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Madaki O Ameh
Legal Practitioner
 Madaki O. Ameh is currently a PhD candidate in International Comparative Petroleum Law and Policy at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy, University of Dundee, Scotland, UK.
 Scotland, UK.


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Now to the honour list of the winners.  The first in this category are the long-suffering Nigerians, who, in the face of crass failure of leadership at the top, looked up to God for direction, and eventually waited out the vampires at the helm of affairs until the right thing was done.  Nigerians showed, in their resilience, that this is indeed a potentially great country, and if only we can be led right, there is no limit to what can be achieved as a country.  Nigeria is however cursed with the worst form of leadership imaginable, such that great as the potentials undoubtedly are, it will be a tough call realising them with the sort of people who take decisions for the country, and impose their wills on the majority of the populace through corrupt, do or die elections.

 

 

THE SAD POLITICS OF YAR’ADUA’S ILL HEALTH
 by Madaki O. Ameh.
 

With the passage of concurrent motions by the two chambers of the Nigerian National Assembly on Tuesday 9th February 2010, finally empowering the Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, to assume the elusive title of ‘Acting President’, it is hoped that one of the darkest phases of Nigeria’s democratic history will finally be on its way out, with what is left being the healing of the deep wounds created in the process.

This rather shameful saga started with the exit of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua from Nigeria on 23rd November 2009 for medical check up in Saudi Arabia.  Understandably, the President could not immediately transmit a letter to the National Assembly, informing the Legislature of his absence on medical vacation, to comply with the requirements of the now famous Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution. This was apparently because his state of health was then a subject shrouded with much mystery and deception, and also due to the fact that, presumably, he could not have predicted at the time that he would be away for as long as it turned out to be, a whooping 79 days, before this motion could be passed by the National Assembly. The confusion generated by this singular act of omission however will continue to leave a sour taste in the mouths of Nigerians for a very long time to come. Apart from exposing the rudderless nature of the Nigerian ship these past 79 days and even earlier, the constitutional crisis created by the apparent power vacuum at the centre brought to the fore, the penchant of so-called Nigerian leaders for double-speak, and also provided a rare glimpse into the real make up of the people who currently control our affairs as a nation.

In all of this, there have been major loser and gainers, and history will surely judge those who foisted this situation of hopelessness on 150 million Nigerians harshly.  Starting from former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who in spite of his vehement denials, actually knew that President Yar’Adua had serious health problems, but still insisted that it had to be him, and no one else from the array of eligible contenders at the time, for the exalted position.  In fact, so vehement was President Obasanjo on his position, that at a stage during the campaigns when President Yar’Adua, then a Presidential aspirant, had to be rushed to Germany for medical check up, President Obasanjo called him from the rally ground and the telephone conversation was aired to all Nigerians on national television, to convince Nigerians that he was alive, contrary to speculations at the time that he had, in fact, died.  All that is history now, but the sad thing is that, if President Olusegun Obasanjo had been a Statesman as his position dictated that he should, he would have taken the concerns of Nigerians seriously, and calmly considered the wisdom of throwing his weight of incumbency behind a man he knew, or had reasons to believe, was not entirely fit for the rigours of his exalted office.  No matter the extent of his unconvincing denials to that effect, and his recent, now familiar, invocation of the wrath of God on himself if he did so deliberately to foist the current situation on Nigeria and Nigerians, the truth is that, in his quiet time, the former President must admit his complicity in the listless existence of Nigeria and its citizens these past 79 days, and one cannot help but hope that God answers his prayers, so that all the divine wrath that he has invoked on himself would come to pass some day in his lifetime. Clearly, former President Obasanjo is a loser in the sad politics of Yar’Adua’s ill health.

Other losers are the leadership of the two chambers of the National Assembly.  At a time when statesmanship came calling, a really rare opportunity, Senator David Mark, in his capacity as Senate President, rudely missed the mark, and was playing politics with the existence of the Nation by failing to rise up to the occasion and providing the much needed leadership that Nigeria required so badly, and which could only be provided by the Legislature, under his leadership. In his usual lack-lustre manner of conducting affairs at the Senate since assumption of that office which has manifested a number of times, including the rather childish argument between himself  and the Speaker of the House of Representatives over which chamber of the National Assembly the President should come to address the joint session of the National Assembly on the 2010 budget, which was eventually scuttled, (with some saying that the whole argument was a deception, orchestrated to hide the state of health of the President at the time), Senator Mark continued to conduct the affairs of the Senate at a time of extreme national emergency, in a business as usual manner, taking 79 days and 284,400,000,000 (two hundred and eighty four billion, four hundred million) national man-hours to resolve an issue which could easily have been handled in a state manly manner within a week.

