Over the past couple of weeks, there have been statements and a petition by spokespersons to President-Elect, Bola Tinubu; Femi Fani-Kayode, Festus Keyamo and Bayo Onanuga, claiming that there is a subversive plot to deny their principal access to the presidential seat he won. I never really understood the argument as I had not seen any action different from what has happened after previous presidential actions. The fact that some of them are questioning Tinubu’s success at the tribunal is certainly not something new in our politics.
On Wednesday, Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS), joined the fray and announced that some key players are indeed plotting to impose an unconstitutional interim government on Nigeria. They confirmed speculations and calls by some for truncating Nigeria’s democratic system. They said that the plot is an “aberration and a mischievous” way to set aside the constitution and undermine civil rule as well as plunge the country into an avoidable crisis. Their spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, said the planners, in their many meetings, have weighed various options, which include, among others, sponsoring endless violent mass protests in major cities to warrant a declaration of State of Emergency.
What then is the plot? I am not sure I understand it. Nigeria is a country where public demonstrations are very common and legal and they do not result in declarations of state of emergency. The state of emergency is declared by the president and the legislature. President Buhari has affirmed consistently and repeatedly that he is eager to hand over power to the declared winner of the February 25 elections, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, so I do not see the logic of his declaring a state of emergency to stop the handover of power. Senate President Ahmed Lawan and Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila are also definitely not in the political mould of anti-constitutionalists. So, I am at a loss on where the fear of a declaration of a state of emergency is coming from.
The other possibility coming from the DSS statement is frivolous cases currently in the judiciary. Nigeria has the highest level of election-related petitions in the courts in the contemporary world. The fact of the matter however is that our Constitution allows for it and it is a legal and legitimate route to resolving contestations on electoral matters. Indeed, the counsel given to people who have been declared losers in an election is to go to court rather than contest it on the streets.
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What I do not understand therefore is the route that would lead to the unconstitutional imposition of an interim government. Which branch of government is engaged in nefarious meetings to put a stop to our democracy? Is it the executive, legislature or judiciary? What we know for sure is that Nigerians are committed to the sustenance of democracy and would fight to preserve it. If the purpose of the statement is to get democracy defenders to stand by and get ready to defend democracy against anti-democratic elements, then the message needed to be clearer. If, however, the message is that there are fifth columnists within government branches planning evil against our democracy, then what is required is not a press release and tweets from the DSS, the suspects should be arrested and charged for their treasonable plot. The statement is coming barely a month after the February 25 presidential election that produced Bola Tinubu as Nigeria’s next leader. Mr. Tinubu was the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and if some elements within the same government are plotting regicide then immediate action against them must be taken. We cannot accept an end to the handover of power on May 29, which has now become a constitutionally-entrenched habit we are all proud of.
My recollection is that the idea of an interim government was popularised by Afe Babalola, the renowned philanthropist, legal icon and founder, Afe Babalola University in April last year. He proposed that the 2023 general elections be suspended in favour of a six-month interim government to be drawn from various strands of Nigerian social, economic and political life. Virtually all Nigerians condemned his proposal, which was expressly meant to truncate Nigerian democracy. Mr. Babalola was looking for an unconstitutional shortcut to address his concerns over restructuring. That issue is no longer relevant because the elections held and the outcome has been decided and what has not been addressed would be in the tribunals.
The next iteration of the interim government was in rumours that emerged alleging that some people close to President Buhari were hatching a conspiracy to impose an interim government and have the elections postponed. As soon as those rumours surfaced, President Buhari once again spoke and assured Nigerians that the elections would hold and power would be handed over to the winner of the presidential race. What I find confusing is to re-fashion fears about aborting elections for interim government in a totally different context in which the elections have already taken place and a winner has emerged, even if the election results are in court, which in the Nigerian context is normal.
Emotions over the elections remain high and hurtful actions and words have been expressed over the period. Nonetheless, it is important to state that Nigerian elections have been improving steadily since 2011 and while significant problems remain, the only meaningful approach is to continue the advocacy for the continued improvement of the quality and integrity of our elections. Any attempt to truncate our democracy is a threat to the existence of the state itself and must be resisted by all democrats. When, therefore, an important institution such as the DSS comes out to make public comments on such a matter, it is important that the content of the messaging is indeed about preserving our democracy and not playing to the gallery of some spokespersons to an elected official.