•They spoke the truth, say King Dodo II, Sara-Igbe, Ikimi, Hon Nwuke
•Former Senate chief whip, Owie, Ambakederimo criticize OBJ
By Emma Amaize, South-South Regional Editor, Sam Oyadongha, Jimitota Onoyume, Egufe Yafugborhi, Ozioruva Aliu, Emma Una, Dan Abia, Chioma Onuegbu, Davies Iheamnacho, Ochuko Akuopha & Ugochukwu Alaribe
THE traditional ruler of Bilabiri Kingdom in Bayelsa State, King Dodo II; an elder statesman, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe; a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ogbonna Nwuke; and some South-South leaders have endorsed the claim of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo and others that democracy is no longer working in Nigeria.
However, former Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Roland Owie; elder statesman, Joseph Ambakederimo; and Zik Gbemre, Niger -Delta activist criticized ex-President Obasanjo for his fault-finding.
The chairman of the Centre for the Vulnerable and the Underprivileged, CENTREP, Oghenejabor Ikimi; former president of the Ijaw Youth Congress, IYC, Eric Omare; and a host of others said Obasanjo, Obi, and Kukah were right.
No democracy anymore in Nigeria —King Dodo II
King Dodo II told Vanguard on phone: “There is no democracy in Nigeria anymore. Autocracy is in play. For example, the Constitution of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, does not recognize an administrator, but imagine what is happening in Rivers State.
“I hope Nigerians witnessed what played out during the 2023 elections. Politics is completely dying in Nigeria, which means there will be no meaningful election in Nigeria anymore.”
Democracy has collapsed — Nwuke
Former Rep Ogbonna Nwuke threw his weight behind Obasanjo and others, saying all the indicators of democracy in the country seem to have collapsed because the right people were not elected into positions of authority to consolidate democracy for good governance.
Nwuke, a former Commissioner for Information and Communications in Rivers State, said Obasanjo was not far from the truth when he said that democracy was not working in Nigeria, adding: “It is only in the country that an elected governor could be removed through the back door.”
“How do you explain a situation where an elected governor is suspended by somebody who called himself a Democrat? How can a president remove a governor, the deputy, and go on to sack the House of Assembly in a democracy?
“This is a country where members of the National Assembly have lost their heads and do things the way and manner they like. How can the National Assembly adopt a voice vote to remove an elected governor in a democracy?
“In Nigeria today, if you stage a protest, you are arrested, and if you go to court, you cannot get justice. This is a country where the Supreme Court suspends the statutory allocation of a state. What you can see in Nigeria today is that crooks have forced themselves into positions of power and use the same to suppress others.”
Fast descending into tyranny —Sara-Igbe
Elder Statesman and Leader of the Rivers State Elders, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, told Vanguard: “Nigeria is tilting towards dictatorship. Civilian dictatorship is inviting the military brothers to come. It is like the inside rat in the house inviting the outside rat.
“So, democracy is threatened, the leaders no longer obey the constitution, and there is a breakdown of law and order.”
Sara-Igbe, a former publicity secretary of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, continued: “They have violated the constitution. The president has violated the Constitution. If you look at Sections 188 and 189, you will see that Mr President has violated the constitution as regards Rivers State.
“Even if you go to sections 183, 188, 189, the sections that deal with the removal or illegibility of the governor, there is no provision that empowers the president to suspend or sack a governor.
“And now, they are even thinking of suspending him forever; it means democracy is dead. I agree with them. We are fast sliding into a dictatorship.
“We see that all the arms of the government—the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary—have all violated the law.
“The legislature did not apply the constitutional provision in Section 305 that says a 2/3 majority of the members must vote on issues of state of emergency. They did a voice vote, so we did not know how many people voted, how many were absent, or even present.
“All these happened without following the due process of law. The rule of law is no longer in place. Mr President should be careful; that is my advice.
“He should turn back; he cannot destroy the country because of one man. He should not damage his reputation and the entire democratic system.
“What is happening today is against the law and a slap on the Nigerian constitution. So, Mr. President, the head of the government can make amends.
“Again, Mr President violated the law by overriding the Supreme Court judgment. The Supreme Court said don’t release money to the government in Rivers State until the budget is presented.
“Without a budget, Mr. President overrode the Supreme Court and released money. These are all breaches of the Constitution. The president is doing all these things because he knows that the National Assembly has also breached the constitution and is compromised. The judiciary, on its own, has lost shape to the executive.”
Democracy fallen under the river — Owie
On his party, one-time Chief Whip of the Senate, Sir Roland Owie, said that under ex-President Shehu Shagari, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Professor Ambrose Alli, former governor of the defunct Bendel State, and their likes, democracy worked. There is also hope that democracy will begin to work again in Nigeria by 2027.
