Crisis of Tyranny: A Monumental
Collapse and Eclipse of Democratic Values
By
Emma Ihejieto
Ontario,
Canada
emmaihejieto@yahoo.com
As one begins an X-Ray of the midwifery,
birth, nurturing and inculcation of Democratic values in our body-politic,
some dangerous and disturbing trends begin to manifest especially as the
searchlight beams on His Excellency President Olusegun Obasanjo who
hitherto remains the current tenant and occupier of Aso Villa, Abuja -
Nigeria’s Seat of Government.
Political Philosophers and Scholars define
Democracy as “Government of the people, by the people and for the people”.
This entails the resting of De-facto Powers on the Citizens that
constitute the Electorate. Such De-facto powers sacrosanct as they are
consummate in the Sovereignty of the citizens of any given Nation State.
This metamorphosis in the Supremacy of the Law as guaranteed by the Rule
of Law.
“Everything I do now is to protect Nigeria’s
interest and if that will cost me my life, so be it”.
The above veiled venom of perpetuity is
credited to His Excellency President Olusegun Obasanjo in a determined
resolve to unleash Machiavellian apparatus in a desperate attempt at
crushing dissenting voices. This machination analytically remains a
hallmark of this crisis of tyranny, authoritarianism and despotism.
A tendency to clinch on as Commander In
Chief of the Armed Forces has thus thrown open an inordinate ambition
deeply enmeshed in a bullish penchant for political intimidation. As the
Zion train blazes through the existence of His Excellency’s allergy to
opposition in whatever form throws to the wind any previous credential of
trustworthiness and Transparency in Governance.
During his recent trip to the United States
local and international pressure seem to be impacting positively as
President Obasanjo told the VOA in response to a question over his tenure
elongation bid that "For now, it is not on the cards".
When queried in another interview by the
Cable News Network (CNN) his Excellency had this to say, "I am not a
manoeuverer, I am not a manipulator. I am a democrat."
This volte-face and
macabre dance predicted earlier in my previous article is a fallout from
both local and international pressure. These responses still appear to be
pregnant to a larger degree.They are not as categorical as Nigerians
expected.However,Mr.President’s earlier response in the White House to
President George Bush’s prompting over alleged Self Succession dream came
closest to the anticipated categorical response.
The media in the White
House reported that during the visit and following prompting from the U.S
Commander-in-Chief on the third term brouhaha, Mr.George Bush -" was
reassured by President Obasanjo's candor in rejecting an extension of his
current term even if approved by Nigerian lawmakers". President Obasanjo
reportedly told Americans that as a democracy, Nigerians are free to
comment on the third term issue but that does not mean he harbors such
plans.No doubt,as his visit continues,the Western Media will continue to
extract more responses and all his Excellency’s statements shall be pieced
together and used in evidence against him in the international court of
public opinion.
While some may question whether President
Obasanjo still qualifies to be profiled as a Democrat, others may query
whether he has ceased being the leader of the “largest political party in
Africa”. The present Executive Administration of our Federal Republic may
deduce answers to these queries from a highlight and illumination of the
following actions of Governance:
The intimidation of political
opponents using the state instrument of force and coercion as shown in the
recent arrest of the 74 years old Lawal Kaita by the SSS coming barely 72
hours after police savagely disrupted the ACD rally in Dutse (Jigawa
State) and the arrest of other leaders of the Advanced Congress of
Democrats (ACD). The political air as we speak is ridden with repression
and muzzling of contrarian political voices.
Section 40 of our great constitution
provides that:
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“Every person shall be entitled to
assemble freely and associate with other persons, and in particular he
may form or belong to any political party, trade union or any other
association for the protection of his interests.”
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When Ex-Governor
Ladoja of Oyo state was impeached in January 2006, Moshood Erubami,
President of Oyo state chapter of the Campaign for Democracy, (CD) and
others were arrested following a peaceful protest. Such peaceful
protests oil and lubricate the engine of democratic culture; they
definitely in no way pose a threat to National Security.
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The recent detention of a Printer on March
10,2006 by the State Security Service (SSS) is very disturbing as the
nation begins to witness a slide towards a police state,
authoritarianism and a despotic curtailment of civil liberties. Free
speech, freedom of association and other Civil Liberties, are
continuously being eroded. The crime the printer committed was to print
copies of an anti-third term material written by a university professor.
