(Intersociety Nigeria:
12th August 2018)-Chances for the survival and advancement of democracy and
rule of law in Nigeria are steadily fading, threatened and endangered by the
country’s anti democratic forces or the authors of tyranny and totalitarianism.
As a matter of fact, Nigeria’s democratic process has known no peace, stability
and advancement especially since mid 2015 when Retired Major Gen Muhammadu
Buhari became the sixth civilian president of Nigeria.
Nigeria, unarguably, is unstoppably being matched back to its
inglorious epoch of tyranny, dictatorship, authoritarianism and totalitarianism.
Democratic conventions or principles have almost given way for rule by
dictation and might in the country. Tyranny has taken over the polity through
militarism and militarization; abuse of power or office as well as rapacious
bastardization of rule of law and other democratic norms. Totalitarianism and authoritarianism have also
risen and ousted constitutionalism including rule of law, citizens’ fundamental
human rights and democratic pluralism. Profligacy has become deep-seated and
common salutation of the present central Government.
Recall that we had on 10th August 2015, alerted
all Nigerians and members of the international community concerning a public
statement made by a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and 2015
gubernatorial aspirant of the Party in Bauchi State, Northeast Nigeria, Dr.
Ibrahim Yukubu Lame in which he called for “establishment of emergency powers
for President Muhammadu Buhari” above the provisions of the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended. Dr. Ibrahim Yakubu Lame, who is
also a former Minister for Police Affairs and a staunch Buharist, further
recommended for “extra constitutional processes of fighting corruption to
ensure speed and results”.
According to him,”the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and
her processes are very slow for President Buhari to perform well”. The
referenced public statement was widely published in a number of print media
including the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper of 10th August 2015: http://nigerianpilot.com/apc-chieftain-calls-for-suspension-of-constitution-to-enable-buhari-perform/.
We had in the statement warned that Dr Yakubu Lame was not alone in his
statement and that it was nothing short of “a hand of Esau and voices of Jacob”;
meaning that his statement must have been scripted or authorized by the
Presidency and northern political cabal.
It is recalled further that a year after Dr Yakubu Lame’s
constitutionally coupist statement, in August 2016, Nigeria’s Presidency
engineered two private member bills in the National Assembly, requesting for
their respective Acts to “give the President emergency powers and other extra
constitutional processes for management of economy including fighting
corruption” and for purpose of “establishing national grazing reserves and
routes for Fulani cattle herders throughout Nigeria”.
When it appeared to the Presidency that the two bills would
fail, it hurriedly resorted to use of executive fiats or orders including announcement
by the Nigerian Army of establishment of grazing routes and ranches in all
military formations in Nigeria and most recently the allocation and provision
of almost N180b from debt prone national budget of 2018 for the establishment
of “National Grazing Routes and Ranches for Fulani Herdsmen”. Without recourse to
federal legislation, the National
Commission for Fulani Herdsmen was also established.
The Presidency also practically resorted to unofficial use of
dictatorial Decrees Nos.2 and 4 of 1984 and abandoned or castrated the
fundamental provisions of the existing Constitution of Nigeria 1999. The
Constitution and constitutionalism under Buhari’s present civilian Presidency
has suffered the same fate suffered by the 1979 Constitution which had its important
provisions such as fundamental human rights, separation of powers and judicial
and legislative existence and independence; totally suspended or castrated;
with its less important provisions applied or used according to the dictates of
the then military administrations especially between 31st December
1983 and 27th August 1985
when Retired Major Gen Buhari held sway as Nigeria’s maximum military Head of
State.
Important or core provisions of the existing 1999
Constitution presently castrated or rendered inoperable by the so called
democratic Government of Muhammadu Buhari are fundamental objectives and directive principles of State policy,
chapter four (fundamental human rights) and separation of powers all
contained in Sections 13-23, 33-46 and 4 (federal legislative organ and its
independence) and 6 (federal judicial organ and its independence). The
Presidency has also maddeningly tinkered and usurped the federating principles
of the Federation by forcefully and rapaciously taking over and usurping the
powers of the States including breaching the immunities of the governors and
extra judicial and unconstitutional freezing of the statutory accounts or
delaying or withholding certain statutory final allocations of “some enemy
States” through the use of EFCC, SSS, Army and Police.
As if the regime misconducts and atrocities highlighted above
are not enough, the authors of pain and tyranny and messengers of Esau have come up with another
constitutionally and democratically abominable script with a new messenger of
Esau, this time in the person of Senator-Elect Lawal-Yahaya Gumau; a two-term member representing Toro
Federal Constituency in Bauchi State at the House of Reps and Senator-Elect for
Bauchi South Senatorial District. Senator-Elect Gumau is an APC member and
die-hard Buharist who has been in the House of Reps for eight years. He comes from
the same Bauchi State with Dr Yakubu Lame who had in August 2015 called for
suspension of the Constitution and governing of Nigeria with draconian laws and
self initiatives or return of Decrees Nos.2 and 4 of 1984.
Recall that the said Senator-Elect, as newest member of the
authors of tyranny and totalitarianism in Nigeria, had on Friday, 10th
August 2018, publicly disclosed that “his sole purpose of going to Senate is to
represent and protect Buhari’s interest especially to amend the Constitution to
make him life president or president of Nigeria until he dies”. The Senator-Elect,
as widely reported in the print and online media, spoke during the closing
campaign of the Bauchi South Senatorial bye-election held yesterday, Saturday,
11th August 2018 in which he was announced as winner. The
publication which first appeared in the Punch Newspaper of 11th
August 2018 is here: https://punchng.com/bauchi-bye-election-well-amend-constitution-to-make-buhari-life-president-says-apc-candidate/.
