Amudipe Marcus
The last few years within the Nation’s Socio-Political Sphere, active followers and observers within this purview have been privileged to witness the Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN silenced the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami over salient issues that has to do with the Nation’s survival.
For a man to have been considered and made the Attorney General of the Federation for a nation like Nigeria, it would have been expected that such individual must not just be a brilliant and well seasoned legal practitioner with wealth of experience, it is also expected that such individual must be a strong custodian of the laws of the land.
For Malami, the narrative has been quite different as the Ondo State Governor on multiple occasions have taken him to the cleaners with hard and undisputed constitutional fact, making a mockery of the credentials and acumen of Malami as the Attorney General of the Federation for the World’s Most Populous Black Nation.
The first exchange of dialogue between these two prominent Nigerians had seen the Executive Governor of Ondo State leading other South West Governors under the DAWN Commission to the formation of the Regional Security Network code-named Amotekun; a move which was made necessary to combat and curb the incessant case of insecurities in the region.
In response, Abubakar Malami, Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), had declared the outfit illegal, saying the federal government is exclusively responsible for security.
While reacting to his statement, the Executive Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN did not hide his disappointment at the response of the AGF as he openly schooled him. Arakunrin Akeredolu in an exclusive interview told Channels Television that it is clear laws are not made in the office of the AGF, but he can interpret the laws and advise the FG on matters relating to the law.
“One thing is clear, laws are not made in the office of the Attorney General; he can only interpret the laws and give positions of government on matters relating to the law.”
“When he comes out with relevant portions of the law on the matter, we will consider it and respond adequately as the law stipulates. “he added
This had incident sent ripples across the nation as it’s clearly evident that the AGF had bluffed and the Ondo State Governor who had also served as a two time President of the Nigerian Bar Association left no reservations as he chided him and publicly re-orientated him on his job specifications. The Ondo State Governor will eventually lead it South West Governors to the successful creation and subsequent launching of the security network in their respective states. The Regional Security Network has successfully put to bed the notorious activities of criminals in the region since creation.
The Open Grazing issue will later present another opportunity for the Ondo State Governor to triumph over the nation’s AGF, Abubakar Malami.
Abubakar Malami had likened the ban on open grazing by southern governors led by Governor Akeredolu in the south to prohibiting spare parts trading in the North.
Akeredolu, while reacting to Malami’s position, maintained that the resolve of the Southern governors to ban open grazing is irreversible and will be enforced with vigor.
Akeredolu described the statement credited to Malami as not only strange and annoying but also betrays a terrible mindset, urging the AGF to approach the court if he is not satisfied with the decision of the Southern governors. Akeredolu expressed regret that such a statement is coming from a Senior Advocate and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
“It is most unfortunate that the AGF is unable to distil issues as expected of a Senior Advocate. Nothing can be more disconcerting.”
“This outburst should, ordinarily, not elicit a response from reasonable people who know the distinction between a legitimate business that is not in any way injurious and a certain predilection for anarchy…” the Governor added.
While observer might have seen this as the triumph of the Ondo State Governor over the AGF; in true objective sense, it’s just another start realities of our system and how much we need individuals like Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN to always courageously stand up to the aid of the common man. The law is made for man and not man for law, thus we must take the bull by the horn as we ensure that we are not made a slave of the law.