The Presidency — By Prince Emeka Obasi|
Business Hallmark December 7 – 13, 2009

In so many ways I am sympathetic to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. After the trauma of the Obasanjo years, a man of his quiet dignity and outstanding integrity was like a soothing balm on the raw nerves of a populace that had been relentlessly savaged by a most invidious and uncouth president. However, despite my sympathy for Yar’Adua and understanding of his situation, I am unable to appreciate his consistent inability to transcend the befuddling limitations of the Nigerian circumstance and attain true greatness.

His insistence on remaining in office, in spite of the trying vexations of his health has irked so many Nigerians and has touched off a fire storm of criticisms. The call for his resignation rings loudly from different parts of the country.

But I don’t really believe that the critical issue is whether or not he should resign. So I would contend, with due respect, that those who are making the call are mistaken. Indeed, I don’t believe that it is either right or decent to force an ailing president to abdicate the throne. At a time like this, Nigeria actually has only two options. The first is to wish the president well and pray for his quick recovery. The second choice is to insist that the president must obey the constitution.

This is very crucial. The President of Nigeria is a constitutional creation. The office derives its validity from the constitution. Its occupant usually swears an oath of allegiance to the constitution, to defend it at all times and in all circumstances. As far as I am concerned, Obasanjo’s worse crime against the Nigerian people was his blatant refusal to obey the constitution, which was manifested by his incessant refusal to obey court orders, including even Supreme Court judgements.

For such flagrant abuses, Obasanjo ought to have been impeached. Clearly, a wilful disregard for the constitution measures up to the definition of high “crimes and misdemeanours,” described by the constitution as grounds for impeachment. But of course the National Assembly did not rise to the occasion. So, Obasanjo, a serial abuser of the rule of law and abuser of the constitution, was allowed to go scot free.

As someone once wrote, there is really nothing new in Nigeria, rather it is the past repeating itself, again and again!

It is ironical that a very decent person like Yar’Adua has allowed himself to be prodded along the Obasanjo road. And that is sad, even tragic for not just Nigerians but also for Yar’Adua himself because it would appear that he has lost the very last chance at true greatness. Even then, the reality is that this would not be the first time when confronted with stark choices, Yar’Adua chose the low road.

Some contend that when he was initially tapped for the post in 2007, he should have declined, given his poor health condition. I don’t agree with that, after all, he had served out his full tenure as a two-term Governor of Katsina State.

But where he missed it was when he became president and was confronted with the realities of the fraudulent nature of the elections and instead of resigning, elected to stay on in office. For a decent man, a man of integrity like Yar’Adua, the best option for him would have been to distance himself from the charade, resign his position and hand over to the senate president who would have presided over a fresh election. The groundswell of support such an action would have engendered would have ensured him re-election, this time credibly. His position would have been morally unassailable. Such a move would have gone a long way in restoring Nigeria’s diminishing stature. Sadly, for him and I must say, for we all, he didn’t choose that road. Instead, he plunged on and got us entangled in this quagmire today.

Yet another opportunity opened up again. This time it was not entirely in the hands of Yar’Adua. When the case of the fraudulent election came up for trial, a wonderful opportunity presented itself for the resolution of the lingering credibility issue. The Supreme Court could have neatly resolved the problem by annulling the election and ordering a fresh one. From what has happened in similar cases, it is clear he would have won a re-run election, thereby freeing himself from the moral burden of illegitimacy. Once again, he failed to grasp the chance. So Nigeria was not rescued from the moral abyss.

And so, here we are now. Since his election and in fact long before, Yar’Adua has been ill, often and on. That is no secret. Until the present crisis, he had always played a game of hide and seek with the Nigerian people over the true state of his health. The presidency was forced to come clean now because of the intense public speculation and rumours over his death. Obviously, that should not have been so. A president is not like you and I. In other words, he is not a private person. At the least, he is accountable to the people, if only because they pay, clothe and feed him. So we have the right to know. Always.

For a man who has been sick off and on in the past two and half years, it is amazing why his current illness should excite such national hullabaloo. I think I can guess why. If the rumours swirling all over the place is anything to go by, it would appear as if the situation this time is more serious than usual. So many people are worried and are asking for his resignation. But like I said earlier, such calls are misplaced at this time, and in fact premature. More importantly, it is diversionary. It obscures the core issues and emphasises the ordinary.

Certainly, the central issue is not whether the president should resign or not, or even the mundane idiocy of whether Vice President Jonathan should first resign in order to pave the way for the emergence of another Northern president. The real issue, which surprisingly, few people have addressed their minds to is the constitution and the position of the law.

We have demonstrated earlier that the President is a creation of the constitution. He is by law bound by its provisions. What the constitution says, is that when the President is not around for any reason, the Vice President should act in his stead. It is not a question of choice or the personal discretion of the president. It is simply what the law says.

The hullabaloo of the last few days could have been avoided if the president followed this path of constitutionality and formally handed over power to the Vice President before travelling abroad for medical treatment. By not doing that he has called attention to the dangerous scenario now playing out.

The constitution never envisaged a situation where there would be a vacuum in the governance of the country. But by acting in wilful disregard of the constitution, Yar’Adua has seemingly created one. But it is something all Nigerians should resist. And for good reason. No leader, no matter how humble, should be allowed to subvert the constitution at will. It is such subversion in the past that has made Nigeria the basket case it is today.