility of the judiciary as an institution.

Among others, the retiring jurist attacked what he described as rampant corruption including nepotism in the judiciary; the non-representation of two zones in the country, the North-East and South-West, at the apex court; alleged non-transparent management of budgetary allocations to the apex court and what he described as the excessive powers of the Office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) underscored by the latter’s being the Chairman of all critical agencies under the judiciary including the National Judicial Council (NJC), Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC), National Judicial Institute (NJI) and the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC).

As Chairman of these bodies, Justice Datijo lamented, that the CJN “neither confers with fellow justices nor seeks their counsel or input on any matter related to these bodies” including appointments of Chairmen, Board, and Committee members. The learned jurist’s fiery denunciation of the judiciary provided fuel for those who had desired all along to incinerate that institution for the simple reason that decisions on electoral petitions did not go their way. Datijo decried his marginalization in the running of the judiciary even as Deputy Chairman of the NJC by virtue of his seniority on the bench.

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Justice Datijo came across as a no-nonsense anti-corruption crusader with a commitment to high levels of integrity. How come then did he rise to the apex of the Judiciary if the institution is as corrupt and flawed as he painted it? Again, despite the excessive powers that he claims the occupant of the Office of the CJN wields, is it not true that it was the virtual revolt of other SC judges that forced the retirement of Justice Mahmoud Mohammed as CJN in 2016? And if the CJN shares control over the various institutions in the judiciary with a Deputy CJN or other judges, will there not be the possibility of a leadership crisis to the detriment of the judiciary if differences of opinion occur among them? But this does not mean that the CJN should not carry his brother judges along in presiding over the judiciary.

The second development that has considerably raised the cacophonous decibel of a mob lynch against judges was the controversy attendant on the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Court of Appeal Tribunal sitting on the election petition case as regards the Kano State governorship election in which the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Alhaji Abba Kabir-Yusuf, was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the end of the March 18, 2023, election. However, the Kano State Election Petition Tribunal annulled Yusuf’s election declaring the APC’s Alhaji Basiru Gawuna as the rightful winner of the election, a decision which the Court of Appeal upheld in its judgement of Friday, November 17.

But the bone of contention has been that the CTC of the judgement released to legal counsel to parties in the case ruled in favour of the ANPP in Kano. The Court of Appeal has since clarified that the mix-up in the CTC issued to the public was a result of a clerical mix up and it stands by its judgement. Of course, the Court of Appeal must be given the benefit of the doubt in the absence of any compelling evidence of underhand dealings in its judgement but this kind of careless scenario is exceedingly unhelpful to the image of a judicial institution consistently under fire by political partisans mostly piqued not necessarily by lack of integrity on the part of the judiciary but rather because the side they supported lost out in the courts.

Many of those who have been vehemently critical of the courts in election petitions have referred to decisions of the Court of Appeal to void the election of the PDP governors in Plateau, Kano, and Zamfara states and award victory to the ruling APC governors in those states. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo with characteristic trenchancy wondered why a few judges must now decide who won elections in which large numbers of people had already voted and made their choices. Incidentally, the Ota farmer spoke during a forum at his presidential library in Ota where he lamented what he perceived as the failure of liberal democracy in Africa and championed what was so obviously an ill-conceived and poorly thought through ‘Afro democracy’ for Africa.

Nobody who truly values democracy would question the role of the judiciary in adjudicating electoral disputes as prescribed by the constitution. In any case, judges do not willfully impose themselves as meddlesome interlopers to adjudicate in electoral disputes. If contestants in elections do not disagree with the outcomes and approach the courts for mediation, judges would have no role to play in the process. And if we happen to be an excessively litigious society in which invariably all elections are contested right up to the apex court in the country, how are judges to blame for that?

Some analysts have pointed out, rightly in my view, that those who excoriate the judiciary when they lose election petitions tend to express satisfaction with judges when cases are decided in their favour. Furthermore, it has been argued that in 2015 and 2019, courts have been known to ban all APC candidates from participating in elections in Rivers and Zamfara states either for intra-party disputes or outright violation of court orders. I am unaware that anyone complained at the time that the courts were working against the APC in favour of the PDP. Even then, judges must be aware of the sensitivity of their role as electoral arbiters and must be seen as much as possible to dispense with technicalities and predicate their rulings on substantial justice.

