Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Olisa Agbakoba, assesses President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration after one year. Senior Correspondent, ONYEWUCHI OJINNAKA, writes.
The clamour for the production of a people’s constitution (to replace the document imposed on Nigerians by the military) which will address national agitations on issues like true fiscal federalism, resource control and restructuring of Nigeria by various regions prompted the convocation of two national conferences. One was under the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo and the other under Goodluck Jonathan.
They were aimed at addressing knotty issues that tended to pull the nation backwards. Unfortunately, the implementation of the reports of the two confabs never saw the light of day.
It has been noted that the issues that threaten the corporate existence of Nigeria were discussed extensively at both conferences and solutions were proffered; but perhaps due to change of baton in the leadership of this country, the recommendations are yet to be implemented.
However, reports are rife the some individuals and groups are clamouring for another conference, for the same purpose.
Against this background, former president of Nigerian Bar Association, Olisa Agbakoba, expressed the need for a comprehensive review of the previous confabs rather than going through the rigours of another conference, which he described it as superfluous.
He advised President Muhammadu Buhari to resist the lure of another wasteful ‘jamboree’, positing that it will be very difficult but not impossible task.
While appraising Mr. President at 365 days in a briefing with judicial correspondents in Lagos, Agbakoba pointed out that the key in arriving at a new constitution is in isolating what Nigerians will immediately agree to. He recommended that a graduated process of constitutional amendment should be introduced to replace the failed holistic attempts to write new constitution in one fell swoop.
“We must strive for a balanced federation and decentralisation of powers from federal to state government.
“The centre is too strong and can pass responsibility out of the 98 items under its exclusive control to the states. This will balance up the federation,” he posited.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) submitted that creating a new national order would be very difficult but not an impossible task, adding that the effect would be stabilisation and national rebirth.
Other issues, he asserted, that need to be looked into seriously for the country to stabilise include corruption, security, economy and foreign exchange (Forex) policy.
Corruption
According to Agbakoba, “corruption is endemic in Nigeria, and to reverse it requires new strong institutions”.
For the fight against corruption to be successful, he said, there must be root and branch reform of the anti-corruption agencies. He cited the voting of 25 per cent of the national budget for salaries and emoluments of legislators (by the legislators themselves) without approval by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), describing it as unconstitutional.
“Stopping this outrageous conduct on the part of the legislators is, with due respect, the litmus test in assessing the sincerity of the anti-corruption agenda.
“Corruption is also manifest in over-bloated budgets for the presidential villa and houses, corrupt/weak public procurement procedures and abuse of discretion of ministers in the award of contracts.
“All these have taken a major toll on our resources and encouraged corruption. The first crucial challenge is for the President to stop these aspects of corrupt practices and introduce major spending cuts,” Agbakoba averred.
He advocated the reformation of anti-corruption agencies in order to slow down corruption, even before thinking of reversing it.
Corroborating Agbakoba on this issue of corruption, counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Anselm Ozioko, admitted that corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of the Nigerian society.
Ozioko told TheNiche that it would take somebody who is not corrupt to fight corruption either within the judiciary, outside the judiciary or even within the Nigerian society. To fight corruption, cases that come to court should be expeditiously heard and disposed.
His words: “In corruption cases, the court should not grant (defendants) bail. Once the defendants are not granted bail, these cases would be disposed off very speedily. The defence counsel will be begging. Even the defendants themselves would be demanding accelerated hearing of their matter, so that their fate would be determined timely.”
Insecurity
Appraising the administration of Buhari on the state of security across the nation, Agbakoba noted that prior to the 2015 general elections, Nigerians were struggling with massive insecurity, weak political structure, empty treasury and widespread corruption which prompted a change that threw up Buhari as the President.
However, coming on board, the Buhari administration “decimated” Boko Haram insurgents, but the Niger Delta crisis seems to be out of control, with the Niger Delta Avengers blowing up oil installations and blood flowing in the South East.
Agbakoba urged the President to adopt a more flexible approach on the Niger Delta crisis and pro-Biafra agitators.
“The President must go back in history and borrow a leaf from President (Franklin Delano) Roosevelt who dealt with the shock of The Great Depression that ravaged the United States of America when he became the United States president in the 1930s,” he said.
For him, Nigeria is in utter chaos and disorder which have greatly affected the nation. The cankerworm of disorder has eaten deep into the national fabric and the absence of order has badly damaged the national psyche, he added.
“Love of country is absent,” he stressed.
Submitting that the issue of national order is linked with a new constitutional order, the SAN recommended that priority should be given to the national question, which would be resolved urgently. “The nation will not settle or move forward without solving the issue of disorder.”
Economy
Agbakoba noted that from the fourth quarter of 2014 to first quarter of 2016, Nigeria has been in dire economic straits. He solicited that the critical nuggets to turn things around must be put in place forthwith because they are not there.
“Confusion as to whether we are liberalising or regulating different aspects of our economy is keeping investors away.”
He suggested that the only way Nigeria can grow and sustain development is to have a deregulated economy, making it less dependent on imports.
Pursuing economic diversification will make the economy less vulnerable to the boom and bust cycles of oil and natural gas prices, Agbakoba further said, citing the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that successfully divested out oil into new revenue sources.
Forex policy
Nigeria’s forex policy is unclear and uncertain, Agbakoba said. “We have CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) rates, rates for fuel importers, rates at autonomous markets and rates at the parallel market (black market).” He posited that the policy breeds corruption from differentials in the four markets.
Scorecard
He opined that the absence of a national order hampered the President’s ability to deliver on most of the issues, advising the Buhari government not to look at the rear view mirror, but develop a clear political and economic vision for the country which does not exist at the moment.
“Therefore, I have moved from being cautiously positive to cautiously negative,” he remarked.
