By Udo Jude Ilo

How can you claim that Alams has repented if he cowardly hides in Nigeria and takes no steps to clear his name in the UK? Never has a presidential pardon in history anywhere in the world to the knowledge of this writer been extended to an international fugitive who is properly so called.

Essentially the message Nigeria is sending is its manifest disdain and disregard for the UK justice system or to international conventions on law and order. Hamilton above captures the dangers of presidential pardon and the moral obligation needed in exercising this authority. President Jonathan appears blind to these moral obligations or blindsided to the dangers of executive impunity.

It is important at this point to clear certain misconceptions and share some open secrets about this abuse of power. The decision of granting pardon to Alamieyeseigha was not that of the National Council of State. The Presidency is attempting to couch this insanity with the cloak of ‘legitimacy’ that a suggestion of a collegial decision may give.

Sadly it is not so. Under the section 175 of the Constitution, what the president is required to do under the law is to consult the National Council of State. He is not BOUND by their decision and neither do they have any constitutional powers to stop him. He simply informs them.

So the responsibility for this action rests with President Jonathan alone. The second point is that this presidential pardon is primarily for Alamieyeseigha. The other people in the list are just a feeble attempt to legitimize the indefensible. To drive this point home, Diya and Shehu Yar’Adua were both convicted by a military tribunal that falls short of basic requirements under international convention and our constitution of what fair trial should be. It will be a historical injustice of an unquantifiable proportion to group these men in the class of Alamieyeseigha.

It is necessary also to state at this point that the crimes for which Alamieyeseigha was convicted are in a special class. Nigeria has been defaced by corruption. Since the return to civilian rule, corruption has been the bane of our development as a people. Now it defines us.

From the fuel subsidy fraud to the pension fraud, from the decay of infrastructure to growing poverty, we as a people are under a strangulating hold of corruption with the danger of suffocation if it is not combated. And so for Nigeria, corruption is not just a social ill, it is an existential problem that is more dangerous than violence since violence is just a manifestation of the problems of corruption.

State response to corruption has been grossly inadequate. Our international image has been battered by this virus. Given all these dynamics and existential dangers of corruption, our government cannot be granting pardon to corrupt officials. It is unconscionable to do that at this time, and in this form. This is shamefaced endorsement of corruption. It destroys the faith of the people in government, tarnishes our image home and abroad and undermines our anti-corruption fight if at all there is any.

The Presidency embodies not just legal authority and power but also symbolic of everything that is Nigeria. It is an institution bigger than any individual and must be preserved not so much for itself but for its fundamental significance. What is being destroyed here is not just the spirit of our constitution or the integrity of our already damaged presidency but the legitimacy of the Nigeria state.

It is such a steep price to pay to clean the up after an international felon. Hamilton captures the essence and substance of presidential pardon above here and rightly so. Every time an elected official exercises discretion, he is sending a message on behalf of the state. Mr. President, what message are you sending here?

*Udo writes from Abuja