By Ibe Ikwechegh

It is now known that at the moment, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ceased to be Nigeria’s president-elect but is the president of Nigeria.

The oath he took, together with his lieutenant on the 29th May 2023, was among other things, to bear true allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria; To discharge his duties faithfully and in accordance with the Constitution and the Law; not to allow his personal interest to influence his official conduct and decisions; To do right to all manner of people and to devote himself to the service and well-being of the people of Nigeria.

The oath as it were sealed his social contract with the people of Nigeria, with the Constitution being the terms. Yet, this event comes at the lowest point of our history as a nation albeit, arguably a democratic event. And so, I wished that, on that score I would have been content like Charles Dicken to say that ‘it is the best of times, it is the worst of times.’ But that would be disingenuous. The oath of office was taken against the backdrop of a disunited nation, ailing economy, inflation, tribal distrust, religious acrimony, insurgency, insecurity, allegation of electoral fraud, discontentment, lack of faith in institutions of justice, and general hardship. It is the worst of times and it is the worst of times.  

How does a presidential oath pan out in such a desperate and precarious season?

The presidential oath not to allow personal interest to influence his official conduct and decisions connotes more than mere pecuniary interest. It includes religious and ideological interests.  Our Constitution stands for secularism. As a Christian myself, I view with suspicion the word secular; for to me, it means to minimise God and subject His existence to utter relegation. But as a lawyer, I understand secularism as an imperative for any working democracy. Our relationship with God is personal and ought not to come in conflict with our relationship with the greater society, much less in governance in which diverse beliefs and non-beliefs are all components. And so, for me, intelligent secularism is to hold our religious values in a manner that permits the fostering of constitutional and democratic goals.

It is possible to see at once how a nation run by a president and its lieutenant, who are of the same religious faith, would present much consternation to those of diverse faith and leave distrustful, most of their policies. That each of their policies would be subjected to a higher degree of scrutiny in the light of religious influence is inescapable. And that opposition to their policies would be misjudged as not objective if it consists predominantly of elements of another faith is inevitable. And the tragedy in such is that good counsel may be muzzled. The antidote does not lie in the repetition of any avowed creed to live by the dictates of the Constitution but to assure the Nation through action that there is indeed ‘secularism’ and ‘inclusivism’ in the governance ahead.

The political thoughts of President Tinubu and his vice must be autonomous of their religious and tribal sentiments and indeed a resentment of the idea that any tribe or religion should be treated with inequality or the notion that any opinion is invalid merely because it stems from a different religion. Opinions must not be held with preference if it stems from a favoured religious quarter for this is how the seed of mediocrity is sown. This is indeed the meaning of secularism. It is only in this way that the president and his vice may truly boast that their personal religious interests have not influenced their official conduct and decisions.

Similarly, to do right to all manner of people contained in the oath connotes equal protection which in essence is that people of whatever political affiliation, tribe, or religion would be treated equally under the governing policies of Tinubu. Institutions of the executive would have to treat all individuals similarly circumstanced in the same manner. 

In his 1994 inauguration speech, Dr. Nelson Mandela said: “We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white will able to walk tall without any fear in their hearts, assured of their right to inalienable human dignity”

And so, our interaction with the new government must be that which will offer us greater opportunity for participation and more impactful of our aspirations as citizens. And this is often reflected in equal development, equal appointment, and equal opportunity.

Thus, the oath requires the President to be willing to connect with a wider variety of values, engendered by constitutionalism. Only such a president would be acknowledged as having transported himself to that higher level of awareness and consciousness to indeed earn, not just the applause of all, but the cooperation of the governed. As Jeremy Bentham would say, the power of the governor is constituted in the obedience of the governed. This does not only hold true for Bethamites, it holds universal political truth.  Indeed, the cooperation of the people is what will sustain the power of this new government.

African leaders ignorant of this dynamic spend more of their useful energy and resources trying to coerce cooperation which saddles them with constant war with dissident elements. In this regard, respecting the views of the governed is key. These views are very often expressed by protests. Inferentially, this government must accept that protest is not only constitutional but latent in its oath to devote itself to the people’s wellbeing.  An example that forces itself to note is the President’s remark about the removal of fuel subsidy, which he had asserted would be done in spite of any protest. Coincidentally, most of those who aspired for that office shared the same view that subsidy must end. But to assert that the people’s views on the point would be disregarded is to get one’s government jumpstarted with discontentment. This government must know to deal with protests, it is not only imperative for good governance but implicit in their oath of office.

