|
President Obasanjo Urges Nigerians To Resist Term Elongation By Max Gbanite Sunday, May 14, 2006
PREAMBLE Since my Open memo to the Members of National Assembly on the third-term or term-elongation agenda (published on the Internet by kwenu.com and gamji.com on March 25, 2006 and by various newspapers in Nigeria that found the memo as a reference material good enough to share with their vast readership), many people have contacted me to know where they could buy President Obasanjo’s books referenced in the memo. Let me say that it is not my intention to increase the sales of the books because I am not a recipient of royalties emanating from eventual increases in sales. My position is just to enlighten Nigerians, especially my ardent readers and detractors, on what the President said and or wrote when he was a statesman.
By the time you finish reading this piece, you will understand why the title fits today’s political environment in Nigeria. I intend to focus on three words as viewed by then Statesman Obasanjo, and they are: the truth, democracy, and term elongation. These terms are discussed in his second book, "Not my will."
"THE TRUTH" Without wasting time, allow me to introduce the "truth" to you: “I know that the truth twisted or trampled upon can only grow stronger by time. My upbringing as a Christian and my training as a soldier and an engineer have never taught me to shy away from the truth. Facts and truths are the basis of calculation and planning for an engineer and a soldier.”
These are the words of President Obasanjo. Why then Mr. President did you not follow this path? First, you denied ever smuggling a doctored document that had a "third term" agenda written all over it into the National Constitution Conference through your now-silent hawks: Professor Jerry Gana, Kalu Agabi, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, Ambassador Greg Mbadiwe, and the late Waziri Mohammed. Secondly, you denied knowledge of sticky, non-ablution hands of undistinguished Senator Ibrahim Mantu, the man you allegedly refer to as "abracadabra" and who refused to swear by the Holy Koran, the man who led JCCR to introduce the "third term" or "term elongation" from the winds of Biu constituencies -- as stated by the disgraced, undistinguished Senator Hambagda.
As current events indicate, the truth of your insatiable ambition and ungratefulness to God can no longer be "twisted or trampled upon"; it has grown stronger because no lie told in God’s name is allowed to prevail. Today, the truth is starring the world in the face and all your international friends are astonished by your actions, and your hawks have even added a devastating dimension to it by resorting to bribery, police intimidations, thuggery, and outright killing just to drive home their insistence that you continue as President of Nigeria. Sir, it is the same truth that you professed when it finally came out and almost got Senator Hambagda killed by his people, the same indigenes from his southern Borno Constituency against whom he had lied to the world when he claimed that they had authorized him to author the "third-term agenda."
The people of Biu are fearless, righteous, and believe in the truth. Remember Hon. Haruna, who exposed Senator Wabara in the education bribery scandal? Your very good friend, an upright citizen of Nigeria and former Super Permanent, Secretary Alhaji Damcida, and the late Super Permanent Secretary Ibrahim Waziri Biu, are all from Biu; they are men of integrity. Their Royal Father, Emir Alhaji Aliyu Mustapha Bundi, is highly respected by his people; that was why the Biu people spared the life of Hambagda, not necessarily because the men of 202 Artillery Battalion intervened. If you know Biu boys well, you will thank God for the lives of those soldiers. Other senators must take note.
Sorry for the digression….
"DEMOCRACY" According to President Obasanjo, “Democracy is not a static phenomenon. It is dynamic and must be developed. It must also be consolidated. Democracy releases the total energy of all citizens for development. Restraint, curtailment, suppression and oppression associated with authoritarian regimes breed resentment, and resentment breeds violence. If democracy does not necessarily lead to rapid economic growth, it is necessary to point out that economic performance does not obey military command either.”
It is imperative for the reader and Nigerians in particular to reread these words again. He made us aware that change is constant under democracy -- in this case, change in leadership. Development of democracy and the consolidation of democracy are done through non-abrogation of the constitution to suit a singular ambition such as the term-elongation or third-term agenda. Economic posterity must not be misunderstood to be individualized term-elongation or life presidency. Since economic performances or indices do not obey military command, President Obasanjo should clearly understand that whatever good policies enunciated under his regime will be carried along by the next regime. Those policies deemed unattainable will be dropped, as sad as this may be to the proponents; that is a part of the wisdom of democracy.