As we alerted and warned Nigerians and the international
community in 2015 over imminence of the
unfolding democratic threats and other signs of tyranny in Nigeria; on account
of Dr. Lame’s constitutionally coupist statement, we make bold again to say
that Senator-Elect, Lawal-Yahaya Gumau is not alone in his latest shocking and
undeniable disclosure. He may most likely have spoken as scripted or directed
by the Presidency and members of the northern political cabal and other authors
of tyranny and totalitarianism in Northern or other parts of Nigeria.
Going by our years of field advocacy experience in Nigeria’s
troubled democracy, especially with vivid reference to practical manifestation
in August 2016 of Dr Yakubu Lame’s similar coupist and undemocratic call in
August 2015, the latest shocking and undeniable disclosure will materialize not
in the immediacy, but about a year or two after the 2019 Presidential Poll,
especially if successfully facilitated and given to the federal incumbent. This
is more so when the central Government of the day in Nigeria has never hidden
its deep contempt for democratic pluralism and will stop at nothing in plunging
the country into one party state (totalitarianism) with existence of others as fingers of a leprous hand; all geared
towards facilitating life presidency for the incumbent President as boldly and magisterially
disclosed by Senator-Elect Lawal-Yahaya Gumau.
Therefore, Nigerians and members of the international
community may most likely not be surprised to see more organized killings by
Boko Haram and Fulani Jihadists across the old Middle Belt and Eastern Nigeria
as well as the remaining Christian communities in Southern Kaduna and Northeast
Nigeria; all on the ground of ethnicity and faith and for sectional political and
religious reasons. Such organized ethno-religious killings by the authors of
pain and tyranny through the messengers
of Esau may most likely be for purpose of instilling terrible and widespread
fears and devastations on the affected population to gain grounds for unchallenged
facilitation of life presidency now being muted.
There may be arming and sophistication by the same northern
political radicals of more embryonic Jihadists like “Hakika Islamic
Fundamentalists” for widespread ethno-religious cleansing targeted at sedentary
and pastoral populations and homes of what remains of Northern Nigerian
Christians and other non Muslim minorities especially in Adamawa, Taraba,
Nasarawa, Kogi and Benue States and southern Kaduna. The Southwest region of Nigeria may most
likely witness non major or pockets of attacks as a result of its political
leaders and activists support for the present central Government of Nigeria.
The escalation of killings may most likely, too, attract
Government’s smokescreen security response including feigning ignorance or
distancing roles and procurement of more foreign military hardware using borrowed
funds. The country’s debts profile may most likely soar, if not double all in
the guise of “fighting insecurity”; with securing Jihado-presidential limitless
term of office amidst widespread state and non state actor violence as the
central aim.
Also, there may most likely be further militarization of the
polity and subjugation and castration of Nigerian democratic process particularly
the country’s democratic institutions. Nigeria may most likely witness more
signs of police state including liberties in chain and rule of law in disarray
and desolation. Totality of these are to be designed for the purpose of inflicting
widespread fears and facilitation of tyrannical and totalitarian conquest of the general
population and what remains of democratic institutions in Nigeria or any part
thereof.
With Nigeria’s opposition and dissent voices and their strongholds
especially the old Eastern and Middle Belt Nigeria successfully overran and
visited with overwhelming fears, subjugation and devastations from combined
State and non State actor violence; and with what remains of democratic
institutions in the country out of the way or desolated, castrated and
decimated; then the authors of tyranny and totalitarianism will have an easy
ride in making Buhari a life President of Nigeria.
However, these are not without dire or catastrophic
consequences. The targeted populations and their geopolitical locations or
ethno-religious groupings and their allies in Southwest and Muslim parts of
Northern Nigeria may most likely resort to organized group violence or
subversive activities especially if pushed to the wall or visited or have
strong suspicion of possibility of being visited with large or industrial scale
state violence or maximum entrapment on their constitutional liberties.
If pushed to resort to violence, Nigeria, with a population
of over 180m may mostly likely boil or be plunged into widespread violence
which combined forces and war arsenal of the Federal Government as well as humanitarian
interventions of UN, UNSC, AU and ECOWAS put together will never tame or
control.
We call on the authors of tyranny and totalitarianism in
Northern Nigeria represented by the likes of Dr Yakubu and Senator-Elect
Lawal-Yahaya Gumau to retrace their coupist steps including further attempts to
put into action the referenced disastrous, abominable and genocidal utterances
to avoid plunging Nigeria and its general population into Rwandan type
genocide. The attention of the authorities of Nigerian security and justice
establishments is also drawn and urged to protect the Nigerian Democracy, its principles
and constitutionalism and ensure that the named authors of pain, tyranny and
totalitarianism and others at large are fished out, investigated and punished
accordingly.
Lovers of human rights, justice and democracy in Nigeria and
beyond the shores of the country are also called upon not to take the said statement
by the said Senator-Elect lightly just as they seemingly took and treated with
kid gloves our warnings of August 2015. Nigeria’s authors of tyranny and
totalitarianism must not be allowed to set the country and its hard-won
democracy on fire.
Signed
For: Int’l Society for
Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law
Emeka Umeagbalasi,
Board Chairman
Mobile Line: +2348174090052
Email: [email protected]
Chinwe Umeche, Esq.
Head, Democracy &
Good Governance Program
Email: [email protected]
Life Presidency for Buhari: Nigeria about to be set ablaze ....Intersociety
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Sunday, August 12, 2018
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Reviewed by Unknown
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Sunday, August 12, 2018
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