OPINION…Buhari: How Not To Impeach A President!

Without mincing words the current National Assembly in Abuja (NASS) under the rudderless leadership of Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has shown itself shamefully to be unpatriotically underwhelming in terms of legislative performance. The last Senate under the able leadership of Bukola Saraki had been patriotic, professional and fiercely-independent. Though the former Governor of Kwara State has many baggages bordering on graft he displayed quality leadership as he piloted the affairs of the upper chamber of the federal parliament.

Before Saraki was another former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, under whose effective leadership of the Senate ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s anti-constitutional criminal third term gambit was killed inside the Senate chambers. Despite loads of ‘Ghana-must-go’ with which Dollars were distributed among Senators by the OBJ power-grab gang Nnamani and co saw the need to save the nation from a ill-humoured dictator determined to continue in power in spite of the imposed constitutional term limits.

Like Nnamani Saraki was a legislative hitman who resisted executive meddlesomeness and manipulation from any quarters. For this uncompromising attitude of his he was targeted politically by the Buhari cabal hell-bent on killing his political career from the homefront. ‘Saraki o-to-ge’ became a popular mantra of liquidation used to incite Kwarans to send Saraki to political wilderness.

Lai (or is it Liar?) Mohammed, the notorious Minister of Information and Culture, was recruited by the Buharideens to destroy Saraki politically rendering him impotent and unimportant in the scheme of things. Today, he is still standing but his political influence at home had been watered down.

No matter how Femi Adesina, Garba Shehu or Lai Mohammed see it contrarily we hold that President Buhari has destroyed a great nation entrusted to him to manage; he had caused monumental damage to the social, economic and even political fabrics of the nation. It would take a miracle worker, nay messiah, for Nigeria to be pulled back from the brink to which she is inexorably headed.

Some weeks back some aggrieved opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senators had caused a stir at the upper legislative chamber by staging a spectacular walk-out threatening fire and brimstone. They were lamenting the precarious security state of the nation and issuing a six-week ultimatum to President Muhammadu Buhari to fix the intractable problem or get impeached!

Of course, no one is safe any longer anywhere and nowhere is sacred or impenetrable any more. No one or nowhere is spared — not even churches, mosques or even the neighbourhoods of the Aso Rock Villa! Terrorists, kidnappers and bandits everywhere, armed, bold and dangerous! The terrorists had even issued an open threat to the presidency declaring that kidnapping Mr President was their primary priority for now!

Given the generalised chaos and anarchy in the land, therefore, the PDP Senators, ordinarily, could have been applauded for deciding to rise to the occasion. But something is definitely wrong with their ultimatum. Indeed, the security of lives and properties of Nigerians ought to be the primary purpose of the Buhari presidency. But the President has failed woefully on that score.

The Senators reportedly staged a walk-out of the plenary when the uncharismatic Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, refused to accede to a motion moved by Minority Leader, Philip Aduda, that the Senate should debate the cases of rising insecurity in the country. They consequently gave President Buhari six weeks within which to curb insecurity or face a formal notice of impeachment from them.

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Chanting “Buhari-Must-Go” they expressed their rage over Senate President Lawan’s blind loyalty to Buharism. The PDP caucus in the House of Representatives had joined its Senate counterpart in issuing a six-week ultimatum to President Buhari to address insecurity or risk impeachment. The Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, gave the notice after a meeting of the National Assembly PDP Caucus at the NASS Complex in Abuja.

However, no matter how altruistic their intention, impeaching Buhari now (even though desirable and welcome on broader perspective) ought not be the preoccupation of our Senators. Perhaps, the high-wire corruption in the Buharian era ought to take precedence. Or better still, legislate into being the state police and make a law criminalising rigging of election at the local, state or nationa level.

Come to think of it Buhari has less than a year to retire voluntarily to his cows in Daura. Just few months to the presidential poll slated for early next year any impeachment notice or process would constitute a distraction. It would, no doubt, overheat the polity.

Besides, the move is dead on arrival for obvious reasons. Senate President Lawan and Speaker Gbajabiamila are known stooges planted in NASS by Buhari, Tinubu and the APC misruling gang to forestall such eventuality. They would do everything within their powers to mobilize legislators to defeat any impeachment procedure. The PDP cannot do it alone.

The over-fed over-paid PDP Senators must give us a break! We are sick and tired of their legislative brinksmanship. Their impeachment threat is seen generally as an empty distracting adventure. Buhari deserved to be impeached long ago and not now his presidential days are numbered. He should, therefore, be allowed to retire quietly next year’s May to his cows in Daura as he wished.

Let the President be! He claimed he had given the job his very best! But that ‘best’ of his is not good enough! We deserve something better.

Hopefully by February next year we shall do the needful by electing a President capable of leading us aright; a leader sound upstairs and elsewhere who would be a direct opposite of who and what Buhari is; that number one citizen possessed of love for our country and capacity to deliver her and Nigerians from the pangs of poverty, unemployment, insecurity, lawlessness and hopelessness.

The terrorists, kidnappers and bandits on the prowl across the nation would not possibly kill, kidnap or terrorize all of us more than they had already done. Therefore, Buhari must be allowed to be!

Impeaching Buhari now, in our reckoning, is tantamount to making a hero out of a villain. And that is how not to impeach an (underwhelming) embattled President.

AUTHOR: Ozodinukwe Okenwa

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Articles published in our Graffiti section are strictly the opinion of the writers and do not represent the views of Ripples Nigeria or its editorial stand.

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