{"id":46725,"date":"2016-02-22T11:50:33","date_gmt":"2016-02-22T10:50:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=46725"},"modified":"2016-02-22T11:50:33","modified_gmt":"2016-02-22T10:50:33","slug":"buhari-ultimate-democrat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/","title":{"rendered":"Buhari: The ultimate democrat"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Tochukwu Ezukanma
\nThere can be no freedom without the law. While it is the law that limits
\nour freedom, it is also the law that guarantees our freedom. When there is
\nno law to limit one\u2019s freedom, there will be no law to guarantee his
\nfreedom. Therefore, democracy, with its entrenched safeguards and
\nexpansive latitude for individual rights and freedom must inevitably be
\nfounded on the law. The constitution (the supreme law of the land)
\noutlines the structure and role of government and guarantees individual
\nrights and dignity against government oppression. The Nigerian president
\nis sworn to defend the constitution of Nigeria, and according to this
\nconstitution, the primary purpose of government is the \u201csecurity and
\nwelfare of the people\u201d.
\nPresident Buhari was under intense criticisms for what was seemingly a
\nbreach of the law; his administration\u2019s continued detention of
\nindividuals already granted bail by the courts. To his critics, it was an
\nunacceptable, blatant assault on the rule of law. The president\u2019s
\ndefense of his action on grounds of national security did not impress his
\ncritics. They argued that the president is a dictator and that his
\ndisregard for a court ruling evinced his scorn for the separation of
\npowers and portends grave danger for Nigerian democracy.
\nIn granting bails to the accused, the court was operating within its
\nconstitutional purview. And, ordinarily, as no one is above the law, all,
\nincluding the president, should be bound by a court order. But what of if
\nthe court order is in conflict with the president\u2019s oath of office to
\ndefend the constitution of Nigeria (with its fundamental objectives of
\n\u201csecurity and welfare\u201d of the people of Nigeria). In such a conflict,
\nwho should have precedence? Surely, it must be the President, elected by
\noverwhelming popular mandate and not an appointed judge designated to
\ninterpret the law. Moreover, while the rulings of the judges are
\npredicated on the narrow confines of the law and its technicalities, the
\npresident has access to broader sources of information, and is privy of
\nclassified information not available to the judges. Therefore, his
\ndecisions on national security may take priority over a court verdict. So,
\nin ignoring a court order, in his determined commitment to the central
\nroles of democratic government, as stipulated by the Nigerian
\nconstitution, President Buhari was not being a dictator, but a democrat,
\nessentially, the ultimate democrat.
\nIn the United States of America, the courts have wide powers of judicial
\nreview. Unlike in Britain, where an act of Parliament binds the courts, in
\nAmerica, a court in deciding a case before it, can disregard an Act of
\nCongress that it considers inconsistent with the Constitution. However,
\ndespite the enormous powers of the courts in America, a number of American
\npresidents have, in the past, defied court orders. For example, in
\nthe1830s, President Andrew Jackson ignored a Supreme Court order that
\nvoided a bill ordering all the Indian tribes to move went of the
\nMississippi River. More recently, President Bill Clinton defied court
\nrulings on affirmative action. These rare but necessary breaches of court
\nverdicts by United States presidents did not dismantle American democracy
\nor nudge the country into dictatorship. Therefore, President Buhari\u2019s
\ndisregard of bail orders was not tantamount to dictatorship, and was
\ndefinitely, not a threat to democracy in Nigeria.
\nPresently, our deadliest national scourge is corruption. The piratical
\ndepredation \u2013 looting and tearing down – of this country by government
\nofficials in concert with their political and business cronies is bleeding
\nthe country to death. It has pervaded and perverted every Nigerian
\ninstitution, including the ordinarily most incorruptible, like the
\njudiciary, university and church. It has battered our morality, corroded
\nour will and distorted our values. It has caused us more deaths and social
\ndisruption (though less conspicuously), and undermined the security and
\nwelfare of the country than Boko Haram terrorism. If not seriously
\nchecked, it will destroy this country.
\nA successful war against corruption will be remarkably splendid. It will,
\namong other things, result in a more equitable distribution of the
\nnational wealth and the alleviation of the dreadful poverty of the
\nNigerian masses; make Nigerian institutions more responsive to the needs
\nand aspirations of the people; elevate societal morals and ethics; enhance
\nsocial justice, political stability and the rule of law, etc. A litany of
\nthe benefits of a victorious war on corruption reads like the electoral
\npromises of President Buhari. Invariably, for the president to uphold his
\nconstitutional and electoral obligations to Nigerians, he must defeat the
\nmonster of corruption. Normally, this should be done in strict adherence
\nto the standards of the law with its subtleties and technicalities and
\ncopious scope for evading and frustrating prosecution. On the other hand,
\nthis monster is entrenched, resilient and utterly ruining the country.
\nTherefore, fighting it demands urgency, vigor and the administration\u2019s
\nwillingness to subordinate individual rights to the public good.
\nIn resolving this moral dilemma, that is, in striking the delicate balance
\nbetween the niceties of the law and the exigencies of the war against
\ncorruption, the president\u2019s moral and constitutional obligations to the
\npeople of Nigeria should transcend a court ruling.
\nTochukwu Ezukanma writes from Lagos, Nigeria
\nmaciln18@yahoo.com<\/a>
\n0803 529 2908<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Tochukwu Ezukanma There can be no freedom without the law. While it is the law that limits our freedom, it is also the law that guarantees our freedom. When…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\nBuhari: The ultimate democrat - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Buhari: The ultimate democrat - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Tochukwu Ezukanma There can be no freedom without the law. While it is the law that limits our freedom, it is also the law that guarantees our freedom. When…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-02-22T10:50:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Muhammadu-Buhari-NigeriaPresident.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"headline\":\"Buhari: The ultimate democrat\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-22T10:50:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/\"},\"wordCount\":875,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Muhammadu-Buhari-NigeriaPresident.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Articles & Opinions\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/\",\"name\":\"Buhari: The ultimate democrat - Pointblank News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Muhammadu-Buhari-NigeriaPresident.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-22T10:50:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Muhammadu-Buhari-NigeriaPresident.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Muhammadu-Buhari-NigeriaPresident.jpg\",\"width\":650,\"height\":350},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Buhari: The ultimate democrat\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\",\"name\":\"Pointblank News\",\"description\":\"Just the news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\",\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Our Reporter\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Buhari: The ultimate democrat - Pointblank News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Buhari: The ultimate democrat - Pointblank News","og_description":"By Tochukwu Ezukanma There can be no freedom without the law. While it is the law that limits our freedom, it is also the law that guarantees our freedom. When…","og_url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/","og_site_name":"Pointblank News","article_published_time":"2016-02-22T10:50:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":650,"height":350,"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Muhammadu-Buhari-NigeriaPresident.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Our Reporter","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Our Reporter","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/"},"author":{"name":"Our Reporter","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"headline":"Buhari: The ultimate democrat","datePublished":"2016-02-22T10:50:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/"},"wordCount":875,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Muhammadu-Buhari-NigeriaPresident.jpg","articleSection":["Articles & Opinions"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/","name":"Buhari: The ultimate democrat - Pointblank News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Muhammadu-Buhari-NigeriaPresident.jpg","datePublished":"2016-02-22T10:50:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Muhammadu-Buhari-NigeriaPresident.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Muhammadu-Buhari-NigeriaPresident.jpg","width":650,"height":350},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/buhari-ultimate-democrat\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Buhari: The ultimate democrat"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/","name":"Pointblank News","description":"Just the news","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c","name":"Our Reporter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Our Reporter"},"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}