The More Kachikwu Talks, the Less We Understand

Our Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu should do less of talking and more of action. The more he talks, the less we understand and the more the negative outcome. Nigerians are going through hell at petrol stations across the country. This crisis is becoming too frequent. Kachikwu should sit down and spend quality time addressing this crisis. The last two weeks have been horrendous and we are tired of his stories. The other day, he was all over celebrating the so-called resumption of production by the refineries. Suddenly, everything crashed. The ordinary Nigerians have no business with his so-called restructuring of the NNPC. We are not interested in his trips abroad to lobby Arab countries for production cuts. We simply want to drive into petrol stations, buy fuel and face our businesses.

There is an urgent need to curb the excesses of the Department of State Services (DSS) in the interest of our democracy. The recent invasion of the Ekiti State House of Assembly and abduction of four lawmakers is a monstrosity that must be condemned by all lovers of democracy. The lawgivers were abducted and ferried to Abuja like criminals. Nine days after the arrest, the DSS is yet to tell the nation the offences committed by the abducted lawmakers. They have also been held beyond the legally allowed 48 hours, without being charged. This gives credence to speculations that the intention of the DSS is to intimidate the abducted legislators into moving against Governor Ayodele Fayose who has been very critical of the Buhari administration. That was how this same DSS forced its way into the Akwa Ibom State Government House last year in search of God knows what. I am worried by the silence of President Muhammadu Buhari on this Ekiti DSS debacle. Is the DSS acting out a script? Tyranny has no place in a democracy. Ours must not be an exception. Lawal Daura and his DSS must not be allowed to make a mess of our democracy. They must learn to operate within the ambit of the rule of law. They must realise that this is a democracy and that some people laid down their lives for the democracy we are enjoying today. Just as Kola Oluwawole pointed out last week, “Nigeria is not a banana republic that can be ruled anyhow by anyone and Daura and his men, who are playing exactly the same role played between 1984 and 1985 by the National Security Organisation (NSO) under Lawal Rafindadi should know that this reign of brute force over constitutional democracy will fail. This is because we have seen them operate before and here they are now, trying to take us back to that inglorious era of dictatorship and barbarism where the then NSO was used to oppress Nigerians, throwing them in jail without trial.”

Constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Mike Ozekhome added: “The invasion is more curious and detestable, happening as it did, in Ekiti State where the governor has been a well-known critic of President Buhari, his government and his party. The impression must not be given that the present government, which rode on the crest of popular opposition and critical dissent, is muzzling opposition or browbeating and intimidating those who hold different opinions. Power itself is ephemeral. Its wielders should always act with discretion, respect for the constitution and extant laws.” This is food for thought for all of us today.