For instance, it is untidy for judges to dismiss an election petition on the basis that the ground of appeal by petitioners dealt with pre-election issues over which they had no jurisdiction only to resolve similar cases in favour of the petitioners by assuming jurisdiction in pre-election matters. Again, if courts decide to cancel a substantial number of votes of the winner of an election to award victory to the loser, the judges ought to seek to ascertain beyond reasonable doubt that such canceled votes were indeed fraudulently obtained and innocent voters were not being disenfranchised. The Supreme Court has a duty and responsibility to decide the election cases that come before it from the Court of Appeal strictly on merit in accordance with the tenets of justice in the interest of the judiciary and the polity as a whole.

In his classic on prebendal politics and democracy in Nigeria’s Second Republic, the eminent political scientist, Professor Richard Joseph, had offered useful insights into why it is dysfunctional for systemic stability if the judiciary becomes the last and inevitable electoral umpire. In his words. “Yet, if the Federal Electoral Commission could not be the Leviathan needed to supervise the 1983 elections, the Nigerian Judiciary was even less able to fill this role” and that “By assigning the adjudicating of electoral disputes wholly to the Nigerian judiciary, the drafters of these provisions (of the 1979 Constitution), assumed such an arrangement would contribute to political stability in Nigeria and provide a way for expeditious and impartial settlement of conflicting claims. As it turned out, many of the elections were so controversial, and the range of evidence opposing sides brought before the court was so different and of such questionable reliability, that the judiciary found its integrity placed at risk by its mere involvement in the process”.

Thus, the problem we face in 2023 concerning the judiciary and resolving election disputes is not new. It has been with us as far back as the Second Republic between 1979 and 1983. Neither the INEC nor the judges are to blame. Rather, the problem is with a political class that wants to win elections at all costs and by all means in the desperate quest for state power as a means of primitive accumulation of wealth. In the process, they do all in their power to corrupt and compromise electoral officials, security agencies, and finally the judiciary itself which has become the final decider of electoral victors due to a perverse, corrupt, and cynical political culture.

December 2, 2023
The urchins are back

The domestic league has been recently characterised by interesting results with a few hiccups, which are expected following the reforms from the Chief Operating Officer of the Nigeria Professional Football League, COO, Davidson Owumi, ably guided by the body’s Chairman, Gbenga Otolorin Elegbeleye. Nigerians, who watched the weekly games in venues nearest to their abodes, have applauded the significant changes noticed in the domestic league. Even the clubs have each taken a loan facility of N400 million in two tranches, which assisted and improved their finances.

Unlike in the rotten era of the league under the old body, match referees’ needs and indemnities are promptly paid without recourse to the clubs to settle their bills. The usual embarrassment of referees of the yore, who handled the league, have been eased off for a peacefull atmosphere to hold during games. Of course, the referees whose performances, during games are questionable, are reported to the NFF by the NPFL for immediate reprimand. Erring clubs are punished according to the dictates of the rule book.

So, when the social media was awash with video clips of officials of Enugu Rangers being molested by urchins, who acted as officials of the host team, Abia Warriors, in Umuahia, last weekend many people waited to see how the NPFL’s board would react. In fact, a matter of assault was reported in one part of the country where a top club official manhandled a journalist. It was settled internally by the State’s Commissioner, though the story went viral. The NPFL hinged their inability to deal with the club official on the fact that the matter wasn’t reflected in the referees’ reports or did the sportswriters’ body lodge any complaints to show that one of their members was brutalised by the club chief either.

This time round, the social media’s coverage of what happened in Umuahia was accompanied with video evidence where one of the home team’s officials punched a lanky Enugu Rangers’ man, who fell badly to the ground. It was a pitiable sight, watching the Rangers’ chief grapple to pick his eyeglasses, which wason ground besides him, though his mental state at that particular stage was hazy. The free for all fight saw the introduction of blocks, sticks and cudgels brought to the fighting scene by officials, who had been dazed groggy by jabs to avenge their assailants.

Many people felt that because it was a pre-match show of shame, it should be swept under the carpet, while those identified in the shameful act were given a spank on the wrist as punishment. Others wondered why the fighting session wasn’t captured by the league’s television company as evidence since they would have setup their machines for effective coverage 24 hours before the game. Further facts emanating from the game answered the poser.

NPFL promptly reacted on Monday by imposing sanctions where necessary to both the officials and the clubs. The NPFL chieftains went a step further to invite both clubs to Abuja to show why further disciplinary actions shouldn’t be taken against them for bringing the game to disrepute. Investigations so far have thrown up despicable acts, especially the one in which one Abia Warriors’ official prevented the NPFL official broadcast partner from recording pre-match content, harassed the official broadcast partner’s media crew & ceased the mobile device of StarTimes’ regional manager. Abia Warriors’ management has been ordered to identify and produce the official involved in the act of misconduct for additional sanctions.

