The
president, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has sent a bill to the National Assembly
seeking to rename three federal universities. They are the Federal University
of Technology, Umudike, which is to be changed to Michael Okpara University,
Umudike, and the Federal University of Technology, Yola, to be changed to
Modibbo Adama University, Yola and the University of Lagos changed to Moshood
Abiola University, Lagos. The Senate President, David Mark read the bill
himself at a plenary session on the floor of the senate today.
You will
recall that the president had in his Democracy Day address unilaterally renamed
the University of Lagos after Chief Moshood Abiola the winner of the annulled
June 12 Presidential Election. That decision has since drawn widespread reaction
from various quarters. The Abiola family hailed it as a long overdue
recognition of their patriarch whom they see as a martyr not recognised by the
beneficiaries of his sacrifice. The alumni and students of the university
however, disagreed with such a view saying that Abiola’s immortalisation should
not have been at the expense of the institution which they argue is now 50
years old.
While the
debate raged in many quarters, UNILAG students themselves began a protest and
were met with Police resistance resulting in a few injuries on the part of the
students. UNILAG alumni on the other hand had gone to court to challenge the
president’s arbitrariness.
The president
may have acted in good faith, by trying to immortalise the late Chief Abiola.
This issue has generated so much heat nationwide that one needs consider why
the president had decided to take such a decision and surprise everyone with
it. The president laboured hard for nearly an hour with his speech, yet all he
spoke about was forgotten as soon as the national anthem was played. Only one matter
was remembered and that became the topic of the day and indeed since then.
Dr. Jonathan
may have acted in good faith by trying very hard to copy a military president.
Or how else should one see his unilateral decision? Gen. Babangida had renamed
University of Ife after Chief Obafemi Awolowo after the sage passed on. That
decision received knocks at the time but stood for several reasons: it was a
military regime, the artful evil genius was supreme commander of the nation’s
law making body and besides, Awolowo was instrumental to the formation of the
university.
This attempt
to copy a dictator though leaves a lot to be desired about a president who
despite being a former lecturer proves every now and again that there is little
sense in thinking before acting. The
University of Lagos was indeed set up by an act of parliament. The president
ought to have been prudent enough to go to that arm of government to do what he
did today but chose to put the cart before the horse. How did the president
reach such a decision to rename an institution without due consultation with
the attorney general? How did the attorney general fail to advise the president
on this act?
More and
more, we see an administration that is intent to usurp the powers of the
national assembly and the judiciary all by itself. There is a separation of
powers for good reason. The Jonathan administration though is desperately to
prove to Nigerians its omnipotent powers. It can suspend a judge, refuse to
reinstate him, increase the pump price of petrol despite lack of justifiable
reason and then act on behalf of the national assembly by renaming the
University of Lagos. Jack of all trades is really an amateur compared to the
Goodluck administration.
The National
Assembly is in the pocket of the president’s party. Perhaps they need to be
advised on the president’s noble deeds. They need be informed that the
principle of separation of powers was propounded for such a time as these. This
is a democracy! A lecturer has no need
to plagiarize a dictator even if his thesis is worthy of the Nobel Prize. Elsewhere where civilized people do not
permit jack of all trades, the president will be put to order for gross misconduct
and an abuse of office.
These actions
of our omnipotent president if left unchecked will result in a situation where
tomorrow, Sokoto state will be renamed after Argungu because that festival
deserves more international recognition. Then on the evening of the same day,
he will announce a discontinuance of left handed cars and thereby ban all of
such cars presently in the country. One morning also, the president can decide
if he so pleases, that every car be painted green as proof of patriotism. That
is the risk of having a national assembly that will not speak up immediately
the president acts on matters concerning an act of theirs.
The powers of
the president are limited insofar as the constitution limits it powers to
executive functions. The powers of the national assembly are not unlimited and
have defined by the constitution also. Where one arm oversteps its bounds,
there is need for the other to rise up and refer it to the constitution. If
both become illiterate as to become unable to understand the English of the
constitution, then, the Judiciary must interpret to them both perhaps in Pigeon
English.
Comments