Date Published: 02/14/10

Why Nigerians Disobey the Constitution

By: Idumange John

This article was written and published 6 days before the Vice President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was sworn-in as Acting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In the dying days of January, 2010, I had a telephone conversation with a colleague who practices his profession in the United States. In the course of our discussion, the question of true federalism and respect for the constitution came to the front burners. He asked me: Does Nigeria have a constitution? For me, this was a conundrum because I know that Nigeria is synonymous with lawlessness. From the ordinary driver, who does not obey simple traffic laws, the University Teacher who extracts gratification before awarding marks, the policeman who kills innocent commuters for refusing to pay tithe to the politicians whose corrupt actions have laid the economy prostrate. I pondered aloud at the magnitude of lawlessness and violation of the constitution prevailing in the land. I then asked myself, do we really have a  constitution? I could not answer in the affirmative because a nation where the President and State Governors treat the constitution as a mere document is serious enough to engage any eager candidate in some mental gymnastics.

In the United States of America, the Constitution is the second most important document, next to the Bible. In India – worlds largest democracy, since independence in 1947, the Constitution is seen as a sacred document, next in importance to the religious books like the Upanishad, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Koran and other holy books. In countries like Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and other Asian states, the constitution is seen as a national creed and every letter of the document is considered sacred. This is not quite so in Nigeria. Nigerians have also turned the Constitution up-side-down, and even Senior Advocates of the Law are no exception. This explains why Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, the Attorney General always have a special way of interpreting the Constitution to suit the whims and caprices of his paymasters. When such manipulations are done at the highest level of government, it can easily be predicted that the nation is doomed to have a constitutional crisis.

Apart from the constitution, which is the grundnorm and supreme law of the land, Nigerians are very articulate at disobeying ordinary rules and regulations such as traffic rules, environmental sanitation regulations, among other rules of civility. The tendency to disobey rules and regulations permeates virtually all aspects of life. Four main reasons are responsible for the inability of Nigerians to respect or obey the Constitution.

First is the unholy matrimony forced on the people called the amalgamation of 1914. The old argument that the various ethnic nationalities were not consulted before the amalgamation does not need any emphasis. But the amalgation is like the foundation of Nigeria. Nigeria was built on a false foundation and on a quicksand of confusion. A house built on a false foundation cannot endure. This is what has underscored the babel of voices and discordant choruses in public policies. Today, the religious fundamentalism and ethnically motivated riots are commonplace because of the porous foundations upon which the Nigerian State was founded. A foremost Constitutional Lawyer, Professor Nwabueze once corroborated this when he said "everyone knows, Nigeria is not a nation. It is rather an amalgam of nations, a conglomeration of numerous antagonistic and incompatible nationalities. The various peoples comprised in it are yet to coalesce into one national civil society animated by a common spirit and a feeling of a common nationality and identity, and propelled by common social dynamics".

Secondly, the Nigerian State is devoid of a guiding national philosophy and one way of validating the aforementioned assertion is the reckless manner in which those in power use our endowments and fritter away our blessings in human and natural resources. The on-going crisis in the Presidency and the National Assembly is a demonstration of our disrespect for the constitution.  President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua is sick and incapable of executing the office of President of the country.  Most people do not know the whereabouts of the President. Sadly, because of our disregard for the constitution, we are politicking with the swearing-in of Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan at least in acting capacity. For me Professor Dora Akunyili’s memo is a rebranding tool and she can only use that instrument to redeem her bartered image as propaganda Minister.

Under ex-President Obasanjo, the constitutions was often mutilated by the gods of Ota Farm, but in the present dispensation the rule of law has relocated to Jeddah. There seems to be a ploy by the oligarchy that Section 145 of the Constitution should be violated. Now, Nigeria faces an imminent constitutional crisis, especially the unsavoury situation of exposing the nation to yet another temptation of military coup is embarrassing.  It does appear now that power in Nigeria belongs to a special clique of people. When I take a dispassionate gaze at the motley of people around the Presidency from Governor Bukola Saraki, ex-Governor James Ibori, and many of the so called king-makers from the North, it is difficult to decipher who the real power brokers are in this convoluted landscape. Nigeria is the only country in Africa where people who are supposed to be in jail, could come out and struggle for power, and this trend may not abate until civility is entrenched in the polity.