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One wonders the calibre of people who run the clubs in Nigeria if a visiting team can be stopped from using the match venue to train 24 hours to the eventual match day for them to get used to the facilities therein, especially if the playing turf in the stadium is alien to them – for instance- a synthetic pitch. It isn’t a rocket science to know that such training exposure is necessary since the boots used on grass turfs are different from those used on artificial grass.

Some Abia Warriors’ officials, in an aggressive manner, prevented the away team (Rangers) from gaining access to the pitch before the match, which led to violent scenes capable of bringing the game to disrepute, according to a circular from the league organisers. Besides, Abia Warriors failed to provide adequate security to the away team before the match, resulting in a physical exchange of punches committed by some of their officials.

According to NPFL’s statement: ”A fine of N1 million has been imposed on Abia Warriors for misconduct capable of bringing the game to disrepute.

”Abia Warriors have also been fined N1 million for failure to provide adequate and effective security. A further fine of N2 million has also been slammed on Abia Warriors for restraining Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL’s) broadcast partners from recording.”

The interesting thing about the NPFL’s statement is that it has given the erring club 48 hours within which they can appeal the sanction imposed on them by the league organisers. One isn’t surprised at what transpired in Umuahia. It isn’t what you see in Umuahia alone. In fact, club owners surrendered their stadium to urchins and idiots, who take the laws into their hands by wreaking havoc within the premises. NPFL members should hold the club owners accountable for these kind of misdemeanours. The Abia State FA boss, Abia Warriors’ Club Chairman and those assigned to the stadium for the match should be invited too for questioning. Those found to be negligent should be barred for very long periods to serve as deterrent to others who would want to emulate them.

Indeed, NPFL board should after their investigations invite the police to treat the issues raised professionally and drag the culprits before the law for adjudication. In fact, clubs and their criminally minded fans would call themselves to order than to take the laws into their hands. It would be foolhardy not to take this matter to the court, henceforth. The court’s proceedings should be given massive coverage by the media. The news stories from the courts should be published in all the newspapers and in the electronic media. Shouldn’t the NPFL members insist that venues playing host to the domestic league games should have closed-circuit devices to fish out such miscreants?

Interestingly, the window for appeals lapses after 48 hours as stated in the communiqué. It is quite laudable that the NPFL’s decisions have been timely, but it raises the poser why the league body hasn’t contacted the State Commissioners of Police in the States where the games are played for them to watch over the different stadia to maintain public peace. Of course, where the police or security operatives are present in the stadium, beasts who have flouted the law are immediately arrested and handed over to them for prosecution. It isn’t enough for the body to make pronouncements or ask the criminals or offending clubs to pay fines and treat those injured in the course of the ensuing mayhem.

Soccer-crazy nations measure the game’s growth by the number of home-grown players in their national teams. It is the product of a very functional domestic leagues, which are run as a business and not jobs for the boys. The authorities of the game, FIFA, recognise the importance of this point and have instituted several incentives to drive the game’s development globally. FIFA, in its wisdom, provided funds for less-developed nations to embrace the game and bridge the gap between them and others. The cash is to improve on the facilities for the game to thrive in the 211 affiliate countries.

December 2, 2023
Obasanjo and his ‘Afro-centred democracy’

Olusegun Obasanjo, Egba chief and former President of Nigeria, has an axe to grind with what he has described as imported liberal democracy from the Western world.

It is not working for Africa, he said, adding that it has ignored the history of the continent, its multi-cultural complexities and other peculiarities.

The old soldier and tactician also posed as a political scholar branding his proposal as novel. He called for a largely vague ‘Afro-democracy’ which should be able to resolve, in his view, the unworkability of the foreign, distant and inexplicable legacy of the advanced countries that African naive supervisors of the transition programmes, including himself, copied as a viable system of government.

Obasanjo’s grouse is that liberal democracy is expensive and difficult to manage. At a high-level consultation on Rethinking Western Liberal Democracy in Africa held at Green Resort Legacy of his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, the former President said Western democracy cannot foster good governance and development in Africa because it is not home-grown.

According to him, the current system has become “government of a few people over all the people or population and these few people are representatives of only some of the people and not fully representatives of all the people. Invariably, the majority of the people are wittingly or unwittingly kept out”.

More importantly, Obasanjo submitted that democracy in the United States only sustains “the rule of the majority” which tends to ignore, neglect and exclude the minority. His assessment is that liberal democracy only has a negative civilising influence on Africa.

