Impeachment: Ambition Sealed?
By
Mohammed Bala
Discerning Nigerians, and political commentators already have it that the political ambition of President Obasanjo have been sealed and strangulated by the current threat to impeach him.
The political quagmire our nation found itself in, they said, is very unfortunate and disturbing indeed. When on the 29th may, 1999 the former Head of State, General Abdulsalam Abubakar (rtd) swore in the civilian administration of Olusegun Obasanjo, the hopes of the citizens which was for a strong, virile, united and peaceful nation was raised, albeit to the pinnacle.
However the coming of the civil administration, and even at the very time of its inception, it was characterized by numerous calamities that many thought it would hardly last for a year. The myriad of political chicanery and unmitigated civil unrests that set in the nation, dangerously and precariously shook the ship of the young democracy. The resilience nature of our citizens, plus the need to have a change of Government from the military, urged us to trod on hoping that the best is yet to come.
It was like the beginning of a movie, with names of all characters being displayed on the screen. The names of our political leaders began to emerge. The names of all elected State Governors and that of the members of the national assembly and all the states houses of assembly were published. Then came the election of the leaders of the national assembly. You see, as all of them hardly knew one another, they didn't know that some of them were opportunists. In came one Salisu Buhari as the speaker of the House of Representatives, with forged certificate from the University of Toronto! He was found red handed, sacked and bundled out of the National Assembly. Meanwhile the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu was having some churnings in his stomach! The Salisu Buhari saga has sent shivers and shockwaves down his spine. He was like Buhari, caught with having declared himself falsely, a degree holder from the University of Chicago and an ex student of the Government College Ibadan! Now you will think that what happened to Buhari was equally mated to Tinubu. No. His case was swept under the carpet by his people in the Lagos State House of Assembly! Of course, because of that support he is still the Governor of Lagos State.
The cameraman's lenses were shifted to the national assembly again. This time the President himself was accused of paying a huge amount to the construction giant, Julius Berger without due clearance from the national assembly, which is said to have the constitutional obligation to mandate the President to spend a penny. Infact one Senator Waku from Benue State even called for a coup to topple the President for incurring expenditure without the approval of the National Assembly!
Another disturbing negative development for the flourishing of democracy and survival of the civil administration was the drama which led to the removal of the first Senate President Evans Emwerem, from office. He was accused by his colleagues of being a very close ally of the President, and therefore will not independently well, without being teleguided by the Executive. A motion was hurriedly put in place and before you say bingo, there was Emwerem, floored and battered out of office. Chuba Okadigbo entered and after a while some skirmishes ensued whereby he "escaped" with the Assembly's mace to his house! Ofcoure that was his waterloo and he too was replaced.
As for the President, he was always being accused of non-compliance with the provisions of the constitution in his handling of governmental affairs. That he shirks his responsibilities to the populace by unnecessarily traveling abroad. That he has marginalized some parts of the country that have voted him en masse to the benefit of his people, the Yorubas. Infact when he submitted the list of his ministerial nominees to the National Assembly, most of the States were allocated one ministerial position, while those States in the Southwest got two slots each. The same goes with his list for ambassadorial appointments.
Again the President was also accused of retiring army personnel, mostly of northern origin, and promoting juniour officers from his kinsmen to higher ranks. It is these display of tribal affiliations and nonchalant attitude of the President to the plight of others that made him to somewhat look like a tribally oriented and controlled leader. The inability of his Government to crack down heavily on the notorious militants, Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) even after the four times orgy of violence that took place in Lagos.
Another nasty and disheartening action of the President is the use of military force on the people of Odi village and the Tiv of Benue State. The village of Odi was almost leveled to ground as a result of the military's offensive against the defenceless civilians. Soldiers were also drafted to Tivland to mercilessly crush a rebellion. The residence of the former Chief of Army Staff, General Victor Malu was said to have been destroyed on the orders of the President.
The persistently and consistent schism against the family of late Abacha is also seen by analyst as a big minus for the President's bid for a second term, especially from the north. The irrational continued incarceration of Mohammed Abacha by the Government, inspite of a Supreme Court decision to the contrary, is a flagrant disregard to the rule of law. Right from the inception of this administration, the Abacha family has been pestered with trump up charges. The family, analyst say, have been completely striped of all titles to the estates of the late Abacha and have been rendered bankrupt. The question on the lips of everybody now is, what does the President want from the Abachas again?