Osinbajo, Gummi Disagree Over FG’s Change Mantra
Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo and retired Justice Lawal Hassan Gummi, yesterday disagreed over the change mantra of the present government.
Delivering a lecture on “the Challenges of Democracy to the Judiciary: The Nigerian Perspective” at the annual lecture of the Barewa Old Boys Association (BOBA), Justice Gummi said successive administrations, despite claims of adherence to democratic principles, only adhered to such that favoured them.
“Even with the present administration that preaches change, nothing has changed, especially in respect of obedience to court orders, rule of law and adherence to democratic ethos. It is the same old story,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria cannot change by engaging in her old ways of lack of respect for democratic norms and ethos. Gummi noted that democracy in Nigeria has widened the gap between the rich and the poor; “breeds so much corruption and weakened public institutions”.
He added that “this has led to civil unrest and disturbances, as well as the rise of ethnic militias.
He also decried how state governments see local governments as mere appendages.
He criticised political parties and leaders for lacking internal democracy and imposition candidates.
Gummi, who said it was not right in any democracy for the National Assembly to make governance difficult, however, added that any democracy where the executive tries to intimidate and harass the legislature or the judiciary into doing its bidding is a democracy under threat”.
However, Osinbajo, while making his speech, said Nigerian elites see justice on the point of view on how “we” elites are treated, while justice for the majority of people has different definition.
According to him, there would not be justice if the masses who form the majority in every society are in abject poverty.
On the change agenda of the present administration, the Vice President said the executive has refrained from interference in the activities of the National Assembly and in choosing its leaders unlike in the past.
“There is no attempt to make them our rubber stamp. They are now independent more than ever before,” he added.
He recalled how the National Assembly was invaded during President Good luck Jonathan’s administration in 2014, but my Lord, (referring to Justice Gummi), excused that government.
“And we cannot forget easily how 16 was greater than 19, because of the interference of the then central government in the affairs of the Nigeria Governors Forum,” he added.
He also recalled how several governors were impeached by the legislature in severe violation of the executive/legislative relationship, citing one of the Nigerian governors who was impeached by only five legislators and the one abducted by the police and later impeached.
The Vice President reminded the gathering how Boko Haram seized 14 local government areas and “how billions of Naira were directly stolen from the national treasury which is not the case now”.
He listed some of the achievements of the government which include 500,000 graduates benefitting from the N-Power programme, school feeding for 9.2 million pupils and conditional cash transfer for over 200,000 Nigerians.
According to him, there is no state that is not benefitting from the federal government projects or programmes as for the first time, over N2.7 trillion was spent on infrastructural development.
In his remarks, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, said good governance in the country is achievable with piety.
Also speaking, Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar said no country would attain economic development without peace and stability, just as peace and stability could not be achieved without justice.