Buhari as minister of petroleum -By John Egbeazien Oshodi

Problems of a constitutional evil arose, as we have seen since 1999, especially since 2010, when a government in power made our constitution a “walking dead” and made Nigerians groan because of the destructive form of governance.

Suddenly, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa of Abia State, who has been in the National Assembly since 1999, is accusing President Muhammadu Buhari of usurping the power of the constitution which has just begun to come to life since the end of May.

We are currently witnessing a silent but full-blown constitutional crisis post-Jonathan era and, as such, Buhari has no choice but to take us through a fundamental transformation.

There has been a war in our country over the last five years and it has not been a war with a foreign enemy. Instead, it has been a war on the people by a shady government and the war has unearthed itself in the form of a domestic crisis across all sectors of the society.

So when President Buhari announced in America, far away from home, that he would appoint himself as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, struggling Nigerians in particular, saw this personal charge of the country’s crucial oil as a positive move against monumental corruption and as a blessing.

Our good senator should understand that in times of war, the history of the world has shown that the constitution can be set aside; we are at war against endemic graft, crippled finances, and a squeezed form of governance.

Oil, as we know, accounts for almost 90 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earning; but in the last five years, almost all has been stolen; so the President, on an advisory basis, given his oil leadership experience, will be our minister, with a junior minister taking charge of the day-to-day affairs in the ministry.

Mr. President is not afraid to go through vetting for this ministerial assignment as he is one of the few who can boldly tackle the rot in the oil and gas sector and put the nation back on track.

Not long ago, American President Barack Obama reportedly informed the Congress on issues pertaining to money matters that, “I won’t violate the constitution, unless you make me…”

Buhari, who is also presiding over a presidential system of democracy, is all about working in the full interest of the people and, as such, he has the right to see the Nigerian constitution, which is a charter of rights, more from the angle of positive rights compared to the negative liberties of the constitution. So, if he has to bypass it from time to time for the sake of a national crisis, let it be, but that is not his nature.

In other words, Buhari can choose to go with the positive rights which require the government to act in certain ways to ensure that the people get all they deserve, unlike the negative rights which want the government to refrain from doing too much.

So, on this basis, Buhari, who is trying to turn Nigeria away from corruption, unrestricted as it has been since 1999, will not be usurping any sort of power in terms of his ministerial position and certainly he does not need senatorial vetting, especially not when he is fighting an open war on corruption and exposing all the yesteryears’ abuses on our young constitution.

From the point of legal psychology, the nation is feeling a form of domestic emergency over the misdeeds of the past government and they feel it on a daily basis, as these misdeeds robbed our constitution with various colours of corruption and impunity.

Dr. John Egbeazien Oshodi is a Florida based forensic psychologist. Jos5930458@aol.com