OUR PROPOSITIONAL ALTERNATIVE
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 combatting 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:
1 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.
1 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.
SETTING SAIL IN SPITE OF THE
STORM CLOUDS
Despite this timely warning
which includes the way forward to credible elections and to a stable and
prosperous nationhood, I am almost certain that, like the helmsman and owner of
the Alexandrian ship in Acts 27 as well as the majority in the ship, the
handlers of our nation will prefer to set sail rather than winter at Fair
Havens. From the 13th verse of Acts 27, we
understand that the decision to set sail was fuelled by the fact that the
southern wind blew softly and gave the illusion of safety. It reads:
13When the south wind blew softly,
supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea,
they sailed close by Crete. [Please note that Crete means carnal
or fleshly.]
Ladies and gentlemen, the south
wind blew recently, when Gen Muhammadu Buhari against formidable contestants
and money bags won with a landslide majority at the APC primary in the heart of
Lagos, South-western Nigeria – and that against all odds.
Added to that, the relative peace
in the South has kept us from seeing the severity of the crisis rocking our
nation and its potential to be aggravated by premature electioneering. However,
in the 14th verse of Acts 27, we find that,
not long after, a tempestuous wind called Euroclydon arose and hit the sea and
the ship was caught in the midst of it until it could no longer be controlled.
That ship drifted until it was wrecked.
Euroclydon is a cyclonic, tempestuous north-east wind.
It is reminiscent of the wave of terror attacks bedeviling the nation from the
North-East as though reminding us that, going by precedent, an
incumbency-rigged election could cause the volatile electorate in the region to
take advantage of the Boko Haram crisis which has snowballed from the
North-East to unleash a storm on the nation from the North and that likewise, a
Northern victory will only resuscitate a South-South resistance.
AFTER THE STORM: NIGERIA, THE BIGGEST
MIRACLE OF THE CENTURY
It is noteworthy that, after all
was said and done, just as God assured Paul, no life was lost, though the ship
was wrecked and property was lost. It is very gratifying that, in the end, the
majority that was wrong became the minority and the lone voice minority that
was right became the majority.
Paul, the prisoner, became the
commander with a clear blue print on how to salvage lives from the avoidable
wreckage. And as he instructed the centurion, he had no choice but to comply.
Ladies and gentlemen, my
heartfelt prayer at this juncture is that our leaders will listen and do the
needful to avert an avoidable disaster, so that there will be no need for
anyone to say at the end, “we told you so”.
I find it very useful to repeat
the words of Paul here with all humility, trusting God that all men of goodwill
in and outside of government will hear, heed and act accordingly.
Acts 27:20-26 (NKJV):
20 Now when neither sun nor stars
appeared for many days, and no
small tempest beat
on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally
given up. 21 But after long abstinence from
food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said,
“Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and
incurred this disaster and
loss. 22 And now I urge you to take
heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only
of the ship. 23 For there
stood by me this night an angel of
the God to whom I belong and whom I
serve, 24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul;
you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has
granted you all those
who sail with you.’ 25 Therefore take heart, men, for I
believe God that it will be just as it was told me. 26 However, we must run aground on a
certain island.”
Paul further said in Acts 27:30-36
(NKJV):
30 And as the sailors were seeking
to escape from the ship, when they had let down the skiff
into the sea, under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the
soldiers, “Unless these
men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of
the skiff and let it fall off. 33 And as day was about to dawn, Paul
implored them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day
you have waited and continued without food, and
eaten nothing. 34 Therefore I
urge you to take nourishment, for this is
for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the
head of any of you.” 35 And when he had said these
things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in
the presence of them all; and when he had broken it he began
to eat.36 Then they were all encouraged, and also
took food themselves.
Ladies and gentlemen, brothers
and sisters, let me at this juncture encourage you all, those within the
country and those in the Diaspora, to join us at The Latter Rain Assembly as we
observe a 14-day solemn assembly – a time of corporate fasting and prayer
from Sunday the 1st of February to Saturday the 14th of February, 2015 to entreat the God of heaven for the survival of our
nation. We shall meet daily for corporate prayers on all 14 days from 6.00 p.m.
to 8.00 p.m.
In closing, let me place on the
register my full persuasion regarding the outcome of our present dilemma. I am
fully persuaded that, no matter how dark it becomes for Nigeria, there is a
silver lining beyond the dark clouds and this nation will overcome the storms
and rise to fulfill her destiny. I believe that no matter how unstable the
polity may become, we will transit from shame to fame in the name of Jesus. Amen.
I am persuaded that no matter the level of economic collapse, the economy of
Nigeria will recover. So, in preparation for a previous prophecy, let us begin
to expect the emergence of the tender plant from the side of the North,
afore-prepared before the foundation of the world to steer Nigeria into her
prophetic destiny. We are in the season of his emergence. What the mouth of the
Lord has spoken, the zeal of the Lord will accomplish. Amen.
I am further persuaded that our
national reconciliation, integration and full recovery will be a wonder to the
world and that leaders of nations will beat a path to our doorstep to
understudy God’s power at transforming nations.
Our authority for this assertion
is God’s word as recorded in Psalm 126: 1-6 (NKJV):
1 When
the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, We were like
those who dream. 2 Then our mouth was filled with
laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.” 3 The Lord has done great
things for us, And we are glad. 4 Bring back our captivity, O Lord, As the
streams in the South. 5 Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy. 6 He who continually goes forth
weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with
rejoicing, Bringing his
sheaves with him.
Therefore, come rain, come
shine, by the grace of the living God, Nigeria will be saved, Nigeria will be
changed and Nigeria will become great in my lifetime.
Thank you,
God bless you and God bless Nigeria. Happy New Year to you all.
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