OPINION: ON TRUMP’S IMPEACHMENT ACQUITTAL AND LESSONS FOR NIGERIAN POLITICAL LEADERS/LAWMAKERS

By Zik Gbemre

At long last, the US Republican-led Senate has acquitted President Donald Trump of charges on two articles of impeachment — supposed abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, stemming from his efforts to allegedly press Ukraine to announce investigations that would benefit him politically, bringing to a close a bruising four-month battle fought almost entirely along party lines, and marking the end of the third presidential impeachment trial in US history. 48 US Senators supported a verdict of guilty on Article I; 52 voted not guilty, while 47 Senators supported a verdict of guilty on Article II; 53 voted not guilty. The US Senate would have needed 67 votes to convict Trump on either article.

However, what amazed us in all of this, which should be a lesson for Nigerian political leaders, was the level of maturity and sense-of-responsibility and accountability of one’s public office, exhibited by the American Congress during and after this impeachment ordeal. There were no physical fights, raising of voices and abuse one another, as we often see in the floor of Nigeria’s National Assembly when it comes to such sensitive matters. The US Lawmakers voted peacefully to acquit or not acquit Trump of the allegations against him. Trump was accused of abuse of power majorly by the US Congress dominated by the Democrats. But at the end, the results, though on party lines, showed that there was no impeachment offence, and that the electorates should decide Trump’s fate during the coming US Presidential elections, with the evident fact that Trump was elected by millions of US citizens.

One question that needs to be considered is: Has Nigerian politicians and lawmakers learnt anything from this? I really do not think so. In Nigeria, the Executive Arm is the ‘all mighty’, which cannot be tried and questioned by anyone, even when their actions are like ‘drunken sailors’ and against the wishes and aspirations of the Nigerian people. Did all the Nigerian politicians and lawmakers see the US impeachment proceedings? If they did not, then I think they all should take out time to see the said plenary session, and learn how they too ought to act and carry out their functions/duties.

At the State level, Nigerian Governors have made themselves ‘Emperors’. And as Emperors, these Nigerian Politicians are not answerable or accountable to anybody. They do not even see the need to do so because in Nigeria, Politicians, particularly those at the Executive levels of Government, are like supermen, imperial monarchs. Like Emperors of old, Nigerian Politicians wield enormous power and control huge resources. They are answerable to no one. They practically have the world in their pockets and the rest of us at their feet. Men and women fell over each other to seek their attention. For instance, to have a Governor’s phone number is a mark of honour and rear privilege. To have the said Governor call you or reply your text message, deserves giving thanks to God. The State Houses legislators have become ‘ready tools’ in the hands of their State Governors because they have turned themselves as bunch of ‘irresponsible parliamentarians’ whose only concern is their stomach. They wait for the State Governors to give them his drafted laws, which they pass within minutes at the floor of their houses on the orders of the Governors. The debates in the floor of the houses are mere formalities. The laws are primarily made and enacted by the governors.

The Nigerian legislators have over the years, proven to lack the political capability and responsibility to carry out their constituted duties devoid of greed for public wealth. In my opinion, Trump’s impeachment trial was purely on grounds of ‘political disagreement’, which the Congress members took as State matters, but the lesson from it is that the Nigerian legislators should know how to use their legitimate duties, and always ensure that no one should be too big not to answer to the law. Our lawmakers must understand why they were elected, and act more responsibly. Throughout the period of Trump’s impeachment trials, no one heard of money exchanging hands in the US Congress and the Senate. It was all about ‘real constructive arguments’ for and against Trump’s impeachment, with intellectual facts to get support for, or against the impeachment process. The arguments on the floor of the US Senate was so matured, and no one physically fought one another. Even though, they disagreed and eventually voted on party lines, their voting was backed up with reasonable and intellectual facts. Unlike what we would have seen in the Nigeria’s National Assembly – where money will exchange hands, would have been the order of the day as noted by Aboyomi (Yomi) Akinmutola.

All of these, and many more, are some of the prevailing circumstances and factors that have left us with failed systems and failed government institutions in Nigeria. With the failed systems/institutions, what we find In Nigeria is a situation where everyone has resorted to be their own government in providing their basic needs. And that is because the political class have woefully failed, times without number, in providing such basic needs for the populace. For instance, can anyone sincerely condemn the current day government without being victimized, arrested, termed hate speech? Just recently, what was supposed to be termed a protest march by Churches, especially RCCG was called a prayer walk. Meanwhile the placards they all carried was stop killings in Nigeria. The bottom line is that Nigeria has condescend to a level where even the masses cannot speak without fear of the next minutes. Many are living in extreme fear. Though, the Nigerian Governments are known to frown at some of these protests because they are often sponsored by their political opponents to create confusion. Just the same way some critics and writers are being sponsored by political opponents to attack these politicians in power and policies. So, some of the critics and writers, as well as protesters in Nigeria, actually live on blackmail of politicians often paid by political opponents. In other words, many things are just wrong in Nigeria, which are begging to be fixed.

Agreed we have our own individual problems as Nigerians but the political leadership at all levels are failing in all dimensions with native/archaic policies that are detrimental and inimical to progress. And this is so simply because we have in our hands, political leaders who are not obliged to answer to, or be accountable to the public. And no one dares to question them without risking being victimized one way or the other.

Still on the subject of Donald Trump, in my own view, he remains a great and patriotic leader of the American people, which is something we are yet to witness in Nigeria. Trump is a reformer, who is changing old bad practices in America. And it is expected that these people who are enjoying the said bad practices, would rise against him, hence he is being criticized more than the past US Presidents. Trump is not a politician, and he does not think and act like most typical politicians. He is a no-nonsense leader, who does not care what, or who is involved on issues being tackled. As far as he is protecting the interests of his people. I respect him a lot. And people have been asking what has Zik Gbemre seen in this US leader? You know all over the world, great leaders and great minds face persecution, and that is the price Trump is paying for being a patriotic leader to his people. The lesson here for the Nigerian politicians and lawmakers to take home is that they have their roles to play in checkmating the excesses of the executive arm of government, which they were elected to do. And which sadly, they are failing the people who supposedly elected them into office. To add salt to injury, most of the “follow-follow” masses and elites are not helping matters with their singing praises, supporting and hailing Government officials who are obviously corrupt and doing nothing to bring about sustainable change in the lives of the people. They keep following them like “Zombie”, according to Fela Anikulapo Kuti. These are parts of the reasons why we have remained where we are today as a developing nation.

Zik Gbemre.

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