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Politically motivated killings by the
government or its agents, the use of excessive force to apprehend and
disperse protesters as evidenced in the brutal attack of defenseless
Nigerian women who protested against the malaise in the aviation
industry. The ridicule exhibited by the claim of the police that the
crowd was perceived as possibly likely to become violent is the height
of executive mediocrity. May we go back memory lane and conjecture how
Bola Ige, A.K. Dikibo, Harry Marshall and Chuba Okadigbo were murdered,
all during Obasanjo’s regime and under his watch. Who killed these
Nigerians? Answers are required as the passion begins to escalate.
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The report by Mr.
Philip Alston a United Nations Special Rapporteur who visited Nigeria in
2005 has this to say, “… there remain serious problems in relation to
extra-judicial executions… widespread procedural irregularities,
including the use of torture by the police to extract confessions; the
lack of legal representation in capital cases, atrocious death row
conditions and an unacceptable average twenty-year stay on death row”.
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Ironically and incidentally too, President Obasanjo was sentenced to 25
years in prison in July 1995 by a Secret Military Tribunal for an
alleged participation in a phantom coup attempt to overthrow the
government of the late junta- General Sani Abacha.
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The just concluded Public Hearings to
amend the Abubakar’s Constitution chaired by Senator Ibrahim Mantu is a
direct obliteration of the inalienable rights of Nigerians. Citizens
were denied their civic duties and responsibilities. Others were
assaulted. arrested and detained by the police at venues earmarked for
the hearing. Some Senators and federal
lawmakers were refused entry into their constitutional place of work;
the National Assembly, by the State Security Services (SSS) operatives.
There offence was wearing anti 3rd term stickers . Is this
not shameful and out-rightly despicable?. In an even playing field, will
mere politically partisan stickers bite?. Reported also was the
situation in Lafia, where the North Central geo-political zone public
hearing took place, “one had to pass over 11 check points before one got
to the venue of the event. Security agents turned a lot of people back;
is that not a big joke? is that not a shame and an aberration?
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Following this
despotic,fascist,and dictatorial culture in the country the Academic
Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) President, Dr. Abdullahi Sule-Kano
had this to say, “The conspiracy going on to manipulate the
constitution sponsored by the Presidency, for the purpose of extending
the tenure of the President's office, is the height of contempt for
democratic governance… ASUU wholly supports the NBA in its defense of
the rule of law and democratic governance. ASUU urges all organizations
that cherish democratic governance to support NBA and join the struggle
to defeat the emergence of dictatorship in Nigeria ”.
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The Nigeria Bar
Association (NBA) a few weeks ago in a show of disgust at the wanton
breach and disregard for the judicial process downed tools for two
working days, the first of it’s kind that I can remember in recent
political history.
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When in 1999 President Obasanjo marshaled
out Nigerian soldiers to annihilate, obliterate.and the ethnic cleansing
of Nigerian Citizens in the ill-fated Odi Massacre in Bayelsa state,
some pleaded that he should be tolerated since Democratic culture was
still under tutelage; today, rather than the much toothed dividends of
Democracy, Nigerians remain at home and alive with this mass of Olusegun
Obasanjo’s Dictatorial Octopus veiled and clad in a very deceptive
Democratic civility.
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The
kidnapping of Ex-Governor Chris Ngige of Anambra State supervised by now
inglorious Tafa Balogun (Obasanjo’s man Friday) has refused to go away
from our psyche. Even the recent enthronement of justice by the swearing
in of Mr. Peter Obi as the legitimate Governor of Anambra state will not
in any way stop the clamor for the prosecution of the self confessed
rigger and President Obasanjo’s in-law Chief Chris Uba.The Presidency
has failed to get Uba arrested by the Police and prosecuted by the
Attorney General of the Federation. Not until Uba is put behind bars,
and not until his crude oil blocs are withdrawn and, he is removed as
PDP’s Board of Trustee member, the Godfather Syndrome will continue to
blossom under Obasanjo’s watchful eyes.
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Within his ruling party the PDP,President
Obasanjo has systematically eliminated all credible opposition to his
Machiavellian project of political aggrandizement, fraudulent
conversion, and Self-actualization. One political commentator had this
to say “I have never heard of a party that woke up one morning and
deregistered all of his members. You call people to revalidate their
membership and not to deregister them. The trick was to make sure some
people do not come back. It was too cleaver but too cheap…?”
