2023: Of Pardon, Accountability and Deferred HopeHappy Easter my dear Readers. Whither to Nigeria?

Happy Easter my dear Readers.
Whither to Nigeria?
Where is Nigeria presently, and where are we headed to as a country? If we were on the right track, we would be heading in the direction of the goals set out in Chapter II of the Constitution – that is, the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy. Unfortunately, as the days and years go by, we drift further away from these laudable objectives. I cannot say that we are regressing, because many things were definitely better in the past than they are now. For one, 25 years ago, Nigeria did not have this terrible insecurity situation, nor were we so divided along ethnic lines, nor were people this hungry.

While this administration cannot wash its hands and absolve itself of blame for Nigeria’s present condition like Pilate sought to do for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the major cause of Nigeria’s problems today is our completely flawed system which has been perpetuated by successive governments, accentuated by politicians, and has led to a progressive decline in most aspects of our country and society.
As we start the next electoral cycle and the process leading up to the ‘almighty’ 2023 elections unfolds, our hopes that things may change for the better with a swap of baton are being continuously dashed; as clear as day, the signs are there for all to see – nothing has changed, and not much is likely to change for the better in 2023 (call me a pessimist, if you like).

From the empty promises being made by the main opposition party, PDP, the same way the APC made their empty promises to Nigerians in 2015; to the incessant cross-carpeting of Politicians from APC to PDP and vice versa, so much so that Nigerians have lost track of who is a member of which political party; to the recycling of the same old Politicians who have been a part of Nigeria’s failure, and little hope for new entrants who may be more capable; to the undemocratic  selection of so-called “consensus” candidates at the recently conducted APC party primaries which seemed more like an imposition by the powers that be, in order to maintain control/the status quo and continue the old order of things – the list of the indicators for failure, is endless. It is discouraging.

Pardon and Corruption
The foundation for positive change, is certainly not being laid. At every given point, when opportunities for making positive change that will benefit society are available, those who should take these opportunities prefer to go in the opposite direction.  A recent example of Government’s lack of will to effect positive change, is the pardon that was granted to two ex-Governors, Jolly Nyame of Taraba State and Joshua Dariye of Plateau State. Why then doesn’t Government just open the doors of all the Correctional Centres in the country and let out all the inmates, especially those awaiting trial for petty crimes, only keeping those who are serving sentences for the commission of violent crimes incarcerated? If we take a poll, we will probably discover that the allegations levelled against 80% of those incarcerated or have been convicted for one offence or the other, do not compare in value to the offences that these two ‘pardonees’ were convicted for.

Jolly Nyame was serving a 12 year prison term for committing fraud to the tune N1.6 billion. He admitted to the misappropriation of the sum of N180 million out of N250 million, funds meant for the purchase of Taraba State stationery, and  offered to refund same. Similarly, Joshua Dariye was serving a 10 year prison term for money laundering and diversion of ecological funds amounting to about N1.1 billion. Their sentences had been affirmed by the Supreme Court. Granted, the amounts involved in their cases are relatively small compared to the amounts involved in allegations levelled against a considerable number of politicians, including some top members of the ruling party, APC’s executive, government and even legislature; but barely three years or less into their sentences, these two were pardoned by the President.

A Government that came into office on a firm campaign mantra of fighting and eradicating corruption, it seems that this fight has been abandoned, or maybe it never really took off! What message is Nigeria sending to the world by pardoning these two former Governors? That corruption is fine, or at best. it is only a misdemeanour in Nigeria? And that, even if an individual is found guilty of corruption, there are minimum consequences for such acts? That in Nigeria, our Government more or less encourages corruption?

What does Granting a Pardon Mean?
To pardon somebody, is simply the act of forgiving them for a mistake or offence. In the context of this discussion, Section 175 (1)(a) of the Constitution empowers the President to forgive (pardon)  any person concerned with or convicted of any offence created by an Act of the National Assembly. Such pardon may be free, or subject to lawful conditions. Section 175(2) provides that the powers of the President under Section 175(1) shall be exercised by him after consultation with the Council of State. I believe that the President purported to exercise his powers in this regard, consequent upon the Council of State meeting which held last Thursday. Some have criticised the President’s powers to grant pardons as being too wide, as there does not seem to be anything in the Constitution stopping the President from exercising these powers, even if the Council of State does not agree with his decision. To consult simply means to seek their advice; the Constitution does not provide that the President must accept the advice of the Council of State. To complete the process of the President granting a pardon, it must be published in the Federal Gazette. See Section 212 of the Constitution giving Governors similar powers to grant pardons, for persons convicted for offences created by the laws of the Houses of Assembly.  