Equally culpable is the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Dimeji Bankole and his other colleagues at the House of Representatives, but his failure can be excused on account of his natural age and also his relative inexperience in National affairs, even though to whom much is given, much is expected, and those parameters should never be an excuse for persons who present themselves for exalted offices in our land.

Indeed, the resolutions passed by the two chambers of the National Assembly which finally allows the Vice President to adorn the toga of ‘Acting President’, only happened when pressure was brought to bear on the National Assembly by all the 36 State Governors of the Federation, who apparently could not take it anymore! Of note in this significant move was the role played by Governors Bukola Saraki of Kwara State in his capacity as the Chairman of the Governors Forum, and Governor Gabriel Torwua Suswam of Benue State, who ably coordinated his colleagues to get them to do the right thing.  Of course, history always rewards those who stand up in trying times, to get things done the right way.

Another loser is clearly the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Chief Michael Aondoakaa, who carried on as if he was a paid attorney of the ailing President, and took everyone on, as if there was indeed a contest between him and any other person who advocated the voice of reason.  So ardent was he in the service of his master that he clearly ran foul of all his professional colleagues, and drew the ire of the Nigerian public, at a time when all he needed to do to become a superstar, was to be on the side of the law and the people. But all that is now history.

In the category of losers are all those other people in public places, too numerous to mention, who in the face of the daunting challenges foisted by the circumstances of Yar’Adua’s ill-health, saw the truth and either looked the other way, were too cowardly to make any categorical statement, or mumbled their responses, thereby confusing the issues and failing to contribute to a timely resolution of the avoidable impasse.

THE WINNERS

Now to the honour list of the winners.  The first in this category are the long-suffering Nigerians, who, in the face of crass failure of leadership at the top, looked up to God for direction, and eventually waited out the vampires at the helm of affairs until the right thing was done.  Nigerians showed, in their resilience, that this is indeed a potentially great country, and if only we can be led right, there is no limit to what can be achieved as a country.  Nigeria is however cursed with the worst form of leadership imaginable, such that great as the potentials undoubtedly are, it will be a tough call realising them with the sort of people who take decisions for the country, and impose their wills on the majority of the populace through corrupt, do or die elections.

Another key winner is the Acting President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.  Dr. Jonathan carried himself with dignity all through, completely ignoring the hawks in the administration who were deliberately undermining him for his civilised and enlightened approach to politics and national issues, which they so wrongly misinterpreted as weakness or indecisiveness.  These people will soon see the real leader in him, as there is everything to show that he will rise up to the challenges of his new responsibility and deliver the sort of leadership Nigeria has never seen to date.  His antecedents in Bayelsa State, where fate threw him up in similar circumstances a few years ago, will surely bear him out. After all, his name is Goodluck, and it is said that many people are contemplating changing their children’s names to Goodluck, for the way the name has always come true for the Acting President!

Two other statesmen were thrown up, from unusual circles during this dark period of Nigeria’s history, and their contributions deserve special recognition.  These are Air Marshall Dike, the Chief of Defence Staff, and General Danbazzau, the Chief of Army Staff.  These fine military officers, at a time of utter despair when war drums of a possible military coup d’état were already being beaten by traditional apologists and harvesters of chaos, came down heavily on such calls, and warned the military men to adhere to professionalism and wait for the democratic process to hold sway.  So firm was their call at a critical time that a sudden calm was restored to the entire polity, which was already heating up badly due to the prolonged vacuum at the top.  History will surely remember these gentlemen kindly, and they will forever remain in the memory of Nigerians as two fine gentlemen, who spoke up on the side of the people when it mattered most.

One really big lesson in all this for Nigeria is the urgent need to de-personalise power and demystify our political offices.  The sit tight syndrome came to the fore in this unfortunate situation, when a man, clearly incapacitated from carrying out the duties of his exalted office, either did not have the courage to let go, or would not be allowed to do so by hawks around him, some of whom were reportedly close family members who were apparently profiteering from the situation, to the detriment of the nation and its people.  Never again should Nigeria and its people be foisted with this sort of situation, where, instead of people genuinely praying for the recovery of their ailing President, as Nigerians are wont to do, the majority of Nigerians are actually wishing that the entire saga will come to an end, with a courageous exit of the President, who clearly would have done himself much good by ceding power with dignity, instead of holding on to an empty shell, in an illusion of being in control.  As it stands now, in the unlikely event of his return to office, he has understandably been so weakened by his prolonged clutching on, that no one can properly look up to him for leadership anymore.  Nigerians must learn to let go, and our leaders must lead by example, as that is the hallmark of leadership, and the yardstick with which posterity will judge them.

 

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