A very cold bowl of discomfort is upon us. Make no mistake about it :The future of our dear country is frozen in fear. Never has the country been as divided as it is now. Every passing day,things are getting worse, not better. It’s largely because some of those who pride themselves as being among the leaders of the country are by their utterances dangerously polarising the country into mutually exclusive enclaves of North and South. The events of recent days have shown how sad, how disheartening things have become. But let’s start with President Buhari and the choice of of his Cabinet. To a large degree, any administration’s success depends on the ability of the President to recruit a Cabinet of fine quality and work harmoniously with them.
A Cabinet of superb quality is of great importance. It should compose of strong managers who will be able to control the career bureaucrats. The President should not, in any way, become their captive. Most importantly, the Cabinet must be men and women who should be able, at all times, to give the President unvarnished truth, while the President should concentrate on determining national priorities and direction of the country. That’s the major difference between a government that succeeds and one that fails.
Unfortunately, some members of the president’s Cabinet have made him a ‘prisoner’ in Aso Rock, the seat of power. And in the last week, one man who has done a lot of harm to the President is the Attorney- General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN. As the nation’s chief law officer, Malami’s position is one of the most critical in the Cabinet. It’s his responsibility to ensure that the president gets the right counsel and a correct interpretation of the law. But has Malami been living up to this responsibility as Nigeria’s Chief Law Officer? I think he has always shown a proclivity to misinterpreting the law. Recall last December, he shocked many when he said that the National Assembly had no powers under our Constitution to summon the President over his “operational use of the Armed Forces”. This is in spite of sections 217, 218 and 219 of the 1999 Constitution(as amended) that emphatically state that the President cannot carry out the operational use of the Armed Forces without the parliament concurring or empowering him to do so.
But, Malami got away with it. The president changed his mind to appear before the Senate to brief it on the state of insecurity in the country. This time around, the Chief Law Officer has behaved even worse than an amateur, apprentice law officer. His thinking has been quite shallow. It could be a reflection of his mindset when he joined issues with the recent decision of Southern States Governors to ban open grazing in their states. Recall that restructuring and ban on open grazing were just two of the many recommendations of the Southern Governors’ Forum during its recent meeting in Asaba, the Delta State capital.
The decision to ban open grazing was necessitated by the present state of insecurity across the country, and to avoid further conflict between herders and farmers that has resulted in the loss of lives and property. But Malami is strongly opposed to that, including restructuring of the polity. His statement which many legal experts have disagreed with, reveals, under magnification, the armour of arrogance in which he has encased himself, and repeatedly misled the president.
As many legal experts have said, the Attorney-General has never been objective on critical matters in the Constitution, and his position on cattle grazing and true federalism anchored on restructuring, truly reflect a dangerous, primordial sentiments and archaic dichotomies that have never resulted in a fair, equitable and just federation. As Ondo state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) said, for the AGF to compare open grazing with auto parts dealers, “is not only strange, but annoyingly betrays a mindset”.
Anybody who read carefully and with deep understanding of the law and the AGF’s argument in comparing open grazing to spare parts dealers, a jab at Igbo traders who are doing legitimate business across the country, will be thoroughly alarmed and feel a deep sense of sorrow for our constitutional democracy. The submission of the AGF on the matter clearly stands logic on its head. What a warped thinking. That’s why many legal minds have angrily asked the question, if indeed, Malami is fit to be the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice? That’s why, as I said earlier, a government is as good or bad as members of its Cabinet. Malami continues to unravel the mistake the President has made to have picked him as the nation’s Chief Law Officer. The president should save himself from opportunistic, transactional pleasers, and nakedly ambitious politicians with no core principles. The immediate implication of Malami’s submission is clear : It’s an assault on the truth. It’s a hammer blow on our democracy. It was an exercise in raw power . As a legal matter, Malami’s interpretation of the law in this instant case, is a rough equivalent of throwing the constitution away, and replacing it with the whim of one man. And as a political rhetoric, this is incendiary. It is odious and an affront to the judiciary. Also, recall that recently, Justice Ifeoma Ojukwu, of the Federal High Court, Abuja, gave judgment, declaring open grazing illegal and unconstitutional.
The Governor of Kano state, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, agrees with the decision of the Southern Governors’ Forum on the ban on open grazing. That’s good thinking. Some members of the Northern Youth Forum also disagree with Malami’s stand. Whereas Malami is at liberty to voice his opinion on any issue that calls for his attention, he should keep his antennae up to prevent further polluting the waters of state and plunging the country into avoidable crisis. Words are powerful. Thinking before talking can prevent a lot of harm. The judgement of history often doesn’t come fast, but historians do. But there is always a good place in history for any leader, whether a President or political appointee who wants to succeed. For a president, it’s even more crucial, how he defines his goals, his vision and purposes of his government in such a way that gives coherence to his administration. You see, one of the reasons why Nigeria is in this hole under Buhari, is because somebody like Malami is wielding undue influence and stress on this administration. Buhari, it must be repeated, cannot achieve his vision and purposes( if indeed, he has any outside favouring a sectional entity) if they are packaged in a mishmash manner as this administration has done, always.
Most critical is the fact that the presidency is not a prize to be won, it’s a duty to be done, that’s it the President knows that. Ultimately, a President is judged by the many things he initiated and accomplished. A President is like a shepherd who knows what stirs the hearts of the people and make better choices that work in their overall interests. Therefore, the challenges that the country faces and the concerns of the citizens are often millstones around the president’s neck. That’s why presidents are not judged like ordinary men.