Obasanjo may be correct on one point: African countries have, over the years, been dependent on Western values and ideas, which may have stifled the development of local political initiatives. Consequently, this has painted Africa as the Dark Continent of Copycats.

Modern technology is not a native of Africa. The continent has depended on Western aircraft, cars, medicines, computers and various ways of life. This addiction extends to the importation of the parliamentary system, which has paled into the legacy of the colonial interlopers, and presidential democracy, which Obasanjo introduced when he was military Head of State.

However, there was no evidence to show that the old, traditional political system guaranteed more development in Africa. Some scholars have suggested that if it had not been truncated by Western invaders, maybe, the situation would have been different.

Feudalism, a dominant social system in the Northern part of Nigeria, came under criticism. Land was held by nobles or aristocrats in exchange for labour or service by peasants who worshipped the masters for a little reward that kept them in servitude or bondage.

Although the traditional society was used to monarchy, which has been in existence from time immemorial, the emerging class of nationalist fighters clashed with the system as colonialism asserted power and authority.

Some natural rulers were perceived as despotic, tyrannical, dictatorial, barbaric, ritualistic, and corrupt. They were dismissed as agents of indirect rule foisted on the natives. The colonial masters hijacked power from these hapless traditional rulers and restored it to ordinary citizens. This appeared to be what the nationalist politicians symbolised. The House of Chiefs, which was established to accommodate the royal fathers, took the back seat, with members exercising ceremonial powers.

Some saw parliamentary system as less evil, less expensive and more permissive and accommodating to the role of opposition in democracy. However, the First Republic operators of the system were problematic.

As the stiff competition for power by antagonistic political leaders who manipulated ethnicity and religion drew the polity on edge, the military penetrated through the cracks on the wall.

Many political leaders even lacked an understanding of the limitations to their powers under the parliamentary constitution. For example, tension rose when President Nnamidi Azikiwe was reluctant to ask Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa to form his government in 1964, after the federal parliamentary polls, until eminent jurists from the four zones intervened.

Also, Zik, the ceremonial president, said he could not imagine working hollow with power-loaded Prime Minister Balewa.

As the rigging of the 1965 regional elections led to violence, the military intervened. For the next 13 years, the military, which Obasanjo symbolised, loomed large. The atrocities of legitimate civilian authorities paled into insignificance. Soldiers of fortune pillaged the treasury. Some almost became richer than the country.

In 1979, as Obasanjo started implementing the transition programme, he said the best may not emerge as president. Was that the fault of liberal democracy which ensured that the best candidate became the leader in the Western world?

General Obasanjo accepted that the parliamentary system was not good and opted for the presidential democracy, based on the recommendations of the Constitution Review Committee and the Constituent Assembly. But the system soon caved in, no thanks to political upheavals, rigging and corruption. What is important is why it collapsed the second time in Nigeria while it blossomed in the advanced countries.

Could the blame for the annulment of a free and fair election be heaped on the practice of liberal democracy? Was it not an affront by some African dictators who saw power as a status symbol instead of a means for service delivery?

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There appears to be no alternative to liberal democracy unless a country desires to retrace its steps into backwardness. It is representative in nature, if effectively practised, if sovereignty is upheld, if individual liberty is protected and the rule of law is allowed to prevail. It means that there should be an independent judiciary.

Also, in contrast to the parliamentary system, presidential democracy emphasises the separation of powers and accompanying checks and balances. In a heterogeneous society, political parties exist to compete for power on a level-playing field and a multi-party system is a natural element, although Nigeria’s experience tends to support the idea of a two-party system. At least, two persistent, viable political parties, or the pattern of two alliances, could as well be characteristic of liberal democracy in Nigeria.

The question is: what did Obasanjo do to make it workable when he was president for eight years? How did his government obey court orders? What happened in Odi? Where is the report of the Abuja confab? Is it the fault of Western democracy that African leaders love to rig elections and seek to illegally extend their tenure? Is do-or-die a good legacy?

The all-knowing hypocrite lives to expectation through his inexplicable explanations about what went wrong, although his demoralising, anti-democratic practices were a factor in political retrogression. If a man who had been privileged to rule, both as a soldier and civilian, for 11 years, failed woefully to reposition his country on the path of democracy, but now turns around, in his day dreaming, to canvass some sorts of bogus and blank Afrocentric democracy, he is, without mincing words, a confusionist and a bundle of illogicality.

The challenge for African leaders, instead of indulging in fantasy and shadow chasing, is to do soul-searching and embrace the reality that though political systems matter, the more important factors are the operators of the system.

They should strive to build, nurture, protect, defend and strengthen the institutions of democracy in their respective countries. Their military should also bear in mind that coup is old-fashioned and tyrannical rule is outdated.

