A conspicuous twitter handle goes by the name ‘Osinbajo’s Tied Hands’. Although hilarious, it perfectly summarizes many Nigerians’ grouse with the vice president, a man accused of being a firm accomplice of the woeful performance of the Buhari administration. But in his defense, his disciples claim his hands were tied.
But were they really tied? Put another way, what did Nigerians expect him to do, given the circumstances? For those who understand the workings of the Nigerian government well enough, they would agree that the roles of the vice president and deputy governor are merely ancillary. They are also quite easily disposable, hence why many state governors change their deputies at will. Senator Rochas, former governor of Imo state for instance, had 3 deputy governors in 8 years.
Those angry with Osinbajo allege that he was an abettor of the hardship inflicted on Nigerians by the Buhari administration. For them, the fact that he is a professor and a pastor makes it even more disappointing. They aver further that if indeed he is a man of honor and good conscience, he should have resigned his position a long time ago.
To be fair, it will be implausible and even futile to divorce Osinbajo from the Buhari administration. After all, if the assessment was unconditionally excellent, he would have wholly shared in the glory. What more, Osinbajo was the poster boy of the utterly shameful policies of TraderMoni and MarketMoni, roles he never showed signs of any disinclination. Furthermore, he publicly spoke up for the government on many occasions.
But more insightfully, I don’t think it is that straight forward. There were tell-tale signs in Buhari’s first term that Osinbajo may not have been a willful partaker in the ills of the administration. Recall when the government was dilly dallying in confirming Onoghen as CJN, it was Osinbajo, then acting President consequent to Buhari’s medical trip overseas, that took the bull by the horn and confirmed the appointment, much to the ire of the powers that be.
He also fired the then DSS boss, Lawal Daura, rumored to be a powerful member of the inner cabal. On another occasion, he stood his ground when he firmly denied his assent for the largely altered budget returned by the legislators. In the few months when he was acting president, the relative serenity in the country was not missed. I recollect quite clearly it was at the infancy of the herdsmen attacks in the North Central and the resurgence of the Niger Delta Avengers in the South South. He was able to maintain peace in the country during the short period of time he steered the ship. As soon as the president returned, all hell broke lose.
What is most remarkable is the extent to which ‘the powers that be’ went in stripping him, or rather the office of the vice president, of his/its roles. At the inception of President Buhari’s second term, the news was awash with stories of agencies and parastatals domiciled in the VP’s office being moved to the presidency, SGF or other ministries. Following his bravado as acting president in the first term, Buhari never formally/officially transferred power to him in any of his further medical trips abroad till date.
In the second term he seemed quite adrift, deputizing for the president mostly at the quite inessential events like flag offs, commissioning and commemorations. Lest I forget, recall when he was allegedly locked out of a high level security meeting in the villa.
Should he have resigned then, when he didn’t seem that useful in the second term? I think not. It would have been imprudent of him to do so. And to what end would it have been anyway? A more malleable tool would have been appointed the next second, and the wailing will continue from this end.
Should he have openly dissented with Buhari? Again, I think not. The lessons learnt from Atiku versus Obasanjo show that this is an unwise option. Till date, Atiku has not and will never recover from the decimation of his political career dealt him by Obasanjo. dealt him.
The last option was to sit it out. I think Osinbajo was bidding his time with the future being his goal, and not the present. He must have had big dreams for Nigeria and being so close to power, it was only a matter of time before he actualized them. He understood the limitations of his office as a VP and the senselessness in overstepping his bounds. In such a position, patience was his greatest weapon, and time his biggest ally.
To conclude, the constitution has already tied the hands of anyone who will ever be Nigeria’s vice president. I don’t except the next VP to be different. It is either he/she dissents with his master (like Atiku), or assents like Sambo and Osinbajo. Time will tell if Osinbajo has made the right choice. 2023 is near.