In the Nigerian confusing situation, as we highlighted here last week, where a holidaying president is said to be on “working holiday,” where does that leave an acting president? Must he always cast suspicious glances over his shoulders? Must he consult on the most routine of decisions? The fractious and politically volatile nature of the Muhammadu Buhari presidency has been known not to help matters in this regard; it being the nest of cabals, power hounds, conspiracies, and conspirators. Some power-houses or “governments within government” as Senate President, Bukola Saraki, calls them, make the lines of authority very difficult to decipher.
Institutions are really never able to function within prescribed limits and non-government actors usually wield awesome powers that make a mess of constitutional authorities. Or have we forgotten ex-SGF Babachir Lawal’s “who is the presidency?” We were yet to effectively answer that poser before another Lawal crisis reared its ugly head last week. We must, however, assume that the VP could not have acted on Daura without the concurrence of his boss. The Nigerian VP is too hamstrung to act so powerfully or forcefully and Osinbajo as a person too tepid, laid-back, and consenting to be capable of any such independence of action. So, on Lawal Daura, it is the hand of Esau but the voice of Jacob. I will also prefer to err on the side of caution. The last may not have been heard on this matter. Dead, dry bones may rise again.
Osinbajo’s stock rose sharply in value when the decision on Lawal broke. Coming immediately and rapidly after the Daura impunity of a coup d’etat against the National Assembly failed, the VP’s action was a redeeming feature for a government in which he is titular number two. Only God knows what would have remained of the Buhari presidency if Daura had been allowed his macabre dance for just 24 hours. Analysts were quick to remember that this VP usually switches on the populist mode most of the time he has had the opportunity to stand in for his boss.
So, last week’s appeared another such opportunity to shore up his sagging fortunes. We were then reminded how he is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, a University Law professor and a Pentecostal pastor. If he was standing against lawlessness and impunity; if he was defending democracy; and if he was being a statesman rising against partisan political brinksmanship, especially of the vilest order that the APC and the Buhari administration have audaciously demonstrated in recent times, then, the nation cannot but be grateful to Osinbajo. Thank God for little mercies because nothing suggested that the VP would act or was obliged to act in that manner.
An alarmed nation has watched every top APC brass try to outdo the other, taking a cue from their abrasive new chairman, in gutter language and desperado politics in recent times. They have deliberately chosen to set the country ablaze at every point and time, heating up the polity like never before. It was as if Armageddon was here! In Benue, where the shenanigans of the Obasanjo years returned full blown; a handful law breakers attempting to throw out the elected governor, and elsewhere where security forces, INEC, and the EFCC have become the errand boys of the APC government, helping it to rig elections and coral opposition figures. The battle of wits between the NASS leadership and the APC/Buhari presidency is as old as the government itself.
As the once discredited PDP rebuilds and the APC loses more credibility and goodwill, Buhari cabals have become more desperate. It is obvious they are losing the initiative; even Osinbajo has not been able to live this down. APC leaders have become more audacious and willing to sanction desperate actions to cower opponents. They have become less discriminatory in all manner of “defectors” they encourage or arm-twist into their fold. The contradictions in their earlier stand and stance and the crass opportunism of today mean nothing to them anymore. Was the VP retracing his steps? Will he lead the APC pack back into anywhere near sanity? That was what it at first appeared to be – but not for too long!
When news broke that Daura was sacked not because he riled anyone with his audacity but because he failed to get Saraki booted out, then, Osibajo’s stock nose-dived terribly. A suspecting public could not but chuckle. We should have known that, they said. Daura was then alleged to have been an ally of Saraki, a mole within who had been squealing on his bosses for a long time, serving the interest of the enemy. Double agent, pure and simple! Between exposed double agents and failed coupists, none has a fate that enamours.
