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No To Interim National Government By Jide Ayobolu jidegrand@yahoo.com With the demise of the third term agenda in the National Assembly, this is basically about the illegal elongation of the tenure of office of President Olusegun Obasanjo without recourse to the due process, the constitution and will of the people. This was a sit-tight agenda, an attempt to foist a one-man rule and a one-party system on Nigeria and Nigerians. It was an issue that not only over heated the polity; it was also an agenda on which the tax-payers money was illegitimately expended. However, with the abruptly death of the third term agenda, one would have expected that the promoters of this strange political plan would retrace their steps, imbibe the tenets of democracy and move the country forward. But, instead what do we have? There is a grand plan to introduce an Interim National Government(ING) through which the present occupiers will stay in office. And, this is the same way the whole issue of third term brouhaha started. What has given credence to this the more is the fact that, up till now, INEC has started preparation for the 2007 general elections. The voters’ registration has not commenced? Election materials have not been printed, parties have not nominated candidates, campaigns have not started, there are no election issues, so the political future with regards to next years elections is not only vague, it is inexact and strewn with several booby traps and deliberate political contraptions which are meant to truncate the burgeoning democratic order presently in place in the country. It would be recalled that a good number of prominent political figures across the Nigeria have been calling for the introduction of the interim national government which is unknown to the constitution. The first person that called for this political landmine is the president of the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) retired General Adeyinka Adebayo, shortly after Chief Sunny Odogwu made the same curious call, and lately Chief Emeka Ezeife made the same anti-democratic clamour for an interim national government, which is totally uncalled for and totally unacceptable. And, the call has been well-timed, systematic and consistent. Anytime such kites are flown, it means something is about to happen in Nigeria’s political firmament, and it is for this reason that Nigerians in unison say a big no to ING. It is important to note that, a member of House of Representatives, Bashir Nadabo recently alleged that president Obasanjo has concluded plans to send a bill for the formation of ING to the National Assembly as soon as it resumes. He therefore advised Nigerians and the international community to monitor Obasanjo closely to thwart his undemocratic moves. And, taking a cue from Nadabo’s advice, many Nigerians and organizations have kicked against the alleged move to impose an interim arrangement on the country. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Adams Oshiomole has called for the arrest and prosecution of those campaigning for ING. He likened them to coup plotters, speaking during the opening ceremony of an international seminar on capacity building hosted by the Congress at Agura Hotel, Abuja. The NLC President called on the authorities to view the campaigners as coup plotters who should be tried and shot for committing a grievous sin against democracy and Nigerians. In a related development, the National Chairman of Better Nigeria People’s Party (BNPP), Godson Nnaji urged the people to take people to take the rumour of the plot for ING arrangement seriously. He said, “people should take the rumour very serious, it was exactly the same way that the rumour of third term started, before you knew it, the plot became real. So we must stop this one now before Nigeria becomes engulfed in yet another political crisis ahead of 2007 elections”. There is certainly no basis for such arrangement because there is no threat to the nation’s political stability. Also, the pan- Yoruba socio-cultural organization, Afenifere, also called for the rejection of ING. The organization said, “just now in Nigeria we are working hard to ensure that in 2007 the elections at the local, state and federal levels are conducted transparently and that the voters through the ballot box determine who becomes the president, some people are working towards thwarting the efforts. As I speak, if you look at the papers you will find that already there are suggestions that there should be an interim government. I don’t know where this is coming from, there is nothing like that in our constitution but we have so many idle people within the political class that are just merchants of confusion. They have the enormous capacity to generate controversy. I have seen all kinds of character now campaigning for this, what are they saying? That they already know that by 2007 Nigeria will not be able to organize a free and fair election”. So, there is just no way the ING plan will work in Nigeria. Furthermore, the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) , has cautioned Nigerians against complacency in the face of an attempt to impose an ING on the country warning of a plot to subvert the 2007 general elections and impose an interim national government instead of an elected government, the party insisted that the plot was in furtherance of the failed tenure elongation of president Obasanjo. The party emphasized that an imposition of ING and the country is worse than a military coup and cautioned that it would cause unprecedented chaos in the country if allowed to materialize. ING is calling for anarchy in this country. Also, the coup of the vice president, Atiku Abubakar’s camp has described the campaign for the enthronement of ING in the country after President Obasanjo’s administration as dangerous for the nation’s political stability. The chief spokesman for the vice president, Mallam Garba Shehu in a statement said, “The Atiku campaign organization strongly condemns any attempt by unpatriotic individuals or organizations to plunge this country into a needless political crisis by foisting an illegal interim government on the country. The 1999 constitution, which is the legal basis of our democracy, does not recognize an interim government. Therefore, promoters of such a government are unpatriotic and utterly irresponsible. The constitution is clear and unambiguous about the transition process from one administration to another through credible and transparent elections. The body charged with such a responsibility is the INEC. We would also like to note that there is no crisis in Nigeria as a result of which elections cannot hold. If there is sincerity of purpose, the courage to do the right thing and if adequate resources are made available to INEC and other institutions, credible elections can be held within the time available”. What continues to fuel intense suspicion and doubts, however, is president Obasanjo’s imperial stance on the choice of his successor in office. At one time, he narrowed down the selection to serving governors and at another, he openly boosted that he knew those who would not succeed him in office. Like the defeated third term plot, there are sufficient reasons to believe that some predatory groups and individuals who fear losing power and privileges in 2007 are going all out for fresh tenure elongation plots. Apart from the danger which the immoral agenda poses to the fragile unity of the country, the formation of an interim government has no constitutional basis and therefore, illegal. The November 17, 1993 General Sani Abacha’s palace coup was invalidated by a November 10, 1993 court ruling, which declared the Ernest Shonekan-led ING. Indeed, all these are coming from the infantile and undemocratic argument that only president Obasanjo, out of 150million Nigerians, has the vision to consolidate the on-going economic reform programme. In a democracy, the right of the people to choose their representatives in government is expressed through free, fair and periodic elections and not by any other means. So, the Obasanjo led government should not even contemplate even trying to introduce ING, the Nigerian people are not idiots, they have the capacity and capability of choose the kind of leaders they want. And, Obasanjo should not think he knows or like Nigeria than all other Nigerians. ING is illegal, undemocratic, satanic, retrogressive, counter-productive, a political contraption, it is evil and not in the overall national interest of the Nigerian state. By Abuja- Nigeria.
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