If as clearly stated by Obasanjo that restraint, curtailment, suppression, and oppression breed resentment and resentment breeds violence; why then is Obasanjo allowing his government to be associated with authoritarian impulses? He once chastised and even flogged a security officer for abusing the human rights of a spectator in 1999 during a state visit to Kogi State. He even signed a law forbidding security agents from abusing Nigerian citizens under the pretense that they are simply obeying orders. Today, Major Hamza Mustapha and his colleagues are under detention for doing just that under the late General Sani Abacha. Billboards on Kaduna-Abuja Express still carry messages against police brutality and torture as a reminder to those charged with the responsibility of keeping peace.
Security agencies: kindly take note of this reminder when you harass Nigerians opposed to term elongation, a legitimate exercise of their democratic rights as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution.
If oppression of the people breeds resentment, which breeds violence, then President Obasanjo has indeed by act of omission or commissionable silence allowed his hawks to sow the seeds of violence, as clearly demonstrated by the good people of Biu, which will eventually be replicated by other righteous constituencies whose representatives in the National Assembly have lied against them, oppressed them, and taken their votes for granted and for a ride -- against their wishes. May God help us when the jaga-jaga starts.
Obasanjo continues on democracy: “In the Nigerian situation, democracy is the only integrative glue that can bind different sub-national groups together into a nation with common destinies, equal status and common identity on a permanent basis. The appeal of democracy when firmly established, also lies in its pragmatism and realism as a means of guaranteeing individual rights, interests and social justice. It preserves harmony within communities through consensus and agreement, it thereby integrates societies….to admit that democracy is unworkable in a place is to imply that freedom is not cherished in that place.”
If President Obasanjo believes in the above statement when he wrote it, why then is he not listening to the voice of the people, the voice of reason and of consensus? Why must he allow undistinguished elements, considered the fifth column within the national assembly, to redefine his ideology of what a true democracy should be? Nigerians need answers, please.
"TERM ELONGATION" His Excellency General Yakubu Gowon, GCFR, in an attempt to elongate his tenure, made the following statement, “Four years ago when I gave 1976 as the target date for returning the country to normal constitutional government, both myself and the military hierarchy honestly believed that by that date, especially after a bloody civil war…. there would have developed an atmosphere of sufficient stability… 1976 is unrealistic; it would indeed amount to a betrayal of trust to adhere rigidly to that target date.”
President Obasanjo considered the above statement to be the second greatest blunder in statement-making credited to Gowon during his tenure as Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. He further claimed that the statement stunned many Nigerians and greatly reduced Gowon’s credibility and that of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. Well, are we not at déjà vu? Has this criminal act called "third term" or "term elongation" not reduced the integrity of the President and that of the Armed Forces and Security Forces who are used against their will to paralyze those opposed to the agenda since he, Obasanjo, has yet to repudiate the criminalization and manipulation of the Constitution to achieve same?
Obasanjo continued on Gowon: “He might have been correct in his assertion that ‘those who aspire to lead the nation on the return to civilian rule have not learnt any lesson from past experiences’; but he should have counted the cost to himself, to the Armed Forces and to the nation before reneging on his freely-given pledge and almost irremediably destroying his credibility and that of the Armed forces and leading the nation into a state of paralysis and inaction….whatever might have been his reasons for making it, the ill-advised statement of October 1, 1974 set unreversedly in motion, the process that took him out of power.”
Fellow Nigerians can you see the similarity of Gowon’s statement to actions of present administration under Obasanjo. Our security forces are forced against their will to carry out intimidating actions against those who oppose the "third term" or "term elongation" the same way President Obasanjo, in disdain, found Gowon guilty of attempting to do the same thing. The hands of our security forces are tied between loyalty to the commander-in-chief, as dictated by the Constitution, and loyalty to "we, the people," which the same Constitution swore to protect. Does President Obasanjo not think for one day that this criminal manipulation of the Constitution by his hawks can set in motion the process of his removal from office? This time, the international community will only ask those that did it to foster true democratic structures immediately. Believe this or not, our party (PDP) under the leadership of hijackers has fostered enough resentment and anger to warrant a violent change of government. However, we pray that that change comes through the ballot box and not through the barrel of the gun.
