Dr. Paul Obianaso, Director-General,
Centre for Criminal Justice Awareness believes that President Olusegun Obasanjo
has not done enough in the area of declaring state of emergency in states that
are crisis-prone. He told UGOCHUKWU ITEOGU that much in a recent
interview. Excerpts:
Revisiting
the recent declaration of a state of emergency in Plateau State, to what extent
do you think the measure will help in addressing the ethno-religious crisis in
the state and rising cases of bloody violence in Nigeria?
Over time, I think what the situation has
been in Nigeria, is that we have had a consistent tendency to ignore the voice
of reason. We more or less go for sentiments, selfish political calculations,
and for unclear, unpatriotic ethnic considerations. When, I say we, I say we as
a people- Nigerians. I think that has in part, has been the bane of our
nationhood in terms of the level or rate of development.
To begin with, President Obasanjo’s
declaration of a state of emergency in Plateau State is a good thing but then I
am saddened at the fact that he did not declare the same in Kano, Kaduna and
Benue states. They should have gone that far in one fellswoop, so that these
states will be brought under same control and sanity. When I say this, it is for
pretenders who claim to be repositories of historical and political knowledge
about Nigeria. They say we are trying to kill or derail our nascent democracy,
but my response to them is that they are either (with all due respect) suffering
from self-inflicted ignorance or pretences, or they are poor students of
history. I have always described the Nigerian nation as a geopolitical
contraption, why because the ingredients and elements of nationhood,
particularly patriotism is lacking in Nigeria and among Nigerians. I said the
President should have declared a state of emergency in all other states that are
crises-ridden.
Why should there be a situation where some
citizens of Nigeria can be made to become refugees in their own country? Because
of selfish interest of certain groups of people who decide to take the laws into
their hands. They gather ignorant and non discerning youths and use them as
tools. So I know for a fact, that the crisis that have persisted in Plateau
State, in Kano State, Kaduna, Benue and some other places are not crisis that
came out of incidental conflicts. They are crises that have a very high degree
of pre-meditation. That is to say, some people sit down and cause disaffection
among the polity. They cause disenfranchisement among some group of people and
undermine constituted authority etc.
And if President Obasanjo did not impose a
state emergency in Plateau, it would have been the same old story because the
killings would go on and on. At the end of the day, blame would be traded with
hundreds of innocent lives being lost and property worth millions or billions
being damaged and nothing will come out of it. So I am in full support of a
state of emergency in Plateau State and I am as a matter of fact, calling on him
to impose a state of emergency in Kano, Benue and Kaduna State, especially if
anybody in those states or elsewhere should try any further nonsense. We have
shed so much blood and lost so much property.
Do you have any constitutional back-up
for saying that the President should go all out to impose a state of emergency
and declare null and void, the mandate of the people by removing the Plateau
State governor and members of the state House of Assembly.
The gospel truth is that the constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria says that the security and welfare of the
people will be the primary purpose of government. And I am now going to come up
with something that Rotimi Williams and all the other people have not talked
about. Supposing a situation of security threat arises in the nation which is
not even envisaged by our constitution, will the President wait to pass another
constitution into law or to amend the constitution before he will act? I think
there are enough provisions in our constitution to warrant the position of Mr.
President. And like I have told you, the primary purpose of government should be
the security and welfare of the people. I was speaking about the primary purpose
of government and making reference to chapter two of the Nigerian constitution
popularly known as the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state
policy.
According to Section14A to B, the
constitution is very loud and clear in saying that the security and welfare of
the people, shall be the primary purpose of government. But beyond the security
and welfare of the people, there are other inter-related aspects of people
enjoying security. To that extent, section 15 (3B) of this same constitution we
are operating, says: It is the duty of the government to secure full resident
rights of every citizen in all parts of the federation. But can we in all
honesty say that the Igbos have had full rights in Kano and Kaduna over the
years? The answer is an absolute no. And if you look at Section 15 subsection 4
of the constitution under chapter two, you will also agree with me that the
government of this country has failed over the years to do the right thing,
vis-a-vis this sub-section which says that the state will foster a feeling of
belonging and involvement among the various peoples of the federation, to the
end that loyalty to the nation shall override sectional loyalties. You will
agree with me that a lot of Nigerians do not have a sense of belonging,
particularly vis-a-vis confidence in government or the environment or area where
they reside. They sleep with one of their eyes open. And if you look at the
implication of this, we have had disjointed development, failed policies, etc.
