Presidential pardon: what is wrong with it?

I have exercised a bit of restraint talking about the presidential pardon granted some interesting individuals by Mr. President.

The whole idea of state pardon didn't start with Mr. President and so should not be seen as his invention; so many other instances of state pardon have been granted across the globe and quite a number of them came with cries and woes.

Mr. President has therefore not done anything strange to the history of mankind in practical sense but his action has successfully written for him yet another history.

For all we care, state pardon isn't meant for people who have not committed offences against the law as it were; it is actually meant for people who have been found wanting and/or pronounced guilty by a competent court of law. So again, if Mr. President in his wisdom has decided to grant criminals state pardon; I can’t agree any less that is still within the purpose of its initial design.

The pronouncement of Mr. President like I have observed since it was made had been welcomed by a number of reaction. Very few of these reactions that appear to be in support of his action are those from his paid aides, party chieftains of PDP or old legal giants who seem to be battling the old age syndrome; the rest which clearly represents the true feelings of the people condemns in strong term the action and this is equally my standpoint.

I have not arrived at this conclusion mainly because quite a number of people share this bias, No!

From whichever angle we choose to see this, whether from the legal or moral point of view, very many arguments would emanate and it may not be totally correct for anyone to lay claim to his point view as what is generally acceptable. For those who have raised the legal correctness of this pronouncement, what I have read in majority is that the President has a right to grant pardon to people but that his choice of Mr. Dipriye Alameiyeisegha and Bulama amounts to gross abuse of such powers; this is a question of opinion.

I am not a lawyer and as such would not want to bother debating the constitutional rights of Mr. president as far as this pardon is concerned; what is important to me is the import of this pronouncement, its implication on the psyche of an average Nigerian, the promotion of class argument and above all, its placement within the confines of common sense.

Of all of these arguments, that which is widely debatable is the moral implication of the pronouncement.

In the spirit of forgiveness, I would have agreed with Mr. Doyin Okupe that given the purported contributions of Mr. Dipriye Alameiyeisegha after serving his terms to the Niger delta and Nigeria as a whole; there is no harm in forgiving Mr. Dipriye Alameiyeisegha.

However, I have also come to understand that forgiveness doesn’t come as a dash. I can’t remember if at any point, Mr. Dipriye Alameiyeisegha had apologized to the people of Bayelsa state or to Nigerians as a whole; this atleast would have created a basis for even discussing whether or not he should be granted any form of pardon. The crimes of Mr. Dipriye Alameiyeisegha transcend robbing the people of their collective heritage; his actions and inactions must also have led to deaths of some others indirectly.  Mr. Dipriye Alameiyeisegha is equally a fugitive as I write.

What then is wrong with the idea of state pardon in my personal opinion? The main problem I have with this is Mr. President himself. He, being my reason, I sadly can’t see anything right in his pronouncement.

What is equally wrong about the pardon is the fact that Mr. Dipriye Alameiyeisegha is for some reasons placed side by side the likes of Oladipupo Diya, Late. General Shehu Musa Yar’adua, and late General Abdulkareem Adisa; where is the correlation?

Mr. President, over a long period of time had earned for himself the status of a man whose actions and utterances are always at loggerheads just as he has successfully assumed the status of a man that should never be trusted.

For a man who has several misquoted Transparency International, who has continuously over rated his fight against corruption, who has misrepresented facts about the power sector on CNN, one would have expected that he thinks deeply about the move before the disgraceful pronouncement. Thankfully, the United State of America didn’t mince words in stating categorically her standpoint on the pardon granted.

It is worth a mention that Mr. DSP is a criminal of international dimension. His crimes didn’t only deprive the people of state whose heritage he kept in trust, he equally brought shame to the country especially considering the miraculous way through which he left the borders of the United Kingdom. This then calls to question Mr. President’s appreciation of bilateral relationships with countries especially in the areas of promoting democratic norms, good governance and economic development.

With this pronouncement, for a fact, Mr. Dipriye Alameiyeisegha now has a right to contest any election in the country; watch out for some serious politicking in Bayelsa state.

For those who have raised the issue of timing, my response is simple. This pronouncement would never have been good at any time except NEVER! The truth would not assume the state of falsehood in a hundred year period vice versa; so whether Mr. President had done this now or towards the end of his regime, it would have made no difference except for political calculations and this also would have been useful to the extent that people who actually voted Mr. Goodluck at the last election would ever overcome their ‘goodluck’ fever.

I see Mr. President in is usual character coming up with a defense, that also would only further strengthen the fact that we have a man who is lost in his own web of confusion!

