President Jonathan

President Jonathan: The Making Of A Dictator

Leonard Karshima Shilgba, PhD

About two years ago, I wrote and warned Nigerians in my essay entitled “Nigeria: Interpreting Times and Events” that President Jonathan would disappoint many. I wrote about a vision I had in which I saw a snake coiled around itself on the roadside, whose snake changed into that of a feline creature; later, I saw a tiger and then a lion that came and swallowed up the tiger. I gave the interpretation in the said essay that is available online for readers who may be interested.

On January 1, 2012, the federal government headed by President Jonathan announced the unilateral removal of fuel subsidy, thus hiking the pump price of petrol by 117 percent from N 65 to more than N 140 per liter. What surprised me the most about this action was that discussions were on-going on the issue between both sides of the divide when government announced the removal of fuel subsidy. Expectedly, Nigerians responded vehemently against this action of government. Labor and organized society called out Nigerians for mass action, rallies, and general strike by workers beginning on Monday, January 9, 2012 (the same day I sat down to write this article having watched events unfold from my vacation ambience). About one week was allowed government by labor to re-consider its decision. The House of Representatives met hurriedly on Sunday, January 8, 2012 and passed a motion calling on government to reverse the removal of fuel subsidy, while asking labor to be open to dialogue. Moreover, they set up a mediating committee to interface between government and organized labor.

I waited to see how Jonathan’s government would respond to the lawmaker’s motion. The president reacted by saying that the motion was a “mere expression of an opinion” by the House of Representatives. The president went on to accuse the House of inciting Nigerians, and vowed not to restore the fuel subsidy.

In a presidential democracy, it is complete disregard for the opinion of the citizens for a president to refer to a motion of the people’s representatives as “mere opinion” however overly just symbolic it may be. The die is cast. The days ahead have been defined by President Jonathan—those are dangerous days. When a democratically-elected president, not only disregards a House of Representatives, but also accuses it of “public incitement”, the most obvious message being decoded is that he has now transformed into a dictator. It remains to see if President Jonathan is greater than Nigerians. It remains to be seen what the next line of action would be for the people’s representatives.

President Jonathan recently told a bewildered nation that Nigerians have come to live with bombings. Just few hours ago he alleges that he has Boko Haram members in government. He announces a “cabal” to whom his government has paid more than N 1.3 trillion in the name of “fuel subsidy” contrary to the N 240 billion that the national assembly had appropriated in the 2011 budget. The executive’s spending more than what is appropriated without recourse to the national assembly is an impeachable offence. Unless the nation has conceded that it is helpless in the face of a ravaging dictator, President Jonathan has no business in Aso rock.

A president who has no answers to the security threat facing the country has failed. A president, who by his confession, is faced with a pre-civil war scenario of 1966, and yet whose only demonstration of competence is further infliction of pain on his people should not stay in office.

A president who admits the presence of an oil cabal that has been feasting on “fuel subsidy” funds, but who has not ordered or instigated both the investigation and prosecution of both relevant government approving agencies and fraudulent beneficiaries of the funds cannot claim any competence in the defense of the interest of the people. How has N 240 billion voted for fuel subsidy in 2011 grown fabulously to more than N 1.3 trillion? Rather than explain to Nigerians why he has presided over a corrupt regime without any remedial actions, President Jonathan decided to announce removal of even genuine fuel subsidy, and further inflict pains on Nigerians.

If commercial banks in Nigerians are ordered to be shut down only because of frequent bank robberies would that be a solution against robbery in Nigeria? Should Nigerians suspend democracy because the PDP-led government since 1999 has only fulfilled its promises in breach? Should we call in the military? I warn that if Jonathan’s obduracy continues unchecked, Nigeria will be taken over by brave patriots. If oil production is shut down for just a few days, there shall be a forceful change of government. The national assembly must rise up and rescue Nigeria from a dictator. There is a constitutional provision. They can use the famous doctrine of necessity.

As I conclude, let me draw the attention of the nation to the fact that we must look beyond fuel subsidy to the rot in the entire system. Why have the executive and legislative arms of government failed to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB)? The inefficiency of the PDP-led government is the answer. Why has the government, through the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), failed to whittle down the remuneration of all public officials? The selfishness of President Jonathan and his government is the reason. He lamely announced a 25 percent slash in the allowances of public officials in the executive. This announcement is laughable and of no effect. According to sections 84 and 124 of the 1999 “Constitution” of Nigeria, only the RMAFC has powers to fix salaries and allowances of all public officials in Nigeria, and except for allowances, reduction of salaries of those officials to their disadvantage is not permitted by the fraud called “Constitution”. Besides, the federal government must publish what each allowance for each public office was and what it would be after the 25 percent reduction (which must only be fixed by the RMAFC), and what the resulting savings would be for Nigeria.

Dictator Jonathan has publicly usurped the powers of the RMAFC to announce change in the remunerations of public officials. There is no force of law backing that announcement, and that is most deceptive; this is just as there is no force of law backing the so-called Re-investment committee for the management of the fuel subsidy that he has announced. I ask, how would Jonathan determine how much would be the savings to be managed by this phantom committee when there is so much controversy on what should be the real subsidy; and does the “constitution”, having regard to section 162, permit such funds to be housed outside the federation account? The nauseating lies of this dictator are obvious to the discerning.

I call on Nigerians to take the removal of fuel subsidy as a trigger to ask for a whole range of things most of us have written on for years. We must ask for a significant knock-off of a huge chunk of allowances of all public officials. We must ask of a sovereign national conference of all nationalities in Nigeria that should result in a document (people’s constitution) that would regulate our conduct and relationships as nations within Nigeria. We must at the conference be free to decide what structure we shall operate, and the kind of government we should have. I have written quite a bit about this and the modus operandi.

Leonard Karshima Shilgba is an Associate Professor of Mathematics with the American University of Nigeria and President of the Nigeria Rally Movement (www.nigeriarally.org ). He is also the Chairman of the Middle Belt Alliance (MBA).