By Hon. Josef Omorotionmwan
Our view was quickly supported when the APC brought a list of corrupt officials past – and present – a list that was PDP-dominated. The PDP quickly issued a counter list of corrupt APC officials, many of whom were holding positions in the current Buhari Administration. At the time, we thought Buhari was allergic to corruption. We expected him to ask the anti-graft agencies to harmonize the two lists so that those people found culpable could be summarily dealt with. That way, the corrupt on both sides would have been sent to Kirikiri so that the rest of society would have relative purity. This was not to be. Rather, both lists have been sentenced to death! In a democratic setting like ours, everyone has a right to choose his friends but if you are wining and dining with the corrupt elements in society, do not mount the rostrum and begin to shout that you are a protagonist in the fight against corruption! For us, things equal to the same thing are equal to one another – QED.
Things equal to the same thing are equal to one another. We hope we do not make this begin to sound like another lesson in elementary geometry.
For some time now, we have attempted to beam the search light on the depth of the anti-graft war of this administration. It is beginning to appear that the war is on very shallow grounds.
Advertently or inadvertently, we may have eavesdropped on a conversation between two friends – the APC and the PDP. At first, it seemed like a frank discussion until it got heated up and became a shouting bout.
APC: “Your corruption is more than my corruption”.
PDP: “My corruption is less than your corruption”.
We felt they were saying the same thing but in different tongues. Our view was quickly supported when the APC brought a list of corrupt officials past – and present – a list that was PDP-dominated.
The PDP quickly issued a counter list of corrupt APC officials, many of whom were holding positions in the current Buhari Administration.
At the time, we thought Buhari was allergic to corruption. We expected him to ask the anti-graft agencies to harmonize the two lists so that those people found culpable could be summarily dealt with. That way, the corrupt on both sides would have been sent to Kirikiri so that the rest of society would have relative purity.
This was not to be. Rather, both lists have been sentenced to death!
In a democratic setting like ours, everyone has a right to choose his friends but if you are wining and dining with the corrupt elements in society, do not mount the rostrum and begin to shout that you are a protagonist in the fight against corruption! For us, things equal to the same thing are equal to one another – QED.
II. The Lawgiver as Lawbreaker
Nigeria is a nation at war with itself. At inauguration, we swear and affirm by whatever we believe in to uphold and respect the constitution and the laws of the land. As they say in Benin, “aren ede na ven ebo, airen ede na rioe…”
This translates approximately to the fact that you know when you are swearing but you do not know when you are breaking the swearing terms.
Too soon, we begin to pick and choose which part of the Constitution and our laws to obey and which to disobey. We lie under oath and disregard all the laws on perjury.
The Constitution, which is the Supreme Law of the land, stipulates that the President shall appoint people into certain positions – Ministers, Ambassadors, Chairman and Members into some Statutory Board and Corporations etc., after the confirmation of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Sadly, this has lately been more in the breach than in the observance.
In the particular case of the Statutory Board and Commissions, the President would send the list of nominees to the Senate. At first reading, the Senate would refer the list of nominees to the appropriate committee.
A bulk of the Legislative work in both Chambers of the Legislative Assembly is done in Committees, hence a former American President, Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), once called the Committees “little legislatures”. It is where the screening and public hearings take place.
From the point of submission to the point where the Committee reports out the measure, the Executive can withdraw the list or make any changes on it.
But once the measure is reported out of the Committee, the Executive can no longer withdraw the list in part or in whole; and neither can it make any changes thereon.
Essentially, once the nominations get reported out of the Committee and the Senate confirms the nominations, the only way to go is to inaugurate the Board!
Nothing here vitiates the fact that the President could remove any Board Member or even dissolve the Board a day after inauguration if there is a compelling reason to do so. But to inaugurate the Board, he must!
Contrariwise, we have seen an instance where the President sent in a nominee that got rejected by the Senate.
Instead of sending a replacement or re-sending the same nominee, the President simply left the rejected nominee in the position to finish his tenure in an acting capacity! What an aberration!
These are all open abuses of the Advice and Consent procedure contained in our Constitution.
Any Senate that condones these has no right to frown at being called a Rubber Stamp. That’s what the Ninth Senate is fast becoming! Slavery is still slavery even where our dear and loved one is the slave master.
No one is encouraging open confrontation but you are occupying a position where no matter how hard you work, confrontation is sometimes inevitable. In the nation’s collective interest, it is sometimes better a confrontation than a cave-in. In a polygamous situation, when the wives become too friendly, a wise husband has cause to worry!
The rule of engagement here is simple. The President cannot be right all the time. When he is on the right path, you must support him but if he decides to go the wrong way, you must confront him.
This way, you, too, would be obeying the Constitution, which at inauguration, you swore to uphold.
Hon. Josef Omorotionmwan is a public affairs analyst and former Chairman, Board of Directors, Edo Broadcasting Service. He can be reached at: joligien@yahoo.com
