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A Constitutional President in the moral prison
By Sam Kargbo
Case number one: an individual citizen
holds Anambra State to ransom. He financed and literally placed Chris Ngige
(the Governor) in office. He and Chris Ngige had entered into a blood-bonded
deal that was superintended and witnessed by His Serene Highness, the Chief
priest of ‘Uba/Ngige shrine’, one of the thousand and one cult
shrines that were discovered by the Nigeria Police in Anambra State. The deal
was in the main as follows: Chris Uba (the rich fool/wise one-make your choice)
was to use his thousands of millions of naira (do not ask me where he got his
millions from) to buy the Governorship of Anambra State from the electoral
supermarket for Chris Ngige. On his part, Ngige agreed to reimburse Uba
whatever he spent in purchasing the office of the Governor from the coffers of
the state and to remain for the whole of the four tenure of the office as the
absolute puppet and stooge of Uba. As such, he was obliged to take midnight
directives from Uba concerning the apportionment of personnel into the executive office in the State as well as
the disbursement of the State’s finances. Uba ably did his part. He got
Ngige into office. On assumption of office, Ngige reneged on the deal. In a
mafia approach, Uba kidnapped Uba and attempted to sack him from office to
place a more reliable stooge in Ngige’s place. His coup failed. Uba and
his conspirators were not arrested and indicted. Instead, series of meetings
were held to find political solutions to the matter. Typical of him, Ngige
reneged on all the decisions reached at such meetings.
Case number two: the rable rouser and headline
craving Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu stunned the nation with a
letter in which he claimed that his crystal ball had revealed to him the
snipers that where plucking the lives of prominent Nigerians. The sharp
shooters, according to him where, quite ironically, comfortably nested at Aso
Rock. Sounding very desperate, he told the nation that the snipers had pointed
their loaded guns at him for his audacity to side the people against the
Federal Government. As the people were murmuring about the astonishing
revelation, the Federal Government grounded ‘Slok Airline’, which
is believed to be owned by the distinguished Dr. Kalu. While Governor Kalu and
all his supporters read
victimisation in the script, the
aviation authority averred that the revocation of the license had nothing to do
with Kalu’s shaming of the Federal Government, but that the airline
violated fundamental aviation regulations and prescriptions. In his most recent
radio and television chat, the President hinted that the revocation was
actuated by the moral question of a serving Governor establishing and running
an airline. As to be expected Governor Kalu has reacted and denied full and
instant ownership of the airline.
Case number three: six months ago, the President
declared a state of emergency in Plateau State. According to the President, the
lackadaisical attitude and crass irresponsibility of the Governor of the state,
Deacon Joshua Dariye had caused the State to degenerate to a state of anarchy.
In the estimation of the President, there was actual breakdown of public order
and public safety in the state. In order to reverse the drift and save the
state from total chaos, he was forced to declare a state of emergency. What in
his explanation to the nation propelled his anger in the sorrowful situation
was what he considered as the Governor’s insensitivity to the breakdown
of public order and public safety in the State. Besides calling the Governor
names, he sacked the entire executive and legislative institutions in the State
and appointed a sole administrator to preside over the state for six months.
While he was serving his six-month political sentence, Dariye was apprehended
in London and investigated for money laundering by the Metropolitan Police. The
UK Police has revealed their findings to President Olusegun Obasanjo. Among the
findings is the allegation that Dariye was not only found with a huge amount of
Pound Sterling in cash (f900,000), but also found to run several accounts in
the UK with handsome figures standing in his credit.
There are several other cases, including unsolved
murders that are before the imaginary court of Mr. President. But we shall
restrict our case review to the three cases we have mentioned above. In our view,
what runs through all the cases before His Excellency’s Court is the
dilemma of a President who is imprisoned by moral mirages and persuasions in
the face of hard constitutional cases. The President seems confused by moral
justification to act or not to act in the cases before him. Before highlighting
the dilemma, let us state that there is a connection between morals and
constitutional duty. But what we want to advocate is that Mr. President should
as much possible give the constitution a priority whenever it clashes with
moral demands or justifications.
Starting with the first case, there might be a moral
justification for Chris Uba to war against Chris Ngige, but it is legally and
constitutionally wrong for him to do so in the manner he has chosen. We are in
a republic that hallows the rule of law. The constitution and the laws of the
land do not recognise the deal he made with Ngige. What he did was a gamble. He
should realise by now that he has lost. He can handle Ngige whenever he is out
of office. He can take him to the shrine and if what we are told about those
shrines is true then he would have justice. Ngige can be a sly and slippery
person. He can be a traitor and breaker of solemn agreements but he is the de
jure Executive
Governor of Anambra State. He could be a moral spittoon, but he is presently a
sovereign authority representing the aspirations of the people of Anambra State
to federate with the rest of Nigeria on the basis of legal equality. The people
of Anambra State did not wish for a saint as Governor but for a person who would in his dealings with them act
lawfully. The deal between Ngige and Uba is entirely irrelevant in assessing
the actions of Uba. Uba has acted unlawfully and criminally, he should
therefore be prosecuted. To allow Uba to continue to act and behave with such
impunity is to court disaster and rubbish the rule of law in the state. Mr.
President is and cannot be a moral judge. He must be just before any other
consideration. There is no moral provision obligating Mr. President to enforce
the odious deal between Uba and Ngige, but the constitution is clear on his
responsibility to the people of Anambra in particular and Nigerians as a whole.
The President has expressed his fears about the proclivity of Nigerians to fall
for cheap and obvious lies and falsehood of people who want to escape the wrath
of the law. I have similar fears but the truth is that it is his duty to
educate Nigerians and redirect them to the path of truth.
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