“Despite that, Shehu Shagari was a minority president; his party, the defunct NPN, was a minority in the National Assembly; he delivered, was honest, and broad-minded.
“Obasanjo himself came, and despite unnecessary interference in the affairs of the National Assembly, he did well. He cleared Nigeria’s indebtedness, himself, and the vice president, Atiku Abubakar, and brought back to Nigeria k the likes of Okonjo Iweala.
“Ex-President Yar’Adua did his best, and Goodluck Jonathan did his best, so the crisis of democracy not working started when Buhari came as the president of Nigeria. The man that I knew to be an anti-corruption crusader, unfortunately, whether he was sleeping, I do not know, but corruption crept into his administration.
“He had no control over it; his chief of staff and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria became the owners of Nigeria.
“Ordinarily, for a man like Bola Tinubu, who has been on the side of democracy, one would have expected him to perform and take democracy to the highest level; unfortunately, democracy has fallen into the river under him.
“So it is not correct that democracy is not working in Africa; that was an overstatement, but Nigeria will recover; democracy will return to Nigeria by the grace of God in 2027.”
Obasanjo not qualified to speak on democracy —Gbemre
Zik Gbemre, a Niger Delta activist, said: “Nigerians don’t need Obasanjo, Obi, and others to lead a debate on how democracy is not working in Nigeria. They have been prominent in corrupting the nation’s democracy into the steady dirty politics of the depraved hijacking leadership by hook and crook.
“Besides, they should tell us what we don’t know, not what we already know. Democracy not working in Nigeria is common knowledge. So, what Nigeria needs is not democracy but good governance.
“WhatNigeria lacks is responsible leadership at all levels, and until the politicians stop using state money as personal wealth, till politicians stop looting treasuries. Until politicians are accountable. Until the people hold public officeholders accountable, until the rule of law prevails, Nigeria will not experience enduring democracy.
“Obasanjo, who said democracy does not work in Nigeria, didn’t do much. How did he set up the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC? NDCC was proposed for the South-South, but the power brokers set it up to include the South-East and South-West regions. He had the opportunity to build more functional refineries and make old ones work, but this didn’t happen.
“Obasanjo had the opportunity to build railways to connect every part of Nigeria; Obasanjo had the opportunity to expand power infrastructure, but he didn’t do it. Under Obasanjo, multinationals were leaving Nigeria’s harsh economic climate. Dunlop, Michelin, Shell, and Chevron divested.
Obasanjo is one of the leaders who caused our underdevelopment; impeachments of Senate presidents and speakers, and the governor of Rivers State started under him. Declaring a state of emergency and invasion of civil communities started under Obasanjo.
“Obasanjo stage-managed the impeachment and removal of a former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha. Have we forgotten how he ordered soldiers to invade Odi in Bayelsa State, which led to the Odi massacre?”
Democracy blossoming—Ambakederimo, elder statesman
Also countering Obasanjo, the convener of the South-South Reawakening Group, Elder Joseph Ambakederimo, said: “Democracy is very well alive and active in Nigeria. The challenge we have is the politicians. All of them who have made statements to vilify President Tinubu were the enablers of anti-democratic tendencies when they held sway.
“They had taken far-reaching decisions during their time in office that threatened democracy, and there were outcries like what is happening today, and democracy did not die. They should not make statements to overheat the country even if it is within their rights to comment on issues.”
Power grab, not democracy –Ikimi
The chairman of the Centre for the Vulnerable and the Underprivileged, CENTREP, Oghenejabor Ikimi said: “I am in total agreement with ex-President Obasanjo, Peter Obi, Rev. Hassan Kukah, and a host of other truth tellers to the effect that democracy is no longer working in Nigeria.”
“A look at the 774 local government areas indicates that grassroots democracy has been hacked by state governors and various State Independent Electoral Commissions, SIECS.
“The last general elections clearly show a power grab across the nation. What we had was more of a coup than an election. Illegalities, unconstitutionality, corruption, and power grabs characterize our democracy. The masses are now at the mercy of political marauders and ecclesiastical thieving.”
There is cause for concern —Omare
Eric Omare, a former president of the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, said: “Recent developments in our political system give cause for concern. However, I think our collective duty as Nigerians is to ensure democracy works. This entails having bold and courageous citizens and leaders.
“The opposition also has a big role to play. Democracy is built on adherence to the rule of law and due process, and Nigerians must insist on these overriding principles of democracy for it to work in Nigeria.”
Counterfeit democracy —Morris
Erstwhile Secretary of the Liberties Organisation, CLO, in Bayelsa State, Alagoa Morris, noted: “I have said it before and I will repeat, if what we are experiencing in the governance space is what democracy is, then I dislike democracy completely.