The Parliament, being the representative organ, should come up with laws that will usher in reforms in aid of socio-economic and political development. Such reforms should halt the pattern of unitarianism and usher in federalism, empower the states to grow at their pace and give opportunity for healthy competition to component units.

The president of a highly heterogeneous country should know that the best legacies he can bequeath are restoration of federalism, restructuring or power devolution and creation of an atmosphere for unity in diversity.

Political parties should mirror the earlier ideological outlook, which the government they may midwife should reflect in their governance agenda. They should also be sensitive to their fundamental responsibility of political education for voters to make informed choices during elections.

The government should promote public cause, being bound by the contract between it and diverse electorate. Its watchword should be accountability. Indeed, liberal democracy is not antithetical to transparency, accountability and good governance.

People complain about the cost of governance because they do not see evidence of increased spending on developmental projects that herald a new lease of life. There is too much emphasis on the growing recurrent expenditure than on capital expenditure. This threatens funding for developmental projects.

For votes to count, the electoral commission should conduct free, fair and credible polls that will accord legitimacy to a democratic government.

The civil society is currently battling an identity crisis. A strong civil society is indispensable to the cause of liberal democracy.

Africa will do well when the accompaniments of liberal democracy function effectively and politicians really perceive power as a means of service and not an avenue for stealing and displaying crass arrogance.

November 25, 2023
The permutations begin

Nothing shocks me about the Super Eagles whenever they are pitched against football minnows. It is in the Eagles’ DNA to fumble against nations that are lowly-rated by FIFA’s ranking. In fact, I’m surprised that Lesotho and Zimbabwe didn’t beat the Eagles in Uyo and in Kigali. This is the reason we should clap for our overrated players for avoiding defeats as the South Africans suffered in the hands of Rwandans inside the Huye Stadium in Butare on Tuesday evening. If you think that the Eagles won’t fumble in the course of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Group C, then stay away from Nigeria’s next games if you are hypertensive or suffering from any form of underlying illness, if Jose Peseiro remains the coach.

For those who know the Eagles, the permutations of how they may pick up the qualification ticket, if not properly monitored, have begun with the stunner in Butare. The talk among die-hard fans of the Eagles arose from the shocking 2-0 victory that Rwanda secured over South Africa. The buzz from the viewing centre where I chose to watch the game was deafening. The electric mood among those who watched the match it was akin to Nigerian side winning a game. One can understand the cause of the celebrations.

Over time, I’ve not failed to tell people that the Eagles’ sloppy play won’t take them to the 2026 World Cup if something isn’t done to ginger the players before matches are played. I pointed at our players’ sealed lips, while the National anthem was being sung. But ardent fans rush to blame the stadium’s bumpy turfs as if our opponents’ were always good and our’s bumpy. I looked forward to the day the Eagles would play in Uyo where their underbelly would be thoroughly exposed. And it came to pass when Lesotho dragged the Eagles on the turf, scoring first much to the consternation of the fans in Uyo. Those loyalists of the Nigerian team who always blamed the pitches for the Eagles’ shambolic outings sneaked out of The Nation’s premises in Lagos, wondering what had gone wrong. The new slogan became: Peseiro must be sacked immediately. Indeed.

One of them, Alabi Afin, a colleague and an ardent Chelsea’s fan, who literally molested me in my office to explain what may have happened to the team in Uyo. Alabi Afin’s first attack was expected, knowing that I would ask if the Uyo pitch was also balding. Afin is a very knowledgeable soccer fanatic, who dominates discussions when his preferred teams need help. I listened to Afin with a little regret that our discussion was in my office and not in the newsroom. Afin is hands full when he is in his elements, especially when the topic is about Arsenal and Chelsea. I digress!

The talk of the Eagles missing their big stars is unacceptable because injuries to top stars, which eventually sidelined them for weeks or months form some of the hazards of playing the beautiful game. Of course, the essence of having 26 players on the bench during games is to manage a team’s game plan in the event of injuries. Although, it is difficult to know who would sustain injuries, the new rule of having five substitutes to change goes a long way to assessing the manager’s tactical savvy. It is strange for any apologist of Coach Jose Peseiro to say there are no good players in the domestic league. I would rather say that Peseiro should field our best domestic league goalkeeper than for the Portuguese to invite Okoye. If he took that risk, perhaps, Nigeria would have beaten Zimbabwe in Kigali. Kigali is a neutral ground, which a reasonable coach would have latched on to beat Zimbabwe silly with goals.

