Much ado about the controversial clause in Buhari’s letter

One of the major problems of Nigeria has been a lack of continuity in government. Over the years, various administrations have had to abandon projects or initiatives that were conceived by their predecessors for the simple reason that the glory must not go to such predecessors.
When President Muhammadu Buhari mounted the saddle of leadership on May 29, 2015, the administration did not disappoint in this regard. It drew its line early in the day and left no one in doubt that it has come to implement the agenda of a different party. It was against this backdrop that the administration said it was not going to implement the recommendations of the 500 delegates of the 2014 National Conference because it was not organized by the All Progressives Congress (APC) government.
But some observers say that the Buhari administration appears to be consciously or unconsciously importing some of the behaviors and actions that are considered inimical to the health of Nigeria. For instance, the secrecy, which pervaded the Aso Rock Villa following the protracted infirmity of the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua may have been copied by the present administration.
It would be recalled that while President Yar’Adua was at the point of death, his shadows were still presiding over state functions as the then vice president, Goodluck Jonathan, was put in the dark over the state of his boss. With the help of some of the cabals in the kitchen cabinet of Yar’Adua, Turai his wife held the country hostage for a long while.
The reason behind the hide and seek at the time was to ensure that Jonathan from the south would not take over from the president who was from the north.
The growing level of secrecy over the President’s health and the alleged effort by certain cabals within the cabinet to fence off certain key officers of government from really knowing about the President’s health status is a pointer that history is on playback.
Twice this year, President Buhari has transmitted letters to the Senate for transfer of power to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. In January, the President had written to the Senate to convey his intention to travel to the United Kingdom for a 10-day leave. Osinbajo was, therefore, empowered by the letter to function as acting president in line with the Constitution of the country. This, he did until his principal’s return to Nigeria after 49 days sojourn.
However, this time around, the tone of the letter that was sent to the Senate, which was read on the floor of the upper legislative chamber, has continued to generate controversy.
The letter read in part: “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.
“While I am away, the Vice President will coordinate the activities of the government. Please accept, the distinguished Senate President, the assurances of my highest consideration.”
The President jetted out of the country last Sunday, May 7 for medical “follow-up.”
While some analysts believe that the “offensive clause” in the letter must have been deliberately used surreptitiously for mischief purposes, some others say it’s innocuous.
Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, a senator representing Abia North Senatorial zone, saw the hand of a monkey in the letter and raised the alarm. He pointed out that the president did not properly transfer power to the vice president.
Ohuabunwa picked holes in the letter, saying there was no position of coordinating president in the constitution and that Osinbajo should have been duly addressed as acting president.
He said: “Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them the written declaration to the contrary, such function shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President.”
According to him, “I don’t think in our constitution we have anything like coordinating president or coordinating vice president. It is either you are vice president or you are acting president and any letter (on the transfer of power) should be unambiguous and very clear. So, I am saying that this letter really does not convey anything because coordinating has no space on any place in our Constitution. We have been having letters like this in which he will tell us who is the acting president and we know who to deal with as a Senate. This is the highest legislative body of any country and if you are sending us a letter it should be direct, not unambiguous. So, I am saying that this letter for me is not right and maybe should be sent back.”
Observers say the intervention of the Senate president may have saved the country from another round of needless horse-trading and power tussle inside the Aso Rock enclave. Some of the observers are of the opinion that President Buhari may not be aware of the content of the letter but authored by certain elements who think that Osinbajo Acting Presidency could jeopardize their interest, particularly when there is no fixed date for the President’s return.
Kate Ojo, a psychologist, said: “Looking at President Buhari, he may not have that intention to cause a rift or engender strife in the Presidency, I think it is still those people Aisha talked about that are creating the problems. They may have sold the dummy to the President that going by the good performance posted by Osinbajo the other time, that giving the VP another opportunity to act could be dangerous for the President, so they decided to use a coinage that could tactically take away the real governance from him. This is Naija, anything is possible.”
Kehinde Ayandeji, an Ibadan-based human rights activist, said he smelt mischief in the tone of the letter and wondered why a government that had come out to explain that Osinbajo was not “coordinating minister for the economy” could now turn round to adopt that nomenclature.
“I remember vividly when Professor Osinbajo came out to say that he was not the coordinating minister for the economy. I think at that time, the President had said so or something like that and he said he wasn’t. Now, the President in his letter said his vice was going to be the ‘coordinator of the nation’s affairs’ in his absence. If I may ask, why must the President go back to that name when the Presidency had said there was nothing like coordinating minister for anything? I see some mischief somewhere,” Ayandeji said.

Reminded that Professor Osinbajo said the President duly handed over to him before he left, Ayandeji said: “What else do you expect him to say? He must always be on the path of peace. He knows too well that some people were not comfortable with his spectacular performance the last time to the point that some of them openly went hysterical; it is not everything that goes on there that you should expect him to say openly. But we know that all is not well, but we wish them good luck.”
Benjamin Udodigbo, a concerned Nigerian, scorned at the naivety of Nigerians, who he said have failed to read the handwriting on the wall.
Udodigbo said: “Truly many Nigerians do not understand the nation they purport to talk about. A smart insertion of ‘coordinator’ instead of ‘acting president’ flies past them and they are busy carrying the Constitution of Nigeria in its weighty magnificence, quoting lines upon lines to justify their ‘conviction’ that it is a harmless word interplay.
“In this same country where we had to exhaust the entire judicial apparatus just in a bid to interpret the 12 2/3 majority requirement of the constitution!
“In this same country where we spent long judicial hours arguing the difference between Evan Enwerem and Evans Enwerem! Same country in which James Ibori scaled the legal fence just because he is not James Onanefe Ibori.
“Is it not the same country where all proceedings can be indefinitely put in abeyance until we obtain a proper definition of the word ‘coordinating’. How some of these born-to-defend folks fail to see banana peels when they easily litter the floor beats me. How can they not smell mischief and impending trouble even when you stuff them right into the nostrils? Do they really know this country called Nigeria?”

 
Olisa Agbakoba, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a former national president of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), does not see any significant difference between the words employed by President Buhari in his letter of transmission to the Senate and the words “acting president.”
Agbakoba said: “I am concerned by the unnecessary controversy raised over the use of these words ‘While I am away, the Vice President will coordinate the activities of the Government’ in the medical vacation letter transmitted by the President to the National Assembly. I believe it is a distraction by politicians. The nomenclature used by the President to describe his Vice President does not matter. What matters to the average long-suffering Nigerian is good governance. Will the Acting President create jobs; provide water, roads, electricity, food, etc. This is what is important.”

 
A cleric, who spoke on condition of anonymity, wants Nigerians to avoid situations and actions that could create unnecessary tension, distraction, and controversy.
“This controversy could have been avoided had Mr. President done a simple thing without glamourizing it. Let me ask you, what is difficult in saying, for instance, ‘in my absence the Vice President will act on my behalf’? It would have made more sense without plunging the country into an unnecessary frenzy. Don’t forget also that the reactions that greeted the contents of the letter were as a result of a precedent that had been set and Nigerians hearing the words used, said, ‘watch it’. For

Don’t forget also that the reactions that greeted the contents of the letter were as a result of a precedent that had been set and Nigerians hearing the words used, said, ‘watch it’. For me, it is good that the senators raised the objection because it is said in my part of the country that you must hastily remove the Chimpanzee’s hand from the soup before it changes to the human hand. I am also happy that by the wisdom of the Senate president, they were able to kill the monster while it is still young,” the cleric said.