NASS: Impeach Obasanjo now
By Musa Ilallah
musahk123@yahoo.com
NIGERIA’S National Assembly(NASS) has of late been the hope and final arbiter of the mess the presidency has put this country into in the last eight years of its democratic experiment. To it, it is no longer news to say that President Olusegun Obasanjo has put this country under serious threat and tense because of the self-centred, parochial, vindictive and tribal agenda he has been foisting on the country and her nationals.
This country has suffered from all angles in the tyrannical hands of Obasanjo. The polity, economy and social settings have been devastated by PDP’s anti-people policies and progammes under the careful eyes of Obasanjo.
In its concerned response to the public outcries of the misrule of President Obasanjo towards the end of his first term, the National Assembly and the House of Representatives in particular under the direct supervision of former speaker, Ghali Umar Na’Abba made a fundamental move to address the issues and save the country from the impending crisis and catastrophe staring the country in the face. Members of the House in a unanimous decision which cut across party affiliations tabled a motion for the impeachment of President Olusegun Obasanjo as Nigeria ’s president.
Quite a substantial number of Nigerians then came to town and expressed their solidarity with the move which they said ‘would go along way in restoring hope and confidence in the country’s democratic experiment. They all agreed that Obasanjo has selfishly messed and tensed up the polity for bad.
Unfortunately, Nigeria’s elders, including former President Shehu Shagari, on the instruction of Obasanjo moved to Abuja to appeal to the House of Representatives to sheath their sword and drop the impeachment move.
Most Nigerians are of the view that that interference was what ‘broke the camel’s back’ in checkmating the tyrannical and dictatorial rule of the Obasanjo’s years. Nigerians have since that unpatriotic attempt not been happy with Shagari and the outcome of his interference.
Shagari and his co-peace and settlement group assured Nigerians that President Obasanjo would behave more democratic and therefore abide by the constitutional provisions in terms of policies and adherence to strict budgetary expenditures.
As a conservative military man to the core, Obasanjo did not in any way show remorse or repentance in his actions and sayings. In actual fact, he had become more and more un-democratic and vindictive in nature. He has not behaved as an elder statesman we were made to believe he was when he wanted to contest the UN Secretary Generalship during the IBB years and when he was put forward to Nigerians as the PDP presidential candidate in the 1999 elections.
As soon as he ‘got a second term’ in office, Obasanjo started his mad dog approach to matters of national importance sentimentally, sectionally and unconstitutionally.
To crown up his total disregard for the constitution of the country, Obasanjo used the PDP national executive committee meeting on the eve of last year’s Christmas to declare the office of Vice President Atiku Abubakar vacant and withdrew all the privileges attached to Atiku as vice president. He did not stop there, he ordered a sack of all the VP’s security, protocol and domestic staff; and also seal up his office and residence.
The National Assembly has since the beginning of Obasanjo second term been suffering from the frustrations of working with an arrogant, irritant, all knowing and vindictive president.
It is the firm conviction of most Nigerians that ‘enough is enough’ of the mess Obasanjo has been foisting on Nigerians. They are in agreement that the only way out of their human made predicament is finally boot Obasanjo out of office constitutionally. This means that the National Assembly, which comprised of more than 300 honourable members of the House of Representatives and 109 distinguished senators of the Federal Republic, the need for them to as quickly as possible save this country from the impending catastrophe facing us should Obasanjo remain in office till May 29, 2007, cannot be overemphasized.
Even the renowned constitutional and Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN), Prof. Ben Nwabueze had recently addressed a press conference in Lagos in which he urged the National Assembly members to impeach President Obasanjo for his continuous disregard and abuse of the Nigerian constitution.
Professor Nwabueze, who is the chairman of The Patriots, reeled off Obasanjo’s impeachable offences to include the recent sacking of Vice President Atiku Abubakar from the government for just accepting to contest the country’s presidential elections in April this year under another political party- Action Congress, AC. This action of the president is therefore described as ‘an abuse of state power and deliberate subversion of the constitution.’
It is important to once more bring to focus the eminent views of Professor Nwabueze as Nigeria’s finest, selfless, broad minded and non sentimental elders on the urgent need to crush the OBJ era and save this country from imminent collapse in view of the threat of war hanging on its neck.
Said he: “I hope the National Assembly will live up to expectation of Nigerians to see whether a man whose hands are already soiled, can come to equity. Certainly, the president has disqualified himself for justice. It is Nigeria’s misfortune that it has as a president a man who cares nothing about rule of law and whose inordinate desire for absolute unfettered power inclines him to a predilection to subvert the constitution….”
It is also the view of a cross section of Nigerians regardless of their religious or geographical backgrounds that Obasanjo has heated up the polity enough and so should be let go so that the country will return to the path of peace, progress, unity and faith which have been absent this past eight years.
May the federal legislators act conscientiously to address the matter with the urgency it deserves as they resume next week under issues of national importance. May Allah guide and protect them in this enormous, critical, distinguished and honourable job.