We have had failed dreams, we’ve multiplied suffering and poverty. We have also
multiplied and increased youth restiveness, because there is hopelessness and
despair. The spirit of the constitution is the right spirit and it says that the
state shall foster a sense of belonging and involvement among the various
peoples of the nation, to the extent that loyality to the nation will override
sectional loyalty.
We know that the cabals who have
established themselves and entrenched themselves in various parts of the nation
will not like peace to reign. You have the same kind in Anambra, Ogun, Lagos
states etc, and they do not care about this nation. They only think about how to
milk this country dry, they do not care about whether we survive as a nation or
not. If you remember, the Centre for Criminal Justice Reform and Awareness (CJRCA)
where I am the director-general, held a National Conference last year on
"Patriotism and the Challenge of Nation Building in a Constitutional Democracy".
We know what we were talking about, we have seen the problem and we have seen
them repeated many times.We know that there are problems that have not been
solved and we know we are getting no where without those problems being solved.
There are issues which must be addressed and resolved. So looking back at those
provisions in the constitution, can we tell ourselves honestly that government
has accomplished any of them over the years? Since the answer is no, the state
of emergency in a place like Plateau State shows that maybe the federal
government has woken up to say that things must change. They probably asked
themselves if they will continue to allow these people to kill and maim others
and do all these terrible things. So I am again calling for President Obasanjo
to move in and declare a state of emergency in Kano and Kaduna states, even if
it is for their past.atrocities. Even if we have a graveyard peace there now,
there is no real or lasting peace there and they know it. Was it not the
killings in Kano and Kaduna which led to the civil war? Did somebody act on
time? If someone had, millions of lives would have been saved.
Why should the Igbos, for example, bear
the brunt of the joke and be denied real re-integration into the nation because
they fought a civil war? Afterall, the people tried to defend themselves against
annihilation. Since when did it become a crime to defend yourself? The
constitution provides every individual citizen the right of self defence. That
is why when Ojukwu is called a warlord I disagree. In my dictionary, he is not a
warlord. I say so because, within the context of the plurality of the killings
of his Igbo ethnic stock, I think Ojukwu cannot be called a warlord. If any
thing, he should be called a defender of the oppressed. Because what the war
meant was that people had to rise up in self defence or they were going to be
wiped out. These things have continued to happen over time and we are dilly
dallying over them. Now I have laid that foundation, we can look at the question
you have asked earlier. Was the President constitutionally correct to have
declared a state of emergency?.
The answer I want to give you from the
constitution is yes. Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution we are operating, says
that subject to the provisions of this constitution, the president may by
instrument published in the official gazzette of the government of the
federation, pursue a proclarmation of a state of emergency in any state thereof.
Then section 305 subsection 2 says that the President shall immediately after
the proclamation of the state of emergency, have it published in government
gazette of the federation conveying the details of the emergency to the
President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. These
officials will then convene meetings in their separate houses to consider the
situation and decide whether or not to approve the proclamation made by the
President. Section 305 subsection 3 paragraph1 , says that if there is an actual
breaked down of public order and pubic safety in the federation or any part
thereof, to such an extent as to require extraordinary measures to restore peace
and security, the President has the constitutional powers in these state of
things to declare a state of emergency. Paragraph 3 of subsection 3, says that
if there is a clear and present danger and actual breakdown of public order and
public setting in the federation or any part thereof which requires
extraordinary measures to avert such dangers, the President can declare a state
of emergency. Also if there is an occurrence of imminent danger or the
occurrence of any disaster or national calamity that threatens the community,
the President can declare a state of emergency. If there is any other public
danger which constitutes a threat to the existence of the federation, the
President can declare a state of emergency.
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