Yar’Adua Government Setting Dangerous Precedent, Says Duke
•Bafarawa: He needs good advice not prayers
From Sufuyan Ojeifo in Abuja and Olawale Olaleye in Lagos, 01.10.2010

Two former colleagues of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who served as governors along with him between 1999 and 2007, Mr. Donald Duke of Cross River State and Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa of Sokoto State yesterday reviewed the state of the nation and concluded that some of the measures taken so far by the presidency in response to the absence of the President from the country on health grounds are setting dangerous precedents.

Duke identified some of the wrong measures to include the statement by Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa (SAN)  that the President can rule the country from anywhere; the decision of the administration to make the out-going Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Idris Kutigi to swear-in his successor, Justice Alloysus Katsina-Alu and the refusal of Vice President Jonathan Goodluck to effectively take charge of the administration in the absence of President Yar’Adua.

Also, Bafarawa dismissed the calls for special prayers for Yar’Adua and said instead what the president needs is quality advice that will make him abide by the oath of office which mandates him to ask his deputy, Vice President  Goodluck to act for him in his absence.

“This is a dangerous precedent…The Chief Justice of Nigeria swears-in his successor. In line with the doctrine of separation of powers, the head of an arm of government does not swear in his successor in the same branch. The Chief Justice swears in the president who in turn swears in every other member of the executive arm and vice versa.

“But now a precedent has been set. Perhaps, a president in future may swear in his own successor. Even the legislative arm requires a proclamation signed by the President before it commences sitting in accordance with section 64 (3) of our constitution. But moving beyond that, institutions are breaking down and the National Assembly is unable to even ask the right questions but has the temerity to threaten the United States. What a joke!” he said.

Duke noted that the 1999 constitution did not foresee the current situation that the President of the Republic would travel out for so long a time and that government officials like Aondoakaa would exploit the lacuna to create confusion in the administration.
“When there is no provision in the constitution, conventions take over and the convention is that the President will govern from his home country, preferably from the capital.

[b]“But when the Federal Attorney-General tells us that the President can rule from anywhere, that is an insult to us as Nigerians. Medical records (of the President) are sought and he says he can’t produce them because the President is a private citizen. But the President is a Public figure who is paid by the tax payers. So, all these things are happening and nobody or institution is able to call the attorney-General to questions,” he said.

The former governor said the effects of the maladministration following the absence of the president from the country are becoming glaring as manifested in the blacklisting of Nigeria by the United States in the aftermath of the Abdulmutallab attempted airline bombing incident.

He blamed Vice President Goodluck for not exercising the authority of his office as the man who should naturally take control in the absence of the President, irrespective of any formality being alluded to by some government officials.

“Vice President Goodluck Jonathan’s position confuses me because his duty is to stand in the gap when the President is unavailable but he says he is waiting for a letter. What if something happens and the President loses consciousness and cannot read nor write? This letter business is a courtesy and formality to the National Assembly…The issue of stepping-in does not arise because as vice president, he is already in,” he said.

He said it was contradictory that members of the Federal Executive Council were awarding contracts during their meeting presided by the vice president but when it concerns other substantial state issues, the issue of the vice president not having full executive powers would be raised.

“Decisions are being taken but they are selective. In the situation that occurred on December 25, 2009, the vice president ought, immediately to have sought audience with the US ambassador and the vice president of the United States. This would have commenced the process of engagement but we sit back and do nothing.

“Regardless of whatever circumstance we find ourselves, the state must run. When President Bush went in for a routine colonoscopy, anxiety of state was ceded to vice president manliness Cheney. In an interview, former vice president Dan Quayle states an instance where he ordered an air strike against Saddam who had breached the no-fly zone while President George Bush Snr. was airborne and couldn’t be reached,” Duke said.

He also chided the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for not speaking out in defence of national interest while seeking to pander to the individual interest of President Yar’Adua.[/b]

semid4lyfe:

Well said by Donald Duke and Attahiru Bafawara. I wouldn't blame Vice- President for adopting a 'siddon look' attitude. IMO, it's already a forgone conclusion he'd be president. His name is Goodluck after all

Beaf:

The way Goodluck Jonathan is playing it is best. If he does it the gra gra way, how many of us will be ready to pour out on the streets in support?
I can bet you that if push comes to shove, the average Nigerian will see it as Jonathans problem; in any normal country, the people would have been on the streets weeks ago.

As a Nigerian, Goodluck Jonathan should play his cards in the right order, because he is on his own in a nation of cowards.

Beaf:

The way Goodluck Jonathan is playing it is best. If he does it the gra gra way, how many of us will be ready to pour out on the streets in support?
I can bet you that if push comes to shove, the average Nigerian will see it as Jonathans problem; in any normal country, the people would have been on the streets weeks ago.