I’m an unrepentant advocate of the Eagles to be trained by renowned foreign managers, having had lengthened discussions with some of our foreign-based players over the years. Peseiro’s choice as Nigeria’s manager is a scam, going by his records in all the teams he has handled. With due respect, how can Nigeria pick a coach sacked by Venezuela for poor productivity? Nigeria’s pedigree in the football world should have been considered by those given the opportunity to recruit a new manager for the Super Eagles at the time they made the laughable choice in Peseiro.

Nigeria’s selectors of foreign managers for the Super Eagles always make the mistake of recruiting coaches who don’t want to live here. But they are very happy to receive our cash to operate from the comfort of their homes in Europe. Any foreign manager, who refuses to work with Nigerian coaches as assistants should be shown the exit door immediately. I imagine that the reason for recruiting a foreign manager is for such a man to help to train and retrain his assistants about the modern tricks in the game. Nigeria should, henceforth recruit foreign managers who would, in their spare time, while living here organise refresher courses routinely at mid and off seasons to help them increase their capacity.

Do we have domestic coaches to handle the Super Eagles in Nigeria? No. The so-called good ones haven’t been able to dominate the African inter-club competitions as the North Africans. Even the North Africans recruit reputable foreign coaches to strengthen their technical crew. You can’t give what you don’t have. Coaching is a serious business. It isn’t a part-time session, but one in which the coaches are ready to update the skill and know-how of their Nigerian assistants without prompting from anyone. What they acquire in the training and retraining sessions at the end of the season is the reason they are well paid. It isn’t enough to be a former player to make you a coach. Such an ex-international must be ready to go through the rudiments of coaching in designated schools and platforms to acquire the requisite training and certification.

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Those rooting for one of our ex-internationals as the next Eagles’ coach should ask themselves what they brought to the country and how long the impact of their feats rubbed off on the country’s football. No disrespect to the contributions of the late Stephen Keshi, who learned under the tutelage of renowned coaches, first as a player before being a coach. The departed Big Boss’ leadership qualities endeared him to most of his coaches and teammates as a player such that he easily captained the teams he played for here in Nigeria and in Europe. As it is often said, captains of teams are the coaches on the field to remind his or her mates of what they practiced before the game. No Nigerian has these innate qualities that the departed had, which prepared him for the task he husbanded.

I’m not a fan of the country’s feats in underage competitions. I don’t doff my hat for the coaches over what they achieved either. In fact, those age-graded teams are the reason the country’s soccer is in the canal. Most of these age-grade coaches fielded cheats as kids. These quick fixes adults couldn’t sustain their kindergarten feats as they grow older. The products of all our age-grade squads stunt the growth expected from the nurseries.

Today, the FIFA U-17 World Cup matches are being played and nobody gives a hoot having realised our folly in parading adults as kids. We are paying dearly for this act. Today, the products of our nurseries aren’t good enough to compete with their contemporaries in world football. To cover our faces, we quickly rushed to Europe to lure any good player with Nigerian names to play for the country. What a pity. The NFF under Ibrahim Musa Gusau should do everything to reinvent the nurseries in the country by ensuring that they are graded with fake ones banished and their owners made to conform with what is conventional and in sync with best practices.

November 25, 2023
For the master of constitutions

A number of Nigerians must have received the news of the demise of its foremost constitutional lawyer, academic, legal luminary and restructuring exponent, Professor Benjamin Obi Nwabueze with a bit of mixed feelings. Firstly, Nwabueze died at the very ripe age of 92, which in a country where life expectancy sits at 53 years is indeed marked as a celebration of life. Further more, the Christian outlook of which Professor Nwabueze was a devoted adherent would also greet his demise as the satisfying gift of a long life and well spent too.

However, many who knew the Atani Master of Constitutions well would agree that Professor Nwabueze may have died a bit unfulfilled owing to the refusal of a section of the Nigerian elite to restructure the Nigerian Federation and allow for a more practicable Constitution and Federalism become operational.

Like a number of Nigerian titans, Professor Nwabueze did not see the Nigeria of his dreams: A Nigeria in which there was a healthy balance of political power between the subnational groups that make up such a Federation and the power at the centre of such a federation. Professor Nwabueze hemmed and hawed, like the Prophets of Old in biblical Israel he preached restructuring at every juncture and while Nigerians tended to listen, our leaders and a number of puny idealogues disregarded such calls despite the prevailing scenarios presently witnessed by millions of Nigerian citizens.