Thirdly, because of the lack of a credible electoral system and the lack of confidence of the public in the system, there is a clear case of lack of political legitimacy in the system. While it is true that many countries in the Less Developed Countries (LDCs) in Africa, Asia and Latin America are wrestling with the problem of legitimacy, Nigeria’s legitimacy challenge is self-inflicted. Lack of legitimacy is one of the characteristics of a failed State and Nigeria is a certified failed State. The case of Nigeria is peculiar because Nigeria is the only oil producing State that cannot provide the basic infrastructure for a meaningful living. Nigeria is the only country in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) where more than 85 percent of the population lives below the poverty threshold of less than a dollar a day, more than 40 million graduates are unemployable because of the poor quality of education they acquire, while the leaders are happy to parade affluence amidst such dangerous development indicia.

Fourthly, the protracted military rule the nation has experienced has had serious hangover on the psyche of the nation. The 1999 Constitution, which is an adaptation of the 1979 Constitution, was made by the military hence the aspirations of the various segments of the people. If there  was wide consultation, the issues of fiscal federalism, resource control, autonomy of the constituent units and the powers exercised by the third-tier of government. The 1999 Constitution is indeed begging for a review. Among critical areas that need review is the electoral system, land reforms, the judiciary, fiscal policies as it pertains to the relationship between the Federal Government and the States and other sundry issues relating to revenue allocation.

One obvious reasons Nigerians have no respect for the constitution is the absence of revolutionary-minded people. What looks like insurgency in all parts of Nigeria are mere patch works of militia groups fighting for their economic interest. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) basically fights for resource control hence when the promise of Amnesty was made the militia groups embraced it with enthusiasm. This writer predicted that the Amnesty Programme would fail because of the horrible manner it was packaged. Besides, Mr. President, prior to his Jeddah trip never promised the militants an el Dorado; the amnesty programme was tailored-made to keep the oil wells flowing. This is what the programme has achieved so far- a reason MEND has renounced the cease fire.

It is stating the obvious that the present administration will continue to be burdened by the problem of lack of legitimacy in the sense of popular mandate. When the ideology of a political party commands mass appeal in terms of polices and programmes, it can gain some measure of legitimacy. In the same vein, when individual candidates are articulate enough to canvass manifestoes that are people-oriented, and programmes that can  bring about positive impact on the greatest number of people in their constituencies, such candidates also earn some respect and give some stamp of legitimacy to the existing order. The moral weight of such candidates coupled with their track records of service also enable them wield influence, command acceptance and legitimacy. Sadly, Nigerian try to escape this reality.

In Colombia, left-wing guerrillas the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia have engaged in terrorist activities such as kidnapping, guerrilla warfare, espionage and politically motivated assassinations. These activities have put a check on the excesses of government. In the Philippines, the Moro-jihads under the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are a separatist groups pushing for the establishment of an Islamic State and Government. Serbian efforts to force Bosnian Muslims from their cities and villages throughout the Balkans led to ethnic cleansing. Genuine revolutionaries after the mould of Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Amilca Cabra of Guinea Bissau and Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso are in short supply. What we have in abundance are economic opportunists wearing the toga of militants, pseudo-revolutionaries who push parochial ethnic group interests and political adventurers who masquerade as nationalists. In Nigeria, there are no such revolutionaries. Those masquerading as revolutionaries are either tribal jingoists of economic adventurers, who flourish in sabotaging the economy.

