Pastor Tunde Bakare wrote: What I have said in the past to our nation and our leaders, I will repeat here once more. To avoid the gathering storms, the following steps should be taken: 1. Activate the constitutional provisions for the suspension of elections Section 135(3) of the 1999 Constitution provides as follows: If the Federation is at war in which the territory of Nigeria is physically involved and the President considers that it is not practicable to hold elections, the National Assembly may by resolution extend the period of four years mentioned in subsection (2) of this section from time to time; but no such extension shall exceed a period of six months at any one time. The argument against this would be the notion that the country is not at war. If indeed the country is not at war, how can one explain the invasion and annexation of Nigerian territory by insurgents launching attacks from our borders and neighbouring countries? Let us not forget that on May 14, 2013, while declaring a state of emergency in three states, President Goodluck Jonathan said of the activities of terrorists: “These actions amount to a declaration of war and a deliberate attempt to undermine the authority of the Nigerian state and threaten its territorial integrity. As a responsible government, we will not tolerate this”. Records indicate that since that declaration, the situation has only worsened. Therefore, if the country was at war then, according to the president, it is even more so now. I do recognise the fact that opinions are divided on whether or not the Boko Haram plague can be described as war or just an act of insurgency. Truth be told, this is mere semantics. As Aesop said, “the injury we do and the one we suffer are not weighed in the same scales”. Depending on which side of the divide one belongs, the difference between war and insurgency can be likened to the difference between terrorists and freedom fighters. One man’s meat is another man’s poison, just as one man’s music is another man’s noise. Those that are condemned as ‘terrorists’ by one group are hailed as ‘freedom fighters’ by another. Therefore, I submit that if the President considers that a part of the federation will be disenfranschised by reason of the Boko Haram plague, a postponement of the election may not be out of place. In my view, the litmus test to arrive at the type of war contemplated by the constitution is the practicality of getting people in the affected states to line up to vote for candidates of their choice in situations where they cannot predict when the next attack will be launched by insurgents. I hold the view that the drafters of the law feared for mass disenfranchisement of Nigerians who will refuse to risk their lives, hence the requirement that the nation wins the war before conducting an election. Be that as it may, there is yet another argument. It goes thus: “Since the government has demonstrated a very high degree of incompetence as far as combating terrorism, is it not better to have a replacement, particularly in terms of a new government led by the person of the APC candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, which can only happen through elections?” This reasoning seems valid, for though the president has made several attempts at tackling the issue, his avowed political will has not yielded fruit and the situation has only worsened. It is perhaps too complicated for him to deal with. But what is the guarantee that there will be free, fair and credible elections and the opposition will not be rigged out of victory once again? What is the guarantee that the power of incumbency will not successfully manipulate the presidential elections? Even if General Buhari wins, what would happen if, in response to a Buhari victory, another wave of insurgency explodes in the South-South in such proportion that will completely ground the Nigerian economy? Is that what we want as a nation? However, I must state that the proposal for suspension of elections is not with a view to giving the president an avenue for undue tenure elongation but for the purpose of building a coalition that will bring lasting solutions to our problems. 2. Create a Transitional Government In suspending the elections, to gain the support of all stakeholders, the president must not act with the intention to seek re-election. Rather, he should, within the period, commit himself to building a non-partisan coalition comprised of major stakeholders and competent statesmen from each geopolitical zone. This coalition, headed by the president, will constitute a combined force that will tackle terrorism and address what I have earlier referred to as the fundamentals, within a time frame of two years or less. 3 Address the Fundamentals Addressing the fundamentals calls for immediate implementation of the report, or part thereof, of the 2014 National Conference especially as it relates to: Restructuring with a view to achieving true federalism under Zonal Commissions as well as fiscal federalism ensuring, as proposed by the report of the National Conference, that adequate allocation is given to a Solid Minerals Development Fund in addition to other recommendations geared towards economic diversification. Achieving national reconciliation and integration by adopting, constitutionalizing and propagating the National Charter for Reconciliation and Integration. 4. Conduct accurate census Aside facilitating development planning, an accurate census will lay the foundation for a sound identity management scheme, facilitate effective and efficient local government administration, provide the basis for proper constituency delineation and enable the conduct of well-organized voter-registration exercises. 5. Establish a truly independent electoral body A truly independent electoral body whose head will no longer be appointed by the president and whose funding will be drawn from first line charge on the federation account will guarantee the conduct of free, fair and credible elections. 6. Create a true people’s constitution that will reflect the aforementioned features A true people’s constitution, rather than being preambled by a military decree, as in the case of the 1999 constitution, will be preceded by the people’s expressed interest to co-exist as a nation and be governed under agreed principles as espoused in the Charter for National Reconciliation and Integration adopted at the 2014 National Conference. 7. Conduct free, fair and credible elections in the consensually accepted constitutional arrangement In the end, as an integrated rather than regionally and religiously divided nation, we will arrive at the same juncture we are currently but, at that time, better prepared with the fundamentals in place and with the nation set for the leadership of the best of the north and the best of the south while the federating units, truly federal, are constitutionally empowered for collaborative and competitive development.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 07:29:52 +0000