Let me start with the story of a poor man who married into a rich family.
\nHe didn’t have anything as a man, but was loved all the same by the lady.
\nEven though her family objected to her choice of a partner, they caved in
\ndue to her insistence. She married him and made him the centre point of
\nher life. He became the coordinator of her affairs and remained answerable
\nto her, with her family as the ultimate influencer. He barely took any
\ndecision without referring and deferring to her.\u200e There was a time he took
\nsome decisions concerning her affairs which didn’t go down well with her
\nfamily, they teamed up and harassed him, reminding him of whose son he is;
\nthe son of a nobody. As a result,\u00a0 he avoided taking any decision. In fact
\nhe lost his confidence to think, let alone decide.<\/p>\n
During the first medical vacation of President Muhammadu Buhari in
\nJanuary, he transferred power to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as the
\nActing President. The Acting President swung into action;bringing a
\nvibrancy that was lacking in the administration\u200e. He visited different
\nparts of the country including the Niger Delta,met with their leaders and
\nsought for a peaceful resolution to the problem of militancy. The naira
\ngained strength against the dollar, with a number of positive steps taken,
\nwhich earned the Acting President accolades and praises all around.
\nAlthough he kept attributing the successes recorded within that period to
\nthe president who was in London, his popularity and fame grew among
\nNigerians, which did not go down well with some people.<\/p>\n
The president returned and power was reverted back to him. He resumed work
\nand things returned to status quo, taking the usual slow pace until 7 May,
\n2017, when he hurriedly travel back to London,few hours after meeting with
\nthe Chibok girls who had just been released after their kidnap by Boko
\nharam\u00a0 in 2014.<\/p>\n
\u200e<\/p>\n
Since 7 May<\/span><\/span> was a Sunday<\/span><\/span>, the president’s letter was transmitted to the Although that phrase does not posses the capacity to contaminate the The actions of those in government has not helped him in anyway. While As a result of all these, the acting president has lost his steam,which It is really an irony that individuals to nearly brought this country to a Goodluck Jonathan as acting president faced the same thing as acting Professor Yemi Osinbajo must rise to the occasion and assert his authority Frank Ijege<\/p>\n
\nSenate on Monday, 8 May, 2017. In that letter, the president chose to use
\nthe phrase ‘coordinator of the country’s affair’ instead of acting
\npresident. From the wording of that letter, those who felt that the vice
\npresident as acting president had stolen the show from the president
\nduring his first medical sojourn, did not want a repeat of that, and were
\ndetermined to cut him to size. They chose to work on his psyche by calling
\nhim coordinator!<\/p>\n
\nmeaning and intent of section 145 of the Constitution of the Federal
\nRepublic of Nigeria, 1999, or the status of Professor Yemi Osinbajo as
\nActing President, one cannot say it has not affected the psychologically.
\nWhat we have seen in recent time is an acting president who is shy and
\nreticent; slow to take a decision and quick to dish our unsolicited smiles
\nin the midst of pressing issues. The agility we witnessed during his first
\nstint as acting president seems to has evaporated.<\/p>\n
\ndeliberations on the 2017 budget was still on in the National Assembly,
\npresidential adviser on legislative matter said the budget once passed,
\nwould be transmitted to the president in London for signing how
\nridiculous! A newspaper also reported on Sunday 18 June, 2017, that people
\nwere taking files to the president in London for signing.<\/p>\n
\nand that is bad for the country. Although there is no vacuum in the
\npresidency, there is a leadership vacuum. This is as a result of the
\nunwillingness of the acting president to act.<\/p>\n
\nstand-still because power was not transmitted to the then vice president,
\nGoodluck Jonathan, after his boss travelled on health grounds, are the
\nsame stock frustrating the acting president today even though power have
\ntransferred to him. It tells one thing,the motivating factor for some of
\nour political leaders is, and has always been their interest. To protect
\ntheir interest, they can do anything, even the unthinkable!<\/p>\n
\npresident. He chose to be cautious because he didn’t want to be in the bad
\nbook of the cabal that held sway during the days of\u00a0 late president
\nYar’Adua’s. Unfortunately, after he became president, he carried on with
\nthat mentality and it cost him dearly. The rest like they say, is now
\nhistory<\/p>\n
\nas acting president. As long as the president remains in London, he
\nremains in charge as acting president with the full powers of the
\npresident.\u00a0 Being power or authority shy, will only cause more harm for
\nthis administration. With the absence of the president, fate has placed
\nthe chance of this administration continuing beyond 2019 on his shoulders.
\nThe earlier he realised that, the better for all of us.<\/p>\n