For Professor Nwabueze who was born in Atani, Onitsha Province in the then Southern Nigeria now situated in Ogbaru LGA in present day Anambra State, there could be no meaningful progress for the Nigerian people and the nation if the mistakes of 1978 which spilled over into the 1979 Constitution and its latter revivification as the 1999 Constitution were not addressed and replaced with one that took into germane cognizance the peculiarities of the Nigerian nation presently as against the overhyped emphasis on the unity of the country, which was the essence of the 1979 Constitution.

Attending the CMS Central School in both Atani and Onitsha for his primary and secondary levels of education

Professor Nwabueze was to travel to study

at the London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, where he may have come under the influence of the left leaning but brilliant Professor Howard Lasky, who was popular with African and Asian students at the revered institution. Professor Nwabueze’s latter belief that the state wasn’t supreme and that it ought to respect allegiances by its citizens to the subnational whilst promoting pluralism and decentralisation can be traced to Laski’s works on pluralism.

A brief stint at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London from 1962 to 1963 and another brief three year career as a Senior lecturer in the Holborn College of Law before adding another five year stint at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka from 1965 to 1970.

Shortly after the end of the Nigerian Civil War Professor Nwabueze was to become the dean of the University of Zambia’s Faculty of Law. He was then drafted to help draft for Zambia a new constitution in 1973 before returning to Nigeria in 1976 where he functioned as a foremost member of the Constitutional Drafting Committee (CDC), chaired by a one time Attorney General of the Western Region and legal luminary, Rotimi Williams (SAN).

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The CDC was to midwife the 1979 constitution which brought about the Second Republic and reposed enormous powers on the government at the centre while stripping that of the components of powers that should naturally have belonged to them. A mistake, Professor Nwabueze sought to rectify in his later life. For him, the putting of too much power at the centre was an invitation for disunity. The crass struggles for power and control at the centre was fueling the nation’s disunity.

Since the 1999 Constitution was merely a redress of the 1979 Constitution, Professor Nwabueze was to continue his struggle for its repudiation, rejecting suggestions for amendments to certain areas. He consistently argued for the restructuring of the Nigerian nation that he caught the Atiku bug in 2019 as the latter had made the restructuring of the Nigerian nation a part of his cardinal campaign message. Sadly, Atiku’s claim to want to restructure Nigeria was merely a ruse as his 2023 presidential ambition suggested.

Asides from helping draft the Zambian and Nigerian Constitutions, Professor Nwabueze was also to help draft the Kenyan Constitution of 1993 transforming Daniel Arap Moi’s Kenya from a one party state to one that allowed for multiparty participation.

An astounding academic, Professor Nwabueze was to author a number of books and publications in journals showcasing intellectual grit and knowledge on Constitutionalism.

A proud Igbo man, Professor Nwabueze was to alongside a number of the Igbo elite cofound Ohanaeze NdiIgbo and midwife the socio cultural organization to becoming the Pan Igbo organization replacing the defunct Igbo State Union.

As we bid one of Africa’s finest legal luminaries fare well, we must as compatriots rekindle his drive for a better Nigeria through the demands for a viable constitution, one that frees Nigeria from the fetters of the quasi federal status we currently are joined with, one that nullifies much the progressive spirit of the Nigerian and has stultified its movement as the vanguard not only for Africa but also the black race all over the world.

November 25, 2023
Dilemma of unending promises in democracy

It is a glorious thing to have a tested leader as the president of a country. It is also a blessing when the president means what he says and when what he says is not just believable but also approved by the people. Such society is bound to swim in an environment of enormous possibilities because the question of trust is taken care of. The question of purpose is also sorted. Be that as it may, it is a two-edged sword: the leader will have to be conscious of time and calculative of his achievements while the mass of the people must remain critical in terms of the goals and objectives of government.

As for the people, that’s what will give them the leverage in terms of the measurement of performance of the critical goals and objectives of the government. As for the government, to achieve its goal, no Ministry is sacrosanct; no policy is a no-go area. In other words, there should be no sacred cows. So, a leader worth his designation must be exceptionally bold.

Promises are good when they are implemented. They create an atmosphere of trust and a political capital that is difficult to deplete. But when promises are made but broken, they deplete the political capital faster than a bullet. It is like thunder and lightning.

Integrity also wanes. The more the believability of a gladiator wanes, the faster the credibility and the ability to win elections fly away. If one tells the people something and that thing wanes, so is a certain percentage of one’s political capital waning. The more reason a leader has to guide the currency of his or her promises, because nobody wants to trade with a currency that’s under suspicion. In other words, once it gets to a point where the people are no longer eager to listen to their leader’s voice, trouble looms.