So, the sack of Daura has nothing to do with a desire on the part of Osinbajo to protect rule of law or defend democracy. He was not kicking against impunity or sanitising the polity. It was anger that a plot to topple the NASS leadership, which has been in the works for long and which has been attempted time and again, failed again. It is the venom of “someone we thought was one of us and whom we invested with much confidence and resources is truly an enemy” that led to Daura’s fall from the sanctuary of power. If the above categorization of Daura ia correct, then, it was Daura who sacked himself. A thousand Osinbajo could not have removed one strand of air from Daura’s body in the real sense of the word; for, how can a tenant sack a bona fide landlord from his own house? The VP can gallivant that he has power or that he belongs but discerning Nigerians know better. In the fullness of time “elegha a m’egha”, as my people would say. In Ola Rotimi’s “The gods are not to blame,” pretension and pretenders had but a short rope to pull. Were the VP or Buhari presidency’s action on Daura altruistic, it would have been positive; an admission that the administration was mindful to pull back from the edge of the precipice. We would have said all hope was not lost, then. But in the new light, it is negative and an admission that the administration is pursuing viciously its vendetta policy against political opponents.
Assuming but not conceding that Daura was a mole, what does this discovery portend for the Buhari administration? Why would someone at that level be a mole? What advantages did he attract from Saraki that made it attractive or worth his while to endanger his cosy relationship with the presidency? Another way to look at it is how Saraki is able to make in-roads into the presidency the way he is now alleged to have done. Are we then surprised that this same man has survived as Senate President despite the avalanche of attacks and plots against him? What manner of a politician is Saraki: A cat with nine lives and better political strategist than all the APC hordes rolled into one? But we must hear from Daura. Initially, he was quoted as saying he acted on orders from the APC leadership, cleared by a top presidency official. That appears more plausible that the later-day cock-and-bull stories of double agent. Will other errand boys take lessons from Daura’s misfortune? They are not likely! From reports, the IGP and EFCC boss are grinning from ear to ear, intent on making the best out of Daura’s missteps. That is usually the case where dogs eat dogs.
LAST WORD: The beautiful bride of the moment is the EFCC. This is the organisation that acts the enforcers for the ruling APC and the Buhari administration. Where a politician is lily-livered, the EFCC has its job already cut out. It dangles some incriminating documents in your face and gives you an option: Defect to the ruling party and keep yourself out of trouble or be adamant and end up in EFCC detention. Politicians all over the country are said to be playing ball, but a few are calling the EFCC’s bluff. Ondo, Akwa Ibom, Osun, and Lagos are some of the places where lily-livered politicians are said to have buckled under.
I understand Gov. Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State got an offer recently but chose to throw it out of the window. Saraki has said the Buhari Support Group politicians in the NASS belong in the camp of those who have negotiated their freedom this way. Institutions are not going to grow here. One way they ensure this is to saddle critical institutions with unqualified people; those who knew they never would have made the mark or can never hope to retain their position if merit is the yardstick. So, they have little self-worth and not much capability and are ready to lick boots.
Now, compare JAMB, for instance, with the Police, EFCC, INEC, etc. What did you think makes the difference? The integrity of the leaders is one; a reputation earned through dint of hard work over a long period of time; and fear of God. There must also be a resolve to hold on to this integrity and reputation and not trade it off for a mess of pottage. The tragedy of our situation is that the political space is being crowded with despicable quantities riding roughshod over their betters. To make matters worse, the circle of the reasonable, as sparse as it is, is also mindlessly divided and cannot see the larger picture. The larger picture for now is seeing off Buhari in 2019 or before that date – if the NASS can pull of an impeachment. Osun State Government versus pensioners is one issue that is as politically-sensitive as the coming governorship election in the state. The intricate web of issues and controversies that surround it inexorably dovetail into the September election, which is a labyrinth of its own. The urgency of the Daura matter necessitated shifting discussion on the issue that threatens to cast a pall over the Osun election. I invite more inputs from readers on the two issues (Pensioners/Government controversy and the elections) before next week.
and then