The Story Your path to the story
By Folorunsho Akanbi
As Nigerians begin their desperate search for a credible candidate that will pilot the affairs of the nation after President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure ends next year, the call for Professor Yemisi Osinbajo as a candidate that will uphold justice without barriers, the rule of law and constitutionalism has again gained momentum despite the campaign of calumny.
Nothing fundamentally is really wrong with Nigeria as a country. The nation is undoubtedly endowed with the best of weather conditions; the atmospheric conditions are neither too cold nor too hot. Unlike many nations in the world, natural disasters rarely occur in Nigeria. Tsunamis, earthquakes, landslides, ocean surges and the like are not all that common in the country. Instead, the most populous black nation is blessed with natural resources such as: natural gas, oil, bitumen, gold, iron ore, coal, and other solid mineral resources that are enough to make any nation economically independent, but the lack of the political will to uphold the canon of justice is largely seen as a challenge and the foundation of the nation’s current sorry state.
Although, to political observers and legal luminaries, the Nigerian constitution is not absolutely perfect, it remains one of the best any nation could have. But selective implementation of the laws makes smooth justice delivery a very difficult goal to achieve. This explains why the numbers of people awaiting trials in prisons and police cells are almost double those that have already been convicted. Law and order seem to mean nothing to most people.
Brazen abuse of the law by the people, especially by those in positions of authority, has become common practice in the country. Ordinary traffic lights are disobeyed the same way people cut corners and flout all the laws that are ordinarily the foundation of sanity and orderliness in developed countries. Today in Nigeria, the law seems to be for the poor while the affluent or powerful class hardly obeys it. This is why corrupt public officers sometimes get off the hook while ordinary men rot in detention without trials.
But as preparations for the 2023 election seem to be in high gear among different political camps, the majority of Nigerians are rooting for the highly cerebral Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to fix Nigeria, using the instrumentality of the law. They averred that Osinbajo has all it takes to take Nigeria back on track and continue all the developmental agenda of the current administration. While some hinged their confidence in him based on his dramatic transformation of the Lagos judiciary sector and the establishment of the Office of Public Defenders while serving as the Lagos State Commissioner for Justice, others premised their conviction on the active role he played as Acting President during President Muhammdu Buhari ‘s medical vacation in London, saying that Osinbajo demonstrated courage and the capability of taking the nation to greater heights.
… Osinbajo’s achievements, a litmus test of dexterity…
To ensure that every indigent or disadvantaged resident of Lagos State has equal access to justice irrespective of means, race, age, or gender, with particular emphasis on the rights of women, children, and people living with disability, the Osinbajo-led leadership as the State Attorney-General established the Office of the Public Defender on July 24th, 2000. The Office has, since its creation, been diligently performing its mandate by ensuring the protection and enforcement of the fundamental human and socio- economic rights of all residents of Lagos.
The agency, which started as an office with minimal staff strength with passion, determination, and focus, has evolved in the past two decades to become a force to be reckoned with in the service of humanity and the temple of justice. The office currently has a staff strength of over 60 attorneys, social workers, administrative officers, and public affairs officers, and has secured justice for thousands of residents.
According to the Director of the Lagos State Office of the Public Defender, Dr. Babajide Martins, in 2019 alone, the office received over 4,000 walk in petitions and offered free legal representation to 13,787 people in civil and criminal matters at various High and magistrate courts in Lagos State. He added that there were also 73 rescue missions carried out by officers of the Office to rescue children in distress.
As the Lagos AG, Vice President Osinbajo also assisted in the establishment of the Citizens Mediation Centre (CMC) in Lagos to provide a non-adversarial forum for the mediation and settlement of a wide range of disputes between parties who, on invitation, voluntarily present themselves for mediation at the Centre.
It is also on record that in Prof. Osinbajo’s years as Lagos AG, the state engaged in many legal battles with the Federal Government, then headed by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, to ensure that due process and the rule of law were followed to the letter.
One of such was the suit marked SC.353/2001 between the AG, Lagos and the AG of the Federation. It was instituted in 2001 by the Lagos State Government to, among other things, challenge the constitutionality or otherwise of the Urban and Regional Planning Act, 1992.
Prof. Osinbajo also led the Lagos team in the celebrated case over control of natural resources located within the Continental Shelf of the country. The dispute was between the Federal Government and the eight littoral states of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross-River, Delta, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, and Rivers States in relation to the southern (or seaward) boundary of each of these states.
Also, Prof. Osinbajo led the Lagos team in the suit marked: S.C. 70/2004 between the AG, Lagos State and AG of the Federation, instituted in 2004 by the state government to challenge the directive by then President Obasanjo to the effect that statutory allocation to states that created local governments, be withheld by the Finance Minister.
In a letter dated April 8, 2004 and addressed to the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Nenadi Usman, President Obasanjo faulted the decisions of some states that conducted elections in newly created local governments without waiting for the National Assembly to include such new local governments in the Constitution as required under Section 8(5) of the Constitution, and those of those that have refused to establish the “State Joint Local Government Account.”
But apparently dissatisfied with these directives, the Lagos State Government sued the Federal Government at the Supreme Court. While Prof. Osinbajo conducted the case on behalf of his state, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) led the federal government’s team.
In its judgment on December 10, 2004, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Lagos State. It held, among others, that it was wrong for the federal government to withhold statutory allocations due to the states under any guise.
…..As Acting President
When President Buhari vested all legal powers in him in accordance with the constitution during his medical leave in London, Osinbajo exhibited uncommon courage and charisma in taking decisive and perhaps dramatic actions. Although acting on the president’s directive, there is no doubt that Prof. Osinbajo played a significant role in the ‘Niger Delta New Vision’ plan – a set of promises, solutions, and initiatives the President Buhari administration has put in place for the restoration of peace and to ensure the region benefits maximally from the nation’s oil wealth.
The relative peace in the creeks, the increase in production, and the hitch-free flow of crude to the international market are largely attributed to Osinbajo’s intervention. To engender significant and sustainable GDP growth, employment generation, and increase in local productivity, Professor Osinbajo, along with 12 federal ministries and state governments, also launched the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Clinic (MSME), a scheme addressing the plethora of challenges affecting the growth and productivity of growing businesses.
He ordered the overhaul of SARS, the police’s notorious anti-robbery squad, and demanded a quick investigation into numerous allegations of assaults by the unit. Following the unlawful invasion of the National Assembly by operatives of the DSS, Osinabjo sacked Daura, the DSS Chief, describing his actions as ‘unacceptable and a gross violation of constitutional order, the rule of law and all accepted notions of law and order.”
During that period, the nation was activated by his presence and timely intervention on issues. He could be in the north in the morning, and by the time it is noon, he could be found in the east attending to national issues. Hence, in less than 6 years on the national stage, this eloquent, tech-savvy, and unassuming leader, has gained good popularity among the Nigerian people for his achievements and dexterity in handling national issues.
It’s no wonder Prof. Osinbajo is everyone’s delight on social media. His comments, pictures; oratory skills have endeared him to many locally and internationally. The admirable Vice President has gathered the most likes, comments, and engagements, grossing over 500,000 likes on Facebook, 2 million followers on Twitter, and 500,000 Instagram subscribers, giving him a social strength of 16 million.
But as different political parties search for President Buhari’s successor, the consensus of opinion tilts towards PYO as the candidate who will rescue the nation from a total collapse and near disintegration. Osinbajo is believed to use his strong links with the youth to reform Nigeria and earn respect for the nation locally and internationally.