I would rather expect him to rescind the decision, have Mr. Dipriye Alameiyeisegha extradited to the United Kingdom and have him answer fully for his crimes. Anything short of this would have successfully assured people in government to go ahead with the looting with the hope that as long as a friend is at the helms of affairs, the can get away with anything.

 Nigerians are watching; God bless Nigeria

RE: LETTER OF COMMENDATION TO PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN, BY THE ABIOLA FAMILY ON THE RECOGNITION AND HONOUR ACCORDED CHIEF M.K.O ABIOLA.

I have taken my time to read through the letter written by the Abiola family and cannot but appreciate the fact that for every matter bothering on human interactions, we are bound to see it differently. This said difference is either informed by our understanding of life and the said matter or family background and upbringing.

I would not venture into reacting directly to the words of their letter which in my own opinion squarely represents their views and I totally respect it. Afterall, we have different attachment to the man in question, Bashorun MKO Abiola.

I would rather attempt to look at the issue in my own perspective which I have already come to realise is shared by quite a number of individuals. I have tried hard to talk to some of my friends on this matter and canvas for a proper analysis of the renaming of UniLAG and its attendant implication on our democracy and unity as a people.

For all I care, I didn't follow MKO Abiola nor subscribe to his heroic feat because he's Kola or Lola or Deji's father, I did because as I grew up, I came to understand the importance of his sacrifice to our currently mismanaged democracy.

If the Abiolas choose to go by the “half a loaf is better than none” way of over blowing this 'honour', so be it. It doesn't stand in my way as an ardent follower of political developments in Nigeria to posit that the honour does more harm to MKO than good.

It is very important to separate issues so that points are not muddled up. The whole essence at the end of the day is to ensure that we all understand the need for honour to be given to whom it's due without abusing the institution the man had died for.

I would also like to point out how unfortunate the reaction of UniLAG student is but not without giving it a fair judgment of historical appreciation. How many of these kids have a thorough understanding of the postures of MKO Abiola pre and post 1993 before he was eventually murdered under one of the world most dreaded conspiracy. Second, UniLAG is that school where student activists have gone ahead to burn down the VC's lodge and other buildings claiming that the Dean of Students' Affairs killed the Students' Union Public Relations Officer over the phone through black magic popularly called 'APETA' in Yoruba. Summing all of these, I have personally seen a great departure from the days of Sowore in UniLAG. That said, we also cannot but agree that there is so much energy and passion within the student community making it very convenient to push them around. I truly feel sorry for them especially having to confront policemen over an issue they truly don't understand its workings.

Back to my point; in this renaming saga, 2 things are involved; whether or not MKO deserves to be honoured and then the honour itself.

Number one is straight forward! For reasons a lot of people and even his family members have quoted and for reasons we all cannot run away from, he deserves to be honoured over and over again.

On the honour itself, if we choose to see it as half a loaf, there is no point going any further. Obasanjo had refused to honour this man for the whole of his 8 years as the President, he even refused to have the Abuja stadium named after Abiola nor ever mentioned his name once in all of his national broadcasts; so for GEJ to have thought of this, we should sing hosanna and endorse him for 2015 is quite laughable.

Quoting freely from the submission of Barrister Jiti Ogunye, a submission my standpoint is in tandem with:
"First, let us deal with the statutory power of President Jonathan to rename UniLAG, if any. UniLAG is a federal government institution, and cursorily, it may appear that the President, being the head of Nigeria and head of the Federal Executive Branch of Government possesses the powers to rename any federal institution, including an academic institution, solely owned and funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria. As the law stands today, the President does not have the power to rename the University. The University of Lagos Act, Cap. U9, Volume 15, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, was made, by Decree No 3 of 1967, which came into effect on 1st April, 1967, and is deemed to be an Act that was duly made by the National Assembly, was so made “to provide for the establishment and incorporation of the University of Lagos, and to make a comprehensive provision for its due administration”.  Section 1(1& 2) of the Act provides that “ there is hereby established a University to be known as the University of Lagos to provide courses of instruction and learning in the faculties of arts, law, medicine, science, education, commerce and business, administration, engineering, and any other faculties which may , from time to time, be approved under the Act;  and ‘ the University shall be a body corporate and shall have perpetual succession and a common seal”
Thus, the name-University of Lagos- is a creation of an Act that was made by the National Assembly of Nigeria. This being so, the name can only be changed by a legislative enactment, amending the University of Lagos Act, upon a bill to this effect being passed by both Houses of the National Assembly, and being assented to by the President. If the President declines to assent, by vetoing such a bill, the two Chambers of the National Assembly may override the President’s veto and pass into law the bill amending the Act. In the light of the foregoing explanation, the name change that the President purported to have effected in his broadcast today, (May 29, 2012: emphasis and date addition is mine), is illegal, null and void and of no effect. That change of name is tantamount to usurping the legislative powers of the National Assembly."

