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THIS piece, lets mention here at the beginning, is not about the keypad warriors deployed to take down the Osun State governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, following his rolling out of an Executive Order outlawing the absurdity called State of Osun during his inaugural address to the state last Sunday. Social media hounds do not interest me. It is the business of brutes to bark themselves hoarse. However, the case becomes remarkably different when you are dealing with distinguished company, and in this regard I draw readers’ attention to the cant crafted by the Osun State House of Assembly this week. In a statement issued by one Kunle Akande, the House Committee Chairman on Media and Publicity, the lawmakers rejected Governor Adeleke’s directive because the adoption of State of Osun is “a matter of law.” Let’s hear their lecture: “The usage of the state anthem, crest and flag is an enactment of law and as such, its usage is a matter of law and not choice. The enactment ‘state of Osun anthem, crest and flag law, 2012’ assented to on the 18th of December, 2012 contained in Schedule I, II, III, IV and V, which carefully details every component of this law is not in ambiguity.”
But it is actually the honourables who need a law lecture. In a federal state, federal law takes precedence over state laws and it is a no-brainer that any state law that is inconsistent with the grundnorm is a waste of time. Article VI, Paragraph 2 of the U.S. Constitution, the Supremacy Clause, gives the federal constitution precedence over state laws and constitutions. The Constitution, federal laws made pursuant to it and treaties made under its authority constitute the “supreme Law of the Land.” State constitutions are subordinate to the supreme law, provided that federal statutes and treaties stay within the parameters defined by the Constitution. In Nigeria, just like in the United States and elsewhere, the grundnorm is supreme. Section 1 (1) of the constitution states expressly: “This constitution is supreme and its provisions shall have binding force on all authorities and persons throughout the Federal republic of Nigeria.” In S.1 (3), we read: “If any law is inconsistent with the provisions of this constitution, this constitution shall prevail, and that other law shall to the extent of the inconsistency be void.”
Now, the enactment of State of Osun during the Rauf Aregbesola administration is in conflict with the 1999 Constitution (As amended) and is therefore doomed. I am not a lawyer, only a forensic linguist, but I do not believe that the framers of the laws of the land intended them to be understood only by lawyers and judges. Indeed, in 2017, an Osun State High Court sitting in Ilesa declared the renaming of Osun State illegal, null and void. That being the case, State of Osun remains a nullity unless and until this judgment is set aside by a superior court. Adeleke is therefore on solid ground in upholding this express declaration of the court as the duly elected governor of Osun State. In saying that “while we are aware of a court judgment in effect recognising “Osun State”, the Assembly, pending the determination and exhaustion of all legal means would not be drawn into this matter,” the lawmakers are only being clever by half. No one has the luxury of trifling with the orders of the court.
When the hypocrites who mouth State of Osun go to Abuja to collect federal allocations, in which name do they do so? Under which nomenclature did INEC organise the elections that made them legislators? Where is State of Osun in the 1999 Constitution (As amended)? Given that converting Osun State to State of Osun entails constitutional amendment, just how can a state amend the 1999 Constitution without the involvement of the National Assembly and at least two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states, which gives you 24 states? Indeed, at which point did the people of Osun State express the desire for a change of the state’s nomenclature? What injury is done to the people of Osun State by that name, and what advantage does State of Osun confer over and above Osun State? It is my humble opinion that the change from Osun State to State of Osun has not been made at any time.
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To be sure, the bickering over Osun State is unfortunate. You see, great men in power don’t force you to remember them. When people remember Olusegun Mimiko, they will remember his Abiye programme which was adopted by the World Bank as a benchmark for Africa. When people remember Babatunde Fashola, they will remember BRT lanes and the cleaning up of Oshodi. When they remember Akinwunmi Ambode, they will remember roads and bus terminals. Those men do not need to bleach the naira or enforce a needless name change to force us to remember them. You don’t need to say O Rice, O Beans or O Tolotolo to be a good governor. Leaders who force us to remember them in rage are a curse to humanity. On a passing note, I am thankful that my certificates bear the name “Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria” and not “Obafemi Awolowo University, State of Osun.” State of Osun sounds like something worse than “state of anomie.” I am comfortable with Osun State, where both my mother and paternal grandmum were from.
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Re: Sifuba, the shameless Speaker
Great piece, Doc. However, your salvo against Sifuba and her sympathisers is premised on seeing South Africa with Nigerian moral and cultural mirrors. There is no sexual morality in South Africa. Kai! SA is a different world. You can’t understand it with Nigerian lens. SA is a world of horror; the mindset, worldview, attitude and disposition are unAfrican. Killing is a norm here. Rape is a lifestyle.
Immorality, fornication and adultery are considered as normal practices. South Africa’s crime statistics as of October 2022 has it that 67 persons are murdered daily and 110 women are raped daily. Unthinkable crimes take place and they are not perturbed. Sodom and Gomorrah are a child’s play. A child just publicly apologised to her father for lying against him (rape accusation). The apology came after the father had served 15 years for rape. The lady said her mother forced her to lie against her father. A 300 level student just got pregnant for a secondary school boy. A number of our men here have to lie that they came with their wives because many South African supervisors believe that you cannot cope with the rigour of PhD without regular sex.
Ezekiel Bunmi
Johannesburg
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