"Now who gave the orders? If it was done unilaterally by the military high command, they acted outside of their constitutional authority in a democracy and it may be a sign of restiveness in the military. If they did and it has no repercussions, it may as well be running a diarchy. If the president approved those actions, it would be a clear sign of desperation as we approach the 2015 elections. And using the military to achieve political ends is akin to riding the tiger!"
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| Governor Rotimi Amaechi at the Ondo-Ekiti border |
At the risk of being branded a prophet of
doom, I wish to warn President Goodluck Jonathan and those around him,
including Christian leaders who have access to him that events in the month
that’s about to end portend danger to our democracy and the corporate existence
of our nation, Nigeria.
It began with an ill-explained clampdown
on newspapers by the military authorities which began on June 6 in Abuja and
continued for almost two weeks spreading to some other parts of the country.
The Guardian newspaper’s
Editorial of June 20 captured the incidence in these words:
“…As early as 4.00 a.m. on Friday, June 6, 2014, heavily armed
soldiers reportedly descended on newspapers operating from Abuja. They took
position at strategic points where distributors, vendors and representatives
gather to offload, load and coordinate the day’s sales and distribution. They
clamped down on all newspaper distribution vans moving out of the city and
detained drivers. The assault was so fierce that by the following day, all newspapers
leaving Abuja were barred from circulation and confined to the vendor’s village
in Area 1 of the Federal Capital Territory. A military official later said the
action would continue until the Defence Headquarters was satisfied without
stating what he meant or the reason behind the crackdown. Major General Chris
Olukolade, the army spokesman, who confirmed the crackdown, said that soldiers
were indeed given orders to ransack newspaper distribution vans for what he
called ‘materials with grave security implications….’”
If there has been any report of the presidency distancing
itself from this unconstitutional attempt to intimidate the media, I am yet to
hear about it. Take that as portent number one.
On Thursday, June 19, 48 hours to the governorship election
in Ekiti state, at least two governors who wanted to attend the final campaign
rally of the incumbent governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi were denied access into
Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
ThisDay newspaper reports it this way: “The federal
government displayed its fangs Thursday when in a commando-style operation,
soldiers and other security agencies of the federal government prevented
Governors Adams Oshiomhole (Edo) and Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers) from travelling
to Ekiti State. Amaechi, who had landed in Akure, the Ondo State capital, in a
private airplane, had proceeded by road to Ado-Akiti, the capital of Ekiti
State, but was stopped and prevented from entering the state at Iju, a border
town in Ondo. After waiting at the
border town without being granted permission to enter Ekiti, Amaechi’s
motorcade was compelled to depart Ondo State for Lagos yesterday by road, as
his aircraft was prevented from flying out of Akure. In the case of Oshiomhole,
his chartered helicopter was grounded at Benin Airport…”
The Presidency’s take on this
through spokesman Reuben Abati was evasive, at best: “…security agencies had a duty to stop those
who might be able to compromise the process from achieving their aim…”
Then there was this widely reported incident involving
Nigeria’s Number 4 citizen and military operatives. The National Mirror version
of the report reads:
“The Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri
Tambuwal, was yesterday held hostage by soldiers said to be acting on orders
from above to search his official car at the entrance to Hotel Seventeen, along
Lafia Road, Kaduna…The speaker arrived at the venue at 9.16 am, ahead of other
VIPs, and was stopped from gaining immediate access to the hotel premises by
the soldiers, even when the seal of his office flag was on his car. The
speaker’s security aides protested, but the soldiers rebuffed the move,
insisting that they must search the car before being allowed into the premises.
It was gathered that to avoid a bloody clash, Tambuwal angrily forced himself
out of his car and walked into the hotel premises and into the conference hall,
leaving behind his official car…”
In this case, the Presidency, through the National Security
Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd), is reported to have instituted an
investigation into the incident and written a letter of apology to the Speaker.
The points to note in all three incidents are: all the
actions violated constitutional rights of those involved; the military was
involved; the military operatives who carried out the actions got their orders
from somebody somewhere.
Now who gave the orders? If it was done unilaterally by the
military high command, they acted outside of their constitutional authority in
a democracy and it may be a sign of restiveness in the military. If they did
and it has no repercussions, it may as well be running a diarchy. If the
president approved those actions, it would be a clear sign of desperation as we
approach the 2015 elections. And using the military to achieve political ends
is akin to riding the tiger!
My conclusion: when the media is being intimidated; when
governors’ right to free movement and association is circumscribed; when
military operatives treat elected official with disdain; when impunity becomes
the order of the day; when in the face of all that the prophets are silent;
THAT IS DARKNESS VISIBLE. Let him that has ears hear.
