2015 AND THE SWEET EMPTY PROMISES. (PART 2) We are all familiar with the dramas of that week. The military said they had recovered the girls except a few. The President and his party heads to a state up north and were seen on national TV dancing “skelewu”. When they returned to Abuja, the military retracted the news that the girls have been rescued. The number of kidnap girls becomes more controversial. The Federal Executive Council would meet the next day. The president gives instruction that all appointments and meetings scheduled for Thursday should be re-scheduled. An emergency meeting of the Council of State should be fixed for Thursday to discuss the rising tide of security challenges in the country. The President is the Chairman of both councils. He didn’t appoint himself as Chairman. It is a constitutional role he must play. I’ll start with the Council of State. The Council of State consists of the President, the Vice-President, all former Presidents/Heads of Government, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the incumbent and former Chief Justices of the Federation, and all the incumbent state Governors irrespective of their political parties. And some other key people. The purpose of the Council is to join the president in looking into certain issues as stipulated by the constitution. Those constitutional provisions includes – the prerogative of mercy, as for instance, if he decides to pardon a convicted politician. The president would table the matter before all this people, “I want to pardon so and so persons who were convicted for such and such offences at certain times in the past, what do you all think about it?” Anyone is free to contribute. A decision is reached. The matter is concluded. However, the Thursday after the Chibok girls were kidnapped, all the Governors belonging to a certain political party stayed away from the emergency Council of State meeting. The incumbent president is not the person that extended membership of the Council of State to those governors. It’s constitutional. Every time you vote someone in as the Governor of your home state, you are also voting him in as a member of the national Council of State. When it comes to the issue of the Council of State, president Jonathan considers himself lucky. All the Heads of State of Nigeria since 1967 to date are still alive – except Generals Muritala Muhammed and Sani Abacha. So, whenever there is a full house at the Council of State meeting, he looks to his left, and finds seated beside Vice-President Sambo five Generals who were already senior military officers during the civil war – General Gowon, General Obasanjo, General Buhari, General Babangida, General Abdulsalami they are seated with him in the Council Chamber of the State House to assist with the benefits of the respective and collective wisdom drawn from their years in power and beyond. While the National Anthem was being played on the PA system, he looks to his left and scans the faces of the Governors. He locks eyes with Governor Fashola of Lagos, then moves on to Governor Oshiomole, then he notices Governors Akpabio, Mimiko, Aregbesola, Uduaghan, Amaechi, Kwankwanso, Shettima, Aliyu, and the whole lot of them. His eyes finally settles on General Buhari. As he takes his seat, without taking his gaze away from General Buhari, he begins, “Your Excellencies, this issue of Boko Haram is getting more serious by the day. What do we do?” The General is staring back at the President, he’s wondering why the President is focusing his gaze on him while bringing up the Boko Haram issue. Is the president trying to insinuate anything. General Obasanjo cracks his throat but then only sips from the glass of water before him without saying anything. But that Act I, Scene II, breaks the lock in gazes of the incumbent president and his closest rival at the last election. The floor is open. Everyone with a CLUE on how to help the security situation is free to volunteer. It’s too big for my small mouth to say that the national Council of State is clueless. But “clueless” a word I here several times a day in reference to the Chairman of the Council of State and I have began to wonder if he is the only active member of that Council. However, on the Thursday after the Chibok Girls were kidnapped, all the most eloquent members of the Council were absent from the emergency meeting. Perhaps coincidentally. Perhaps deliberately. I have no CLUE. (to be continued) * Kindly NOTE that this write-up is still a DRAFT. I will be back to edit and repost.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 14:59:19 +0000
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