It is fair to say that 80 percent of Nigerian problems are man-made. When some problems are on their way to been solved, some Nigerians starts digging another costly hole for the country. They are two important issues that are making their way quietly in the National Assembly. The first is Sharia amendment and the next is conferment of immunity clause on the principal officers of the National Assembly, and the third issue is the dangerous turn in the war on corruption.
The three issues mentioned above are threat to Nigerian democracy and corporate existence. Nigerians are going through rough and brutal economic times yet what seems to be the most important issue on the plate of the National Assembly is constitutional amendment. Nigerian constitution is fine and not in dire need of reform or amendment because what ails Nigeria has never been the constitution but the people who are implementing the laws written in the constitution.
Expansion of Sharia law included in the on-going effort to amend Nigerian constitution to cover criminal matters have passed several readings in the House of Representatives. They want the Sharia law to cover all the states even though Nigeria is supposed to be a secular state. Who in their right mind think that expansion of Sharia law is what Nigeria need at this time considering the fact that approximately half of Nigeria population are non-Muslim. How is this amendment going to help the peaceful co-existence of Nigeria especially when some parts of the country no longer want to be part of Nigeria partly because of issues such as Sharia. Lawmakers should be looking for ways to totally separate church and mosques from the state. Sharia should be practiced outside the corridor of government for the sake of the corporate existence of the country. Expansion of Sharia law or bible law will tear Nigeria apart in no distant future if this situation is not reversed. Some people who are supporting this issue thinks that it will never be approved by 2/3 of Nigeria states. Sharia or any religion affiliated laws should be wiped out of Nigeria constitution if this administration is interested in the corporate existence of Nigeria.
The second issue is conferment of immunity clause to the senate president and other principal officers of the National Assembly. Principal officers of the National Assembly do not need immunity. Immunity conferred on the governors is already killing Nigeria slowly. It has turned into a license to loot and plunder state government treasury. Now the officers of the National Assembly want in on it. Principal officers of the National Assembly must not be allowed to get immunity because it will constitute a threat to Nigerian democracy and good governance. United States governors and legislatures does not enjoy immunity and yet the country has maintained uninterrupted democracy for 240 years. Human beings will over reach when given the opportunity since they know that the immunity clause will protect them from prosecution.
The governors and the president are at-least limited to 4 to 8 years in office which means that they will answer for their crime after they leave office, but that is not the case with the National Assembly members who can run and stay in office indefinitely. What prevents any of the principal officers from committing crime while in office and then do whatever he or she can to stay in office indefinitely to escape justice. The worst part is that somebody can commit criminal offense and then seek election to get elected so they can be shielded from prosecution. Look at what is happening in Russia where not only the principal officers have immunity from prosecution while in office but the entire legislative members. Whoever has problem with the law do what they can to get elected to the National Assembly in-order to evade prosecution. The members then stay in office until their crime is forgotten or the statute of limitation runs out.
I suspect that principal officer’s immunity conferment will be the beginning. At some point, the entire National and State Houses of Assembly members will want theirs. The end result will be that Nigeria will lose confidence in democracy and military takeover will be inevitable since that will be the only way to get them out of power. I am hopeful that president Buhari will never consent to the immunity clause amendment, however, it is likely that the National Assembly will over-ride the president veto. I know that Nigerian will prefer military rule to national and state legislature with immunity which will be a license to loot the national treasury.
War on corruption appears to have taken a wrong turn due to President Buhari’s selective prosecution and shielding of friends and appointees from investigation. Some of president Buhari’s friends and appointees in his administration accused of corruption has been swiftly cleared by his government without allowing EFCC to conduct adequate investigation and either prosecute or exonerate them. President Buhari is on the verge of losing credibility on his war on corruption. When a leader loses credibility, all his effort will end up in vain because people will discard what his or her argument and what he said in prosecuting the war on corruption. His first attempt in waging war on corruption when he was the military head of state was discarded because of the way he prosecuted that war. Nigerians knows that some members of his cabinet are corrupt. Some have stolen money in their past jobs, yet they were rewarded with ministerial and other government jobs.
Army Chief of Defense staff, Mr. Burutai owned or invested multi-million dollar properties in Dubai on his government salary and so called savings but he was swiftly cleared by the Code of Conduct Bureau and the army without adequate investigation by EFCC. Where did he get millions of dollars he invested in Dubai properties? It is a question Nigerians wants to know the answer to. Hundreds of Shite was massacred when his motorcade and the army clashed with shite religious sect but no credible investigation, reprimand, sanction or dismissal have taken place so far. Another Bihari’s cabinet member, General Abdulrahman who is the Interior minister is known to be extremely wealthy from his meager government salary. He has properties overseas worth millions of dollars and properties in Nigeria worth billions of Naira. Where did he get the money? President Buhari cannot afford to be regarded as a hypocrite. Your credibility will be shut if his present attitude towards his friends and members of his cabinet and other officials in his government continues. Let EFCC beam their search light on your appointees as well as the opposition and ordinary Nigerians. It is the only way to convince Nigerians that you are fair and evenhanded. Such approach will restore the trust of some Nigerians who are already disappointed in his war on corruption. Doing whatever is possible to demonstrate to Nigerians that you are even handed will rally Nigerians around your objective of wiping out or reducing corruption in Nigeria.