NIGERIA’S RIVERS OF WRONGS

Joshua J. Omojuwa argues the need to focus more on ending the ruinous crisis

Nigeria’s democracy is facing one of its toughest questions yet in the never-ending political debacle in Rivers State. We have been here before. There was the Third Term that President Olusegun Obasanjo said he never wanted, even though everything in the country revolved around it. Nigeria survived that thanks to a National Assembly conscious of its place in history. Then there was the “doctrine of necessity” that thankfully saved the Federation from a constitutional crisis under President Yar’Adua as his government transited to President Goodluck Jonathan in acting capacity. You could also count the multiple Anambra political battles including Ngige, Peter Obi, the Uba brothers and the likes. Add Oyo and the NURTW’s incredible removal of a governor.

The State of Emergency that was just declared by President Bola Tinubu is a culmination of many wrongs, even though those who are now awake and loud preferred to not see or say much until now. This may not be the point of denouement, but hopefully, we aren’t far off.

As expected, social media is awash with the legality of the president’s move to suspend the governor, his deputy and the House of Assembly. Even those who were once ensconced in cabinet, in silence and without resignation when governors were illegally removed, entire villages turned to rubble or state of emergencies declared have suddenly mounted the National Podium of Morality.

My understanding of the 1999 constitution is that there are three ways a governor can be removed from office; via section 188, that is removal by impeachment. Section 189 provides the second pathway via a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of the cabinet declaring said governor incapable of carrying out the duties of their office. The third option is by resignation.

If the constitution intended for a state of emergency to be another pathway for the removal of a governor, it would have stated it. There’s no provision for the suspension of a governor either. President Tinubu’s suspension of Governor Fubara, his deputy and the State’s House of Assembly is unprecedented as far as I know. Beyond these TV appearances and social media posts, I’d love to see this tested in court. Because there are no such powers outrightly handed to the president, as far as my knowledge of the constitution goes.

Previous court rulings made it clear that the declaration of a state of emergency doesn’t automatically amount to the removal of a governor. In this case, the president’s suspension of the governor has the same effect as a removal.

This and its attendant suspension of the governor, and the House is worthy of the uproar it has generated. Imagine a scenario where President Tinubu, facing the threat of impeachment decides to destroy the National Assembly Complex. Such an action would have turned the three arms of government into two arms. Some could argue such a scenario would have amounted to the end of the entire government itself. Different pro-democracy organisations would have issued statements, posted opinions and made television panels their homes. Political opportunists would have been for once justified in posting long Twitter threads. For good reason, because if such a move is condoned, our democracy as we know it would be anything but.

If we weren’t such a country of more hypocrites than genuine statesmen and women, the uproar should have started from when the Governor Sim Fubara himself, in December 2023, led 10 bulldozers to the Rivers State House of Assembly complex and demolished it. At that point, by the letters of the constitution, the Rivers State Government was no longer standing. Because there are three arms of government to have a whole. That was the day the uproar that rightfully reached a crescendo yesterday should have hit its first plateau. Instead of an uproar, shock and disbelief, the action was met with a loud silence by those who would have been first on TV or to their social media pages if that action had been carried out by a governor or government they weren’t in support of.

The three arms of government got maimed by a governor into two arms — a state of anomaly in the eye of the constitution. When expediency meets perceived unconstitutionality, what should give? At what point should a “doctrine of necessity” have applied here?

How can we claim patriotism or loyalty to the constitution or justice if the most egregious of actions are met with silence from those who don’t need any invitation to make noise even on issues that warrant zilch opinions from those who are occupied by important work?

Governor Sim Fubara has a right to defend himself against the elements that are against his government. However, he has left his position vulnerable by carrying out all those cascades of errors that left the Supreme Court short of removing him. They could not because the constitution does not give them the power to, but in calling him a despot and reaching the decisions they did, they simply left that removal for the House of Assembly to tap the ball into an open net. Even Yakubu would have scored.

The State of Emergency came on the heels of impeachment notice served by the House. That notice is now in the cooler for the foreseeable future. Whatever effects an impeachment of the governor would have brought about have been held at bay by the prevailing condition of this SoE.

Governor Fubara said that at the appropriate time, he’d give the signal. Then pipelines started getting blown up. There is a possibility that the governor knows nothing about those acts of economic sabotage and security threat against the state, but how many people will believe this after watching videos of the Governor issuing subtle threats?

I would love to see a few things tested in court. Amidst that, I do hope that the stakeholders in Rivers start to focus more on what can be done to end this debacle more than they do on who was wrong or not. Looking from outside in, it’s hard to tell who isn’t wrong here.

 Omojuwa is chief strategist, Alpha Reach/BGX Publishing