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Obasanjo, The Last Military Dictator: The Ekiti Political Debacle By Dr. Abayomi Ferreira On 19 October 2006, President Obasanjo apparently using Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution proclaimed a state of emergency in Ekiti State. Pursuant to that instrument, Adetunji Olurin was imposed as an ‘administrator’ of the state, replacing the elected legislative house and executive authority of Ekiti State. The first official action of the ‘administrator’ was to dissolve the State House of Assembly and sack the State Executive Council. He transferred the functions of the Executive Council to civil servants. This process is an unfortunate repetition of what Obasanjo did on 18 May 2004 when a similar unconstitutional process was slapped on Plateau State. The purpose of this paper is to examine the options that are available to prevent future repetitions of similar illegalities in the political process and development of Nigeria. After surviving, though badly injured and disabled from the experience, 46 years of military dictatorship, Nigerians are entitled to a political process that encourages rapid economic development to lift our people from mass poverty and a backward standard of living. Certainly, on both occasions that Obasanjo and his advisers have had causes to declare a state of emergency in a constitutional and legal State of the country, the Nigerian peoples appear helpless and unable to assert their constitutional rights and affirm the sovereignty of the people. In spite of the inherent limitations that characterise the 1999 Constitution, as long as that Constitution is in force, no part of Nigeria can be lawfully governed by unelected organs, even for one minute. The same Section 305 provides for situations where by the President can proclaim a state of emergency for the entire country. Will Obasanjo appoint an administrator to perform the functions of the President and dissolve the National Assembly if such a situation should arise? I bet he would not. Sections 4 and 5 of the Constitution are very clear on how a state in Nigeria is to be governed. Sections 180, 188 and 189 are very explicit on how a state governor and the deputy governor can cease to hold office, that is, outside the process arising from resignation which is properly provided for in Section 306. Further, Section 105 provides for the cessation of existence of a State House of Assembly. The 1999 Constitution makes no provision for a mass sacking of the legislative institutions nor is there any provision for the appropriation of state executive functions by unelected agencies whether individuals by whatever name he may be called or by civil servants. Section 305 provides for a proclamation of a state of emergency by the President in any part of Nigeria. The proclamation, which is subject to legislative approval “within ten days” at the maximum, is purely for the purpose of maintenance of public law and order and not for the replacement of elected public officers. Law and order can be maintained by using the appropriate constitutional institutions. The functions of the preservation of law and order in Nigeria is vested in the Nigeria Police Force, which by the Nigerian 1999 Constitution is capable of having segments of its organisation function as a part of the armed forces of Nigeria. Section 217, 2c makes adequate provision for the Police Force to be aided by the other armed forces to “suppressing insurrection and acting in aid of civil authorities to restore order.” Sustenance of the elected state (and for that matter, national) legislatures and executive is an inherent part of the corpus of maintenance of law and order in any part of Nigeria. Repeated copying of historical errors and illegalities that was first committed in 1962 when the Federal Government imposed an administrator on the Western Region, an act that paved the way to the ignoble era of military dictatorship is a patent demonstration of the absence of creativity in the governance of Nigeria. It is a very sad notation that the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party PDP which is in power both at the centre and Ekiti State, as it was in Plateau State in 2004 is incapable of running its affairs and regulate its members in a manner to promote positive political development in Nigeria. Certainly, Obasanjo is all in all in the affairs of the PDP. He has removed from offices and replaced at will appointees and elected officials in the political party called the PDP. He has done the same over and over again both in the National Assembly which is constitutionally outside the control of the Executive and State institutions. The Obasanjo dictatorship in the affairs of the PDP is being applied to create unconstitutional invocations to upturn the elected organs of Ekiti State. This action, at least in its effects is no different from the antics of Lamidi Adedibu in Oyo State, except that presidential abuse of power is being used to bypass the constitutional and political process in Ekiti State. There is no part of Nigeria that can be governed by unelected institutions or individuals except private companies and family compounds which in any case are fully subject to the laws of the land including the Constitution. Catalogue of illegalities The Fayose impeachment process is a catalogue of illegalities that have been committed by virtually all the persons that are involved: · The alleged stuffing of the investigative panel with Fayose minions and partisans by Bamisile certainly kicked off the abnormal process · The removal of the Chief Judge, Bamisile by the House of Assembly, a duty of the National Judicial Council · The replacement of Bamisile with Aladejana, a business of the National Judicial Council · The disbandment by the House of Assembly of the Bamisile panel · The empanelment of a parallel panel by Aladejana · All the subsequent acts of the Aladejana panel, the House of Assembly, removal of Fayose and Olujinmi and the declaration of Aderemi as Acting Governor of Ekiti State The place to redress this catalogue of illegalities and absurdities is the Courts of Law. President Obasanjo further confused the situation by supplanting those illegalities with another monumental illegality. He got away with the Plateau State episode in 2004. From all indications on the political terrain, he will probably get away with this too. Maintaining Constitutional rule in Nigeria What do we do in Nigeria when · A judge changes character into a political partisan when he has the sacred duty to “appoint a Panel of seven persons who in his opinion are of unquestionable integrity…..to investigate” allegations of impropriety that the House has made against an elected governor and his deputy. The phrase “in his opinion” does not carry the same interpretation when the judge is dealing with his own children. He must apply that provision judiciously and be seen by Ekiti people to be above board
· When the President and Attorney-General invoke any instruments to smother an elected legislative house and executive in pursuit of partisan political objectives
· When an ‘administrator’ is used to supplant elected institutions of Sate. There is no provision for an administrator in the Nigerian Constitution. It is a creation of dictators.
· When the state legislative house and executive are rendered incapable?
Further, were Obasanjo to declare a country wide state of emergency, would he appoint an ‘administrator’ to replace the President and the National Assembly? The practice of replacing elected organs of state with unelected organs diminishes severely from the sovereignty of the people. It is a coup d’etat against Ekiti State and Ekiti people. It is a dictatorship. Its inherent nature is emphasised by the appointments of military politicians, activists in the ignoble era of military dictatorship as the unconstitutional ‘administrators’ of states that have been so battered by this government. History will record Olusegun Obasanjo as the last military dictator in Nigeria. That is if any military politicians of the historical calibre of Babangida, Buhari, Marwa, Ebitu Ukiwe and their likes is not sworn in as President on 29 May 2007. The only decent option open to Nigerians is to seek restitution in the Law Courts. The process of restoring political order in Ekiti State can be set in motion by any citizen in Ekiti State or any of the political parties including the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties CNPP, Democratic Alternative DA and even the Peoples’ Democratic Party PDP. Further, well-meaning Nigerians should have sufficient courage to reject appointments that smack of any forms of illegalities.
Dr Abayomi Ferreira 22 October 2006
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