It is very unlikely that Abiola would be glad that he is honoured by a process that abuses the institution he died for considering the power separation clause in the Nigeria Constitution.

Secondly, the renaming seems more like making an ethnic nonsense of the feat of MKO. All he stood for was not about being a South Westerner or an Egba man. He struggled and died for what is today being enjoyed by us all. So, the UniLAG choice localises all of these. Relying on my first point and the articulate submission of Barrister Ogunye, Mr. President wouldn't have needed the National Assembly to rename Aso Rock Villa, National Stadium, Abuja or the Federal Secretariat Abuja after Bashorun MKO. This would have represented a more national perspective and also save the injury of power abuse.

Subtly, is renaming the priority of UniLAG as an institution? I'd say No! UniLAG, like every other institution needs to have teaching, learning and living conditions improved upon and not renaming. This action has very little or almost no effect on the betterment of the institution. Mr. President should also have been fair enough not because he needs their consent, give a heads-up to the authorities of the school about the impending change of name. This is about inclusion in policy making. I'm also tempted to posit that a school just recovering from the sudden demise of a serving Vice Chancellor needs a level of pamper and not hard knocks.

Most importantly is the fact that this honour as renaming seem to represent is a far cry from what Bashorun MKO deserves. Mr. President should not cheaply cash into the mindlessness of Chief Obasanjo at the detriment of the merit of Abiola's sacrifice. The only full honour anyone can do is to correct the wrong that was done to Bashorun Abiola and by extension all Nigerians living or dead who stood strongly by the 1993 mandate. This is indeed a huge task but it truly would've helped set the records straight. Mr. President fell short of the posture of someone prepared for such task when he referred to Abiola as a "presumed winner" of the June 12 election. He probably has lost track of history or attempting to pass a polite insult. The elections of Saturday, June 12, 1993 by every standard represents the freest and fairest elections ever conducted on the soil of this country and we are all witness to the fact that Abiola's victory spoke volume and crushed ethnical and religious barriers unlike the pattern recorded in the 2011 elections. To tag such victory as "presumed" is selfish and embarrassing.
The honour Abiola deserves is to be posthumously recognised as a President of this country and have his picture and name included in the history books of Nigeria’s Past Presidents. The mandate he got was and is worth more than the 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011 watershed mandates put together. Then, celebrating June 12 as the true Democracy day would've been the icing on the cake of honour. It would even have been enough if Mr. President made the move by passing such a bill down to the Legislature for adoption. Anything short of this is in my opinion less attractive.

The failure to follow the due process in renaming UniLAG equally calls for concern. Nigeria wouldn't have gone to war if the pronouncement wasn't made on May 29. For a man who had full access to the Minister of Justice for advice, who had his personal lawyers, party lawyers and advisers on legal matters, I can't but be forced to submit that this decision was an afterthought. Someone somewhere should've guided him and helped him understand the dangers in such pronouncements. It wasn’t life threatening even though the true honour Abiola deserves is long overdue.

The greatest undoing of Mr. President is that he has reduced himself to such a level that an average Nigerian doesn't see anything good coming from him owing to his public utterances and goofs on matters of national interest especially security. One can therefore begin to understand why it was convenient for students to take to the street without a proper understanding of what was involved. So long it's a pronouncement of Mr. President; something about it has to be wrong.

In conclusion, I sincerely find it understandable for the Family to accept the renaming as a well deserved honour considering for how long they have waited. I am just not comfortable with the whole Abiola struggle being privatised by the family. So, in the long run, it is not for them to mistake their agreement with the move as a de facto decision all Nigerians must applaud. Also introducing the issue of 2015 as a reason for protesting the ’honour’ is very unfortunate. The Abiola family of today cannot mobilise a fraction of the crowd of 1993 and as it stands don't even represent a formidable force within the Nigeria political equation; hence, assuring GEJ of any support whether now or towards 2015 is only a way of showing appreciation for what they see as a personal gift to the family.

The legacies of Abiola shall remain so long as we are able to keep our democracy in order and one day, we shall have a leader whose emergence would help right the wrongs and injustices suffered by the true heroes of democracy. Then they shall be properly honoured and kept in the rightful place in the book of history. Until then, the struggle continues.

Long live Nigeria.