The Nigerian Vice President And His Political Destiny.

On September 11, 2001, a saturnalia of murder and destruction blitzkrieged the airspace of the world's only hyperpower, crumbling and burning its symbols of faith And as the cathedrals of the capitalist empire tumbled down, a particularly incongruous development was unfolding on ground, far away from Ground Zero -- the dramatic spectacle of the vice president as a decisive lever in the political equation of America. While the Commander-In-Chief was apparently exposed to danger with Airforce 1 being navigated over the skies of the shadow of death, the Second-In-Command was being scuttled off and scurried from one safe house to another, prompting political pundits and observers to ask the billion dollar question: which is more important in the face of imminent danger; the safety and security of the president or that of his deputy?

Even though political expediency, rather than conventional wisdom, places more premium on the life of a president, that is no sufficient guarantee of immortality.Through a paradoxical twist of circumstances, it does, however, guarantee immorality when the beneficiary of such mispaced premiums becomes enslaved to the power drive in its unsublimated form and eventually succumbs to the frenzy of an overcharged and swollen will. Certain individuals in this exalted office, who suffer from delusions of grandeur, see themselves, if not as immortal, as good for three terms at least. Having tasted the forbidden fruits of power, they become adept at concocting recipes for perpetuating themselves in office, oblivous to the fact that no matter how strong the instinct of self-preservation is in a sitting president, his life can be cut short in office by a multiplicity of factors ranging from the natural to the human-engineered. In order to provide an automatic solution to the problem of succession when calamity strikes, the spare tire of vice president has become a necessity for the automobile of the modern state whose executive, inspite of the excuses with which their satellites have sought to palliate their excesses, is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie.

American politics, inspite of all its claims to being the bedrock of democracy, is not devoid of a fair stint of idiosyncracies. In order not to tincture the fledgling democracy with a taint of absolutism, the founding fathers invented the categorical imperative of a presidential system of government whose chief executive officer shall be elected for a maximum two-term period of eight years. A number of safeguards, all aimed at enhancing constitutionality and furthering the cause of a responsible and responsive government were infused into the structure of the newly created government. Such measures as checks and balances, separation of powers, the rule of law, independence of the judiciary, freedom of the press, etc., whose violations are carried out today with brazen cynicism, gross perfidy and unprecedented savagery, were held sacrosanct in the emergent American democracy which was strongly rooted in enduring institutions rather than capricious personalities. The office of the vice president was only mooted and brought into the picture as a contriving afterthought to address the problem of succession.

One would be forced to look in vain for a greater example of world historical irony if one should overlook the Nigerian political landscape. Ideally, the vice president is an officer ranking next below the president, usually empowered to assume the duties of the latter under conditions such as absence, illness, death or other constitutional disability. But in the Nigerian scheme of things, apart from being the mandatory instrument for an administration's religious balance, he is just a pawn in the chessboard of presidential elections. The vice president has customarily chaired the National Council on privatization at the president's pleasure and the president may assign him other duties and functions at his discretion as provided in the constitution. Everybody must at some time have wondered at the strange paradox posed by this hapless functionary who is constitutionally tailor made to play second fiddle. He is in his elements when his coat is sewn according to his size, giving him ample room to wiggle in and throw his weight around as if he were the real power behind the throne. Woe unto him when the size of his coat is dictated by the measly allotment from the boss, who willing to cut him to size for aspiring to the numero uno position, bullies and berates him to accept and believe that the portfolio of the vice president does neither include a line of non-hereditary succession nor sartorial flamboyance. Humorously as this may sound, there is an element of truth in it. And that may be a contributing factor to the traditional mistrust inherent in the relationship between a president and his deputy.

Alhaji Shehu Shagari was what political pundits and close presidential watchers would refer to as a passive-positive president. He fits the general pattern of people who are ill-equipped for politics. This type usually exhibits a high degree of low self-esteem and pliancy which he masks with a superficial optimism and a generally hopeful attitude. Shagari was an easy-going fellow whose impeccable dress sense made nonsense of his vice president's simplicity. The mere fact that the he always stood out and was the cynosure at public functions coupled with the religious equilibrium the vice president brought into the administration was enough to foster a good working relationship between the two political actors.

