First, is Funke Aboyade’s editorial outing in the THISDAY, Law column of May 18, 2004. The editorial was titled, “A Descent into Fascism”. The second event occurred on the same day. It was the Presidential loaded speech, in which he declared a state of emergency in Plateau State and suspended democratically elected institutions at the state level.
“A descent into Fascism” is a masterpiece in denigration of a system that resists change. In my over three years of reading Funke Aboyade, I have never read such anger and disgust as they flowed freely in her last week’s editorial. In that reflection, the highly gifted editor was reacting to the wanton abridgement of the freedom of association and expression, which as we know, are the cornerstones of democracy, the world over. In that piece, the writer spoke the minds of many, when she queried the rational for dispersing the Citizens Forum, led by the literary icon, Proff Wole Soyinka, and the lawyer-statesman, Chief Gani Fawehnmi, SAN. The writer came down heavily on the police institution, led by Tafa Balogun, who incidentally is a trained lawyer, for dragging the country to the Abacha days. Funke wondered why the police, could not stem the tide of violence in Yelwa and Kano, but concentrated energies on preventing a peaceful march. She concluded on a grave note: “The IGP is leading a force, which clearly is in dire need of thorough shaking up, reorientation and restructuring…”
The presidential address of May 18 caused panic and has sent many brains cracking on the legality of its proclamations. The president himself displayed that he was taking a very difficult decision. Hear him:
“Fellow Nigerians, it is with grave heart that I address you today. We have made personal sacrifices not just to enthrone peace, stability and democracy in Nigeria, but also to consolidate our democratic enterprise and cultivate new values. It is therefore, very painful when the new collective commitment to democracy, peace and security is compromised, contaminated or mediated in any way…”
Going further, Mr President, reflected on the situation in Plateau State, which he stated posed a grave danger to security in the neighbouring states and the entire nation. He accused the political leadership in the state of incompetence. According to the president, “there is nothing on ground to show that the state Governor has the interest, desire, commitment, credibility and capacity to promote reconciliation, forgiveness, peace, harmony and stability in the state” The political leadership in the state was accused of “squandering opportunities for building networks and webs of dialogue across primordial lines”.
After carefully tracing his (President’s) personal efforts to bring peace to the crisis-torn state, since 2001, the president found “solace” in the constitution of Nigeria, 1999, which he stated “foresaw the ultimate emergency in part or all of Nigeria and provided for it, as a last resort” {Emphasis, mine). Relying on section 305 of the constitution, the president declared a state of emergency in Plateau State and went further to suspend an elected Governor, his Deputy and members of the house of Assembly. He appointed an administrator, a former military Governor of the state, in the person of Retired General Chris Alli, as an administrator. The Senate and House of Representatives have ratified this declaration and consequent acts overwhelmingly.
Despite this endorsement by the apex making law bodies in Nigeria, huge legal and political questions remain unanswered: Does the situation in Plateau actually warrant the use of this last resort measure, which many feel is a “contamination” of democracy? Does section 305 or any other section of the constitution, for that matter, provide for the removal of elected institutions via a presidential fiat, even in an emergency? Will the mere declaration of a state of emergency and chasing away of a state political leadership resolve the rest in contention in Plateau State, for which many have died? How do we distinguish the situation in Plateau from that in Kano, Kaduna, Benue and other conflict flashpoints? Can we actually impose peace without Justice? There are so many other questions.
We all agree that section 305, actually provides for a declaration of emergency and it seems that the president followed the prescribed procedure in declaring the state of emergency in Plateau State. Two issues that will be hotly contended are as follows: First, whether reading from section 305 (3) which provides for the circumstances that will warrant such a declaration, it could be said that there is actual breakdown of public order and public safety as to warrant such an “extra-ordinary measures to restore peace and order”? The second issue is the suspension of elected institutions.