As a Nigerian, Goodluck Jonathan should play his cards in the right order, because he is on his own in a nation of cowards.

semid4lyfe:

Well said by Donald Duke and Attahiru Bafawara. I wouldn't blame Vice- President for adopting a 'siddon look' attitude. IMO, it's already a forgone conclusion he'd be president. His name is Goodluck after all

princekevo:

What a statement?  So he is there to siddon look, abi? Or is he waiting his ground fathers to come and tell him what do? To me Goodluck is nothing but a coward, he has failed us, Infact he has fail Nigeria as a whole. In a situation like this many are waiting for him to jst make a move as the No2 man and they will throw their support on him. Sadly, he has not shown any courage, but cowardice.

princekevo:

What a statement?  So he is there to siddon look, abi? Or is he waiting his ground fathers to come and tell him what do? To me Goodluck is nothing but a coward, he has failed us, Infact he has fail Nigeria as a whole. In a situation like this many are waiting for him to jst make a move as the No2 man and they will throw their support on him. Sadly, he has not shown any courage, but cowardice.

sjeezy8:

Beaf you are foool, maybe he should siddon and look waiting for a military coup.  Did Abiola siddon and look or did he die in prison?
If he fears the "hawks" he should be vocal before he dies, so we can know those who are behind holding Nigeria back. He should seek advice from America or "run" there like ribadu.

That ode no get tongue he should die. spineless rat.

sjeezy8:

Beaf you are foool, maybe he should siddon and look waiting for a military coup.  Did Abiola siddon and look or did he die in prison?
If he fears the "hawks" he should be vocal before he dies, so we can know those who are behind holding Nigeria back. He should seek advice from America or "run" there like ribadu.

That ode no get tongue he should die. spineless rat.

Beaf:

The current battle is for everyone, not just Goodluck Jonathan. The country isn't ours on his behalf. If there is no one to support him, why commit suicide? For what? For a population that would rather pray than give a damn?

bibiking1:

Very funny posts guys!,,,couldn't stop laughing at the prospect of Jonathan acting differently, he'did be like a fish outta water. Its not his nature, he has never been proactive. A pig cannot fly for two reasons: you'll annoy the pig with your undue insistence, and a PIG CANNOT FLY!

kay_pumpin:

If we think Yaradua is stagnance personified,i cringe when i ponder what will happen when a situational,opportunistic and spineless Jonathan takes over.

Gbawe:

Maybe so , but right now , and in the absence of Yar Adua , who should be engaging Obama in dialogue as the voice of Nigeria in this extremely trying period? Why don't you call Obama since the "current battle is for everyone"? Some of what you say may be correct but you should also accept that Jonathan has left Nigeria in the lurch because of his pathetic inability to act in a way worthy of his position. Haba !!! Na yam ?

monkeyleg:

Gbawe, I totally agree with you and I am with you on this. We should have had a senior member of the Government (Jonathan), speak when the time was right, he should have engaged the Americans right from the start, in this case siddon look has not really helped us, and could be percieved as either being weak or lacking direction, in our case it is both.

Saying that Beef has a point, there is far more to this Yar adua's dissapearance and strange  47  days silence than we know, and there might be extreme sensitivity associated with his stepping in, but at some time we need to take the risk.

sjeezy8:

Beaf you are foool, maybe he should siddon and look waiting for a military coup. Did Abiola siddon and look or did he die in prison?
If he fears the "hawks" he should be vocal before he dies, so we can know those who are behind holding Nigeria back. He should seek advice from America or "run" there like ribadu.

That ode no get tongue he should die. spineless rat.

Gbawe:

My brother, I too agreed with Beaf that Jonathan should be careful as regards certain issues. There is however no excuse for his inaction over a situation that concerns all Nigerians - regardless of their region of origin. Wether you are from the North or South, you will now be subjected to heavier scrutiny as a Nigerian when you visit the USA.

All Nigerians would have backed Jonathan if he acted proactively on an issue that affects the entire country . No one will accuse Jonathan of undermining Yar Adua if he acted as the voice of Nigeria when it is painfully obvious that we are currently without representation.

Gbawe:

My brother, I too agreed with Beaf that Jonathan should be careful as regards certain issues. There is however no excuse for his inaction over a situation that concerns all Nigerians - regardless of their region of origin. Wether you are from the North or South, you will now be subjected to heavier scrutiny as a Nigerian when you visit the USA.

All Nigerians would have backed Jonathan if he acted proactively on an issue that affects the entire country . No one will accuse Jonathan of undermining Yar Adua if he acted as the voice of Nigeria when it is painfully obvious that we are currently without representation.

violent:

Duke is right, we dnt need dummies, the dude is a vice president for christ sake, he shouldn't just let people throw him around, imagine if it were Obasanjo in his shoes!

wirinet:

OBJ could not be in Jonathan's shoes, OBJ was president for Christ sake. According to the Nigerian constitution the post of Vice president is that of errant boy for the president and has no responsibility except that given by the president. A vice president /deputy Governor can only act if he is certain that the president/governor is incapacitated, dead or impeached and even then he has to be sworn in by the Chief Justice and a lot of other bureaucratic bottlenecks, meanwhile Jonathan( and Nigerians) is kept in the dark about the true state of the president.

Pharoh:

I think if we want Jonathan to act actively as you have suggested then we should all just do one simple thing to show the needed evidence that we are behind him. Will it be too hard for all Nigerians to pour into the streets, national assembly or even ground the economy and ask the national assembly/FEC to do justice to our present situation by looking into section 140 through to 146 and doing what is right?.

Can we simply just do that as a prelude to resolving this disturbing issue for our dear nation before we start condemning the vice president?

otokx:

Donald Duke should not open his mouth too wide.