This is an intense time in Nigeria. Undoubtedly, the country has reached a tipping point, and the question is not whether there’s a crisis of immediate sort, or a serious threat to our hard-fought democracy, but rather how much damage President Tinubu’s policies and actions have caused the nation and the citizens. The clearest example was last week’s ill-advised declaration of emergency rule in Rivers state. The motivation was political and self-interest induced. By his action, the President bent the rule of law and violated the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution that he swore to uphold.
It’s not unkind to say that what is unraveling before our eyes is the emergence of a civilian dictator. The evident goal is to spread anxiety, intimidation campaign, fear, silence and capitulation of opposition parties. By his action of last week which dismantled all democratic structures in Rivers state, the removal of the elected Governor Siminilayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Oduah and members of the state legislature, and the appointment of a Sole Administrator, Mr Ibas, a retired Chief of Naval Staff, Tinubu has strained the constitutional checks and balances in ways it has never been tested in decades of civilian government in Nigeria.
By his proclamation of emergency rule in Rivers state, President Tinubu has crossed the line allowed by the Constitution. He has become the law. Perhaps more of such unilateral actions are coming ahead of 2027 elections. And, you begin to ask, have lunatics taken over the asylum? We are in a state of anomie, unmatched, unparalleled since 1999, with consequences that could be breathtaking, fraught with clear and present danger to our already shaky democracy. As many legal experts have expressed their opinions on this matter, including the Nigerian Bar Association(NBA), no constitutional provision, statutes or any known convention grants the president, in the words of Mike Ozekhome, SAN, “the imperial and dictatorial authority to single-handedly dissolve the structures of an elected state government”. It amounts to”executive recklessness”, he said. As Femi Falana, another senior advocate said, the president overreached himself in the pretext of national interest.
In a strong-worded statement condemning the president’s action, the NBA president, Afam Osigwe, SAN, noted that section 305 of the Constitution, in which the President purportedly relied on, does not grant him the power to remove an elected Governor, his deputy,or members of the legislature. Section 188 of the Constitution provides clear conditions and procedural safeguards for the removal of a state governor or Deputy governor. Many stakeholders who spoke in similar vein include former President Goodluck Jonathan, Peter Obi , Atiku Abubakar, Chief Bode George, Prof Wole Soyinka Prof Pat Utomi, among others Tinubu claimed that he took the decision due to the prevailing tense political situation in Rivers state and the vandalisation of oil pipelines. That was a lame excuse. Blaming everything that went wrong in the state on Gov Fubara, and without even a mention of Nyesom Wike, who stoked the fire, is vindictive and counterproductive. Truth is, what Tinubu did was an imposition of Martial Law on Rivers state. Perhaps he borrowed from the script of ousted South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol who was impeached on December 14, 2024.
The action came in response to Yoon’s declaration of marital law on December 3, 2024, which was overturned by the country’s parliament by a vote of 204 in favour of his impeachment, including 12 members of his own party. Yoon had accused the opposition of paralyzing the government with anti-state activities, including plotting a rebellion. What Tinubu did in Rivers state was reminiscent of emperor Nero during the Roman empire. He abandoned due process in order to achieve a predetermined end.
Due process may sound technical, but it’s elemental in a democracy. It’s the heart of the legal system. I am inclined to believe that Tinubu is testing Nigeria’s legal system. He strongly believes he will always win a war against the courts. That’s why tempers are still flaring over what he has done in Rivers state. Writing in the New York Times last week, Ben Rhodes, a former deputy national security Advisor under President Barack Obama, says that’s how “strongmen” emerge under the disguise of leaders. They make us feel ‘powerless’ as if nothing can stop them from taking over the country.
The National Chairman of APC, Abdullahi Ganduje said that much last week. He bragged that nothing will stop Tinubu from being re-elected for a second term in 2023. Perhaps what makes Tinubu’s declaration of emergency rule in Rivers more troubling is the fact that the same man had severely criticized previous administrations on the same matter of emergency rule. Recall that in 2005, as Governor of Lagos state, Tinubu warned the Obasanjo government than he(Tinubu) would “use everything possible to defend our territorial integrity and sovereignty should the federal government imposed a state of emergency on Lagos state”.
He also warned that any attempt to do so “will see the end of democracy” in Nigeria. In 2013 when President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, Tinubu again accused Jonathan of “setting in motion a chain of events the end end of which nobody can predict”, adding that the country was “adrift and rudderless”. It’s clear to everyone now who has set in motion a chain of events that may derail our democracy. Tinubu’s comments in 2005 and 2013 have come back to haunt him.
Tinubu’s words are the words of a hypocrite who acts in contradiction to his stated beliefs. He holds others to standards he cannot keep. It bears repeating that the very moment elected leaders begin to subvert democratic norms, the country is in deep trouble. The more people come forward to defend the Constitution, the greater the chances of checking full-blown civilian dictatorship, and stop the President from becoming the law.