“Anyone can steer the ship through the calm waters; the real captains take it through the storms.” – Anonymous
Contemporary development literature is awash with the terms “governance” and “good governance.” Governance simply means the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented, while government is one of the actors in governance within national context. Good governance ensures that corruption within a given society is minimized, guarantees accountability and transparency in government.
Good governance also confirms that the rule of law is adhered to, while strengthening weak institutions of government. When there is good governance over a period of time, there is bound to be positive narrative about a nation. When there is bad governance for a sustained period, the narrative about a country is negative.
For more than two hundred years, the USA has been a democratic country. As we prepare to celebrate this year’s Christmas, impeachment votes have taken place at the US House of Representatives. President Trump is at the centre of the storm. I hope he would have the strength to lead his country through the storm. The 18th day of December, 2019, was a historic date of debate by members of the House of Representatives in the USA. The House of Representatives made the move to impeach the US President, Donald Trump. Both the democrats and republicans had a whole day of debate making their case for and against. For the democrats, it was a day to prove beyond reasonable doubt what they say is President Donald Trump’s abuse of power. While the republicans repeated their protests against a “sham” investigation and “witch-hunt.”
Why, you may ask? Democracy does not impose leaders on the people. It is the quality of institutions and leadership in Nigeria that will determine progress made in all spheres of national life as we approach the new year 2020
The speeches and debates on the floor of the House generated memorable quotes ahead of the actual impeachment votes. The House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, opened the debate with what analysts regard as “solemnly and sadly” floor speech that drew on the nation’s founders and the reason why they enshrined impeachment in the US Constitution. “Our founders’ vision of a republic is under threat from actions from the White House,” she said. “If we don’t act now, we would be derelict in our duty. It is tragic that the President’s reckless actions make impeachment necessary. He gave us no choice.”
Although, some republicans raised concerns about a partisan impeachment process in which the majority could do what it wants. They dismissed the first article of impeachment- abuse of power- by saying President Trump did nothing wrong. They equally, described the second article- obstruction of Congress- akin to petulant children saying they didn’t get what they wanted when they (democrats) didn’t ask in the right way.
Some republicans argue that democrats’ impeachment wasn’t to help fulfil a constitutional duty, but a move taken to, because democrats wanted Hillary Clinton to win the election which took place in 2016. Although, the republicans argue that the impeachment has nothing to do with Ukraine. It has nothing to do with abuse of power.
President Trump, critics claim, attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political opponents. “That, they say, is not only a violation of the constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral.” But most republicans in the House see the whole issue differently. During the debate, for instance, a republican expressed his views that: “Pontus Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than the democrats have afforded this president.” He went further to state that Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers. But sadly, he acknowledged, the House committees didn’t allow Trump or any of his representatives to defend himself against all allegations. A pity, you may say. But in a presidential system of government, it takes a lot of gut for members of the House of Representatives to invite an Executive President for interrogation.
In view of this latest development in the US political history, “Hillary Clinton, former United States, US, Democratic presidential candidate, has reacted to the impeachment of the country’s president, Donald Trump by the House of Representatives. Clinton said Trump abused his powers and left the lawmakers with no choice but to impeach him. The former Democrat’s presidential candidate, who lost to Trump in the 2016 US elections stated this in her verified Twitter handle. “One of our most precious rights as Americans is the right to determine who our leaders are,” she tweeted same day.
“The president abused his powers to cheat in the next election and rob us of that right. Then he obstructed Congress to cover it up. Impeachment is the only remedy,” she tweeted. It was reported that Trump was formally impeached by the House of Representatives, for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress on Wednesday. The vote had followed weeks of testimony, related to his dealings with Ukraine. 230 to 197 votes in the Democratic-majority House saw to the impeachment of the US president. Trump now becomes the third president in US history to be impeached.”
Yes, it is a precious right to determine our leaders. Why, you may ask? Democracy does not impose leaders on the people. It is the quality of institutions and leadership in Nigeria that will determine progress made in all spheres of national life as we approach the new year 2020. And as we pray to the Creator for abundance and prosperity, I will strongly advocate for ethical rebirth of all our leaders including followers.
And as we celebrate during this festive season, Nigerians’ collective resolution should be to change the narrative of Nigeria for good as from the year of our Lord 2020. Indeed, if our narrative is not positive by May 2023, the government in power will be assessed as a failure. So, our leaders- elected and appointed- should be consistent and committed to good governance in order to earn the respect they deserve. With the will to lead the people by honour, our leaders will be achievers. I sincerely wish all my readers, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in advance. God bless Nigeria. Thank you!
MA JOHNSON
