Thursday, November 20th, 2014 marked a new high in the disdain for law and order in our society. The events on this day at the National Assembly were extremely sad. A situation where the police designed to protect the security of citizens and uphold the law is employed to implement the selfish interests of a few by inflicting havoc and pain on extremely baseless accusations of clearly false intelligence is highly depressing. Lawmakers were forcibly prevented from performing the duties for which they were elected including use of force to ensure refusal of entry into the chambers even going as far as releasing teargas on The Representatives?!!! This is a total disgrace to our democracy and act that must be checked immediately if this democracy is to be preserved.
The entire incident brought back memories of the dark days of military rule and really raises questions about the hope of our country under this present dispensation. If lawmakers elected to uphold the law could be so shabbily treated upon instructions from one source, then what exactly is the hope of our nation? This lawless act amongst many others reinforces the character of our present Federal Government as high handed, authoritarian, vindictive and an intimidating government that cares nothing about its people but
Under the watch of our sitting President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Nigeria’s democratic processes and respect for the law have been flagrantly abused over and over again to the point where one begins to wonder whether our leadership understands the concept and importance of efficient structures and systems in ensuring a sustainable democracy. Lest I forget, the same adherence to the law and belief in upholding same is what birthed the Presidency of His Excellency Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. Nigerians protested in averse conditions – under the scorching sun and even defying the deadly resistance of the security forces – to ensure our then Vice President was installed the Acting President of the nation. All this seems to have been forgotten so quickly and our nation appears to be decelerating at the speed of light into a state of anarchy if unchecked.
Boko Haram continues to fill all our hearts with fear and trepidation. Over 127,000 souls have been lost to the violence unleashed by this blood-sucking sect and there appears to be no end in sight. 48 traders were killed just a few days ago. It is absolutely mind boggling that the supposed giant of Africa has been crippled to her knees by a few thousand insurgents and made to appear like a helpless chicken that runs for cover at the sight of a barking dog. I recall vividly how in time past as a nation, we supported our neighbors in Liberia, Sierra Leone and many other African countries with peace missions by lending our expertise in their defence to ensure peace reigns in the lands across Africa. We were indeed our brothers keepers. It is hard to imagine what could have gone wrong so quick. Over three trillion Naira has been spent on security in the last four years with absolutely nothing to show for! This is in addition to the $1 billion His Excellency, President Ebele Goodluck Jonathan recently requested for earlier in the year to support the battle against terrorism in our land. It appears the more we spend the worse the situation gets. Who exactly is fighting who? What is worrying is not the existence of the Boko Haram sect in itself because challenges are bound to occur in the life of every nation but the fact that Nigerians have now been reduced to embarrassingly helpless onlookers whose security has now become their sole responsibility and not that of their government is extremely shameful. Nigerians deserve better! Nigeria appears to have left her citizens to map out their own security strategy despite the gargantuan amounts being spent. This situation is beyond comprehension and is certainly questionable on all fronts. Or how does one explain that a nation’s defence chief announced that they know the whereabouts of our kidnapped Chibok girls and did absolutely nothing about it? Today they know their whereabouts, tomorrow they are in negotiation talks; yet five months after and still no Chibok girls. Each day we are confounded by the utterances and actions that continue to leave one exasperated with the manner of handling of our nation’s security by those who should know better.
As insecurity continues to abound, a flagrant disregard for the law continues to deepen its roots in our land. The Ekiti State PDP-led government in a laughable move recently announced the impeachment of its speaker and deputy. This impeachment however, was effected by only seven (7) members of the House out of the existing twenty six (26). What have we turned ourselves into? A situation where basic arithmetic is turned into complex quadratic equations for the sole purpose of achieving selfish ambitions and flouting the law does our nation no good. This is yet another example of the incessant breakdown of law and order we continue to experience as a nation.
Several times, this same attitude has been displayed in the now public feud between the Rivers State Governor, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi and our President, Goodluck Jonathan. In several instances, the Rivers governor was denied access to the Rivers State Government House – this same act once again implemented by our police force – not only was he denied access to the government house, his right to movement was also restricted on his way to Ekiti State for the final campaign of the then governor; Dr. Kayode Fayemi.