It is no longer news that President Bola Tinubu has promised to let the poor breathe! He has promised to banish poverty! He has also promised to fight insecurity to a standstill! As a matter of fact, Nigerians have lost count of the promises made by this administration since May 29. Early this week, Tinubu vowed that no student would drop out of school on his watch! The point is: Nigerians are tired of unending promises from their leaders. In the 80s, Nigerians were promised houses, stable power supply, affordable and qualitative education and ‘everything for all’ by the Year 2020. This is 2023 and … here we are! So, Tinubu needs to prove to the world that he is different from the abnormal norms. He should learn, especially from our recent past, because examples of people who started well but ended badly abound.

Successive governments have taught Nigerians how to get weary of unending promises. It’s a bad experience which they don’t want to relive. On May 29, 2015, Muhammadu Buhari assumed office as Nigeria’s president. Buhari came into office standing on a tripod: security, fight against corruption and infrastructure development and job creation. By the time he was leaving office on May 28, 2023, life in Nigeria as a Nigerian had become extremely hard. So, only God can rate the former president’s performance and thank him on behalf of Nigerians. For instance, Buhari had promised to recover every Chibok girl captured by Boko Haram. He had also promised to lead Nigeria ‘from the front.’ But that’s what they were: unfulfilled promises. Mention the economy under Buhari and Nigerians would be quick to recount how he acted King Rehoboam.

On the war against corruption, some of those who were around between December 31, 1983 and August 27, 1985 would have by now concluded that those who impishly said that Nigerians were being ruled by one funny ‘Jibrin from Sudan’ might not have been sincerely wrong. So, when Femi Adesina said that his principal fulfilled all his promises to Nigerians, one could not but marvel at the height of insult on the collective intelligence of Nigerians.

If the foundation be destroyed …? The problem with Nigeria has been a dearth of forthright and insightful leaders; and that’s why dear country has been in this sorry pass. The late Obafemi Awolowo was too elitist in his time; and he ended up being sandwiched by anti-elitist elements! It was a serious issue but, even at that, Awolowo did some things which clearly distinguished him as a forthright leader. For example, when the then University of Ife was to be established, the Ikenne-Remo-born politician resolved to make it the best university on this part of the planet. To achieve this, he ordered the hiring of the best brains from across the globe, even if it would cost the Western Region a substantial amount of resources. Reports had it that it was Awolowo who personally looked for Professor Hezekiah Oluwasanmi as the university’s pioneer Vice Chancellor. Decades after its establishment, the institution, now rechristened Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), still retains even its powerful aesthetic appeal.

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Tinubu as an individual is determined and he’s working. But where are the Ministers? Where are the Ministers of Agriculture and Power for instance? The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has not uttered a word or made a policy statement since his inauguration. On his part, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari has refused to take advantage of the low-hanging fruits that the sector presents, both in terms of the massive food production advocacy and provision of employment opportunities to mitigate the stress on the economy. In fact, what is only known about ‘Penkelemesi’ is his running upandan, crisscrossing between Ibadan and Abuja; and it’s as if his destiny depends solely on the governorship seat of Oyo State, come 2027.

Without doubt, too many promises are a panacea for loss of focus. Therefore, Tinubu should let Nigerians know which among his promises are achievable before this first term expires. For instance, if he is going to provide electricity, let it be that Tinubu has said that electricity is his main focus. In any case, two terms of eight years can’t even be enough to resolve the many challenges bedeviling the sector. But at the end of the day, Nigerians won’t have to go back to it again.

The State of Israel once started as a subdued nation. But she went back to the drawing board to recalibrate the reasons for her existence. Now, woe betide any nation that thinks little of Eretz Yisrael. Even the United States of America takes Israel into consideration before taking any steps. So, wither Nigeria, the ‘Giant of Africa’?

Wole Olanipekun at 72!

Glory be to God, Chief Oluwole Oladapo Olanipekun is two years above seventy!

It is not due to his power or ability to plead cases in the court of law. It is purely the grace of the Strength of Israel.

For decades, Olanipekun has been an amiable Watcher at the Bench. This personable individual, humanist extraordinaire and an indefatigable and undefeatable iconic silk has now carved a niche for himself in high-profile clientele by handling public political disputes.

Unknown to him, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) is a mentor to many people. Many Nigerians are looking up to him and are watching. So, history is recording whatever he says and how he weighs matters; and that will be his legacy, not what friends and other men-pleasers say.

Olanipekun is no longer an ordinary man. He has paid his dues and God has placed him on a pedestal that is rare. Nigerians can only wish him well and have him around us for many years to come.

May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Nigeria!

November 25, 2023