The three months tenure extension of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu after his retirement date has raised the question on whether President Muhammadu Buhari could differentiate between constitutional democracy and military regime.
Buhari seems to have adopted the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and other extant laws, as the remnants of the decrees under the military regime headed by him between 1983-1985 where laws were unilaterally promulgated, retroactively rescinded and selectively executed.
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An old dog can’t easily be taught a new trick. He could also be helpless to get over the illusion of the unlimited powers he enjoyed during his 1983 iron fist regime due to old age. Unfortunately, his cabinet is not helping matters.
Mohammed Adamu, a well-trained police officer could have prevented the current constitutional crisis. If he had demonstrated utmost willingness to retire within the stipulated legal confine, he would have facilitated a standby successor alongside the Police Service Commission and the presidency a couple of months ago.
The extension of the IGP’s tenure on the ground of allowing for a proper selection of a successor has clearly indicated that Buhari doesn’t take cognizance of the rule of law.
Adamu is currently not a serving member of the Nigeria Police Force he presides over, which is a breach against the provisions in Section 215(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 7(3) of the Police Act.
Power is transient. The subjugation of Nigeria’s democratic institution under any guise would create a vacuum for unimaginable tyranny to any individuals. Adamu ought to have known better with his academic and professional credentials. The Muhammadu Buhari-led administration would continue to commit constitutional aberrations until the intellectuals in his cabinet begin to act selflessly, progressively and lawfully.
Binzak Azeez writes from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife
