EMEKA NZE examines last week’s conflict between the police and the House of Representatives and cautions that care needs be applied by ruling and opposition parties in order not derail the present democratic system in the country
The executive-legislature face-off of last week isseemingly the hallmark of Nigeria’s political system butthe on-going topsy-turvy portends the danger of probable return toEgypt’s scenario after 15 years of wobbling democracy. Well-meaning Nigerians, however, caution that care needs be applied as the ominous squeal of the evil bird here again points to an impending system collapse. If this caution is thrown to the winds by the actors – PDP and APC- and if the war of attrition exacerbates, the ultimate casualty will be the extant fragile democracy paving way for the dictatorial jackboot system.
From the flanks or the artificial creations known as the states, the ding-dong is not different as the executive rascality at the states has assumed an unbearable dimension. The general principle of simple arithmetic is being subverted as the minority is fast taking the place of the majority in the Houses of Assembly. How else can one explain seven out of 26 member State House of Assembly upturning the House order in a purported impeachment of the speaker while the other 19 members are on the run for fear of their own lives? The sad tale is pervasive nature of illegality ranging from aggression against the state Houses of Assembly and intimidation of the judiciary. In Ekiti, tension heightened with the purported beating up of a state judge. From Rivers, Enugu, Adamawa, Taraba, etcetera, the story is the same, of a PDP offensive launched to throw the opposition party off balance and in disarray.
Sadly, however, not that the opposition has fared so well to warm itself in the hearts of Nigerians as a possible alternative but is noted for its weak and lacklustre reactions to the actions and in-actions of the ruling party as if their existence or lack of it depends on the PDP. Nigerians would have preferred a solid opposition party whose ideals are based on that of a welfarist principles as opposed to the plutocratic and corrupt government of the day which has left the masses in pulverized state.
Sequel to the Wednesday imbroglio, some Nigerians are wont to hazard a guess of a probable cause- perhaps- the PDP is still brooding over the loss of the Speaker, AminuWaziriTambuwal to the APC and devising a way to cut him, his co-travellers and the APC to size. As if their guess is the cork-sure cause of the incident, they again call for the application of caution on the part of the PDP against a spill over effect capable of swinging unmerited sympathy from the public to the party in opposition. This sympathy can be justifiable when the executive arm holds in disdain, as in the Wednesday incident, the principle of separation of powers, a major characteristic of democracy the world over. Analysts are of the view that if President Goodluck Jonathan sees Nigeria’s fledgling democracy as a child to nurture to maturity, the ugly incident of police brigandage against the leadership of the House of Representatives and subsequent hooliganism on the part of legislators who scaled the padlocked iron entrance into the congressional premises would have been nipped in the bud.
Separation of powers ensures that each arm of government-the executive, the legislature and the judiciary are independent, with inherent checks and balances to curb abuse or tyrannical use power by any one arm. Thus the breakdown of law and order at the national assembly last week may have been interpreted as executive over-zealousness which rose to curb the seeming rascality of lower chamber of the Nigerian legislature which, is on a suspected mission to undermine or impeach the president. If that fear is palpable amongst the executive arm, it ought to have taken solace in the fact that the leadership of upper chamber is allegedly aligned to the executive in a subtle allegiance which on its own provokes suspicion of a conspiracy of some sort against the leadership of the lower house – whose allegiance to the major opposition party is no longer in doubt.
Nigerians maintain that the executive should have watched the actions of the lower house and where it impinges on their right, it would have even proceeded to the court if for nothing as a way of enriching the country’s jurisprudence. Rather than this, the citizens were once again treated to the theatre of the absurd which exposed the country to international ridicule.
A germane question begging for answer is: Whether or not the presidency is right to deploy the instruments of state power apparently at its beck and call to whip in line a dissenting House leadership? Those who attempted an answer to this poser view statecraft to be superior to partisan politics. Through the act of governance, elected officials are elevated above party inclinations. The principle of statecraft, an onus which lies on elected party men and women regardless of party affiliations ensures that governance carried out. If Tambuwal is prevented from accessing his office to undertake its exigencies due to inter-party squabbles between the ruling party and the opposition, does it not amount to misplacement of priority of statecraft to vain partisanship? This view holds that the rightful step which ensures the development of the nation is the act of statecraft which must not be toyed with. To this extent, does it not imply that those who tried to prevent the speaker from embarking in that act of statecraft are enemies of the country who deserve to be punished by the law? Concerned Nigerians are watching to see where this impunity is heading.
The other view which tends to support the executive action is that the speaker of the House of Representatives cannot eat his cake and have it. It questions the moral justification of a speaker elected overwhelmingly due to his membership of the ruling party, to abscond to opposition and still clinch his position. This view also assumes that PDP maintains the majority of members in the House. A journalist who would not want to be named saidTambuwal retaining his speakership of the House runs counter to the universal principle of minority having their say while the majority carries the day.
There is also a middle ground which says that the party composition of either the House of Reps or the senate is not clear as far as political party leanings is concerned. This view holds that from the defection of five governors to the opposition party and the attempt by the PDP to clamp down on the defectors, the number of APC in both chambers swelled and the PDP ceased to maintain an overwhelming majority. More so is the quid pro quo tacit agreement by the lawmakers, the senate inclusive, to endorse President Jonathan and in return get a return ticket of the party. Feelers from the ruling party are that since the understanding is about to breached by the leadership of the ruling party, many lawmakers are merely waiting in the wings to leave the PDP.
While the ruling party insists on the resignation of Tambuwal, the opposing view prefers a re-election which willnot only produce a credible leadership for the house but also establishes the number of lawmakers that owe allegiance to the parties, whether ruling or opposition. But the political actors and indeed the electorate are however aware that what is at stake in the whole scenario is the 2015 election which must be won and lost. If the PDP is bent on retaining power at the centre and in the majority of the states, observers believe it should not fall victim to the entrapments of the opposition whose action at this last minute is to upset the system in search of possible preys and loopholes. The preponderance of opinions amongst Nigerians is that PDP and APC should desist from to extreme measures capable of undermining the nation-state it leads or aspires to lead. While they slug it out in the forthcoming elections, there is need to be mindful of humpty-dumpty sound of a martial music of power-hungry khaki boys in the pursuit of pseudo revolution.
It is also the opinion of the PDP sympathizers that the party must be aware that never in the history of the Nigerian state has any party subverted democracy like this ruling party, especially gong by its recent adoption of an incumbent president as a sole candidate for the 2015 presidential election. Not many Nigerians will easily forgive it for narrowing the democratic horizon and importing an undemocratic lexicon- ‘endorsement’- into Nigeria’s political system. What the endorsement had done is to pitch some faithfuls against the party hierarchy and against the presidency and the consequence is that many are angling to take their pound of flesh by giving their votes to the opposition or even pitching tent with it. Rather than maintain a bellicose stance, the PDP can now swallow its pride and employ the principle of appeal amongst its members to ensure that the bitter pill of endorsement does not jeopardise the party’s chances in the forthcoming elections.