Tinubu and the baggage of separation of powers

BY ADEOLA OLATUNDE

“Hypocrisy is the most difficult and nerve-racking vice that any man can pursue; it needs an unceasing vigilance and a rare detachment of spirit. It cannot, like adultery or gluttony, be practiced at spare moments; it is a whole time job”. W. Somerset Maugham (1874 – 1965).

Some days ago, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu decided, as is typical of him, to indulge himself in the art of putting spin on events, issues and developments on contemporary Nigerian politics to make himself look good, even when obvious facts on ground show that he has been caught flat-footed and beaten in his own game. This time, the Edo gubernatorial election of September 19 in which he and his cohorts came out defeated hands down, was the issue.

While the object of this write-up is not to deny Tinubu the opportunity to once again grandstand and appear invincible in the face of this obvious humiliation, it is necessary to take him up on just one issue out of the many that the write-up pontificated about. Tinubu had got his media aide, Tunde Rahman, to write an article titled “Asiwaju Tinubu and Edo Election” in which he sought to offer another perspective through which people should view the loss of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 19 gubernatorial elections. In that article, the former Governor of Lagos State who had hitherto talked as if he alone could decide the results of that election now blamed every other person for the loss of Pastor Osaze Ize-Iyamu , except himself and his side kick, Adams Oshiomhole.

As earlier stated, this article is not aimed at drawing attention to the over 100 flaws, false claims, contradictions and obviously illogical claims made in the article to make Rahman’s principal look good. This article will simply seek to point out the hypocrisy of the man called Tinubu as it concerns the independence of the legislature, doctrine of separation of powers as well as checks and balance. This write up will seek to respond to the claim in that Tinubu treatise that his pre-election amateur video recording addressed to the good people of Edo State “was borne out of commitment to democratic principle and clear appreciation of the fundamental role of parliament in a democracy, adherence to the principle of Separation of power and the antics of Governor Obaseki against the 14 lawmakers”.

It is funny that Tinubu is packaging himself as defender of the independence of the legislature when he actually should be named the ‘greatest underminer’ of that independence. To show that Tinubu not only enjoy undermining the legislature but also frequently colludes with and enables those who undermine the legislature, I would state four instances where the former governor of Lagos State decided to look the other way when the legislature was being destroyed and its independence was being jeopardized.

The first instance was when Adams Oshiomhole as Governor removed the roof of the Edo State House of Assembly because he was afraid the state legislature would move against him. Tinubu made no comment. He saw nothing wrong in it or he just did not feel that action impeded the legislature from performing what he now recognized as the ”fundamental role of parliament in a democracy”.

In the second instance, on July 30, 2018, the Police invaded the Benue State House of Assembly and prevented 22 legislators who were members of the PDP from gaining entry while providing cover for eight other members that belonged to the APC to access the chambers and sit for the purpose of pushing through an impeachment process against Governor Samuel Ortom who had then just defected from the APC to the PDP. Again, Mr. Tinubu chose to resort to ‘Afghanistanism’. He did not see the independence, “ fundamental role of parliament in a democracy (or) adherence to the principle of Separation of Powers” as being under threat with that ugly development.

Third, when on April 18, 2019, some thugs obviously with official backing and support from certain members of Tinubu’s APC invaded the Senate chamber while the legislature was in session, inflicted injury on members of the Office of Sergeant-at-arms and forcefully carted away the mace, the symbol of authority of the legislature, Asiwaju “the leader of democrats” did not see anything wrong with the development. He maintained undignified silence.

Case number four: when some misguided elements in the Directorate of State Security (DSS) invaded the National Assembly with the view to assist certain senators of the APC working with the leadership of the party to forcefully remove the leadership of the Eighth Senate, Asiwaju did not see anything wrong in it. In fact, the only comment he made on this last incident was on August 8 at a rally in Ikot Ekpene organised for Sen. Godswill Akpabio to defect from the PDP. On that occasion, Tinubu described the invasion as “a war between progressives and conservatives”. What a characterization! Akpabio who had been Commissioner, Governor and Senator as a PDP member for almost 20 years had suddenly become a progressive in Tinubu’s estimation and the use of heavily armed State intelligence officers to disrupt the work of the legislature and seize its premises was justifiable to ‘Democrat Tinubu’ because he did not like the face of the men who were leading the National Assembly then.

Another instance of the hypocrisy of this man who pretends to be a democrat only when it suits his parochial politics is how he ensured that for most of the four years of the Eighth National Assembly, his media organisations – The Nation newspapers, Television Continental (TVC) and Continental Radio consistently rubbished, undermined and subverted the federal legislature because he was unable to get his men elected as leaders of both the Senate and House of Representatives and his wife, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu did not get the chairmanship of her preferred committee, Committee on Environment.

Now, readers can see why I opened this article with the quote of Maugham, the British novelist, dramatist and short story writer, on hypocrisy as “a whole time job”. Asiwaju did not start this selective love for separation of powers and independence of the legislature today. It is an art he practiced the whole time. When the threat to independence of the legislature or separation of powers is perpetrated by his allies, his favoured section of the APC or in pursuit of his presidential ambition, the action is justified. No need to make video recording or write an epistle to condemn it. Also, when the legislature headed by the people he hates their gut is being unjustifiably disgraced, democracy is not under any threat. Everything is fine and ‘the Asiwaju dey kampe’.

This ‘leader of democrats’ only speak out against threat to democratic principles and separation of powers when he and his allies are at the receiving end or his favourites are the ones holding the short end of the stick. Baron de Montesquieu and other scholars who articulated the concept of separation of powers, checks and balances and rule of law as necessary for enthroning responsible and good governance will definitely be turning in their graves as they read Tinubu write hypocritically about these ideals.

What a ‘democrat’!

Olatunde writes from Kaduna