Democracy Without Democrats

Afew weeks ago, I commented that Nigeria seems to be fast becoming a Police State, because of the increasing intolerance of Government on any form of dissension, even peaceful and constructive outings like the ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ Campaign. It looks like various organs of Government, are also guilty of this same Authoritarian behaviour.

Senate

I felt scandalised and appalled, to see the television clip of Senator Omo Agege recanting and rendering a sober and pitiable public apology, for vehemently opposing the amendment to Section 25 of the Electoral Act, because his utterances were supposedly offensive, not only to Senator Dino Melaye, but to the whole Senate. Hogwash!

It is indeed, a sad development for Nigerian democracy, where anybody that has a contrary opinion to the opinion of the leadership, whether the Executive or Legislature, is witch- hunted and/or punished.

I restate the fact that, I believe it is lawful for the National Assembly to seek to amend Section 25 of the Electoral Act. However, Senator Omo Agege and Senator Adamu, are entitled to their opinions, even if they are against such an amendment. Why try to cow them into submission, by making Omo Agege humiliate himself in public in such a nauseating manner, begging his colleagues for forgiveness, to avoid suspension or whatever sanctions would have been meted out on him by them, and accusing Senator Adamu of financial impropriety for maintaining his stand and removing him as Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum?

El-Rufai v Hunkuyi

Last week, the house of Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, APC Senator representing Kaduna North Senatorial District, situated at 11B Sambo Close, Kaduna, was demolished by Kaduna State Government, because the Senator was owing ground rent, and purportedly to ”rid the State of illegal structures, tackle street trading and restore order across the State”. Tah!

When 11B Sambo Close was used as a campaign office for El-Rufai’s 2015 Governorship Campaign, at the time it was not relevant that Hunkuyi was owing ground rent since 2010! Yes, Section 28(1) of the Land Use Act 1978 (as amended) (LUA), does provide that “It shall be lawful for the Governor to revoke a right of occupancy for overriding public interest”, or if the land is required for public purposes (Section 28(4) LUA), or there has been a breach of the provisions in the certificate of occupancy (Section 28(5)(a),(b) LUA).

Section 28(2) of the LUA goes on to define ‘overriding public interest’, and the definition certainly does not include demolishing a property, because the owner of the property has political differences with the incumbent government! There are claims that Senator Hunkuyi’s property was demolished, simply because he refused to join the bandwagon and endorse Governor El-Rufai for a second term in 2019, so much so that 11B Sambo Road was turned into a factional APC Secretariat in the State, obviously much to the chagrin of the ‘powers that be’. All of a sudden, Kaduna State Government decided to conveniently implement some urban master plan, which involves demolishing and turning Hunkuyi’s property into a Park/Love Garden!

I am certain that, if Hunkuyi and El-Rufai had belonged to the same political camp, at worst, he would have only been made to pay a fine, as a sanction for owing ground rent. After all, a breach of non-payment, could easily have been remedied with payment.

It seems that the Kaduna State Government, also failed to follow due process in demolishing Senator Hunkuyi’s property. Last Wednesday, I watched a television interview of a representative of the State Government, discussing the issue. It was a highly unimpressive interview. The man dodged questions, and was unable to provide adequate responses, even to the point where he could not specifically say whether or when Hunkuyi was actually served with requisite notice of Government’s intention to demolish his property, before proceeding with the exercise.

Blackmail

I concur with the Learned Senior Advocate, Professor Itse Sagay, that Governor El-Rufai went too far and sank too low, when he demolished Hunkuyi’s house. This act of intimidation, has undoubtedly set a bad precedent for democracy in Nigeria. For public officials to believe that they can make arbitrary decisions, without following due process or any process whatsoever, and get away with them - having a ‘wrong and strong’ attitude in a so-called democracy - is worrying, to say the least.

The common denominator in both instances, is that it was when the offending parties chose to have a contrary view to that of the leadership, that their attackers suddenly remembered that they were debtors or had allegedly misappropriated Senators’ funds. Is it that our leadership now engages in blackmail? That they keep whatever disparaging information they may have on individuals quiet, and only divulge them or use the information to threaten them, when they need to exercise some form of control over them, and make them tow a particular line? This indeed, is an extremely disturbing trend.

Is Nigeria a Democracy?

For quite a while, I have been pondering over the issue of whether the Nigerian State is actually a democracy. When occurrences like the demolition of Hunkuyi’s house or the emasculation of Omo Agege by his colleagues in the Senate take place, with other issues of mass registration of underaged voters and other serious malpractices just to win elections, is it illogical to conclude that many of those that are supposedly representing us, may not even be the ones that we actually voted for? That many of the so-called elected representatives chose themselves, using money and other illegal methods to install themselves in office, resulting therefore, in Nigeria practicing something that is not quite democracy? It looks more like ‘autocracy’ to me, with a limited measure of consultation.

All the various arms of Government, kindly, note that, Sections 38, 39 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, guarantee our rights to freedom of thought, expression, peaceful assembly and association. No one is constrained to endorse anyone for a second or third term, even if everybody else endorses. The beauty of democracy, is that everyone is allowed freedom of choice, as long as that choice, is within the ambit of the law.

P.S.

Have I not been vindicated? In my piece of 13/2/18, “The Limits of Incompetence”, I mentioned that every time the Army makes false claims of having annihilated Boko Haram (which if the truth were told, it clearly has not), the Terrorists respond with reprisal attacks on innocent people? Last Monday, February 19th, 2018, 105 girls were said to have been abducted from Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State by Boko Haram. I pray that this unfortunate incident, does not turn out to be the Chibok Girls encounter, all over again. My heart goes out to the Parents of the missing girls.

“THE COMMON DENOMINATOR IN BOTH INSTANCES, IS THAT IT WAS WHEN THE OFFENDING PARTIES CHOSE TO HAVE A CONTRARY VIEW TO THAT OF THE LEADERSHIP, THAT THEIR ATTACKERS SUDDENLY REMEMBERED THAT THEY WERE DEBTORS OR HAD ALLEGEDLY MISAPPROPRIATED SENATORS’ FUNDS. IS IT THAT OUR LEADERSHIP NOW ENGAGES IN BLACKMAIL?”