As the administration of General
Mohammed Buhari suddenly draws close to the end of its honeymoon (first 100
days in office), it is becoming clearer that Nigeria is threading a new part of
nationhood. Technically, the new pattern of governance is not entirely new, but
the creepy circumstances are quietly creeping into the National subconscious
culture. It is gradually gaining acceptance amongst those who are caught up in
the band wagon of collective amnesia. It is definitely not a constitutional
democracy; not a diarchy; not the usual military rule by Decrees, and but by
all ramifications, a convincing government of “Body Language”.
In the run up to the 2015 Presidential
elections, Buhari had told Nigerians that he was now a refurbished civilian – a
converted democrat who believed in multiparty democracy. Nigerians believed.
Powered by the demonization of the Jonathan Administration, the change
Campaigners flooded the Nigeria with the message of change. The word
“Jonathanian” was introduced into the National lexicon by Mallam Nasir El-Rufai
(now the Kaduna State governor). “Clueless” became the most shared term both in
the print and social media.
Since the inauguration of the Buhari
Presidency on May 29, however, Nigeria’s constitution has been violated more
than observed. The first Salvo from Buhari was to disappoint his entire party
on the formation of a cabinet as required by this constitution. The framers of
our constitution had envisaged a cabinet to help in the daily running of
government to realise the hopes and aspiration of its people. It has now gone
down in history that Buhari has been the only President since independence to
govern without a cabinet for almost months, under a constitutional democracy.
Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to
President Buhari on Media through a press statement had informed Nigerians that
President Buhari will appoint a Cabinet in the fullness of time. Soon after,
President Buhari informed the world that amongst all the nominees for
ministerial positions, who are predominantly his party members – the All
Progressive Congress (APC), he has not found one individual worthy to serve as
a minister. The puzzling questions are: did the APC as a political party
decided not to form a cabinet four months in government? Would Asiwaju Tinubu
have supported and sponsored Buhari if he knew he wasn’t going to form a
government until September? Is this cabinet impasse a party decision or the
body language of a maximum ruler?
Section 147 (1) of the Constitution of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended provides that “There shall be
such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation as may be
established by the President”. But the Buhari supporters would always be quick
to misinterpret this statutory passage, with a pointless argument that cabinet
appointment is discretionary. The provision of the constitution actually
permits the President to decide the number of aides he would work with, and
Buhari had reportedly reduced the current ministerial positions. But the
appointment of ministers in a timely manner remains obligatory. For example,
the word “shall” as used by the law gives no room for any discretion. But in
complete revolt of the oath of the office he took, President Buhari has
remained in utter violation.
With the dwindling oil prices and the
reckless spending by State governments during the last general elections,
President Buhari was confronted with months of unpaid workers’ across various
states of country. Without the benefit of financial advice especially from a
Finance Minister, President Buhari had embarked on a bailout mission for the
States against the spirit and letters of the Constitution. It must be stated
here that workers deserve their wages. The longsuffering Nigerian workers
deserve to get more than their current take home pay. However the process of
financial bailout for States is clearly spelt out in Section 164(1) of the 1999
constitution that, “Federation may make grants to a State to supplement the
revenue of that state in such sum and subject to such terms and condition as
may be prescribed by the National Assembly”.
Firstly, the “Federation” the law
considers here does not apply to the President. Secondly, any grant or bail out
by the federation must be appropriated by the National Assembly. But in protest
to his sworn oath of office, President Buhari unilaterally approved and
appropriated funds while the National Assembly was on recess. And since
resumption of plenary by the National Assembly, no letter, motion or request
has been brought before the National Assembly for ratification. Are we still
running a democracy?
In pursuit of his disdain and
relegation of the constitution which he swore to protect, Buhari had abandoned
Section 150 which provides that “There shall be an Attorney –General of the
Federation who shall be the Chief Law Officer of the Federation and a Minister
of the Government of the Federation.” Mr President further went ahead and
appointed an unconstitutional Advisory Committee on Corruption which has no
backing of law and which as a result would render all its actions, advice, and
recommendations detrimentally unconstitutional.
All these aberrations and rape on our
constitutional democracy have been termed the “body language” of Mr President.
The Body Language of Buhari is gradually becoming the acceptable grundnorm of
the Nigerian Nation. Consequently, the current body language is synonymous with
the usual military disdain for constitutionality – which is Buhari’s major
command trait.
Almost 100 days into the life of a new
government, the body language of Mr President has not given a clear road map
and a policy direction in the various sectors of the economy. With the
continuous fall in price oil price, the body language of Mr President has not
articulated a clear position on how to annex the inherent mineral resources
that abound all over the country. All we hear are praise songs from very scary
quarters urging Buhari to carry on with his body language.
Gradually, as Nigerians, we are
beginning to forget that we operate a constitutional democracy. While we await
signals coming from the body language of President Buhari in every area of our
national life, we hope that that the body language will not translate into the
kind of cult followership obtainable in rogue nations like Iran and North Korea
where every utterance from the maximum ruler is law.
Oshiokpekhai Utu-Orbih is an attorney,
broadcaster and media consultant
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