By A. M. Bashir Shuwa and M. A. Aliyu Biu
Dr. Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan has shown time without number that he is not fit to be President of Nigeria. Apart from condoning corruption, misapplication of security apparatus to fight insurgency he has clearly shown lack of care and concern to the plight of the ordinary Nigerians and his unresponsive even to the slightest voice of reason especially the infinite wisdom of the Northern Elders that informed him not to impose another State of Emergency in the North-East sub-region.
Even Senator McCain had cause to characterize Jonathan’s administration on CNN as ‘non existence government’ and that if he were the US president he would deployed all means at his disposal to rescue the Chibok girls without seeking permission. Similarly Mrs. Hillary Clinton, the former US Secretary of State at a separate event in New York City said Nigeria has made bad choices, not hard choice, “they have squandered their oil wealth, they have allowed corruption to fester and now they are losing control of parts of their territory because they wouldn’t make hard choices.”
The ability of the insurgents to freely move about with heavy military hardware without being detected by our security forces and passing through all military check points under a state of emergency and retreat safely to their bases gave them the latitude to attack even military installations and burn down public and private buildings as well as market places. This resulted in several deaths and rendered hundreds of thousands homeless and economically impoverished several others without any assistance from the Federal Government living the state government to cushion the hardship of their people with the scarce resources meant for the developmental purposes of their states.
However, his recent request to the National Assembly for another six months extension of the state of emergency in the three states is either in conformity with the wishes of Dame Patience and not Nigerians but may also raise serious constitutional questions under section 305 sub section ‘c’ in the amended constitution of 2011 as to whether the President can extend the state of emergency once or several times at will.
Just recently the President was billed to visit Chibok in Borno state before proceeding to France to attend a summit on insurgency. This was at a time when Governor Kashim Shettima was said to be at the United Kingdom briefing the International Community on the pathetic situation Borno State found itself in view of the insurgency. The planned visit might either have been a ploy for the President to arrive Maiduguri and not meet the governor and then claim that here he was in Maiduguri but the governor was n where to receive him and score cheap political points or a face saving device for having not reacted until nineteen days after the girls were abducted. Even mere cancellation of his scheduled visit to Chibok was probably be to avoid provoking protests from the grieving parents of the abducted girls.
Furthermore since the summit in France was to explore ways and means of ending the insurgency one would have expected the state Governors of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States who have been at the receiving end and taking the direct heat of the insurgency as it affects their people should have been on the entourage because they wear the shoes where the nail pinches and are in better position to give a clearer picture of the problems they are facing on the ground.
However going by the decision of the Federal House of Representatives to O.K the President’s request for the extension of the state of emergency in the three states, the senate which is yet to do so should consider as a priority recommending the release of at least two hundred billion naira to each of the three Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States to help them rebuild most of the broken down structures and alleviate the sufferings of the people caused by the insurgency.
In addition the senate may also consider recommending the delegation of some of the powers of the President to state Governors who are always on the spot to tackle any security breach instantaneously in line with section 5 sub section 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic as amended (2011).
We call on the senate to re-examine the activities of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration with a view to making him look like a nationalist rather than his apparent reclining to his minor tribal, religious and ethnic enclave failing so they may institute impeachment proceedings in the best interest of the country.
Mohammed Bashir Shuwa and M. A. Aliyu Biu, both veteran journalists, wrote in from Maiduguri, Borno state.
