Another punch on the Nigerian constitution

BY UDUMA OBASI

The constitution of a country is its original and first voice. It is a set of rules and regulations that guide the actions and ways of life of a particular group of people, occupying a definite territory. It explicitly spells out how the people, their leaders as well as others within her coverage, should respond to circumstances as they unfold. The constitution in Nigeria’s situation, is the supreme law of the land which all acts of individuals and of parliament must abide by. It is the fundamental and organic law of a nation or state that establishes the institutions and apparatus of the government, defines the scope of governmental sovereign powers, and guarantees individual civil rights and civil liberties.

The constitution has one mission, which is “to mirror everything it contains to the society in a perfect fashion”. Irrespective of your office in the society, the constitution is the first governor you must submit to. Nobody is bigger than the constitution of the territory he/she resides. In fact, it is the constitution that defines the worth of those within her confines. If the constitution condemns your action as corrupt in any case, then you must face the penalty, except the constitution says otherwise. The constitution of a country is more powerful than the “powers that be” because it is the constitution that creates the platform for legal dominion for the powers that be.

In the recent past, achieving righteous walk with the constitution has almost been impossible, the world over. Continuous, deliberate misconduct from the people and their leaders heaps more insult on the constitution. The most irritating is when the leaders of the people treat the constitution as a malodorous rubbish.

The culture of affront to the constitution spreads like wild fire amongst the Nigerian leaders.  Some of them deeply disdain our constitution without remorse. Perhaps, they feel it is just an ordinary book which one can expunge and replace any word to suite his/her purpose. Hence, some major actions are taken without extracting support from the pages of the constitution. Those who sluggishly decide to tread the path of the constitution, do not even complete the process. Maybe the phrase “nobody is above the law” is not in the copy of the constitution in their custody. Anyone that do not follow the total laydown procedures in the constitution, as to obtain any form of provision, should not expect the backings of the constitution. If one wants to follow the constitution, it should be done to the latter. For instance, if the constitution says you should use the word “acting” in a particular condition, you are in no better position to replace the word with “coordinating”.

The recent letter, President Mohammadu Buhari presented to the National Assembly is a disguised scourge on our constitution. Late, Umaru Musa Yaradua had done a similar thing before, Buhari also has followed suit. In the case of the former no letter was issued. No doubt, Buhari’s health status is no news in the media basket. This notwithstanding, the right thing should be done irrespective of his situation. Regardless of who is affected the constitution must be given full respect. Buhari in his letter stated that Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo would “coordinate” the affairs of the nation while he was away instead of writing that Osinbajo would act as the President. The letter read, “In compliance with Section 145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), I wish to inform the distinguished Senate that I will be away for a scheduled medical follow-up with my doctors in London. The length of my stay will be determined by the doctor’s advice.

While the President said in the letter that Osinbajo would “coordinate” the governance of the country during his absence, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa criticised the letter as not naming Osinbajo as Acting President and should be disregarded. However, three Senior Advocates in Nigeria – Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, Femi Falana and Mr Ifedayo Adedipe, explained that the word used by Buhari was unimportant even though strange to the constitution of the country. Osipitan, a professor of Law, said there was nothing like ‘coordinating President’ in the Nigerian constitution. He believed that using the word ‘coordinating’ was a mere error on the part of Buhari, more so as the President had, in the past, used the word ‘acting President’ in similar circumstances. The law lecturer added, “Ordinarily, there is nothing like Coordinating President in the constitution. He should be acting and he should be addressed as acting President. I believe it was a slip of the pen.

Nigerians must understand that a wrong seed will never produce the right fruit even if watered with honey. We must learn to do the needful, uproot the evil seed and avoid future havoc. In 2008, the then President of Nigeria, Umaru Musa Yaradua left the country to attend to his health palaver, without following the paths of the righteous. He ignored section 145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). He left the country without the constitutional blessings. Buhari has, the ability to respect the constitution and address the vice president properly as acting president. As far as the letter said the vice president should coordinate the affairs of the country, it means he does not have the constitutional backup of the country. If the vice president is acting, he is doing that at his own risk, because the written document Buhari gave to the National Assembly conferred on him the power to coordinate.

Osipitan who had earlier said that he believed the president had a slip of the pen, would have ceased the opportunity to kindly appeal to the president to put his pen in the right perspective. That is, kindly withdraw the letter and make it absolutely constitutional, the office of the president and the vice is no father to son relationship. While on the other hand, those who said the word “coordinating” is unimportant yet qualified it as strange to the constitution, should stop dying their grey hair black and simply call for correction because it takes same energy to achieve the right as well as the wrong, or don’t you think?. This would have somehow reversed the forceful and partial constitutional amendment that singular act is processing. The constitution obviously has been misconstrued on many occasion and it is high time it needs reversion to correct all forms of unlawful attitude the future begets.

If we are out to fight corruption, then we must not allow our sword go blunt. The constitution is the strongest weapon to win our fight against corruption but when little issues such as this are swept under the rug, our chances for victory will be maggot eaten. As leaders, it is our responsibility to lead by example and not by mutiny. It is not actually a total shame that the National Assembly could not call a spade a spade just that the law makers should abide strictly by the law they have made. No doubt a fetus belongs only to the mother, however, after the journey from the labour room is successful, the child belongs to the society. The National Assembly births the constitution yet the society is vital in the parenting

An ignored misconduct towards the constitution will be the hatch egg of tomorrow’s rebellion.

Obasi, a mass communication student in the University of Benin, can be reached via [email protected]