4 September 2008
Lagos — Nigerians United for Democracy (NUD), a platform comprising political parties, civil society and self-determination groups in the country, met in Lagos on Monday and reiterated its call for the constitution of an Interim National Government (ING) as a replacement for the incumbent administration of President Umaru Yar'Adua. Charles Ajunwa who witnessed the event, reports
Since August 14, this year, when the Nigerians United for Democracy (NUD), a conglomerate of political parties, civil society and self-determination groups first called for the constitution of an Interim National Government (ING) to replace the administration of President Umaru Yar'Adua, all has not been at ease in the polity.
The call by the NUD, hit the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) below the belt, describing it as nothing, but a ploy by other political parties in connivance with some foreign interests to truncate the country's democracy.
The idea of ING is not totally alien to Nigeria. It was first practised in 1993, after the former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, was compelled to step aside. The ING installed by Babangida was headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan, but was short lived as the controversial government was toppled by the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, barely two months after its inauguration.
However, perceived poor health of Yar'Adua in recent times seems to have spurred the renewed clamour for the constitution of ING.
At another meeting of the NUD last Monday, the group's Chairman, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, as well as the Chairman of the Conference for Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), Alhaji Balarabe Musa and President of West African Bar Association (WABA), Mr. Femi Falana insisted that only the constitution of the ING could alter the seeming menace in the current system .
Braithwaite, in his address entiled: "A Defining Moment in the History of Nigeria," said the call for ING is aimed at rescuing Nigeria from an impending precipice of disintegration into a failed state.
According to Braithwaite,the call is also designed to foreclose a descent into anarchy in the country, insisting that NUD would deploy every power within its reach to wrest the country from the hands of alleged undemocratic and irresponsible power mongers, whom he claimed have held the country down to ransome over the years.
Braithwaite, who expressed his best wishes to Yar'Adua, argued that the NUD had since inception, declined to offer any recognition to his government, recalling that the 2007 general election which brought him to power was allegedly fraught with irregularities.
He rejected notions that the 1999 Constitution does not make provisions for ING, saying the 1999 Constitution has never represented the wishes of the Nigerian people.
According to him, the 1999 Constitution was imposed by the military and hence fails to meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.
"The fact that the National Assembly, composed largely of unelected persons, has declared its intention to carry out substantial amendments of the bogus 1999 Constitution, only goes to buttress our position that the Constitution is not only illegal, but is clearly subversive of the sovereignty of the Nigerian people.
"We call this press conference today to reaffirm our conviction that the expression of the popular will of Nigerian people cannot be restrained by the trappings of the pettifogging of a contrived 1999 Constitution in which the people played no part in its formation and to assert that the NUD shall do everything in its power from the hands of undemocratic and irresponsible power mongers who have held the country down for so long.
"We shall motivate and lead the mass of our people to seize the initiative and claim the momentum that is theirs, to move Nigeria in the direction predestined for it and put an end to the assertion that in Nigeria, evil will perpetually triumph over good, darkness over light, dictatorship over democracy and lies over truth.
"The NUD stands firm on its resolve to mobilise the Nigerian people, to whom sovereignty belongs, to take the destiny of this great country into our hands and let us proceed to build a strong democracy by establishing an Interim National Government. Its urgency and purpose have already been spelt out above. It is for this reason that we have resolved to call on the people to be ready for various forms of mass action all over the country, the first of which will come any moment from now," Braithwaite noted.
On his part, Balarabe Musa said the CNPP was committed in bringing about a change in the country by ensuring that the Interim National Government becomes a reality. He accused the PDP government of running down the economy of the country through their bad policies.
"We have chosen a constitutional and legal process of bringing about an interim government, relying on three fundamental provisions of the 1999 Constitution. First, the Constitution says in certain terms that the Nigerian people are supreme. Two, it says the purpose of government is the welfare and security of the people. Three, the Nigerian people have the right to protest against bad policies of the governments.
"We are going to make sure that Nigerians are mobilized in seeing the danger of the continuation of the PDP government in particular and the continuation of this negative state of the nation," he said.
On his part, Falana who said that PDP should be part of the interim government, added that there is nothing shameful about disclosing to Nigerians about the health status of Yar'Adua.
"Their fear is the call for an interim government by the NUD. That is their fear. Because under the Constitution, if the President is not able to perform the functions of the public, a medical panel will be set up to confirm the state of his health and he has to quit. Their fear is, maybe the NUD has read all these and that is why they are making the call at this point in time. But I think we have no apology about our call, which is responsible and patriotic. Therefore, I want to identify myself with the call for an Interim National Government. We have the right to defend the sovereignty of Nigeria with them.
"It an unfortunate development that Nigerians have to read concerning the state of the health of the President in some local and foreign media. While what they feed us from Abuja, at best can be described as unpardonable official lies, we are told that the President has gone to Mecca for lesser Hajj only to confirm that the man is recuperating after undergoing a surgery. This is very disgraceful. This is very embarrassing. You can only run a banana republic like this.
"Public funds are being expended to maintain the health of the President, yet Nigerians are not told the true state of his health. But now that the cat is out of the bag, I think this is the time for the provision of Section 144 of the Constitution, to be invoked, which insists that a medical panel be set up by the President of the Senate to examine the state of the health of the President, to diagnose his ailment so that you can confirm whether the man is capable to continue to discharge the functions of the office of the President.
"I understand that President Obasanjo did it deliberately, believing that naively, that the man will be very weak to govern. He was even telling some of his people that he might be spending four or five days in Abuja a week, only to spend usual weekends in Otta. But things have turned out the other way because of the ill health of the President and the weak state of the affairs of things.Other people have hijacked power to the detriment of the former president and to the detriment of Nigerians," he said.
On whether the PDP should be part of the ING, Falana said : "Well, I think already, unless we are deceiving ourselves to the extent that we have a properly constituted government in Abuja, I think we already have an interim on our hands. For instance, it was the day Mr. President was rushed out of the country that the names of service chiefs were announced. And without taking those names to the National Assembly for confirmation, we are told that they have been confirmed and they are now performing their functions.
"The country has been governed in the last 10 days by other forces other than the president. So, that is an interim arrangement. We are asking that this be institutionalised so that other people can be brought in to organise the affairs of Nigeria. Yes, they can be part of it," Falana declared.
Others like Mr. Osagie Obayuwana, Chief Ralph Obiora, Mr. Debo Adeniran, Mr. Branco Rhose, Mr. Wale Okunniyi. Prince Goodluk Obi, also said that an ING would afford Nigerians the opportunity to address issues that are threatening the unity of the country.
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Sometimes Falana never seizes to amaze me - "Obasanjo installed Yar Adua deliberately blah, blah blah..." Pray tell me which one of you is not human enough never to fall sick? Perhaps Falana can predict the future - what if Yar Adua rules not only thru his 1st 4 year term and went on to rule for a second term and lives to be a hundred years old? Anything can happen - who knows tomorrow except God. Point number 2, lest we forget, Ribadu's report that of the 36 states Governors, only 2 are deemed less currupt - Yar Adua… [Read Full Text]