A careful reading of section 305 (1), of the constitution will show that the section is subject to the provisions of the constitution. The section reads:
“Subject to the provisions of this constitution, the president may by instrument published in the official Gazette of Government of the Federation declare a state of emergency in the federation or any part thereof”
What that implies is that in applying section 305, the president must not fall short of other constitutional requirements. Another critical point to note, from section 305 (3) is that the declaration of a state of emergency is an extra-ordinary power that should be used in extreme situation, as it is prone to abuse. The wanton destruction of lives and properties in Plateau state, coupled with the seeming manifest incapacity of Governor Dariye to restore peace seem to justify this last resort, at a first look. However, if one were to take a second look at the situation, and also bring to the table the current wave of violence in several other states of the federation, one will begin to question the propriety of this last resort measure. I believe that if the same dexterity that the Police employed in frustrating peaceful march of the Citizen’s Forum and mass action of the CNPP was brought to bear, the situation could have improved. I find it also difficult to believe that adequate measures have been taken to solve the problems in Plateau State. Apart from the peace committee that was set-up, the composition and leadership of which, were queried by a faction in the conflict, I am yet to hear that any expert peace and conflict management group was detailed to Plateau State. This feeling is strengthened by what transpired during the last presidential peace mission to the state. The resort to verbal exchanges, like “a total idiot; CAN, my foot”, inflamed passions instead of healing wounds. The conclusion I draw from all these, is that there were still opportunities for peaceful settlement of the issues leading to bringing the book, the perpetrators of the dastard acts of murder and arson.
On the issue of suspending elected Governor, deputy and House of Assembly, I have read section 305, over and over and I am yet to see where it authorized the president to do what he did. Section 188 of the constitution provides for the procedure for removing a Governor or his deputy. I feel strongly that if Governor Dariye, was as incompetent as he was painted, the best thing would have been to lobby the state House of Assembly to impeach him.
The drafters of section 305 that provides for emergency power had in mind the existence of a virile legislative body to serve as a check. In a situation, like ours, where the leadership of the National Assembly is facing serious credibility problems and charges of being an appendage of the executive, one begins to fear that the power of emergency may be abused to the detriment of our democracy.
The President’s speech also threw up the issues of justice in Nigeria. There seems to be something fundamentally wrong with the current democratic experiment and one is forced to ask, whether it is actually erected on a true foundation of justice. Nigerian citizens are fast losing faith in the ballot box. There are serious allegations that the last local government elections were rigged with impunity. Benue State is in crisis today because of this and over a hundred persons have been killed and several families displaced.
From the judgments, coming out from the electoral tribunals, it is becoming clearer that the last general elections were actually rigged in a manner unprecedented in the history of the country. So, my question is how do we impose peace without justice?
From the way Dariye is said to have conducted himself as the Governor, one may even be forced to ask, whether he had the popular mandate. One is forced to ask that question because one feels that if Dariye had a popular mandate, it would have been difficult for him to take side and promote the doctrine of ethnic nationality at a time like this when the world is increasingly becoming a global village. It sounds preposterous to draw a distinction between settlers and indigenous persons in a country.
Another problem with the current emergency rule is that it raises the question of selective treatment and flies in the face of justice. I do not think it is enough to warn Kano State. What of other states that are experiencing unresolved conflict, leading to constant loss of lives? The continued incidence of violence in several parts of Nigeria also shows clearly that state of emergency may not be the real answer to our problems. We must enthrone the Rule of Law and ensure that those who offend the law are punished. We cannot afford to declare a state of emergency in the entire country for that will signal a real descent to fascism, to borrow Funke’s formulation. I think what is emerging is that we can no longer shy away from dialogue, call it a national conference to enable us come together as a family and discuss our problems, with a view of resolving the problematic issues and promote peace, unity and justice. This type of meeting will no doubt lead to a holistic review of the current 1999 constitution, which was imposed on us by the military and which, is at the heart of the crisis in Nigeria.
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