As we continue to discuss and observe the ramifications of President Yar'adua's AWOL saga let me present a couple of initial lessons/observations.

Past/Current Governance in Nigeria is as Good as None: Near the beginning of this whole saga the AGF characteristically invoked his "tout" interpretation of the Nigerian constitution to suggest that presidential powers are not "exercised territorially" - implying that Yar'adua could lay on a sick bed in a distant land and yet rule Nigeria. At the time my reaction was "why not"  based on my view that the President and this whole administration were not doing anything relevant to the common man to begin with. At this point it has become a fact that would not change even if the VP were empowered to become Acting President. In fact, the VP is already in "charge", and as expected there is essentially no difference. Our government's idea of leadership is to create a crisis, by omission or commission, and then manage it. Yet, nations can only develop in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. Putting down violence is not governance - even a kid knows that when fire breaks out what you do is put it out.

Governance is about those in Government: In the words of the late Michael Jackson, "All I want to say is that they don't really care about us". Restricting ourselves to the period since 1999 after the return of democracy to Nigeria one can demonstrate the "truity" of these words. Before the third-term agenda fight, the National assembly carried on the shame of constant infighting, bribery, and allocation of large sums of money to cater to their insatiable appetite. Many governors were found to essentially live abroad, spending and stealing the people's resources, and when caught red-handed dragged it out in the courts. Then came the third-term agenda, and its corollary a.k.a  OBJ&Atiku fights. The selection of Yar'adua and non-election of 2007 produced unending court cases, further fights and intrigues over appointments. The persecution of Ribadu followed promptly for being so bold to openly confront the high and mighty, and Ibori (whose $15 million in an attempt to bribe Ribadu is today lodged at the CBN) became the focus of attention. The AGF was soon to personally get on a plane to quash the case against Ibori in Britain - a shameful act that I personally considered to be above all else at the time, but subsequent events proved that to be so wrong. Then came Yar'adua's disappearances and the subsequent, visible, deterioration of his health. At this point many Nigerians began to sympathize with how the burden of the presidency seems to be draining the President, after all he is human. However, typical of governance in Nigeria even this potential source of national togetherness was handled solely with the interest of those in power alone in mind. For the past two months, the unconscionable disappearance of the president, with virtually no information to the nation, has dominated the lives of 140 million+ people. It goes without saying that all these theaters of the absurd provided no place for real people issues such as food, health, education, transportation, safety of life and property, etc. The precarious condition that this means for the nation was laid completely bare by Umar Abdul Mutallab and the subsequent listing of Nigeria by the U.S. as a nation of "interest" with respect to terrorism. We shall forever remember the people under who's watch Nigeria reached this height of ignominy in the comity of nations. If a count of headline articles in Nigerian news media were conducted, it is a sure bet that people-issues would pale in significance in relation to those about our leader's riches, births, marriages, payments, sickness, corruption, travel, court cases, etc.

Our Legislature is a Joke (and not even a good joke): Yar'adua's AWOL saga revealed a darkness of information associated with public administration in Nigeria. Legislative requirements would have compelled the presidency to provide necessary information for the legislature to fulfill their constitutional duties. Yet, when a group of legislators sought to re-introduce the freedom of information (FOI) bill the house of assembly erupted in a unison of "No"! What? Our President is missing here! It seemed that the house of assembly would be eager to start correcting defects in the system that allowed Yar'adua to hold the nation to ransom. Instead, this group of people are content with a burning house as long as they get to dry their wet clothes with the fire, forgetting that they are standing inside the same house. Yet,  the reaction of the house of assembly to the second introduction of the FOI bill is not surprising, since they had moved to enact a "Press Bill"  designed to muzzle information flow only a couple of months earlier.

Subtle Traps in the Nigerian Constitution: Despite some bad judgments, the Nigerian Judiciary as a whole has performed creditably well over the years. However, they continue to be subject to the inconsistencies and self-serving languages incorporated in the constitution. For example, while the rules governing the powers of the VP were essentially a copy of those in the United States constitution, a couple of vital changes were made. One, the role of the VP in the U.S. constitution (as President of the Senate) was knocked out of the Nigerian constitution. This change ensures that the Senate operates almost completely out of the sight of the Presidency, and left the VP without a constitutional role, except at the pleasure of the President. Two, the U.S. constitution calls for only a majority of either "the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as congress" to declare the president unable to perform his duties. The U.S. constitution allows the president to dispute such a declaration according to additional procedures. In the Nigerian constitution, this whole process was replaced with two-thirds of only the "executive council of the Federation", and a medical examination of the president. This innocent-looking changes failed to anticipate a president going AWOL and holding the nation to RANSOM for any reason, including medical ones. As such, Nigeria became a headless monster in which officials tell shameful lies and citizens dejected as important national issues are left unattended.

As the Yorubas would say: " Oba to je ti ilu toro, oruko re ko ni pare, oba to si je ti ilu baje, oruko re na ko ni pare". In essence both good and bad rulers would be remembered, but Nigeria is yet to really find a good leader to remember. Let's ensure that our next set of leaders are good for us.


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They are so many irrelevant issues in Nigeria
If I begin to count them, I wouldn't finish it on this thread.

yeah verily, but as long as vengeful selection keeps being practiced by monkeys who fashion themselves to be Machiavellian princes then the process continues anew.

Until we the people actively hold the so called leaders accountable by physically confronting them and making them understand they are not safe if we are not safe, they cannot live peacefully if they don't govern right then they will not take us seriously.