Human rights lawyer
and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana, in this interview with
PUNCH, says the office of the First Lady is illegal and the roles of
president/governors’ wives should be limited.
What does the Nigerian constitution say about the office of the First Lady and what are the roles assigned to the occupant?
The post of the First Lady is not a creation of the constitution. In other words, there is no mention or reference to the post in the constitution or any other statute in the land. So, the question of assigning responsibilities to the office does not arise. In the first and second republics, there was no office of the First Lady. Even under successive military regimes up to the Muhammadu Buhari/Tunde Idiagbon era, the post was unknown. It was under the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida junta that the wife of the military president created the post, albeit illegally. There was no decree to back it up. When the late Mrs. Maryam Babangida (known as Maryam the First) started diverting public funds to run her Better Life project, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, challenged the aberration in court. Although the action was struck out for want of locus standi, Nigerians kicked against the illegality. Under the maximum dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, we had the reign of ‘Maryam the second.’
The post of the First Lady was one of the oddities bequeathed to the civilian regime by a corrupt and wasteful military dictatorship. From 1999 till now, no president has had the courage to check the excesses of his wife. These days, roads are blocked in our cities for hours because the wife of the president is retouching her hair in a salon. Very recently, Lagos was completely grounded for eight hours because the wife of the president (Patience Jonathan) was in town to attend a naming ceremony. Governor Raji Fashola, SAN, was compelled to condemn the illegal disruption of activities in the state.
Last month, the Government Reserved Area in Port-Harcourt was closed down for 11 days because the wife of the president was around to kick-start the 2015 electioneering in total violation of the Electoral Act. It was reported that there were some official functions the elected governor could not attend because his official residence was blocked by armed gendarmes, who were detailed to protect and secure an unelected person. It is high time such reckless impunity associated with the wife of the president was stopped. The other time, all the wives of senators were summoned to Abuja where the president’s wife asked them to warn their husbands to behave themselves. Why should senators allow such humiliation with all the risks involved in travelling to Abuja for frivolities?
Many have argued that the wives of governors and the President should carry out some governmental responsibilities to complement the efforts of their spouses. Is this logical?
Nigerians are totally opposed to the idea of conferring any power or responsibilities on the spouses of presidents and governors. The Justice Alfa Belgore Constitutional Review Panel, set up by President Goodluck Jonathan, rejected the inclusion of the office of the First Lady in the constitution. The National Assembly constitutional review committees have also kicked against it. Recently, the proposed allocation of N4bn in the Federal Capital Territory budget to build an office for the First Lady was expunged by the Senate. If the allocation had been passed, I would have challenged it in court. But, the Senate rightly rejected it. Let the spouses and family members of elected officials give a helping hand to them by ensuring their success and not by blocking roads to disrupt the free movement of goods and services and in the process, violate the freedom of movement of citizens.
Where her roles cannot be governmental, what kind of public duties can she carry out?
I cannot dictate for spouses of elected officials what roles they should play. But, let them learn from the professionals among them like Justice Mary Peter-Odili, who has reached the apogee of her career. If she had been on sabbatical leave for eight years when her husband was the governor of Rivers State, she could not have made it to the apex court by now. Let those who decide to run non-governmental organisations run them for the benefit of our people. There is so much to do. Let them join the campaign to remove 10.5 million children from the streets and register them in schools. Let them join the battle to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, cholera and other preventable diseases that are ravaging our people. Let them influence their spouses to address these problems and the crisis of poverty in the midst of plenty.
What about the paraphernalia attached to the office of the First Lady, should the President/governor’s wife enjoy the benefits accruable to elected public office holders?
You cannot talk of the paraphernalia of an office that has not been established by law. However, the spouses of an elected President and governors are entitled to attend programmes and travel with their partners. They are entitled to adequate security, particularly in this age of kidnapping. There are some other benefits conferred on them by law.
What does the Nigerian constitution say about the office of the First Lady and what are the roles assigned to the occupant?
The post of the First Lady is not a creation of the constitution. In other words, there is no mention or reference to the post in the constitution or any other statute in the land. So, the question of assigning responsibilities to the office does not arise. In the first and second republics, there was no office of the First Lady. Even under successive military regimes up to the Muhammadu Buhari/Tunde Idiagbon era, the post was unknown. It was under the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida junta that the wife of the military president created the post, albeit illegally. There was no decree to back it up. When the late Mrs. Maryam Babangida (known as Maryam the First) started diverting public funds to run her Better Life project, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, challenged the aberration in court. Although the action was struck out for want of locus standi, Nigerians kicked against the illegality. Under the maximum dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, we had the reign of ‘Maryam the second.’
The post of the First Lady was one of the oddities bequeathed to the civilian regime by a corrupt and wasteful military dictatorship. From 1999 till now, no president has had the courage to check the excesses of his wife. These days, roads are blocked in our cities for hours because the wife of the president is retouching her hair in a salon. Very recently, Lagos was completely grounded for eight hours because the wife of the president (Patience Jonathan) was in town to attend a naming ceremony. Governor Raji Fashola, SAN, was compelled to condemn the illegal disruption of activities in the state.
Last month, the Government Reserved Area in Port-Harcourt was closed down for 11 days because the wife of the president was around to kick-start the 2015 electioneering in total violation of the Electoral Act. It was reported that there were some official functions the elected governor could not attend because his official residence was blocked by armed gendarmes, who were detailed to protect and secure an unelected person. It is high time such reckless impunity associated with the wife of the president was stopped. The other time, all the wives of senators were summoned to Abuja where the president’s wife asked them to warn their husbands to behave themselves. Why should senators allow such humiliation with all the risks involved in travelling to Abuja for frivolities?
Many have argued that the wives of governors and the President should carry out some governmental responsibilities to complement the efforts of their spouses. Is this logical?
Nigerians are totally opposed to the idea of conferring any power or responsibilities on the spouses of presidents and governors. The Justice Alfa Belgore Constitutional Review Panel, set up by President Goodluck Jonathan, rejected the inclusion of the office of the First Lady in the constitution. The National Assembly constitutional review committees have also kicked against it. Recently, the proposed allocation of N4bn in the Federal Capital Territory budget to build an office for the First Lady was expunged by the Senate. If the allocation had been passed, I would have challenged it in court. But, the Senate rightly rejected it. Let the spouses and family members of elected officials give a helping hand to them by ensuring their success and not by blocking roads to disrupt the free movement of goods and services and in the process, violate the freedom of movement of citizens.
Where her roles cannot be governmental, what kind of public duties can she carry out?
I cannot dictate for spouses of elected officials what roles they should play. But, let them learn from the professionals among them like Justice Mary Peter-Odili, who has reached the apogee of her career. If she had been on sabbatical leave for eight years when her husband was the governor of Rivers State, she could not have made it to the apex court by now. Let those who decide to run non-governmental organisations run them for the benefit of our people. There is so much to do. Let them join the campaign to remove 10.5 million children from the streets and register them in schools. Let them join the battle to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, cholera and other preventable diseases that are ravaging our people. Let them influence their spouses to address these problems and the crisis of poverty in the midst of plenty.
What about the paraphernalia attached to the office of the First Lady, should the President/governor’s wife enjoy the benefits accruable to elected public office holders?
You cannot talk of the paraphernalia of an office that has not been established by law. However, the spouses of an elected President and governors are entitled to attend programmes and travel with their partners. They are entitled to adequate security, particularly in this age of kidnapping. There are some other benefits conferred on them by law.
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