Much time and energy would be expended in arguing whether the Nigerian vice president is a man who could by his name, by his connections, by his wealth, by his local situation, by his influence, or his intrigues, best promote the election of a president. There is no gainsaying the fact that Vice President Alex Ekwueme rose out of relative obscurity into the corridors of power as a second rider on the presidential horse. He was a sort of appendage to the presidency, a tie-in sale, an inseparable part of a package. Although religion plays a substantial role here, of more importance is the geopolical background of the vice presidential candidate. Nigerian politicians have not stopped short of the employment and exploitation of the religious drives and consolations for political ends.This is but a gambit to rein in the gullible electorate for whom religion is opiate. The most influential president Nigeria never had was a muslim. And his running mate, Kingibe professed the same faith. The June 12 presidential election was won not because of the role, which was insignificant anyway, that Kingibe played in the election campaigns, but because of who Abiola was. He was however denied the mandate because he originated from a geopolitical base whose hold on power, was at best fragile. If both men had been sworn in, there would have developed a very tempestuous relationship because they both belonged to the same sartorial school of thought. It would have been impossible for a first- time visiting dignitary to identify who was who because of the parachute both men wore to break the winds. The capacious folds of Abiola's cap would have however given the game away.

This factor was overhyped and overplayed during the Obasanjo- Atiku administration. It becomes necessary at this juncture to link the fate and political destiny of the vice president to the character of the president. Obasanjo was an active-negative president who was very compulsive and close-minded in and out of office. Although this type works extremely hard to better the country, he finds no joy in his position or in his power. This does not however arrogate to Obasanjo the appellaton of the founder of modern Nigeria. A more befitting appellation would be the Mike Tyson of Nigerian politics. This was a man who exhibited a lot of brawns, brashness, crudity, rigidity and a general willingness to reduce politics to the level of a personal vendetta. This active-negative is often aggressive, ambitious, perfectionistic and anxious. A bully at heart, he makes mincemeat of his deputy. It was Atiku's political destiny to enter into a job of incurable frustration because of who Obasanjo was: a dyed-in-the-wool apostle of Machiavellianism who delegated unpopular duties to his deputy while dispensing all favours directly. No wonder, Atiku gradually gravitated to the role of ribbon-cutter in chief.

In terms of real power, vice presidents exercise only the amount of power and authority given to them by the presidents under whom they serve. As vice president, Atiku apart from serving as ribbon-cutter in chief also oversaw the administration's economic programmes. He presided over the National Council on Privatization during which hundreds of non-lucrative and poorly managed public enterprises were sold off in a manner that has prompted more questions than answers. The tradition in a presidential democracy is when an incumbent's term expires, the vice automatically becomes the first contender. Not so in Nigeria, where the phenomenon of a vice president easing into the presidency is a rare oddity. Obasanjo saw Atiku as the heir-apparent who was just waiting for him to die, and Atiku must have felt like a raven hovering over Obasanjo's shoulders every time he came into his presence. This is hardly the basis for a cordial and enduring friendship, coupled with the fact that both of them belonged to the same sartorial school with the vice president's flamboyance making mockery of the president's aesthetically reprehensible dress sense.

Apart from the actuarial attractions of the office of the vice president which became increasingly annoying to the president, the latter had an over-inflated sense of self worth. His grandiose delusional disorder which tempted him to see himself as having a special mission, gave birth to a Brutus crisis on the part of the vice president who became the rallying point of the opposition to Obasanjo's bid for an unconstitutional third term.

What more is left for the Nigerian vice president if his office cannot serve as an important training ground and as a learning office where men train themselves for the great responsibility that may one day be theirs? The current vice president has had a shot at the deputy's office before. Would we be right to therefore conclude that he is an accident waiting to happen? One thing however provides a balm for the soul of this writer which is that the current president and his deputy do not belong to the same sartorial school of thought. Jonathan Goodluck should however restrain himself from the temptingly seductive attempt to adorn his cap with feathers of any type, whether from ostrich, peacocks or parrots as this could send a wrong signal to the president's camp. It is high time the vice president graduated from being a political eunuch to a heartbeat from presidency. Enough said.