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Let Us Unite Against Third Term By Kayode Oladele
Being the excerpt of the letter to the Senate President and Speaker of the House I am writing to you and several other members of the National Assembly to protest against the proposed amendment of the constitution which will prescribe three terms of four years to political office holders. This bill, I understand will soon be tabled for debate on the floor of both the House of Representatives and the Senate following “overwhelming” approval of the proposed amendment by the National Assembly Joint Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution. This approval by the National Assembly Joint Committee not only confirms the speculation regarding this infamous attempt at creating a political tyranny, it also represents a misguided effort to undercut the checks and balances that the National Assembly provides in our system of government. The promise of democracy is not just fulfilled by keeping the military out of political governance; the promise of democracy requires protection of people’s rights and freedom. A true democracy is one that promotes the wishes and aspirations of the people, one that promotes governing through consensus and conciliation as opposed to ruling unilaterally and one that ensures that the will of the few can not trample the majority. I would add that protection of the people’s right to change their leader or representatives remains an important pillar of democracy. A third term bid is in direct contradiction to maintaining those values and those components of our democracy. Members of the Joint National Assembly Committee who approved the recommendation themselves know that such an amendment to the constitution is both morally and legally wrong: wrong in terms of protecting the rights of the Nigerian people, wrong in terms of undercutting our fundamental system of checks and balances, and wrong in destroying the political pluralism in our country in favor of a one-party rule and promoting civilian dictatorship. I believe that many of our law makers know in their hearts that amending our Constitution to prescribe three-terms of office for the president and state executives is a wrong way to go. It is my conviction that majority of the National Assembly members will put the Nation first, the Constitution first, and the Nigerian people first, and withstand the momentary political pressures when they debate this issue on the floor of the House. The National Assembly must uphold that which is necessary to constitute a true democracy in the Country by refusing to cave in to political influences to undermine the rights of the Nigerian people. A true Democracy must be a reflection of our values, our norms and our tradition but a democracy that has no regard for the rule of law and protection of people’s rights and a viable political opposition is a twin sister of military dictatorship. And like in other democracies, our democracy must rely on the sharing of power, on checks and balances and on the protection of minority and peoples’ rights, and on safeguarding and protecting human dignity. A three-term presidency will neither promote a true democracy nor safeguard our dignity as a nation. Hence, we must strive to uphold our democracy and prevent President Obasanjo from destroying it for short-term political gains. It would be terrible diminutions of our rights to allow him succeed in his present political charade and simulation of military dictatorship. If you take away the right of our people to freely elect and change their leaders, then our whole democracy and constitutional fabric will unravel. The promise of democracy, assertive civil society, political empowerment and emancipation of the people will become a sham. There is nothing intrinsic about our culture that inhibits democratic governance, but for us to have a true democracy and promote respect for our lives, we must resist civilian tyranny. A third term bid is inimical to our progress and a challenge to our democracy. We have come far from the days of political inactivity, despair and dictatorship. Our energy has been preserved, our courage and confidence have been restored; therefore, together as one people, we will work to build pressure against any policy that will force democracy to take another holiday in Nigeria. Since Nigerian Constitution is supposedly modeled after the U.S Constitution, let me refresh your memories on U.S Constitutional development. The U.S Congress in close to three decades of its existence has only passed Twenty-seven amendments to the U.S Constitution. One of the amendments, the 22nd Amendment, specifically limits the presidential term to two of four years each. Since the presidency of George Washington, only one thing could be said to be totally consistent - that no President had the job for more than two full terms. Washington was asked to run for a third term in 1796, but he made it quite clear that he had no intention of doing so; that an orderly transition of power was needed to set the Constitution in stone. And so it was for almost 150 years. