March 10, (THEWILL)- There is uneasy calm in the polity over the moves by the Federal Government to clamp down on those it believes were behind recent calls for a military take-over of the reins of power following increasing hardship, hunger and poverty in the country.
While a segment is justifying the move, saying such calls are simply unwarranted and should not be allowed in a democratic setting, another section of the society is condemning the move.
Those against the move are also citing the fundamental human rights of every citizen to express his or her views in line with the freedom of speech that is also guaranteed under democratic dispensation.
However, there are limits to freedom of expression even under a democratic dispensation to the extent that calls for a coup in the present circumstance could be considered a treasonable action.
Even before the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, raised his official, condemnatory voice against those calling for a coup d’etat, which could cut short the democratisation process in the country, politically discerning Nigerians had voiced their disapproval of the calls.
Prominent among them is the one by a former Provost of the Lagos-based Nigeria Institute of Journalism, lawyer and journalist, Mr Gbemiga Ogunleye. In a brief but deep article titled, ‘Rule by the Gun? Never Again!’ and published on February 26, 2024.
Ogunleye urged netizens discussing with zeal and gusto why a military takeover of government was the best solution to the hardship in the country, to reflect on the free, unregimented atmosphere, liberty of expression many could express fully in the media and the potential ahead of them.
Ogunleye admitted that there was hardship in the country and that the immediate impact of the government’s sudden removal of petrol subsidy and unification of all segments of the forex exchange had been negative, but he insisted that the system of government best suited to correct its defects was democracy.
He submitted in the essay: “Is there hunger in the land? The answer is an unequivocal YES. Is there anger in the country? I again say yes. Are many Nigerians losing hope and faith in their country? I answer in the affirmative.”
He agreed that the government’s removal of fuel subsidy and its decision to float the naira have occasioned unimaginable inflation and galloping prices never thought imaginable. But are these hardships and pain enough reasons for the invitation to the military? he asked.
“My view is that we should not cut our nose to spite our face. As a philosopher has stated, democracy may not be the best form of government, but the human mind has not conceived a better alternative, ” he replied.
Taking a look at the matter, Professor of Strategy and Development, Anthony Kila, said that those who are calling for a military coup are merely expressing their frustration with the system, nothing more.
“I think they are expressing their opinions which is allowed in a democracy,” he told THEWILL on Friday, adding that the government “can move to stop them if it has evidence that such persons were bent on taking action to actualise their plans.”
Given that the military had disclosed sometime in February 2024 that “there were pressures from unnamed quarters for a takeover of government,” in the face of the worsening insecurity and their continued pledged of allegiance to constituted authority .
Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, in a recent statement at the inauguration of the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army and Officers Transit Accommodation in Port Harcourt, said it is therefore taken that there are identifiable entities engaged in rumour mongering about a coup plot.
BACKGROUND TO MINISTER’S DIRECTIVE
According to dependable government sources, this disclosure by the military that some unnamed advocates had piled pressure on them to take over government as well as the sustained campaign on social media that prompted the minister to issue a directive to the Defence Intelligence Agency to clamp down on those found to be involved in championing the call for a coup.
According to the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Muhammed Matawalle, the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) should go after those calling for military takeover which would roll back the progress of democracy in Nigeria and bring them to justice.
The minister said, “Those calling for the undemocratic change of government as agents of darkness and warned them to desist from their inglorious activities or face the consequences as the government will not treat those behind it with kid gloves. The military has come to reality with democratic government in Nigeria and they are focused on their constitutional duty to defend the Constitution.
“Those calling for a coup do not love Nigeria. Under the present government, there will be no military takeover of power.”
He warned, “all the propagators calling for truncation of the constitutional government to desist from it and face the democratic reality on ground,” as he “directed the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) to go after the criminals and enemies of democracy and bring them to justice.”
HAUNTED BY THE PAST
The real reasons discerning Nigerians have voted with their feet against military rule and vowed to support democratisation with its teething and sometimes trying challenges are the differences in comparative economic and development history between military regimes and civil rule.
Remedial in upgrading infrastructure as some of the military regimes have done since 1966 till 1999 with an interval in 1979 to 1983, their damaging influence has been the abolition of federalism and the imposition of a unitary system of government with the first military coup on January 16, 1966. This has led to the emergence of a powerful centre and weak, dependent units that are sapped of any creative and competitive energy that once assisted pre-military governments to boost economic growth and development.
The return to democracy in 1999 and its sustenance for the past 25 years has challenged Nigerians to the possibility of living under governments under the rule of law, liberty and inclusive governance.
