subject: The doctrine of necessity by Benedict Ahanonu [print this page]
Fellow Nigerians, it is indeed wonderful that the latest doctrine in political science and public administration: "the doctrine of necessity" is originating from our country. Truly, the feeling across the world is that Nigerians are capable of doing anything; ranging from the good, the bad and to the ugly.
Here in Nigeria and as it is of common knowledge or allegedly so, armed robbers turn to vultures to escape arrest. In Nigeria also, grandmothers steal babies and boldly claim a miracle; or where else than in Nigeria will somebody be banished from his father land in this modern times because he was accused of practicing witchcraft. Nigeria is the country where the very old, both men and women engage in drug trafficking as a function of sudden riches syndrome. It is equally the land where old men marry upwards of 84 wives without let or hindrance in the name of religion. Nigeria is a land full of kidnappers and a place where people do all forms of treachery and subtlety for selfish gains.
Nigeria is a plain of acronyms like 419, OBT i.e. obtaining by tricks and moreit is a country noted for sharp practices and every form of corruption in Africaa country that is always on the margins of greatness. Notwithstanding though, she is still a great country that has produced great men and women; a country blessed with abundant human and natural resources but the sad tales will never end.
Fellow Nigerians, do you know we are marvellously favoured? And you may ask how? Now let me state that for reasons best known to God, Nigeria sits on the stool of calmness and this is in the sense that nature spares it of terrible disasters despite the mounting iniquities of the inhabitants. Some people blame the Haitians for practicing voodoo but here in Nigeria iniquities worse than voodoo are on daily occurrence yet the entire heaven and earth continue to ignore.
In addition, Nigerians are fond of copying but the tragic irony is that we copy only the wrong things. Nigerians are also terrified about resignation; the dread it so much and for reasons only God knows. Recently, the Honourable Minister of Information, Professor Akunyili, memoed' the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on the necessity to empower Vice President Jonathan so that he can begin to function as the acting president given the President's health condition that has kept him out of Nigeria since November last year.
Some have described that as a bold move, many have even congratulated her, describing her with superlatives only the angels deserve. But that is the Nigerian mentality.
Granted, the Honourable Minister has the freedom of expression as guaranteed by the constitution and in fairness to her, she has proved her mettle in her various callings and we can see how she has been pursuing the re-branding campaign with all her energy but with the spectacular memo she is wrong and I arrived at this conclusion for the fact that in every ship there is always one captain whether sick or healthy and for the ship to function very well, there must be cohesion among the crew. On the other hand, an assistant cannot be greater than his/her boss.
I think for what Professor Akunyili has done, she would have resigned by now. You cannot fundamentally disagree with a cabinet and still remain part of it. For instance, when Collin Powel, the former American Secretary States disagreed with ex-President Bush, over the Iraq war, the next thing he did was to resign honourably. The same thing happened in Britain as minister after minister resigned from Prime Minister Tony Blair's cabinet in protest over the inability of the Prime Minister to provide evidence of the substantial weapons of mass destruction allegedly stockpiled by Saddam Hussein and which was the justification for the war initially.
While it is true that the President is sick and frankly, the nation cannot be at a standstill but such situations should not be used as an opportunity for cheap political grandstanding. If Yar'Adua didn't appoint the Honourable Minister in the first place, I am sure the issue of memoring' the Federal Executive Council wouldn't arise. The simple logic is that as a team, the FEC must speak with one voice and they must either sail or sink together. No member should by any means, try to exonerate himself or herself.
Though, I disagree with the intent of the famous memo that has been ignored; yet, I think it finds solace in the new doctrine of necessity.
Despite the fact that some may disagree but in my opinion, I think that the problem of Nigeria is not Yar'Adua but the hopeless system or scheme of things whose watchword is acting under pressure and according to the President of the Senate, David Mark, "the doctrine of necessity requires that we do what is necessary when faced with a situation that was not contemplated by the constitution."
But is this true in the case of Yar'Adua? Sections 144 and 145 of the constitution say otherwise. In fact, section 145 of the constitution is very clear on how a vice president can begin to act as president and the Senate, constitutionally, cannot empower the vice President as such.
According to the constitution, if the President is proved to be incapacitated, it is the FEC that will evoke section 144 by declaring the President incapacitated and informing the National Assembly to set up a medical panel pursuant to that declaration. In view of this therefore, it is clear that with the resolution, the Senate is trying to provide a political solution to a constitutional problem but I am not surprised due to the fact that the National Assembly has been unable to conclude the constitutional review/amendment for inexplicable reasons.
Certainly, I am not against vice President Jonathan acting as President, nor do I bear any grudge against the Minister, Senate or anybody, rather I am lamenting the terrible Nigerian system that thrives on political expediency and I wish that the so-called doctrine of expediency will be extended to other crucial areas like the state of the economy, the passing of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, anti corruption campaign etc.
