NYAKOS MESS By A Adekunle One has to be either naive or a perpetual denier of the obvious to extricate the impeachment and subsequent removal of the Governor of Adamawa State, Admiral Murtala Nyako, from the contest of wills he engaged in with President Goodluck Jonathan. In fact, when his impeachment saga started, I wondered why it took that long in coming. When Nyako started that battle, I had expressed some surprise the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was not after him yet for the ostensible sin of taking on the Presidency. It turned out that I was jumping ahead of myself because, in the fashion these things take in Nigeria, it was only a matter of time before his wardrobe was cracked open and his skeletons came tumbling out. Knowing where his fate would berth required neither a Nostradamus insight nor a deep understanding of Nigeria’s political power play. As it was in the days of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, so it is in the days of Jonathan and so shall it continue to be as long as we have leaders with overripe egos. When those with incommensurate power like Nyako criticise their leadership or show themselves a threat to their superior’s ambitions, their Judgment Day comes. Such is the absoluteness of power wielded by leaders on this side of the equator – they have the balls of their opponents in their left hand and a grinding stone on the right. Nyako himself was not without sin and could not convince anyone of his innocence in the various allegations of corruption made against him. When he saw the impeachment train coming in his direction, he declared a meaningless two-day holiday and never showed up before the panel to defend his integrity. He spent the last few weeks considerably sobered up and he even backtracked on the fierce stance he had earlier taken on the politics of the Boko Haram war when he delivered a speech in Washington DC in March. He was also quick to absolve the Presidency of its woes. None of those placatory measures could save him, however. I find it curious that some commentators seem to find the power tussle between the President and the governor rather entertaining. There is some sort of psychological abuse that must be plaguing those who are amused by this spectacle of power play and even take it to the point of insinuating that the fall of Nyako – and the subsequent implication for his party the All Progressives Congress – is one more proof that Jonathan is not as clueless as is generally bandied around. They see it as a gladiatorial show rather than a reckless use and abuse of power. To them it does not matter that every arm of government in Nigeria is just as corrupt as the other, and Nigeria rots and stinks from the head to all parts of its anatomy. To them, it is no big an issue that other governors routinely dip their hands in the public till but remain immune from impeachment as long as they do not overreach themselves and make the “Abuja Big Ogas” uncomfortable. To these spectators, it is no issue that the various instruments of democracy are to provide checks and balances and not to be manipulated as someone’s battle-axe. To those among them whose heads have been rewired by religious dogma, the fall of Nyako is one more proof of divine working power in the affairs of the Nigerian state. While I was not in support of Nyako’s petition, I thought he should have been given a listening ear if only for the sake of posterity. It was obvious he was using rhetoric the way ardent Jonathanians had done in the past few years. They have successfully sold the logic that Boko Haram was a creation of some northerners who once vowed to make Nigeria “ungovernable” for President Jonathan. Nyako tried to upturn the argument – that rather than some powerful northerners on a vindictive mission, this was actually a David vs. Goliath fight; that it was a southern minority President trying to decimate the powerful north. Rather than merely shouting him down or discrediting him as a frustrated and petulant noisemaker, I thought some of his accusations were grievous enough to warrant at least a legislative hearing. He should have been made to prove his allegations and if he failed, subjected to appropriate punishment. No matter what, he should have been treated like a governor who was in the position to know if the Boko Haram war is what it is or something else. By shouting him down till he backed down, we lost a chance to improve the integrity of our democratic processes as envisioned by those who sculpted the concept. Now, democracy looks more like who has what power to wield over whom. Another implication of impeaching Nyako is that his colleagues and fellow public officials will learn restraint. They all have their hands soiled and they know it will not be hard to pull the rug from under their wobbly feet. This is not all about justice or a course of democratic process no matter how much it is packaged that way. Nyako’s removal as a climax to his confrontation with the President is no coincidence either. At various levels of government, from the executive to the legislature to the judiciary, all have sinned and come short of political glory; so, why is justice selective? If who goes and who stays in office is truly determined by the level of corruption in one’s government, even the President should have been long impeached. So, why pick on one thief and let others live? There is also the added aspect of decimating the opposition party before the 2015 elections. The momentum built by the APC when it had the Peoples Democratic Party members defecting to its side earlier this year has largely waned and would probably continue to do so. Presently, the Nasarawa State Governor, Umar Tanko Al-Makura, has been served a notice of impeachment and who knows how his case will end. The message seems to be that salvation, for these executives, lies neither in their good or bad works but on how much they can play worthy subjects of Pharaoism. To avoid becoming another casualty, it won’t be surprising they will rush to Aso Rock to declare allegiance by chanting, “I remain loyal, Sir.”
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 16:42:23 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015