Recommendation: I commend the indefatigable and vibrant Nigerian media for their watchfulness and fight against this evil, especially when the victims are the unsuspecting citizens of Nigeria. To the patriotic members of the National Assembly led by Distinguished Senator Uche Chukwumerije, Senator Ben Obi, Senator Y. Gindi, and other notable members of Forum 2007, I doff my hat to you for your belief in the indissolubility of our great country. To the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and their Islamic counterparts, you must begin to encourage your members to be prepared to bury the "third term" scourge once and for all.
I challenge every Nigerian who is against this evil scourge called "third term" or "term elongation" to start from the day he or she reads this article to wear a GREEN-WHITE-GREEN armband, our national colors, with the words "Against Third Term" written on it -- if you can afford it. If not, just a green-white armband will signify your position on this matter. Thus, we will begin our own national "Green Revolution" that will sweep all those politicians who are for the "term elongation" out of office at the appropriate time.
Churches (CAN members), mosques (Islamic Council members), all former presidents, former service chiefs, all retired policemen, security agencies, labor union, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), market women, National Unione of Road Transport Workers, (NURTW), Academic Staff Union (ASU), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and every Nigerian who is against this evil should show solidarity to the patriotic Members of the National Assembly -- who have sworn to preserve our unity through the ongoing amendment of the 1999 Constitution, as recommended by the National Constitution Conference, without the smuggled-in "third term" or "term elongation" clause -- by wearing a green/white armband, plying our flags in their houses, churches, mosques, vehicles, or simply placing green leaves on vehicles. Newspaper publishers should have special issues with our national flag embossed on the front pages, thus signifying that the Green Revolution has indeed started.
As Kola Animasaun once reminded us in his article on Sunday Vanguard, March 12, 2006 article ‘Fulenge of Onaopepo,’ excerpt number 3 revisited what President Obasanjo told General Abacha: “…oppression and degradation are the mother of violence. He who makes peace through dialogue impossible makes confrontation and violence probable, in fact inevitable. And when government whose over-riding responsibility is welfare of the people is engaged in violence against the people, the reaction of the people must be expected to be more violent. People’s loyalty to the government will be eroded when the government cannot guarantee security of life and property, as well as justice for the people.”
With the above statement credited to President Obasanjo, you are challenged to rise up against tyranny, against subjugation and subterfuge, and against the deceit of a regime. If while wearing your armband against the "third term" evil you are confronted by the security forces, kindly give them sample armbands to wear when they are not in their uniforms, for they too are truly against the evil agenda but, as the going says, they are simply doing the biddings of their unpatriotic bosses. If as a result of your visible protestations you lose your life, your families must immediately engage an international law firm to file human rights abuse cases against this regime in the International Court of Justice, so that they can be extradited for trial the same way Charles Taylor, the Butcher of Liberia, is facing trial now.
Fellow Nigerians, fear not; God is on our side. When we rise up against this evil "third term" weapon fashioned against us, we should always make sure that the international media, in collaboration with our Nigerian media, are there to document the abuses from the security forces -- if any. However, we pray that as General T. Y. Danjuma has said, “It will be buried by the National Assembly.” If not, accept the challenges of Statesman Obasanjo and resist the scourge by any and all means necessary. After all, we are greater in number than all the security forces in West Africa put together.
Remember the states of Georgia, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Nepal, and even Kenya; they all rose against tyranny in defense of their individual and collective rights. Above all, they rose in defense of democracy and the rule of law. For those who disagree with me, I say thanks for reading; to those who agree, let us move our country forward; and to President Olusegun Obasanjo, thank you for the book.
Everything else is embellishment (apology to Dr. M. O. Ene).
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
|