“Right from the electoral umpire (INEC) to the three arms of government, I see a disservice to the nation, and unpatriotic folks occupying public offices.
“I am saddened that the legislators have become more interested in constituency projects and philanthropy with ulterior motives to perpetuate themselves in the corridors of power and further impoverish Nigerians instead of effectively playing the role of law-making to make the society a better place for all.”
It’s rule of Tinubu, Akpabio and Wike —Eneli
A university lecturer, Richard Eneli, told Vanguard: “There is freedom of speech in Nigeria. They have just told the truth. What we have in Nigeria now is not democracy but the rule of three persons: Tinubu, Akpabio, and Wike. Tinubu leads the executive, Akpabio heads the legislature, and Wike heads the judiciary. This is real comic democracy.”
Our democracy is a mockery —Charles, activist
Ovie Charles, an activist in Warri, Delta State, who dismissed the nation’s brand of democracy as a sham and in a higgledy-piggledy state, said: “Our democracy has never really worked in the real sense of the word, democracy, since 1999. It has been in a higgledy-piggledy situation.”
“Obasanjo and Jonathan, in their time, also abused the presidential powers, and at some point, Buhari did the same. The way out is for Nigeria to evolve its homegrown democracy. We may not call it the parliamentary system of government, but it should be such that it reduces the powers of the almighty, Mr President. It should no longer be a winner-takes-all kind of democracy. What we have been practicing is a sham, not democracy. We saw the recent capture of Rivers State. We saw the abuse of the parliamentary process at the National Assembly to achieve state capture.”
Like Obasanjo, like Tinubu — Onuesoke
Former governorship aspirant in Delta State, Sunny Onuesoke, said: “I do not think Obasanjo is in a position to tell Nigerians that democracy is not working out in Africa, especially in Nigeria.
“If he said it concerning what is happening in Rivers State, which was what he did as a president when he suspended Joshua Dariye of Plateau State, he might have forgotten what he did in Plateau State for the same six months.
“If democracy is not working, there are people responsible for why it is not working. He is a past leader, an African voice, and a voice of the black race. What were the precedents he wanted the voters to emulate during his time?
“What is the difference between what Tinubu is doing today and what he did in his time? He suspended Dariye; he stopped the Lagos State allocation, and when he did that, Tinubu was against him. Tinubu is repeating what he did, so what are we talking about?”
Democracy is dead in Nigeria – Atare, good governance crusader
Convener of the Delta Democrats Forum, Mr. Ufuoma Atare, said: “They tried to pamper the situation by selecting their choice of words. I will say democracy is dead, and our constitution is practically suspended because the current administration is undemocratic. The decision by the National Assembly shows that these people are undemocratic and do not have the masses at heart.
“Recently, we saw the role of the National Assembly in the Rivers State emergency issue. It is unconstitutional and undemocratic to use voice vote in such a critical issue, and let it go.”
We’re running a stillborn democracy – Wills
Barrister Iniruo Wills, a co-convener of the Embasara Foundation, an Ijaw think tank for good governance, said: “At best, Nigeria has been running a stillborn democracy for 26 years being belaboured under a purported constitution that is merely an appendix, a schedule to a military decree signed by one single person, General Abdulsalam Abubakar.”
“Anybody craving for democracy should press and fight for us to negotiate and make unto ourselves an organic and legitimate constitution that will have the requisite efficacy to guide us in starting or resuming the dual journey of state building for Nigeria and nation building for our collective amalgamating nationalities.”
Obasanjo, Obi, Atiku failed to mobilize for political action — ADC
Also, the African Democratic Congress, ADC, blamed Obasanjo, Obi and Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for failing to mobilise Nigerians to take action to strengthen democracy
The ADC National Vice Chairman, South-East, Chilos Godsent, said: “The recent development in Rivers State concerning the declaration of State of Emergency and arbitrary suspension of a democratically elected Governor and members of the State House of Assembly by President Bola Tinubu is a sign of political dictatorship occasioned by the docility and weaknesses of the Nigerian political elites and the masses.
“We had expected the Nigerian political elites to rise up in unity to actively mobilize the masses to take direct political actions to challenge and stop President Bola Tinubu and his cohorts of political conspirators by forcing the National Assembly to reject this civilian coup déta and subversion of democracy in Rivers State by the All Progressive Congress, APC-led Federal Government.
“Rather than seeing the Nigerian political elites taking direct political actions to challenge and stop the APC-led Federal Government from promoting impunity they resorted to only addressing the media in condemnation of the illegality knowing that the only language tyrants understand and respect is direct political actions.”
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