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was first elected President in 1932, and re-elected in 1936. When it became time for the Democrats to nominate a candidate for the Presidency in 1940, two things had happened - First, the Republicans had made great gains in Congress in the 1938 elections. Second, Hitler struck the world. Europe was in the throes of a great war, with trouble in the Pacific, too. A change away from Roosevelt, who had led the nation through the Great Depression, did not seem wise. He was nominated for an unprecedented third term, and won. It was not a landslide victory, however, and it is debatable that FDR would have had a third term had it not been for the war. When 1944 rolled around, changing leaders in the middle of World War II, which the United States was now fully engaged in, also seemed unwise, and FDR ran for and was elected to, a fourth term. His life was nearly over, however, and his Vice President, Harry Truman, became President upon FDR's death less than 100 days after his inauguration. Though FDR's leadership was seen by many as a key reason that the U.S. came out of WWII victorious, the Congress was determined, once the war ended, to ensure that Washington's self-imposed two-term limit become the law of the land. Specifically excepting Truman from its provisions, the 22nd Amendment passed Congress on March 21, 1947. After Truman won a second term in 1948, it was ratified on February 27, 1951 (1,439 days). Truman could have run for a third term, but bowed out early before campaigning began. Other notable amendments include the Bills of Right (Amendments 1 through 10). Representative James Madison, who was so instrumental in the creation of the Constitution in the first place, drafted a bill of rights. Though he originally opposed the idea, by the time he ran for a seat in the House, he used the creation of a bill as part of his campaign. He introduced the Bill of Rights into the House, which debated it at length and approved 17 articles of amendment. The Senate took up the bill and reduced the number to 12, by combining some and rejecting others. The House accepted the Senate's changes, voting on September 24th and 25th, 1789; twelve articles of amendment were sent to the states for ratification. The first two articles were not accepted by enough states, but the last ten were. We know them today as Amendments 1 through 10. The second article was eventually ratified as the 27th Amendment. The first ten amendments, collectively known as the Bill of Rights were ratified on December 15, 1791 (811 days). The last amendment, the 27th Amendment was originally proposed on September 25, 1789, as an article in the original Bill of Rights. It did not pass the required number of states with the articles we now know as the first ten amendments. It sat, ungratified and with no expiration date, in constitutional limbo, for more than 80 years when Ohio ratified it to protest a congressional pay hike; no other states followed Ohio's lead, however. Again it languished, for more than 100 years. In 1978, Wyoming ratified the amendment, but there was again, no follow-up by the remaining states. Then, in the early 1980's, Gregory Watson, an aide to a Texas legislator, took up the proposed amendment's cause. From 1983 to 1992, the requisite number of states ratified the amendment, and it was declared ratified on May 7, 1992 (74,003 days). I have gone this far to remind you that people surely demand that you focus you attention towards affecting constitutional reforms that will create social and economic justice, alleviate poverty, redevelop our infrastructure and ameliorate many other endemic problems faced by the people. The people need our leadership and support in this respect. I can remember the excitement Nigerians felt when the country was returned to democratic rule in 1999. Nigerians had such high hopes and many felt that they had finally achieved their life long dream of enthroning democracy and good governance in Nigeria, Which makes it all the more painful to see what is happening to our democracy in the past six and a half years! Any attempt to amend the constitution to allow three terms of four years each for political office holders will pose a real threat to our democracy, not simply a typical political concern. While I know that you are quite aware of forces in the National Assembly and beyond that foster and promote this infamous bill, I believe that you can make a difference by not fallen under the influence of the pro third-term lobbying group - it is simply an invitation to chaos. To make a difference is a challenge, but to have a chance of making a difference, we need your involvement. I therefore, urge you to vote against this bill. The task before us in building a strong, virile democratic republic and ensure a pride of place in the comity of Nations is no less daunting. A consolidated democracy that is continually developing will provide us with solid ground for the life of our nationhood and statecraft. The National Assembly will soon be faced with the most important test (Third term agenda) of its history. You must demonstrate to the world that the harder the test, the stronger your steadfastness, the tougher the storm, the more resilient your solidarity and the more difficult the challenge, the stronger your sense of unity.
In conclusion, I
sincerely urge you all to work together to defeat this bill.
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