Leadership (Abuja)
Muyiwa Sowemimo
15 May 2008
analysis
The very first provisional section of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN, 1999) in bold but cold, lifeless print holds: '…Constitution is supreme and its provisions shall have binding force on all authorities and persons throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria' (S.1 (1), Chapter 1, Part 1, CFRN 1999).
As far as no man or official is above the laws of the constitution, this is what is intended by the principle of rule of law, that no person or institution (presidential office included) is above the law. The provision of S.1 (1), supremacy of constitution, stretches over all provisional laws laid down in the constitution, granting them permanence and only alterable by prescribed stringent modes of altering the Constitution. Constitutional provisions so covered include the further constitutional principle of division and separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government (Ss 4-7, CFRN, 1999).
The principles of rule of law and separation of powers, apparently enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution are essentially twin complimentary components. In action where it works, the principles ensure that the president or prime minister of a nation cannot and ought not to tamper or seek to usurp judiciary powers; judiciary ought not to exceed their function by giving different meanings to laws passed by the legislature when the judiciary are required to settle disputes and interpret laws laid down by the legislature(be they disputes between a federal government and state government, federal government and a citizen, between companies, or between two private citizens etc) and; the legislature as district/constituency representatives of voters propose/pass laws which are deliberated on within the legislature by members before being presented for Presidential endorsement. Above constitutional safeguarding principles, it further states that be it a president, executive governor of a state, Senate president, speaker of House, I.G. of police, chief of army staff, highly placed, connected party man, a CEO of a blue chip or multi-national company, the law stands. No one is above the law in today's modern societies (ever since autocratic powers wielded by kings were swept away under civil wars and revolutions in France, England, United States etc., and in Nigeria since the transplantation of Western democracy with the birth of the sovereign state of Nigeria.
So in practice, how does rule of law and separation of powers dramatise themselves? We hear and see how the government system works in places like U.S.A., Great Britain, France, and, Canada, amongst others with degree of satisfaction by its peoples. But how does it work accurately work in Nigeria? In asking that question a peculiarity in Nigeria is the glaring truth is turned into doubt by a culture of what some have described as national amnesia. A poll on public opinion might be interesting as to the operation of rule of law and separation of powers if a contract was impartially awarded to a responsible corporate citizen. We could, as it stands, also consider how the rule of law and separation of powers is effected by Nigerian courts. We could equally consider how national elections hold in Nigeria and people exercise their constitutional rights to choose their representatives in government under the rule of law and separation of powers. In all these questions, we'd be contemplating how well does the rule of law work in Nigeria. At the end of the day, who is there to safeguard it? The Judiciary? Naturally, as a third arm of government they are there to check the excesses of other arms of government, powerful individuals and corporations too. But where there are lapses in the rule of law and separation of powers (this is not limited to Nigeria alone), what does the individual do in a politically immature nation? A nation of 250 ethnic groups that has witnessed - a civil war that was more about tribalism than ideology; series of coup d'etats with fight against corruption in most cases being just a by-word and apparently getting worse and worse save one or two military regimes; short lived democratic governments.
There is, indeed, presently an Electoral Reform Commission headed by the very distinguished former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Uwais. The importance of this assignment and future national elections is absolutely crucial to the tenet of rule of law. It is an essential characteristic of nations which accord equality to all its citizens. And in actuality, rule of law in its true form, goes beyond presupposing equality of citizens, encompassing human worth as a material being with pride of living existence and purposeful opportunities secured by a common government ensuring equality of representation and legal rights. It is almost certain that in the issue of voting rights, the people have their periodic chance to ensure that a government is crystalline in its representation of a majority of the populace. Observers of Electoral Reform Commission's workings may want to tune in and see what its assignment covers. Uwais therefore has a mighty task as the head of Electoral Reform Commission.
The not-too-long ago criticism of the head of the Electoral Reform Commission by a former Head of State, General Buhari (Rtd.) that he has no confidence in the Electoral Reform Commission headed by Uwais is controversial.Uwais has replied that the criticism is due to a private opinion of the former head of state in a judgement delivered by the Supreme Court when Uwais was CJN, a judgement which rejected Buhari's petition against the 2003 presidential elections which declared former President Obasanjo winner in an election which Buhari also contested.Interestingly, Buhari is also distinguished as a retired professional soldier with the rank of a General and a former military head of state.
The working of the constitution (and the principles of separation of powers and rule of law) has quite some way to go in Nigeria. Whether Nigerians will remain content with 'I chop, u chop' mentality indefinitely
I wish the Electoral Reform Commission well so that the distinguished former CJN will change the history of election in this country. Let the judiciary continue to do their best in checking the excesses of executive government.
•Muyiwa Sowemimo writes from Abuja
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Leadership. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