In Falae v Obasanjo (No.2) 1999 4 N.W.L.R. Part 307 Page 588 at 604 the Court of Appeal per Musdapher JCA (as he then was) held inter alia that: “The effect of a pardon is to make the offender, a new man (novus homo), to acquit him of all corporal penalties and forfeitures annexed to the offence pardoned”. The Court of Appeal was of the view that the pardon granted to General Obasanjo was free and not subject to any conditions, thereby erasing any disqualification that he would have suffered by virtue of his conviction by the Abacha Government. Also see the case of United States v George Wilson 32 US 150 (1833) where the foundation for pardon was laid by the US Supreme Court.

Certainly Section 175 gives the President wide powers to grant a pardon to whoever he desires, but it is expected that he would exercise these powers suitably and correctly. And, even if President Buhari’s actions were carried out in accordance to the said Section 175, they reflect very badly on his administration’s so-called fight against corruption. If anything, these particular pardons seem to fan the flames of corruption. One reason for this assertion is that, the effect of the pardon without conditions for instance, is that it wipes away the effect of Sections 66(1)(d), 107(1)(d), 137 (1)(e) & 182(1)(e) which prohibit an individual from running for various elective offices, if within a period of less than 10 years to the election, they have been convicted and sentenced for an offence involving dishonesty or have been found guilty of contravening the Code of Conduct. This means that for example, Joshua Dariye who was a member of the Senate at the time of his conviction less than 10 years ago, by virtue of his pardon is now eligible and can simply pick up a form and run in the 2023 elections for Senate again. Possibly, if any money was forfeited by Jolly Nyame, will it be returned to him, even after he admitted to misappropriating N180 million? Secondly, it seems that, by granting these ex-Governors pardon, this time around, it is the Executive that has succeeded in sabotaging the fight against corruption, not the Judiciary; not to mention the time and resources wasted in prosecuting both cases to the Supreme Court.

Lack of Accountability
Then we have the issue of lack of accountability of Government encouraged by Section 6(6)(c) of the Constitution, which ousts the jurisdiction of the courts when it comes to matters concerning Chapter II of the Constitution, which are essentially the crux of governance. It is a contraption of the military mentality – donation of absolute powers to Government to do as they please. An autocratic provision in a constitution – the very antithesis of democracy!
If there was any form of accountability, how would the Governor of Zamfara State be able to get away with making such a reckless expenditure – the purchase of 260 luxury vehicles for traditional rulers in his State under the guise of recognising the status of traditional institutions, while his people are living in abject poverty and suffering, plus constant insecurity and incessant attacks from bandits, as a result of which hundreds of thousands of families in Zamfara have been displaced?

A few months ago, a video went viral of a Zamfara lady who was seen crying and lamenting to the Government to come to the rescue of Zamfarans from insecurity. Instead of spending the funds on securing the State, or on assisting displaced persons, or on empowerment programmes for the unemployed youths, the Governor who was formerly of the PDP and got into office by a stroke of luck because of APC’s problem in Zamfara during the 2019 election then subsequently defected to APC for his own self-aggrandisement, and is now taking not-so-subtle steps to ensure that he secures a second term – the purchase of these vehicles to curry favour, is one of such steps.

After a bit of murmuring, that was the end of it. This is only one example of the lengths that politicians will go to, to secure their party tickets and win the elections, using State/Government/Public funds. So what, if with the enactment of the Electoral Act 2022 there are innovations that will assist INEC to deliver better and more credible elections? If the process leading up to the actual elections is faulty and crooked, it will definitely be garbage in and garbage out. Where then, will the positive change that Nigerians desire come from?

Conclusion
Will the change of baton in 2023 be the magic wand to end insecurity, poverty and corruption? The answer to this question is a resounding No! So far, what I see on the journey to 2023 is ‘business as usual’. Without a deep reappraisal of Nigeria’s structure and systems, a blueprint on how to move this nation forward, a fixation on putting round pegs in round holes, I fear that those who are looking to 2023 for some sort of miraculous change in Nigeria’s circumstances are doing so based on baseless hope.

P.S.
My heart goes out to the abductees from the Kaduna train incident and their families; to the Chibok girls who remain in captivity eight years later and their families; to Leah Sharibu, the only Dapchi girl who remains unaccounted for, over four years after the abduction incident, and her mother who must be going through so much pain, not knowing the whereabouts of and condition her daughter is in; and to the families of those who were massacred in Plateau State recently; the family of the INEC staff who was murdered in Imo State last week, and the others who were abducted; and to the children of late Osinachi Nwachukwu, the gospel singer who is said to have died as a result of domestic violence.