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When one critically looks at the
President’s consistent attempts at re-engineering of Plateau State’s
Governance since the ill-fated State of Emergency, one begin’s to
unravel strict Machiavellian disposition as his Excellency attempts all
forms of imaginary paradigms in an attempt to truncate and jeopardize
governance in one of the hitherto peaceful states in our Political
Geography. We remain keen observers of the Presidency’s political
roller-skating in Plateau state, stomping one political group against
the other with the sole aim of achieving his end result no matter the
means used in attaining such primordial goals; it does not matter
whether civil servants in the state receive their monthly emoluments or
not. The end justifies the means no matter how ruthless these means
might be.
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Let us not misconstrue this to a
suggestion of a clean bill of health for Governor Joshua Dariye,
however, a nation that is governed by laws must be seen to allow every
law and I mean every law take it’s due course via Due Legal Process.
This is a quintessence of a Democratic Culture; a prerequisite that all
Democrats have no choice but to obey. Ten years as Commander-in-Chief
Mr. President is still a student of Democratic Studies. He is still
learning the curves of Civil Governance. What a brilliant student he is.
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The withholding of Statutory Funds meant
for Residents of Lagos State remains a shining case of this Crisis of
Tyranny. Let his Excellency realize that Beneficiaries of the allocation
being with-held are Lagosians; Governor Bola Tinubu is one out of the
near 13 million residents of Lagos.
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Also the shameful closure of the Bayelsa
Radio Station typifies anachronistic fascist manoeuvre. The brutality
meted out to 10 journalists by the police who covered the Peoples
Democratic Party meeting in Abuja is another sordid example of flagrant
violations of civil liberties.
"A climate of political
intolerance and repression has assumed a new and frightening dimension”,
as the Federal Government only recently closed down Freedom Radio in
Kano.Freedom Radio is alleged to have broken the NBC communications code,
especially as it concerns
Political Programs and Live Talk Shows. The Nigerian Broadcasting
Commission (NBC), has directed that Freedom Radio, Kano, suspends
broadcasting forthwith, between 5p.m. and 10p.m. daily, knowing that
that was the period when political and people-oriented programs are
produced and aired. In addition, the station was fined N200,000.00 to
be paid within 48 hours, failing which its license will be revoked. The
NBC also banned the station from airing political programs.
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The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) is an invaluable unit and it’s positive activities
remain welcome by law abiding Nigerians, however, there is no need to
use the (EFCC) to harass Governors or Nigerian Citizens who do not hero
worship President Obasanjo.Using this instrument of state coercion to
freeze Governor Orji Uzor Kalu’s campaign and personal funds is
ludicrous and unacceptable. The same goes for the freezing of Plateau
State’s Bank Accounts. These activities by the federal government are
criminal. When one applies Common Law
Legal System both in Nigeria and elsewhere, individuals and
organization’s Banking Instruments enjoy the full protection of the law.
“Property rights ensure that government
cannot arbitrarily take away a person's property (whether corporate or
individual), without due process of law, or a full judicial process,"
Is it a crime for a Nigerian citizen to
aspire to the Presidency of one's own country?. Is it a crime to create
employment opportunities by operating an airline? Is it equally a crime
for a Nigerian citizen to own majority shares in the distressed Hallmark
Bank that equally employed many Nigerians? Does President Obasanjo’s
assault on Governor Orji Kalu not tantamount to a systemic elimination of
unfavorable elements for the 2007 presidential race? The fear of populist
opposition precipitated the Presidency’s misadventure on the person of Dim
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu over a phantom allegation that the Igbo leader
was masterminding the operations of the Movement for the Actualization of
the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).This pitched the State Security
Services (SSS) against Chief Ojukwu.The continued detention and
prosecution of a non-violent MASSOB Leader Chief Raph Uwazuruike for
treason is one such example of the abuse of dictatorial instruments of
state power.
Nigerians have previously had to live under
dictatorships of Jack Yakubu Gowon, Murtala Mohammed, Muhammadu Buhari,
Ibrahim Babangida, Sanni Abacha, and Abdusalam Abubakar with President
Obasanjo being the only junta to have graduated to the campus of
Presidential Democracy. This mandate was re-knewed in 2003. For 11 years
out of the Nigeria’s 46 years checkered political history, General
Obasanjo has spent more time than any other in both Dodan Barracks and Aso
Villa combined thus finding it difficult to quit.
Mr. President, Nigerians do not want you to
get used to the Villa environment for too long so as to avoid a life
presidential project with it’s attendant fascist,authoritarian,despotic
and Machiavellian Crisis of Tyranny.
Email:
emmaihejieto@yahoo.com
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