DEMOCRACY is readily associated with freedom: the freedom to be free
in many respects and increasingly in Nigeria, many of our compatriots,
particularly persons in positions of privilege and authority confuse
this with the right to be disagreeable. The sober truth is that
democracy is about rights and responsibilities, a democratic
dispensation therefore cannot be a licence for disagreeable conduct as a
norm; just as the possession of power in any form does not guarantee
the right to be reckless or to ignore the etiquette required of office
holders. Anyone in the corridors of power, either by chance or right, or
appointment, is expected to behave decorously.
Dame Patience Jonathan, as she is now referred to, our President’s
wife, failed the test this week in Okrika, Rivers State. It is trite
knowledge that there is a critical difference between Yenagoa and Abuja,
and a world of difference between being the wife of a Deputy
Governor/Governor/Vice president and being the wife of Nigeria’s No 1
citizen. When people suddenly find themselves in such latter position,
prepared or unprepared, anywhere in the world, they are taken through a
crash programme in finishing and poise and made to realize that being
the wife of an important man comes with serious responsibilities lest
they sabotage the same person that they should be supporting.
If Dame Patience went through such re-orientation, the course was
incomplete. This week, we got a feedback drawn from her visit to Rivers
state to launch her NGO – the Women for Change Initiative, when she
ended up in Okrika, her home town. This homecoming became an egoistic
show-off as she openly contradicted the state Governor, offering him
unsolicited lessons on how to develop the Okrika water front and school
system, in addition to pointed comments on the use of the English
language. The Governor had reportedly insisted that his administration
must demolish some houses which adjoin the schools in Okrika in order to
create a proper learning environment. Dame Patience disagreed.
She then gave an unsolicited lecture on the land tenure system
telling the Governor: “I want you to get me clear. I am from here. I
know the problems of my people so I know what I am talking…” The
Governor tried to explain his administration’s policy and the larger
public interest. The Dame reportedly cut him short: “But what I am
telling you is that you always say you must demolish; that word must you
use is not good. It is by pleading. You appeal to the owners of the
compound because they will not go into exile. Land is a serious issue.”
Wao! “that word must..is not good.” We must all commit that to memory as
we re-learn Practical English according to Patience Jonathan!
If it is in the place of the President’s wife to teach a state
Governor how to run his state, it is definitely not in her place to veto
a state policy (the reason the governor used the word “must”), not even
her husband has such powers. It seemed as if Dame Patience Jonathan was
determined to impress her kith and kin. She told them she had directed
the governor not to demolish their houses. Then, she left straight for
the airport obviously having overstayed her welcome and having behaved
like a bad guest. She was scheduled to visit the prisons to grant
amnesty to some inmates (is that really her duty or something that
should be in her itinerary? ); she was also meant to commission some
projects. The face-off between her and the governor put paid to all
that.
On the eve of her arrival, a group which calls itself “the Okrika
Political Stakeholders Forum” and “the people of Kirikese” had actually
placed an advert in the papers welcoming “our amiable daughter and
sister…to Rivers state and your home town Okrika.” They also brought up
the issue of “the land reclamation and shore protection project at Oba
Ama, Okrika being undertaken by the Rivers state government.” (Daily
Sun, August 23, 2010, p. 2). Either on the strength of this advertorial
or private consultations, Dame Patience must have felt compelled to be a
partisan stakeholder and intercessor. She needed to put Rotimi Amaechi,
the state Governor in his place and that was what did. She recommended
“pleading,” – that advice is actually meant for her. A state Governor is
a duly elected official; and in a Federal system, he is not answerable
to the President, and nowhere is the president granted the powers of a
Headmaster over state governors. In Okrika, Dame Patience behaved so
impatiently and spoke to Governor Amaechi as if he is on the staff of
the Presidency. It may not be her fault though. Amaechi caused it all
by bringing himself to such level by undertaking to debrief Dame
Patience about his administration’s programmes and activities in the
misguided hope of getting cheap political endorsement. He should have
asked his wife to attend to her. On the issue of land, Dame Patience
should be reminded that the Land Use Act, Section 1 thereof, says the
state Governor holds the land in trust for the people. Land matters in
the state are beyond the ken of the wife of the President!
