Jonathan’s state pardon:The lucky, the not so lucky

By Bashir Adefaka
WHEN it was said, recently, that President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan's
pardon was aimed mainly at favouring only his former boss, Chief
Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, little did many know about it. The public
opposition was premised on the sniffed intention of the president, who
laboured hard to save a former governor from the hookshung around the
neck of his ability to hold public office by the tag of 'ex-convict'.
That was major reason for the huge cry, which attended the
announcement of pardon for the former Bayelsa governor.
Others affected by the pardon were former number-two citizen Lt.
General Oladipo Diya; former Minister of Communications and General
Officer Commanding, GOC, Three Division of the Nigerian Army,
Major-General Tajudeen Olanrewaju; former Minister of Works and
Housing and Military Governor of old Oyo State, Major-General
AbdulKarim Adisa and others. The pardon was granted in March this
year.
Diepreiye Alamieyeisegha
Many of the people who registered their anger and opposition to that
presidential decision and pronouncement, said that they were doing so
because they were convincedthat it was not about pardoning the
generals whose offence was merely as a result of political footballing
arising from a phantom coup allegation. They wondered why General
Ishaya Bamaiyi, who was Chief of Army Staff and was severally
mentioned as arrow-head in the phantom coup was left off the hook?
Critics of President Jonathan's state pardon said he only added those
Generals' names to the list to give credence to the pardon of
Alamieyeseigha.
That claim is today more than explicit in the sense that the
presidency has continued to foot-drag on the release of a gazette to
that effect. The problemwith this is that, where the mere presidential
pronouncement may haveshielded Alamieyeseigha from the
'ex-convict'stigma, Diya, Olanrewaju, Adisa and others of the military
angle of the issue have not been so lucky because a pronouncement
without an official gazette to back it up has hampered the Army
Council or Army High Command from effecting the release of their
benefits, which had been withheld for sixteen years now.
In a newspaper report recently, an Army General was quoted as saying
that Generals Diya, Olanrewaju, Adisa and others are fine officers who
had contributed well and immensely to the general good of the country.
He added that their entitlements had already been computed ready for
release but that the Army was constrained by the fact that there had
not been official information or communication from the presidency
toenable them restore their military status and release those
entitlements to them.
If the state pardon for Generals, outside the one for Alamieyeseigha,
was truly a pardon, why is it that while the former Bayelsa governor
is alreadyenjoying the benefits accruing to him from the pardon, the
Generals are still not able to access any of the benefits expected of
the pardon? It is, therefore, important for the President to do the
needful by directing the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of
the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, whose office, it wasgathered, is
responsible for the publication of the gazette, to release the
official publication stating out the names of the pardoned without
further delay.
It may be pertinent to implore Mr. President to bear it in mind that
it is only better for him to finish the good thing he has started with
the pardon instead of allowing somebody else to come later and
complete and then take the glory. No matter what the pressure is
against doing it, he should give his directive and let the whole thing
rest one and for all.
This is importantly said here because, one is aware of pressure from
some inside-power opposition, which perhaps has amounted to the delay
in the release of the official gazette by the Office of the Minister
of Justice and Attorney-General. Ironically, this unfortunate
opposition is coming fromthose who themselves should by now have been
forgotten in the history of Nigeria if not that they too were products
of a state pardon.
This dragged pardon is one thing President Goodluck Jonathan should
perfect if truly he does not want Nigerians, especially some of those,
who had gone all out justifying his position on pardon for
Alamieyeseighato develop change of thought. Once he, by this delay in
the release of the gazette cast doubts in people's hearts, who then
would remain for him as friends? He should do it and doing so is
believed to have a way it helps him in resolving many of the issues
and allegations of marginalization against his government from certain
sections of the country.No gainsaying that the president has many
battles confronting him as a person and his administration as a
system. These battles, the way they look, appear to be gaining
grounds in rubbishing his commitment to good governance and the best
and only available missile he can deploy to strike them groundslide is
to make more friends with people, the Generals: Diya, Olanrewaju and
even AbdulKarim Adisa (in death) inclusive. Once again, Mr. President
should listento the voice of reason which says, a stitch in time saves
nine!