Accordingly, the new government must apprehend at once that resistance is not altogether evil but a call to action for a discerning government. Samuel West in his 1776 paper (On the Right to Rebel Against Governors) says that the same principles which oblige us to submit to government do equally oblige us to resist tyranny. Indeed, and I might add that resisting tyranny does not make a people terrorist as the previous government is wont to think, but tyranny in itself is terrorism to the people.

The new government has also sworn to be loyal to the Constitution and the country. Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe said in his 1963 speech, “Loyalty to one’s country is the most precious tribute a patriot can pay to his native land. Faithfulness to duty is the most acceptable service expected from a conscientious servant.” Very often African leaders subvert the Constitution by amending it and tinkering with it.  A Constitution is a document that should be relatively eternal. We very often argue, and bravely so, that society morphs and so also must the document that spells out their relationship with the government. But political experience has not shown this to be true. Half of the time, constitutional amendments have been to meet some clandestine needs of those in power.

The piece of document enacted 200 years ago has remained the US Constitution with only a handful of amendments and thus the American experience is the most forceful argument that society can still be dynamic without undue tinkering with their legal grundnorm. The eagerness, alacrity, and propensity to amend Constitution and indeed the laws shows a government that cannot be trusted for no people like the ‘goal post shifted at random’. I do not debunk the idea that these are parliamentary processes conducted by our representatives but it must not also be debunked that these are the germ of tyranny of the majority.

Tinubu’s actions ought to be that which comes from a deep conviction, not only that the Constitution is supreme, but that it has both letters and a spirit and that what are unconstitutional are not merely those that run contrary to the letters of that law but also those that also vex its spirit. A policy may not technically be contrary to the letters of the Constitution and yet militate against that which any true democratic constitutionalism stands for.

I believe that these few highlights discussed here are covered by the presidential oath of office and audaciously assert that except these are heeded, the oath of President Tinubu and his vice would amount to nothing but a half-hearted leitmotif intended to mean nothing or at worst a disingenuous vow lacking in any form of solemnity.  

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has taken his oath in the worst and most insincere of times, it remains to see how best he would fulfill them while keeping him in our prayers.

Chief Ibe Ikwechegh, Legal Practitioner and Consultant with Indent

SomberTuesday! The transition has ended. A new President is in office. While the lawsuits challenging the election results continue, the “emil’okan era has begun. It remains to be seen whether the courts would give serious consideration to the challengers’ claims. Yesterday, as the inauguration ceremonies proceeded, people did what they usually do with every administration. Many called for unity. Being ultra-religious people, Nigerians called for prayers for the new administration. Many of the calls remind me of some truisms. One is “the end justifies the means.” It doesn’t seem to matter how power is attained. What matters is that it is. The people are ever ready to close ranks behind the powerful. This tendency is normal for people who want stability and see challenges as dangerous as well as destabilizing. I remain appalled by Nigeria’s performance in terms of women’s political participation. I am hopeful that the country redeems its reputation on this matter. Nigeria’s gender policy is that there should be 35% women’s participation, but remain a minute minority in the National Assembly. Nigerians should be aware that Rwanda has women as more than 65% of its legislators, and so many other African countries have over 30%. It is puzzling and disturbing that there is public outcry. Only very few courageous women’s rights activists and NGOs demand gender equality and equity in representation.

The emil’okan era confirms Nigeria’s commitment towards a predominantly ableist, oligarchic gerontocracy. This is clear because youths (under 30 years old ) are 70 percent of Nigeria’s population and approximately 133 million people (63 percent of Nigeria’s population) are multidimensionally poor. Further, people living with disabilities are not in positions of authority, whether elected or appointed.

Another top priority for Nigeria is tackling the catastrophic problems of insecurity, abductions and kidnappings. The state as an institution is weak/ineffectual when such problems are allowed to persist unchecked. Does the Nigerian state lack capacity and political will to respond? Is this situation tenable? Without the positive transformation of Nigeria’s political, economic and social institutions, and without excellent infrastructure, we will not have an end to these devastating hydra-headed monsters.

