Ola Ajayi
5 January 2009
interview
GETTING the Nigerian Bar Association President, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, for an interview was a little bit of an uphill task. It is understandable because the NBA topmost seat demands much of its occupant's time. When an initial contact was made on telephone sometime last November, he requested for a little more time to enable him fix an appointment. A few days later when he picked a call that was put through, he was far away in Ilorin attending an official meeting. He was due to return the following week. That response dampened a nurtured hope of an early interview.
It was at the time Mallam Nuhu Ribadu's travail was getting to climax, so an interview with the NBA president was necessary.
The expectation of securing a definite interview appointment was cracked when he was contacted again. He had travelled to Ghana to monitor the country's election and he was scheduled to return mid-December last year. After his return, another call had to be made to know if he would be in Lagos or Ibadan just before Christmas.
On Monday, December 22, he confirmed he was in Ibadan and he agreed to grant the interview the following day. That meant going to Ibadan since he would not be in Victoria Island NBA Secretariat earlier than this week. He even suggested the interview be postponed till he returns to Lagos. Delay is dangerous, it was reasoned.
Considering the volume of heavy traffic and the last minute Christmas rush, it was ill-advised to travel out of Lagos and hope to return to office same day. Thus, Vanguard Ibadan Correspondent was detailed to conduct the interview.
Late Tuesday December 23, afternoon, Mr. Akeredolu fielded questions on sundry issues in the polity. He spoke on judiciary, President Yar'Adua's administration, rule of law, Ribadu, 2011 elections, etc. Excerpts:
How would you assess the role of the judiciary in the polity since you became president NBA?
I became the president of NBA on September 3, 2008. I have spent about five months in office. For me to assess the judiciary the way I see it, without fear or favour, I would say it has done pretty well in this democratic dispensation. The judiciary is soldiering on just like soldiers.
The legal tussle between President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and the former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as well as General Muhammad Buhari (rtd) has been put to rest by the Supreme Court. What is your view on the judgment which was greeted with mixed feelings considering the earlier comment of the president himself that the election was flawed?
All of us know that it was an election that was fraudulent which former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, conducted. It was flawed in all respects. In fact, there was no election in 2007. That was the assessment of all of us who monitored the election, that is, the international observer group, monitoring body and the NBA. Everybody came out and said the election was flawed. The election petition is a different thing.
It has to operate within the confines and ambit of the law _ the electoral law and the constitution. So, in proving the case in court, that is a different thing. The fact that we observed or knew that the election was flawed does not make proving the case according to law easy.
You still have to prove the case. What we are talking about now is proving the case according to law. If you want me to assess the judiciary with that one in mind, I would say that the judiciary does a lot more than that. Not only in election petition, that is why I said the judiciary has done fairly well.
I don't agree with the majority decision of the Supreme Court, I agree with the minority judgment, but I still believe it is a good development for our law. At least people know that the Supreme Court delivered a judgment in which only four justices sustained the election as being alright. But to me as a person, the reasoning of the three is sound, nobody can fault it easily. At the end of the day, it was four against three. That was fair enough.
What is your advice to the losers -Atiku and Buhari?
What other advice do you need to give them. They must have well advised themselves. The important thing is that they were not the ones that lost but it was we, the people of Nigeria that lost. It is a problem for all of us. What we are saying is that in this country, we owe a duty to our people to conduct a free and fair election.
That is the basis in this country for any democracy. If we don't have a free and fair election, we are yet to start. Really, my fear is that 2011 will be a different thing in this country. If they dare to rig in 2011, then you will see what will happen.
People will be on the streets to fight because they know that that is probably the only way they can get solution or ventilate their grievances. If the court is not going to assist them, then why wait for the court. They go to the streets, take up arms and fight for your rights. I suspect that will happen in 2011. So, it our duty to make sure that what we deliver to the people in 2011 is free and fair election. They have done it in Ghana.
So, we have a serious duty to ensure that what we deliver to the people in 2011 is free and fair in this country as they have done in Ghana. People are not going to wait. I would not probably advise anybody to wait for the judiciary to get his mandate if you believe that your mandate is being stolen. So, that is the problem. People have to be very careful to see that those who would manage our subsequent elections are men of integrity so that there will be free and fair elections.
Part of the recommendations of the Electoral Reform Committee is that the National Judicial Council (NJC) should be responsible for the appointment of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) to pave way for free and fair elections. Do you subscribe to this?
I know that it is part of the Uwais Electoral Reform Committee recommendation that the NJC should appoint three people and make them go before the Council of States. I for one do not subscribe to that. I don't see what the Council of States is going to do in it.
That body is not going to be a democratic body, so it is not going to serve anybody's interest. If you leave the appointment to the NJC to do, that is fair. There is nothing wrong in doing that. The point there is that the person appointed should be able to differentiate between government and state.
If we are not able to see your role as a statesman as opposed to government agent, then we are in trouble. Take for instance, if they appoint me as INEC chairman, I'm going to work like a statesman not as a government agent. So, who is in government doesn't matter to me. That's what I'm going to do.
Prof. Maurice Iwu supervised the election which was greeted with international condemnation, violence and controversy and so on, do you think that it is right for him to still remain there as INEC chairman?
He is a shameless individual. That is the point. Then the government is not even serious except we don't want to say the truth. Iwu should not remain. He should have long left the place. That is when you know that the government is serious. For Iwu to still be there is a serious anomaly. He offends the sensibility of any right thinking Nigerians. That is the way I see it.
Recently, President Yar'Adua granted amnesty to two condemned criminals from Kebbi and Bayelsa. His action generated heated controversy from some quarters?
As the president, he has the power to commute conviction. It is provided for in the constitution. Every October 1, he releases prisoners. I don't know those who are saying he doesn't have the power. I want to be directed to the portion of the law that says he has no such power. Even the governors too have such powers. It is based on the recommendations made to them that they would act on.
President Yar'Adua's administration has received knocks from Nigerians for being docile. Can you compare his government with that of Chief Obasanjo? What do you think has really gone wrong in this government?
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