In Africa, and especially the West African sub-region rebels or revolutionaries had emerged in various countries. While some are ethnic in character, others are politically motivated. Late President Samuel Sergeant Doe from the Kru tribes used his ethnic militia to topple the government of President William Tolbert. Charles Taylor was also ousted from power by the combined militia groups of the Liberian United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) the New Democratic Alternative (NDA) and the New Deal Movement (NDM). In Angola, Jonas Savimbi of UNITA raised militia to fight against the government of Edwardo Dos Santos unsettled the government of Ahmed Tijan Kabar with rebel and ethnic militia groups for nearly a decade. In Kenya, the Kikuyus found it difficult to condemn the brutalization of President Jomo Kenyanta. Similarly, during the inglorious administration of President Araq Moi many ethnic groups like the Kalenji and Massai did not condemn the misdeeds of his administration.

Apart from the occasional crises emanating from religious fundamentalism, the security-motivated groups such as Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State Of Biafra (MASSOB), Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) and ethnically-motivated guerilla or rebel group. The money for freedom kidnappings going on in the Niger Delta is the ugliest brand of hypocrisy. If the youths are desirous of controlling the resources of the region, there should be a well coordinated insurgency and revolutionary movement to create a great deal of impression on the nation about the seriousness of the resource control movement.

There is also a problem with the Nigerian intelligentsia. The intelligentsia could not galvanize the people through consistent ideological re-orientation, as a great many of them limit their analytical wavelength within the confines of the Ivory Tower. This is due largely to the fact that the political class the systematically suffocated the intelligentsia by denying university lecturers research grants and better working conditions. The ivory towers which had served as hotbeds of Marxist intellectualism and citadels of stimulating debates have been transformed into grim, joyless places where cultism and other matters that negate a healthy atmosphere for intellectualism.

The present administration has been engaged in an endless search for legitimacy because of the foundational problems of the administration. Alhaji Umar Musa Yar’Adua became President at a time the Nigerian political system was of uncertainty and credibility problem hence the administration advocated a Government of National Unity (GNU) to pacify the victims of political exclusion and to forge a strong, united and prosperous Nigeria. The GNU is a failure and the ruling PDP is being harassed by forces that have centripetal bearings. With the impending constitutional crisis occasioned by the long absence of President Yar’Adua, politicians are angling for the spoils of office rather than execute the responsibilities imposed on them by the constitution. Nigeria also lacks this critical ingredient an independent electoral system, which can conduct free and fair elections, hence the mandate principle is honorific.

The mandate principles posits that political power is entrusted to elected officials by the people, but ultimately power in the sense of decision making at elections belongs to the people. Primarily, the most fundamental way government can establish its legitimacy is through the conduct of free and fair election. It is lack of this fundamental legitimacy that has led most African countries to tread the path of chaos, interminable conflicts and cyclical instability. This is the tight rope Kenya and Chad are walking presently. Sierra Leone, Liberia and Somalia are war weary because of protracted internal crises in those countries. The power mongers in Nigeria should save us that agony.

In principle, the Federal Government adopts citizens’ diplomacy but surreptitiously violates basic, civilized norms of human living, if you doubt it please ask Chief Ojo Maduakwe. Citizens’ diplomacy is supposed to mean protection of the basic rights of the citizens, especially, the right to life and private property. In Nigeria today life expectancy has been further reduced by extreme poverty, lack of power supply, high unemployment index, extreme hardship and unbearably high misery index. Life expectancy in the Niger Delta is much worse because any body can be killed by been branded a “militant”. From Tripoli, Riyadh, to Kwala-lumpur, and from Singapore to the gulags in London, Nigerians youths are daily mowed down for drug trafficking and sundry criminal acts. The youths are daily forced out of the country by the excruciating effect of the economy, which has been further bastardized by a thieving class. The youths travel out with a midst of not obeying laws, hence they are always easily incarcerated abroad for sundry offences.  Nigeria is a blessed nation, prolific in the production of oil and gas yet the citizens’ economic and social rights have been violated with impunity. Our non-adherence of the constitution can only increase our collective anomie, misery, stagnation, poverty and other bad statistics, but how long can we play politics with the constitution we have sworn to protect?