The rump of the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua presidency have tragically missed the point and deepened the unfolding political uncertainty in the air. The desperate contrivance of an audio only interview with the ailing Yar’Adua has worsened the crisis into which they have manipulated our country. First, that they only considered the interview necessary on the eve of a major national protest over the President’s long absence is symptomatic of desperation to cling to power at all costs in utter violation of the Nigerian constitution. Secondly, and worse still, that the ailing president would only talk to Nigerians through a foreign medium, the BBC, is in itself contemptuous and strengthens the case of those who argue that the President does not care about Nigerians but only about his hold on power. Third, the response of the frail distant voice in the BBC interview on when Yar’Adua might be returning to Nigeria and to work does not help what is already a pitiable case.
That interview in fact strengthened the case for the mass protest that followed the next day and lent credence to nearly all the issues marketed by the protest organisers the day after. Persistence in these silly antics may in fact increase the scope of these protests and could also polarise the nation along ugly lines. Since the contentions that have been kicked up by the President’s absence mostly have to do with a correct interpretation of and adherence to existing laws and the constitution, we are likely to witness a rash of litigations and conflicting court orders and rulings. These could deepen the sense of volatility and could destabilize the polity. And there lies the more tragic implication of these recent happenings.
Even the entire handling of the President’s absence is a tragic derogation of the sanctity of the Presidency as a national institution. The cultic secrecy with which the entire matter has been handled runs against the cardinal principle of openness which is at the bottom of all free elective systems. Once elected into office, the President under the system we have chosen is public property. How he lives, moves, where he goes, where he vacations etc. is our business. But in this case, it has been variously reported that the officials who are paid from the public coffers to work directly with the President have not had access to him thereby excluding them from what ought to be their legitimate official assignments. Their functions have instead been usurped by an inchoate collection of housewives, menial assistants and sundry others whose only qualification is either that they hail from Katsina or have had long association with the President. It is this barbed wire approach to the entire Yar’Adua matter that has deprived the government of credibility at a time when it needs it the most. Those who have virtually converted the President into the equivalent of a cult leader must take personal and collective responsibility for the wild rumours that have periodically erupted about his precise situation during his long absence.
The other unwholesome outcome of the Yar’Adua situation is the casual usurpation of the powers of the state by a few garrulous members of the executive branch. Strictly speaking, it is the President and his deputy on one hand and the National Assembly that have a mandate to take any actions on our behalf at all times. All these ministers are appointees and are strictly speaking glorified house maids and servants who should not address the nation on any matter if their authority is not coming from the President or his legally accredited representative. A situation in which the principal himself is holed up somewhere in a hospital with, as it turns out, no contact with these officials makes the actions and pronouncements of these ministers suspect. One of them has characteristically questioned the right of Nigerians to know where the President is!
More importantly, responding merely to the widespread rumours of the President’s demise and trying too hard to reassure us that the man is alive and can, in the words of one of his acolytes, “walk, talk and eat” is hardly the point in contention. It is of course refreshing that the President is alive and ostensibly recuperating in an undisclosed location in far away Saudi Arabia. At a private level, it is only natural to wish the man a speedy recovery. Those who have advertised their prayers for the man’s recovery have cause to feel a certain sense of vindication. Others who depend on the man being in office to earn a living have reason to feel some psychological respite that maybe; the gravy train has not fatally plunged into a ravine. If I understand the mood of the nation, there is no Nigerian that I have come across who wishes Yar’Adua dead. He has not committed any heinous acts of hubris punishable by death. He is, like any one of us, loved by his family, friends and mendicant dependants. He is not hated by Nigerians either.
But the imperatives of national leadership defy mundane sentimental considerations of love and hate at the pedestrian personal level. The clear issues on the ground are simple and straightforward. The man has been away from his official duties for close to two months without handing over formally or informally to his constitutionally mandated deputy. In the process, he has violated critical aspects of the Nigerian constitution. The business of Nigeria which towers above every other consideration has come to a virtual halt. And yet the nation must continue because it is designed to outlive all of us and our petty transient machinations.
The point needs to be made that those of us who are insisting that the President’s continuation in office is no longer tenable have a higher commitment that transcends a quisling obeisance to this particular administration. Love of the nation as a perpetual patrimony is an obligation to the future of our children and obviously a superior patriotic commitment.
The underlying assumption behind the recent parade of lies is that if the President returns to Aso Rock, business can resume and the illegalities that have occurred in his absence can be swept under the usual stuffy Nigerian carpet of mass deception. Not quite. By virtue of his physical frailty, this President has serially failed to live up to the most elementary requirement of the office of President. Beyond running an ineffectual administration, the President has failed to deliver even on the most elementary promises that he voluntarily made to the Nigerian people. With a little over 12 months left to the end of his four year tenure, not a single one of the so-called seven-point agenda has been realised. Needless rehashing the multiple woes that define the life of Nigerians today.
Clearly, beyond a physical incapacity to discharge the onerous responsibilities of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Yar’Adua has displayed scandalous incompetence, embarrassing ignorance of the issues that define today’s Nigeria and its stake in the new world, a lack of commitment to good governance, an astounding indifference to the feelings of Nigerians who are groaning under avoidable man made economic burdens. He and his administration have been singularly weak in dealing with matters of graft but have instead embraced some of the most despicable prefects of institutionalised malfeasance in our midst.
The beauty of credible democracies is that they anticipate crises and provide, through the constitution, a practical manual on how to resolve them. Sometimes, even the best of democracies find themselves saddled with leaders for whom the job description of national leadership is too daunting or who through human frailty or other failings cannot keep the job. Every credible constitution leaves a back door open for political garbage disposal when necessary.
In perfect understanding of those who marched in Abuja, I believe this infamy cannot pass and should not endure. It cannot be left to stand in the name of politics. But the change we desperately seek must come through the democratic process and a strict adherence to the constitution that we have. Therefore, for those who keep asking what next, here is my own very friendly seven-point agenda for the President. Once his plane from Saudi Arabia touches down in Abuja, Yar’Adua must do the needful. First, thank Nigerians for their prayers and good wishes towards his recovery. Second, take a final look at Aso Rock Villa. Third, address and thank the staff of the Villa for their loyalty. Fourth, preside over a valedictory session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and thank the ministers, especially Mr. Michael Aondoaka and Prof. Dora Akunyili for being such diligent defenders of the ancient regime. Fifth, the National Assembly must find a common venue where the President can address them in a joint session. Sixth, a national broadcast thanking the nation in general and former President Olusegun Obasanjo in particular for the opportunity to serve to “the best of his capacity”. Seventh, and finally, the long awaited letter of resignation on health grounds. Then the presidential jet can fly the triumphant President back to Katsina followed on the ground by an endless motorcade of loyalists and associates.
Engagements By Chidi Amuta, Email & Tel: chidiamuta@thisdayonline.com, 08056504733, 01.14.2010