Interestingly, an interesting study titled, ‘Federalism, Military Legacies and the Restructuring Debate in Contemporary Nigeria’ by two Nigerian lecturers at the University of KwaZulu –Natal, Durban, South Africa, Ebenezer Oni and Olumiyiwa Faluyi, goes to the heart of this matter. The authors make an informative comparative analysis of affairs under military regimes and democratic governments in Nigeria.
In summary, they submit that overtime, federalism has become an attractive and acceptable political arrangement designed to govern multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural societies, such as Nigeria. It purports to cope with the twin objectives of maintaining unity and preserving diversities.
However, the intervention of the military in the body politic of Nigeria in 1966 disrupted an effective federal structure that brought much prosperity to Nigeria as a nation and its federating units in the country’s First Republic between 1960 and 1966. This was replaced with a unitary, command and hierarchical structure which wholly define the nature and character of the military organisation.
Military governance system permeated the entire Nigeria’s political fabric, empowered the Federal Government to become ‘Almighty’ while it eroded the autonomy of the federating units in all its forms. It is against this background that this paper examines the restructuring debate in contemporary Nigeria within the context of the legacies of military regimes on Nigeria’s federal system.
The paper argues that good governance and development can only be attained in Nigeria when the present lopsided federal arrangement is redesigned to allow for power devolution and resource control in such a manner that makes both the national and sub-national governments ‘independent and coordinate’ in the true sense of it.
Commenting on this development, a security expert, Dr Kabir Adamu expressed his delight as a person and as founder of an organisation that the current democratic dispensation is the longest spell of democracy in terms of the Fourth Republic, Nigeria has had since independence in 1960,
He said, “We have made mistakes along the way and will probably continue to make mistakes because that is how countries grow, even the most advanced democracy at a point fought a civil war and recently one of their presidents ordered an invasion of parliament. What is important is for internal mechanisms for correcting mistakes to work and will continue to make mistakes because that is how countries grow.”
Dr Adamu, who is the Managing Director of Beacon Consulting Limited, a renowned firm providing enterprise risks and security management solutions spoke to THEWILL on Friday.
Addressing the topic, he referred to studies that have identified state fragility as the cause of the failure of democracy and the current wave of coups in Africa.
He said, “As Nigerians, we have to admit that a lot is wrong with our system and be ready to admit the errors and begin to correct them, I mean the rule of law, autonomy of the arms of government, freedom of the press, a strong and virile civil society and improved economy and such things.
” We need to domesticate the concepts of democracy to the point that the needs of our people are met so that we can so that democracy is thriving.”
Prof Kila supports this view. According to him, two major things will checkmate the recourse of people to call for change of government : “Good governance and constant communication. Government must never cease to explain to the people whatever they are doing or plan to do so that they can always get feedback from the citizens.”
Curiously, a presidency source who confided in THEWILL shared these views, though in a roundabout manner. According to him the government has realised at some point that issues of policy were taken without proper consultation.
He said: “But you can give it to President Bola Tinubu that he is a listening leader. Every inch of the way he has reversed himself on many policy positions when he got feedback from stakeholders about the negative impact on the citizenry.
“We have seen the issue of state police, the readiness to probe some baleful policies of the immediate past administration, the readiness to implement the Oronsaye Report, the student loan scheme that should have been launched last month but had to be reworked when some operational issues were raised and generally about the massive reforms going on in agriculture, the banking sector and foreign exchange system. When we appeal to Nigerians to be patient with the government, it is done with the understanding that reforms will take some time to begin to yield results.”
He denied the fears being raised in the public that the minister’s marching orders to the DIA was a subtle way to begin implementation of a strong official opinion on the need to regulate social media, as epitomised in the expression by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, who recently said that, “Social media has become a societal menace. It must be regulated. As citizens become more interested in governance, it is the government’s obligation to ensure that engagement with citizens springs from sharing. Agreement on what the truth is, what is real and what is not.”
WAY FORWARD
The voices for or against the purveyors of the call for change of government converge on the need for inclusive governance.
Mr Ogunleye, whose informed piece was cited earlier, urged government and its functionaries to drastically cut down on the cost of governance and adhere to the principles of due process, fairness and justice. According to him, political office holders should take courses in emotional intelligence.
Dr Adamu spoke specifically to the Minister’s directive when he said that all the government needed to do was to find out the persons making the calls and get their Internet Protocol, IP addresses or use generative intelligence to track them down and invite them for questioning.
Professor Kila states that the government needs to realise that people will always express their opinions in a democracy. Those opposed to the views expressed should strive to prove the opinions wrong through effective communication.
“Most often governments do that through democratic governance,” he maintained.
About the Author
Amos Esele is the Deputy Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.
