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| President Goodluck Jonathan | credits: File copy |
Recently, President Goodluck Jonathan shocked Nigerians when he declared emergency rule in three North-East states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe in a national broadcast in line with the provisions of Section 305, sub-section 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended.
Despite the growing insecurity, many people were surprised that President Jonathan could muster the courage to take such a courageous decision at this crucial time that his administration has been labelled as timid, non-performing, slow and directionless.
This is coupled with an earlier rebuttal by both Jonathan’s party, Peoples Democratic Party, and the Presidency against the speculation.
Specifically, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, had said, “No such decision has been taken and people should stop speculating”. But this is not to be as all that is now history!
Members of the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North had allegedly equally met with the President on the way out.
Certainly, any civilised society should do all legitimate things to denounce and condemn such lawlessness and wickedness as attacks by Boko Haram and other splinter groups had led to clashes with government security forces, resulting into extrajudicial killings said to have claimed about 4,000 people since 2009. Any progressive nation cannot experience development under such a hostile and retrogressive environment.
The declaration, though appeared belated, seems to be the last option since the affected states were heavily militarised with the massive deployment of troops to battle the Boko Haram insurgents, following the brutal murder of some innocent people, police and State Security Service personnel by the militant group, Ombatse, in nearby Nasarawa State as well as the Baga and Bama killings in Borno State.
The concern of this piece is that the declaration may either be effective or not going by some past experiences of the nation. In 1962, Dr. Moses Majekodunmi was appointed as the Sole Administrator of the defunct Western Region as a strategy at resolving the impasse that threatened the troubled Action Group government.
What led to the crisis was the removal of the then Premier of Western Region, Chief Samuel Akintola and his replacement by Chief Dauda Adegbenro, which led to confusion as the two made claims to the Premiership of the region at the same time.
In line with the provisions of the 1960 Constitution, the federal parliament declared a state of emergency and it worked.
Both Plateau and Ekiti states had experienced emergency rule since 1999, when Nigeria commenced an uninterrupted democratic rule as former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in 2004 declared an emergency rule in Plateau State, over a protracted and deadly sectarian crisis and Maj.-Gen. Chris Alli (retd) was appointed as administrator. Up till now, the Jos crises remain the nation’s nightmare.
In 2006, Obasanjo repeated same in Ekiti State and Brig.-Gen. Adetunji Olurin (retd) was appointed as its Administrator. That effort was said to have paid-off politically when the “troublesome” Governor Ayodele Fayose was removed.
Now, what next? There are few steps that should be taken so that the desired effects could be achieved and the exercise will not be in futility.
To begin with, the security agencies should be prevented from abusing the enormous power conferred on them by the President that “the agencies involved in these operations have orders to take all necessary action, within the ambit of their rules of engagement, to put an end to the impunity of insurgents and terrorists. This will include the authority to arrest and detain suspects, the taking of possession and control of any building or structure used for terrorist purposes, the lock-down of any area of terrorist operation, the conduct of searches, and the apprehension of persons illegally in possession of weapons”.
There is every reason to worry, despite government’s consistent denial of allegations of security force abuses, labelling those who report such abuses as “Boko Haram sympathisers”. This is also the fear of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon.
The Human Rights Watch, in a report, Nigeria: Massive Destruction, Deaths From Military Raid Satellite Images, Witness Accounts Raise Concerns Of Cover-Up, had revealed that “Satellite images reveal massive destruction of civilian property from a military raid” and calling on the government to thoroughly and impartially investigate allegations that soldiers carried out widespread destruction and killings.
Secondly, activities of politicians in the three states should be checked such that the anomaly of this declaration will not be used to hunt and persecute their perceived enemies.
Many observers believe that political appointees in the three states ought to have been removed from office under the new dispensation as done in the past. The argument is that what will they still be doing in office when they might have been stripped of all constitutional powers? The thinking is that most of the atrocities being committed may not have been possible without the backing of these politicians.
Again, efforts should be made this time to really check and control the influx of suspected criminals into the country through our porous borders, to stop the proliferation of arms and availability of vulnerable volunteers for insurgents. That is where the promise by the President that diplomatic channels will be deployed at apprehending terrorist across the border, is apt.
More importantly, we should realise that we cannot get good results doing things the same way, over and over. There is the dire need to strategise and deploy more intelligence in tackling the insurgency. Otherwise, it could amount to channelling useful energy into the wrong cause.
What now becomes the fate of the Boko Haram amnesty committee? Is it still relevant? Or, are we just playing politics in the name of security as alleged by critics including the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and the Action Congress of Nigeria?
--> Source: Punch
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