Obasanjo Must Go, Ghana Must Go Or Ali Must GoByUmar Tanimu Umar tanimuu@yahoo.com
“Storm in a tea cup”, that was how the people’s Democratic Party (PDP) hand-picked National Chairman, Ahmadu “Ali must go” Ali described the move by the House of representatives to impeach President Olusegun Obasanjo. Ali’s outburst was understood to mean the party would overcome the impeachment moves (Daily trust May 13, 2005). The Party, as we all know, have succeeded in intervening in previous impeachment attempts, and so has the famous Ghana must go, the latter been evidently more successful.
By Thursday May 12, the number of signatories being collected to effect the impeachment has reached 185, which is 55 shy of the 240 required for the impeachment to go through. Going by the number and volatility of the impeachment offences as released by the “coordinator” of the impeachment proceedings, Bashir “Piya-piya” Nadabo and the unprecedented division of the signatories along party lines, only a major impediment, like Ghana Must Go, can deter other 55 honourables from appending their signatures.
All the impeachment offences have to do with the president’s desecration of the Constitution. Sadly enough Nigeria is about the only democratic country where the Head of the Government abuses the Constitution and go away with it. The multitude of constitutional provisions violated by the President are, to say the least, mind – boggling. According to Honourable Nadabo the President has breached Section 83 (1and2), which gives the National Assembly the power to make provisions for the establishment of a Contingencies Fund as well as the presentation of Supplementary Estimate, which will lead to the introduction of a Supplementary Appropriation Bill for the purpose of replacing the amount in advance. This on its own is enough offence to stir impeachment moves. But that’s not all: He violated section 305 and declared a state of emergency in Plateau State; promotes university education services which negates provision of Section 18 (1and2) as well as Section 4 (3); he promotes an economic policy that negates Section 17 (1A); he also violates Section 162 which provides for the establishment of Federation Account “into which shall be paid all revenues collected by the Government of the Federation”; the President employed two of his children in violation of section 15 (5) which restricts the President from abusing power. The violations goes on and on.
Now back to the “ruling party”. Ahmadu Ali’s description and the party’s summoning of speaker Bello Masari, to explain how the impeachment hammer has to be sustained, despite the party having 231 of the 360 members of the House of Representatives, depicts the urgency with which the party for the umpteenth time attempt to curtail the moves to oust the President whose unpopular policies has caused untold adversity and has traumatized the country. This is indeed detrimental to the country. The party ought to have called the President to order and should respect the constitutional rights given to the legislative. But alas! PDP is so subservient to the President so much so that they dance to his tunes. Can you blame them? By the way, who selected Ahmadu Ali and the entire officialdom of PDP?.
How I wish the Constitutions has provided for the populace to have a say via a referendum, and if a non-Nigerian body will conduct the voting, the President would have for long vacated Aso Rock. Some rhetoric are alleging that the honourables strut up the impeachment moves so as to get some form of settlement, quid pro quo, from the Presidency. Whether this allegation has any semblance of truth in it or not, the fact remains that the President has committed more than enough offences to warrant impeachment. And although the impeachment moves will most likely end up, like others in the past, been a hoax, Nigeria is going to survive. Many Nigerians will certainly not forgive the representatives elected (or is it selected?) to symbolize and enact laws for our country if they fail in one of their cardinal duties of using their constitutional powers to disparage a President who blatantly violates the constitution.
But if the PDP fail to overcome the impeachment moves and the honourables go on to debunk Ahmadu Ali’s audacious assertion and the moves become “a storm in the ocean” Nigerians will be relived, and certainly Ali must go. The President, who is now poised to reclaim the country’s dignity by upping the tempo in the fight against Nigeria’s hydra-headed corruption, will be discreet on the Ghana Must go option to finally shut up the Honourable. Whatever the case might be our fingers remain crossed.
Bolari Quarters, Gombe Gombe State, Nigeria.
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