The directive by the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) that all its members in the National Assembly should work against and block all requests from the President, including the screening of new service chiefs, and the 2014 Appropriation Act, was unwarranted, reckless and dangerous. The recourse to politicization of governance by the APC, which prides itself as the credible alternative to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was the height of political desperation which was abominable, and certainly an embarrassment to all Nigerians. Surely, there are other mature and effective ways to play partisan politics than to provoke tension and heat up the polity. Nigeria cannot afford to go that way. It is just as well that the Senate rejected it and many Nigerians condemned the pig-headed directive.
Not unsurprisingly, the APC, in an unapologetic defence of the directive, remained unrepentant: “Either way, these critics have rushed to judgment without even taking time to study the directive, without understanding that governance is about people, and without caring about the principles of fairness, justice and equity, and they should cover their faces in shame”, the party said in a statement by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. We hereby reiterate the directive, which is a product of deep thinking and robust debate within our party’s NEC to save our democracy, and we commend our members in the National Assembly for their unequivocal support for our stand and for understanding that filibustering or legislative non-cooperation is a veritable tool of democracy”.
The APC argued that the directive is already yielding results, as members of the Save Rivers Movement (SRM) were able to stage a peaceful rally, for the first time in a long time, without being attacked by hired goons, because the Inspector-General of Police directed the Police to provide protection for the rally. This is self-serving and it simply shows that the party is not sufficiently tuned to the challenges of governance. Granted that there are too many failings of the present administration in the performance of its constitutional duty, granted that the president exercises, in several instances, his power and authority with far less responsiveness and decisiveness than many Nigerians would wish; still, a call for obstructing executive privilege; which is within the ambit of the President’s constitutional responsibility, is a risky raising of the stakes in pursuit of partisan political advantage.
Whatever justifications the APC may have for its directive, the party must understand that there is only one sitting President on whose desk the buck stops. And for now, that President is Goodluck Jonathan; who is expected to run the country, and not destroy it. Jonathan also has a responsibility to protect the corporality of Nigeria through his actions. As President of Nigeria, he is called upon to act presidentially in the overall interest of the country. He can only do this if the APC learns to act as a responsible opposition party, by refraining from unwarranted and extreme political provocations. Disrupting governance and obstructing the president because of the impunity in Rivers State is a seemingly politically expedient response, which amounts to using anti-democratic means to achieve democratic ends. The move is totally condemnable and such a callous design must never repeat itself.
The hailstorm of condemnation that followed the APC directive came from, amongst others; the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) and six PDP House members, who said such action would be counter-productive to democratic growth in the country. Also, House members under the aegis of the National Unity Group threatened their APC counterpart that they “would be met with robust resistance” if they dare stand the way of any legislative proposals, including the 2014 Appropriation Act.
The six PDP lawmakers of northern extraction even called for the arrest and prosecution of APC leaders for making seditious remarks capable of plunging the nation into anarchy.
While the directive seems to have largely been ignored as APC lawmakers participated in the screening of new service chiefs, the totality of disruptiveness that may ensue in the polity are such that Nigeria cannot afford to go down that route. The timing of the APC demand is also suspect. The nation is in palpable tension over the release of the election timetable by INEC and public statements laden with negative prognostications credited to INEC chairman Attahiru Jega, to the effect that INEC cannot guarantee the 2015 elections will be free and fair. These have further crashed expectations, leaving Nigerians close to despondency. It is, therefore, opportunistic, self-serving and irresponsible for the APC to make so extreme a demand.
More importantly, it is not certain how filibustering the president’s appointment of service chiefs and legislative non-compliance with the budget will necessarily and automatically resolve the problems – political, financial and moral – that afflict Nigeria, let alone end the crisis in Rivers State. No. Jonathan is confronted with a hydra-headed national problem fuelled in part by a fiendishly self-seeking political class across all the parties as well as their collaborators in the private and public sectors. It stretches good judgment that a political party aspiring to win power in the next election would resolve to commit the anti-constitutional act of trying to undermine presidential authority, and make noise about it. Worse still, the APC is talking as if they have a mandate from the Nigerian people! This reckless political brinkmanship is one example of that inherent predilection by opposition parties for digging a grave beyond half a dozen feet. Such a fiat to elected officials, over whom the APC has little or no leverage, reflects an addiction to street demonstrations and garrison politics. It does not inspire credibility.
The country might already be in campaign season, when politicians are wont to say just about anything to advance party interests but this should be done within the bounds of responsibility and the national interest. Across the country, nothing seems to count anymore outside of the political permutations and calculations about 2015. Nigerians are already traumatized and psychologically abused through bad governance. So, as the PDP and the APC, strive to out-do each other, in the battle for supremacy over 2015, they need not bring down the roof on Nigeria in their inordinate quest for power. Some maturity and responsibility, please!