These acts clearly represent an infringement of basic human rights! Yet, we all trod on as if nothing happened and another crack is inflicted in the wall of our democracy.
The recent abduction and severe torture of journalists in the Niger Delta by the seemingly untouchable Ekpemupolo alias ‘Tompolo’ is yet another example of how we continue to damage our fledgling democracy. Kidnapping is clearly a punishable act under the law, and in this case there is a clear suspect; yet we have chosen to take no action! Why? 21st , the DSS raided the APC office in Ikeja, Lagos, carting away several amounts of data in a brazenly irresponsible act of impunity; another condemnable act and gross abuse of power clearly initiated by the sitting government. For how long will we continue to endure this before we experience a crack? Newton’s law of motion readily comes to mind here; ‘for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction’. Nigerian’s are being provoked on a daily basis and it is only a matter of time before a reaction occurs. I indeed hope that for all our sakes it is not a violent one.
As these events continue to unfold, our economy continues to take a bashing. Our foreign reserves are at an all-time low and debt profile continues to rise with absolutely nothing to show for it except the chaos being experienced across the nation. Let us not even attempt to review the implementation of the Subsidy Reinvestment Program (SURE-P) which has generally benefited no one but the originators of this ostensibly life changing program.
Nigerian youths are languishing in several jails abroad, a lot of them leaving the shores of Nigeria, trying to escape from a totally hopeless situation. Desperate for survival, Nigerian youths are murdered abroad daily. For instance, Toba Falode, was murdered in Dubai by an accused person who is not anonymous. Yet, the Federal Government has not considered it worthy to demand justice for Toba and several others. What is the life of a Nigerian citizen worth?
Poverty has never been so pervasive. Corruption is now an official state policy. The transformation agenda is a labyrinth leading to a cul-de-sac. The only people clapping are those who designed it. Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria( TAN) irritatingly bombards us with delusional rhetoric of achievements of this administration. Not to worry, Nigerians are discerning enough to separate rhetoric from reality.
Suffice it to say, it is clear from several experiences that our PDP-led government has lost all emotional intelligence and ability to empathize with the present situation in our land. How else do you explain pushing ahead with a re-election campaign barely 24hours after a major bomb blast claimed the lives of our children – the supposed leaders of tomorrow whose destinies have been unduly cut short? We have now become a laughing stock as we continue to operate in the realm of misplaced priorities and there seems to be no end in sight for the negative attention we continue to attract.
Yes, I can lay claim, and proudly so, to being one of the “founding mothers” of APC but I express my concerns, irrespective of my political party. Recent events, if not checked and resisted, portend grave danger that could destroy the very fabrics of our existence as a nation.
Our Nigeria today is certainly not the dream of our forefathers and definitely not one we should hand over to our children. We need to ensure that we set right the foundational principles of democracy. The Executive, Legislature and Judiciary must operate independently and harmoniously for us to achieve great results. Posterity holds it upon us to ensure that we uphold the sanity of our nation. Our legacy as a people is built upon the good that we do and not the evil that we perpetuate.
I would thus like to plead and admonish all our serving leaders particularly our President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to consider how posterity will judge him and the legacy that he will leave behind when he leaves office.
The rule of the law should be sacrosanct and upholding the law should be a job for ALL OF US. It is detrimental to the existence of any political office holder to flout the law; it is said that ‘he who lives by the gun dies by the gun’. If the law is raped today for your selfish ambition it is worth remembering it could be raped tomorrow for your destruction. As John F. Kennedy once said; “Our goal here is not the victory of might but the vindication of right – not peace at the expense of freedom but both peace and freedom”. I indeed hope that as a nation we shall achieve this goal. A word is enough for the wise. And in the words of Pa Benedict Odiase, who composed the national anthem “May the labours of our heroes past not be in vain”.
Hon. Abike Dabiri- Erewa is a member of the House of Representatives.
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