By Godwin Etakibuebu
I don’t know what they have made of the rest of us. Do they think that we are stupid? Or do they think all of us are daffs?
Have they come to the conclusion that we are all imbeciles? Or what exactly have they made of us? I am talking of the political employee of the government of the day, herein epitomised, for the purpose of this write-up, by Lai Mohammed; the Minister of Information and Culture for the federal republic of Nigeria.
These government political employees believe that Nigerians don’t have the right to question anything that comes from government through them. These political nonentities, who are really infinitesimal minority of minorities, have arrogated to themselves some unfathomable reasons why Nigerians must see them as God-sent. They even want us [Nigerians] to see their modus operandi as akin to that great Argentina footballer [Diego Armando Maradona]’s hand of God, in everything they do or say.
They are wisest in all their doing when it is even known to the most foolish person on earth that they are what the Yoruba would call “Omugo, Odoyo, Apa tabi Didiri”. I may not be able to translate appropriately to English language exactly the meaning of these Yoruba adjectives because l am lacking in that capacity. I can only recommend my brother, Olusegun Adeniyi; Thisday Editorial Board’s Chairman, to do justice to the translation because he has a special outstanding anointing for such services, expectedly and it is not against the run of play for him on this assignment. While waiting on Segun for this, let us look at the latest of this show of perfidy.
President Muhammadu Buhari, on his way outside the country for medical treatment in the United Kingdom did, but correctly, what the Nigerian Constitution demanded of him to do, albeit transferring powers of “Acting the Presidency” to the Vice President while he was away for a given period of time.
PMB was not new in doing this because it is on record that he had written such a letter two previous times. At each of the two previous times, records showed that he told the National Assembly that while he was away the vice president would “discharge the functions of my office”. Or in other words, his letter had conveyed to the National Assembly that the vice president, while retaining his portfolio [as vice president], shall in addition, be “acting president” with all its “executive powers and functions”. This time around however, his language was different as he [PMB] wrote to the National Assembly that the Vice President would be “Coordinator of Government activities” while he was away.
Obviously, there is great and major divide between “acting the presidency [or my office]” and “Coordinator of government activities”. A coordinator carries out such function amongst equals of coordinate entities. His or her function is limited strictly to “coordinating the functions or works of equals”. A Coordinator lacks the power to “hire and fire”, either his/her “equals” or even those below him/her. A typical example of such function was the Minister of Finance under President Goodluck Jonathan, the most respected Ngosi Okonji Iweala, who was named “Coordinating Minister of the Economy”.
Majority of Nigerians did not find the phrase used by PMB this time around [third communication on the same subject matter to the National Assembly] , albeit “Coordinator of government activities”, while purportedly transferring power to his vice president, appropriately enough, mostly as in complying with “Section 145[1] of the 1999 Constitution as amended”. This majority of talented wise Nigerians pointed out this great misdemeanour and questioned the propriety of the choice of the language with its likelihood of generating crises.
This was where Lai Mohammed decided to lecture Nigerians, that questioning that phrase was “a needless controversy”, adding that “it is a distraction”, because according to him, “the operating sentence is in compliance with Section 145[1], any other word used is not relevant”. It must have been Lai Mohammed and his perfidious co-travellers that would come to this most dangerous conclusion that whatever “word used is not relevant”.
The first question is why did President Buhari suddenly deviated from the choice of language of “acting my office [or the presidency]” he used in his two previous letters; including the one dated January 18th, 2017, to a new and delicate term of “while l am away, the Vice President will coordinate the activities of Government”. Such sudden diversion connotes that there was danger ahead if care of interpretation is not properly worked out now. Yes, God forbids it; we could run into unimaginable danger of interpretation ahead.
And if such happens, again God forbids, the country would be standing still while the Supreme Court is being waited upon to interpret the meaning of “coordinating government activities”, whether it is in strict compliance with Section 145[1] of the 1999 Constitution as amended in transmutation of power from the President to the Vice-President. This may take the Supreme Court a while, from the date the National Assembly accepts to approach the apex court for interpretation because there shall no more be discretionary usage and invoking of the “doctrine of necessity” which the National Assembly introduced when late President Yar’ Adua failed to do what he was supposed to have done the other time – transmutation of power to the Vice-President.
My prayer is that God, in His infinite mercy, shall bring President Muhammadu Buhari back safely to continue his presidency. It is my candid opinion and recommendation that the National Assembly would, at the time he returns, ask him to explain why he opted for usage of that phrase [coordination] and if his answer is not apologetic to Nigerians, process of impeachment for deviating from dictates of constitutionality against him would not be inappropriate. But till my dearly beloved PMB comes back safely, Lai Mohammed should learn to keep his mouth shut up. Period!
Godwin Etakibuebu, a veteran journalist, wrote from Lagos.