The wife of the President of Nigeria, or a state Governor, or a local
council chairman, is not a state official. The same applies to husbands
if the gender is reversed. He or she is unknown to the constitution or
the governance structure. Recent history has however made it a
convention to have the spouses of persons in such positions under the
guise of providing support, play some ceremonial roles. This has been
routinely abused. Under the Jonathan presidency, Dame Patience Jonathan
even got a special allocation in the original budget for the 2010 Golden
jubilee anniversary whereas she has no official, financial reporting
responsibilities! The international standard is that spouses in these
circumstances must not only appear but be seen to be above board like
Caesar’s wife. They must not misbehave like Marie Antoinette.
When Cherie Blair, wife of former British PM, Tony Blair started
buying up houses, apartments and antique furniture, the public raised
questions. It didn’t matter that she was a professional in her own
right, a Queen’s Counsel with a traceable source of income. There were
also questions about the scope of Hillary Clinton’s influence during her
husband’s Presidency: Americans wanted to be sure that it was the man
they elected that was in charge, not his wife. A couple of weeks ago,
the American public was up in arms against Michelle Obama and her poll
rating dropped drastically after a visit to Spain where she and her
daughter reportedly stayed in a $7, 000 a night hotel.
Much earlier, Nancy Reagan was also the butt of public criticism,
with people asking: who is she? And this is not a female thing. In
Britain, Prince Phillip, the Queen’s husband, is constantly criticized
for putting his foot in his mouth. He once said for example that
“British women can’t cook.” He told a visiting Nigerian President, all
dressed up in babariga (name withheld): “you look like you’re ready for
bed.” During a state visit to China, he told British students: “if you
stay much longer, you’all be slitty-eyed.” Prince Phillip’s supporters
insist that he is honest, but the majority ask: how is the Queen coping
with such a man who is perpetually saying something offensive? There may
be persons who defend Dame Patience’s aggressive style, but some of us
ask: how is the President coping?
Since Dr Jonathan assumed office, he and his wife have been
practically on the road. The Dame has travelled from one state to the
other, under the auspices of the Women for Change Initiative. In every
state she tells the women to vote and “make sure your vote counts if you
like my husband.” Is she now a partisan politician? The Jonathans must
be told that Nigeria does not have a co-Presidency. We have only one
president and his name is Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. And by the way, what
does Dame Patience Jonathan do for a living? She obviously does not have
to deal with the challenges of rotation and zoning in her home, unlike
the three wives of the Adamawa Governor, Murtala Nyako for whom zoning
and rotation have become topical subjects or the wives of South African
President Jacob Zuma – that is why she can afford to be so meddlesome!
When she misbehaves as she did in Okrika, she creates the impression
that her husband is not in control of his own home. First ladies are
prominent figures but their conduct is an eternal subject of public
interest. In Nigeria, there was Victoria Gowon, there was also Ajoke
Muhammed: dignified and restrained. There was Maryam Babangida – she
was influential but no one could accuse her of verbal recklessness; Mrs
Abdusalami Abubakar was a court judge, totally self-effacing, No major
social party was complete without Mrs Stella Obasanjo, yet she
controlled her tongue. Mrs Turai Yar’Adua was described as the power
behind the throne and she proved that during the period of her husband’s
illness but she was carefully reticent. At the state level, there was
Remi Tinubu in Lagos state and Onari Duke in Cross River state who have
both conducted themselves responsibly in and out of office. The new
First Lady likes to travel, party, and talk outside the script. People
are beginning to learn to read her lips in order to understand her
husband. Dame Patience must not push her Goodluck.
-This piece was written by Dr. Reuben Abati in The Guardian of Thursday, 27th Aug 2010
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