For President Goodluck Jonathan, these indeed are the times that try men’s souls. After the international opprobrium that greeted the controversial pardon he granted former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha; and the public outrage following the shameful political witch-hunt of Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, whose plane was grounded at the instance of the Presidency, the government’s battered image took yet, another beating last Thursday after an Abuja High Court frustrated attempts by the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan to seize a choice piece of land in Abuja from her predecessor, Hajiya Turai Yar’Adua; widow of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
Delivering his judgment in the protracted land dispute after several unsuccessful attempts by the parties to settle the matter out of court, Justice Peter Affen rejected claims by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed that the land was revoked on the ground of “overriding public interest”, saying that there was no shred of evidence before the court to support it. Justice Affen held that the purported revocation of the plot of land measuring about 1.84 hectares allocated to a non-governmental organization, Women and Youth Empowerment Foundation, (WAYEF) owned by Turai Yar’Adua, by the FCT administration, was illegal and unlawful; insisting that the initial letter of offer issued Turai’s organization by the Minister remained valid and subsisting.
However, the Head of the FCT legal unit, Mrs. Ima Akpongete, said the FCT would appeal the decision because it was dissatisfied with the judgment. They better not, for that would be penny wise and pound foolish. Allowing sleeping dogs lie would save the First Lady and the President further embarrassment, as the high profile land dispute between the former and the current First Lady has been detestable, to say the least. The fact that the dispute involves the current First Lady and her immediate predecessor diminishes the respect and dignity that should ordinarily attach to the office of the First Lady, extra-constitutional as it is.
The face-saving explanation by the FCT Minister distancing the First Lady from the controversy; saying the litigation was between the FCT Administration and Turai and not the African First Ladies Peace Mission, to which Patience Jonathan is believed to be a sponsor, is somewhat belated, and altogether tepid; certainly not reconcilable with the fact of the act being an aberration, meant only to curry the president’s favor or goodwill. Reallocating the land to Patience Jonathan smacks of an attempt by the FCT Minister at ingratiating himself to the president. Bala’s explanations also did very little to assuage wide spread belief that the entire transaction was bereft of transparency and due process.
Apparently both women are interested in acquiring the same property, although one got there before the other. According to court documents, Plot 1347 Cadastral Zone, Central Business District, Abuja, measuring 1.84 hectares was duly allocated to Turai’s NGO-WAYEF, by the then FCT Minister with the Right of Occupancy duly issued after more than N261 million in associated charges, including approval fees for building plans had been paid. However, the land allocation, issued in February 2010 was revoked by the current FCT Minister in November 2011 on grounds of “overriding public interest”. The said letter of revocation was backdated with effect from October 27, 2011.
The FCT Minister then reallocated the land to Patience Jonathan-led African First Ladies’ Peace Mission (AFLPM), an NGO under the African Union (AU). Mrs. Jonathan wants to build the secretariat of the First Ladies Peace Mission on the land. Mrs. Yar’Adua’s lawyers went to court to stop Mrs. Jonathan from trespass. In a bid to avert a public embarrassment from the fast deteriorating situation, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister Of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, notified the presiding judge; Justice Peter Affen, of the Federal Government’s intention to settle the matter out of court. The court in apparent agreement adjourned to hear from the Federal Government. In spite of an interlocutory injunction restraining the First Ladies’ Peace Mission from interfering on the property, the AFLPM violated the court order by continuing building on the land.
Following public uproar and criticism of the FCT’s handling of the matter, the minister issued a statement through his spokesman, explaining that Turai’s NGO was not genuinely allocated the land, and that it was indeed originally allocated to AFLPM in June 2008. He claimed that, “silent reallocation was perpetrated” in favor of WAYEF in 2010 without a revocation of the original allocation. He described the AFLPM as a reputable institutional center belonging to all African First Ladies, and that it will be superintended by the office of the First Lady of the host nation, in this instance, Nigeria.
But the dispute is hardly surprising because the manner of land allocations in the nation’s capital has always been enmeshed in corrupt practices since the rock of ages. The present scandal is only loud because it involves two prominent ladies. Many individuals have had their allocations transferred illegally to other persons without their knowledge or consent. Others have had their original allocations arbitrarily withdrawn, and less attractive locations offered in lieu, to mollify them. Certificates of Ownership (C of O) have been known to be issued to more than one person for the same property. The racketeering going on in Abuja land matters wears a cap and whistles.
The Turai-Patience land tussle, however one looks at it, is ugly. This is the first time Nigerians have seen an open quarrel between past and present first ladies in the country. The entire episode diminishes the nation and throws up unsavory issues of power, sycophancy, greed and corruption. Nigeria’s battered image has taken a new beating with this scandal. In a democracy, the people ought to know how their leaders and their wives are behaving. Those who think that the dispute is between two women miss the point. What is at issue goes beyond both women as it involves foundational aspects of the Nigerian Constitution, including the rule of law, the right to fair hearing, the right to own property and the nature of the Nigerian justice system.
Above all, the development points up the ethical component of the State. The ethical State must ensure social justice; it must be accountable to the people; it must be sensitive to the public perception and feelings and it must be self-effacing. In doing so, the State earns its legitimacy and maintains hegemony of sorts. The First Lady’s involvement in a land tussle with her predecessor ignores the ethical side of the State and its responsibility. The FCT Minister betrays ignorance of the fact that leadership is a position of pre-eminence, not one to be trivialized. The rascality of invoking “overriding public interest” without a corresponding judicious use of his powers regarding the revocation of Turai’s allocation title is simply disingenuous and insulting to the sensibility of Nigerians. President Jonathan on his part ought to have advised against it, as the decision constitutes a moral burden on the image of the presidency.