Unemployment and underemployment are also pervasive and seemingly intractable. Nigeria must give focused and urgent attention to creating decent jobs for all citizens, not just the privileged and well-connected. Whether we like it or not, there is a social contract between the Nigerian people and our leaders. This is why people are hopeful when new administrations come into power. They express optimism about what is possible. The calls for unity, prayers, and support for the emil’okan administration are reminding the new government that it owes Nigerians a duty, and the people will unite as well as pray for its success.

Democracy? What does it mean without electoral integrity? Is INEC functioning well as an election management body? How about nation-building? Without access to, even guarantees to the full rights of citizenship, we would have failed at building a nation that serves us all. Justice must be seen to available to all of us for the unity that people are advocating to materialize. Equity and equality are also essential preconditions for political, social, and economic transformation but there seems to be a profound lack of desire to do so.

Democracy means, among other things, that all Nigerians have full and equal access to citizenship rights. It also means respect for fundamental principles and values including freedom, equality, fairness, equity, justice, and transparency, accountability, the rule of law, respect for human rights. If we have genuine democracy, these values should not only be rhetorically expressed, they should be felt as realities in the daily lives of all Nigerians. Nigerian youths are tired of shapa (unrelenting suffering) and rushing to japa–leaving the country by any means necessary to improve their life-chances and prospects of upward mobility. They are understandably perplexed and confused by the dominance of the octogenarians on the country’s governance systems, without much change to the status quo.

What will happen with the new currency? It’s absurd that it remains rare. When are the old notes going out of circulation? When will all ATMs does not provide money to people with deposits in the banks? When will network problems end? What does it mean to have the much-touted cashless economy? High inflation and the economic downturn are serious problems in need of urgent structural solutions. The masses are especially vulnerable to the vagaries of the affected markets.

Given the wahala that we have allowed to ramify, priority should be given to our engineering of genuine democracy and economic development, personal and human security, the wellbeing and welfare of citizens, and the masses’ ability to meet their basic needs.

EndSARS youth protesters were hopeful that the 2023 elections would bring about some movement toward changes in the status quo. The 2020 #EndSARS protests were demands for good governance, an end to police brutality, extortion, impunity, economic inequality, marginalization, targeting of youths and other minorities, and an end to political violence. They were calling for deepened democracy. However, in subversion of democratic values, state-sponsored violence was inflicted on them. Similar to the usual response to protests, the #EndSARS youths’ protests were erroneously categorized as foreign-generated, unpatriotic attempts to destabilize the country.

The 2020 Lekki massacre at #LekkiTollGate & other locations should evoke a “never again” response in Nigeria. Unity, peace, democracy and sustainable development are urgent necessities. If they are, the demands of the #EndSARS protesters must be fulfilled.

Kleptocracy has to end. Why should the resources that belong to all Nigerians be cornered by a few oligarchs? The depredations of oligarchs on the public purse has negative and devastating implications for human security for the majority. Majority of citizens in in future generations are also robbed of the benefits of being Nigerian.

We need positive transformation. Most Nigerians want a better country. We want democracy. We must be ready to embark on the quest to produce the country we want. Since we have allowed such a precipitous decline, we have an uphill task. We should be determined, tenacious, and optimistic as we all work to achieve the goals we desire.

NigerianWomenArise #EndPoliceBrutalityinNigeriaNOW

EndSars

EndSWAT

EndImpunity.

Nigerians should think deeply about Howard Zinn’s statement and its implications for our country’s economic, political, and social development:

“Civil disobedience, that’s not our problem. Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves, and all the while, the grand thieves are running the country. That’s our problem.”

In repetition of my weekly exhortation, I say:

Let the kleptocrats give back our stolen wealth so that we can fix our infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and also offer worthwhile social protection to our people. Let the masses enjoy the full benefits of citizenship in Nigeria. Let the leaders and political class repent and build peace with justice.

This is no time for politics as usual. The people elected should be those trusted to bring justice, equity and human security to the entire country, not expedient, unethical and egocentric individuals determined to dominate for self aggrandizement or sectional gain. We don’t need oligarchs’ continued domination. We also need a government that puts the interests of majority of citizens first. I hope this happens in my lifetime.

Prof. Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome is a professor of political science at Brooklyn College in New York.