By Bright Nwelue
I am not one to see the negative in a man. So, before you throw away this piece, I pray you have the patience to read through the third paragraph, or the fourth, or the fifth; may be, even till the end, so you don’t fall into the trap of pre-judging an article by its title. I say this because since the National Council of State chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan took that patriotic decision to grant state pardon to some top Nigerians, who had fallen victims of the error of judgement, most writers have had a feast abusing the person of Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and President Jonathan. Crux of these abuses has been that the action was morally wrong. Some had argued that it was also legally wrong. Well, from my personal experiences, an action can be right or wrong depending of what part of the divide you stand. So, those who said the pardon was wrong are right. So too for those who said it was right and proper.
However, putting the pardon in its proper perspective, one returns to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which empowers President Jonathan to chair the National Council of State. This means that whatever decision that emanates from a meeting of the council, is a decision of the Council. Not specifically that of the President. The decision of the Senate of the Federal Republic, though conveyed by the Senate president, cannot be said to be the decision of the Senate President, but that of the entire senate. Get my drift? Now, according to our constitution, the National Council of State is constituted by the President, who is the Chairman; Vice-President, who is the Deputy Chairman; All former Presidents of the Federation and all former Heads of the Government of the Federation; All former Chief Justices of Nigeria; President of the Senate; Speaker of the House of Representatives; All the Governors of the states of the Federation; and Attorney-General of the Federation. And the Jonathan I have known over the years has never been one who brandishes himself as an ITK (I Too Know). He consults and relays the decision of any team he works with. So, to this end, the National Council of State, having recognised the quality and value of Alamieyeseigha, and others, duly granted them pardon.
Besides, duties of the Council are spelt out to include advising the President in the exercise of his powers with respect to the:- National population census and compilation, publication and keeping of records and other information concerning the same; Prerogative of mercy; Award of national honours; The Independent National Electoral Commission (including the appointment of members of that Commission); The National Judicial Council (including the appointment of the members, other than ex-officio members of that Council); The National Population Commission (including the appointment of members of that Commission); and also to advise the President whenever requested to do so on the maintenance of public order within the Federation or any part thereof and on such other matters as the President may direct. We have lived long enough in Nigeria to see the National Council of State take decisions that positively affected national life. So, this cannot be any different. As constituted, we see a Council of the wise and the patriotic. Again, we have never known President Jonathan to be a dictator. If therefore we suggest or insist that he abused his powers and granted pardon to Alamieyeseigha, it means we are insisting that the National Council of state is of no effect and that the President is a dictator. He has never exhibited that, both in the spoken word or in body language.
Having said this therefore, I appreciate the pardon granted these men on the basis of their importance to national life. For instance, as a former Chief Press Secretary to Governor Achike Udenwa in Imo state, I had cause to come closely to Alamieyeseigha and I must say that his travails were a huge minus for the country at large. I know that no man is indispensable. But in his case, since he is still strong and active, I believe that our country stands to gain more from his pardon than the attacks on him would. No doubt, everyone has a right to his opinion on national issues, but when such opinions are voiced from the point of lack of facts, then, they become injurious.
From what I gleaned from the Niger Delta, I make bold to say that Alamieyeseigha is of strategic importance to the oil industry in Nigeria. He worked, despite the ex-convict burden on him, to ensure that militants in the Niger Delta laid down their arms and embraced amnesty for the sake of our country. Not many people also know that Alamieyeseigha was of very high value to late President Umaru Yar’Adua, who consulted him regularly in finding solution to the Niger Delta question. For a person who was recognised as being of strategic value to the country’s economic well-being by a leader from the north, it was only proper that pardon comes his way. Not many people know the effort he put into making sure that the oil industry stayed afloat even at the most difficult period of Nigeria’s political journey under Olusegun Obasanjo and Yar’Adua. Never mind that he was ‘impeached’. Of course, most of us are knowledgeable enough to know that almost all impeachments in Nigeria are contrived. I guess we still remember that except for Alamieyeseigha and Ayo Fayose’s impeachments, all others were set aside by our courts. This means that had Alamieyeseigha been allowed to challenge his impeachment, he would have served out his tenure.
Today, most Nigerians had wanted to see a phenomenal repeat of impeachments or declaration of state of emergency, on grounds of security challenges. But Jonathan has demonstrated that he is of a different breed in handling these issues. Everyone may not like the way he has handled then, but fact is, that he has allowed democracy take firm root in our country. In other words giving leadership a human face.
So, from the ashes of the humiliation he suffered all this while Chief Alamieyeseigha comes back to life with such imposing presence on national politics. I tend to see him as a rallying point of the governors of 1999-2007 who are indeed, the founders and original financiers of the PDP. The present crop, no doubt are powerful, but they are only inheritors of a legacy created by the likes of Alamieyeseigha, Peter Odili, Udenwa, Orji Kalu, Chimaroke Nnamani, Sam Egwu, Donald Duke, Victor Attah, Lucky Igbinedion, George Akume, Jolly Nyame, Ahmed Makarfi, Abdulkadir Kure, Gbenga Daniel, Olagunsoye Oyinlola etc. These were the crop of politicians who made PDP what it is today. So, in this class, you cannot erase the value of Alamieyeseigha as a leader, a negotiator, a team player and a patriot.
No one should forget in a hurry that not many gave our new democracy a chance considering the thought–process of Nigerians before 1999. Those who erected the foundations of our present day democracy from 1999 must be given some space in the Nigerian firmament. The essence of committing one to prison, I believe, is not to banish him but to reform and restore him to society. President Jonathan has proved that he is a leader with a soul as well as one who remembered yesterday, I wonder who will have same opportunity and will not do thrice of what he is being accused of towards Alamieyeseigha. The major business of God, from the scriptures, is forgiveness (Pardon).
We must not be a generation that sees everything done by the President as wrong because he does not belong to the same political party, religion or tribe with us. A culture of supporting and believing our President is what Nigeria requires now. Most countries we think are better than Nigeria may not be afterall. Simply the stakeholders adopt and cherish patriotism and see their Presidents as symbols of their identity thereby burying their differences and go for national interests.
I insist that President Jonathan should go ahead to entrust a national responsibility to Alamieyeseigha in appreciation to his patriotic contributions towards the protection of the major source of our national wealth. I hope all those who enjoy our oil blocs as well as affiliated with the management of our economy should see reason to agree with me.
God, for me, remembered Alamieyeseigha this time through the instrumentality of President Jonathan. The pardon was an action which time has come. Let’s move on with solutions to restore dependable security to our land. Tribal sentiments must quit now if leadership must thrive in our clime. Nigeria belongs to all of us and on this I stand. Know ye all men that leadership is not a popularity contest. Every action of a good leader must not necessarily be popular.
*Nwelue- a public affairs commentator based in Owerri