Akinyemi Onigbinde

By New Independence Group

Very early in the life of the Buhari administration, a crisis broke out in the presidential Villa over who should be responsible for the president’s safety. The disagreement led to an exchange of memos that found their ways into public domain, between the Aide de Camp to the president and his Chief Security Officer. While the general public was so eager to move beyond trivialities as it anticipated the promised change, it was nonetheless an early sign that the transition period hadn’t been enough to sort out simple internal issues such as who should do what, talk less of setting a workable plan of action for the incoming government.

About a year later, the media became awash with stories of clashes between the national security adviser and the Director-General of the Directorate of State Security (DSS). The feud was reported to have endangered to some extent, the probe into military procurements between 2007-2015.

It is therefore important to situate the ongoing crisis over the Senate’s refusal to confirm the appointment of Ibrahim Magu as the Chair of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission( EFCC) within the context of the endless bickerings between the appointees of the president. The Senate has on two occasions rejected Magu’s nomination over damning reports that the DSS, which is under the presidency, insists it stands by. This in turn has generated a lot of heat, polarizing public opinion over where culpability lies, as there appears to be a consensus that the internal conflict does not in any way help the fight against corruption. Some have also called for the scrapping of the Senate, because in their view, it has decided to constitute itself to an impediment on the path of the war against corruption.

We, at the New Independence Group(NIG) urge caution, especially on the side of those who see the emasculation or outright obliteration of an arm of government as a way of helping president Buhari’s fight against corruption. Not only is such a call misplaced, it is outrightly dangerous, as it constitutes a threat to the democracy we have today, even with its imperfections. No doubt, there is a fundamental need to rethink the role, size and structure of not just the Senate but the National Assembly as a whole in a viable Nigeria. Such an objective however, must be a part of more concerted efforts at overhauling the structure and system of governance in Nigeria. Such an effort will have to address the issue of how elected public officers emerge, what type of powers and privileges we accord them, and what they are expected to do with it. The present Senate, roguish as it may appear, is merely a manifestation of the more fundamental problem of systemic dysfunction. But for as long the current wobbly structure is sustained, dispensing with the Senate, or indeed any other arm of the government to make easier an agenda of another arm, especially when same appears incoherently conceived, portends serious danger.

In the last few days, Nigerians have been treated to the spectacle of the huge cash discovery at an apartment in Ikoyi, a highbrow part of the commercial city of Lagos. At the centre of the unfolding case are yet again, two agencies of the government – the EFCC and the National Intelligence Agency(NIA). Already, insinuations about inter-agency rivalry are rife. Irrespective of the outcome of the investigation the president has ordered into the matter, at least one the agencies is likely to come out worse.

It is time for president Buhari to rise up to the occasion and demonstrate effective leadership in running the affairs of state. Being effective does not require that he acquires more power as some have been suggesting. Rather, he needs to deploy to more fruitful ends, the powers that his office commands already. This will mean among other things, finding a template for working with other arms and levels of government to bring about the fulfillment of his electoral promises to Nigerians. Current efforts to get the nation moving forward seem disparate and uncoordinated at ministerial, state-federal and even government-party levels. While the President and his partymen have managed to avoid the drama and counter-accusations of budget padding that characterized the last budget, it is unfortunate that the budget for the current year is yet to get passed, with about a third of the year gone. There also appears to be no coordinated efforts with the states to facilitate quick economic recovery and growth.

Two years into his tenure, with the next election lurking in the horizon as is characteristic of our national politics, the president is pressed for time in bringing all necessary institutions on board to find solutions to the myriad of problems facing the nation. That will however be doubly difficult to achieve if he is unable to get a grip on his appointees, and make them bury their ego and ambitions, to help drive his vision.

-statement signed for the Group by: Professor Akinyemi Onigbinde, the Convener