It has been one year of contentious issues on the political scene as political parties and personalities; electoral bodies and other institutions engage in controversies that promise to roll over in 2010, write SEMIU OKANLAWON and MUDIAGA AFFE Right from the beginning, it was obvious that 2009 was going to be full of tension on the political scene.
Many of the fallouts of the 2007 general election, more than a year after, were still causing ripples. Petitions were still pending before election petition tribunals. Appeal courts were still waiting to conclude many of the cases before them. Those who had savoured the joy of victories had reasons to fear. Those who were confident of the strength of their petitions were waiting in the wings to take over. Hopes were dashed. Anxieties mounted and as the year now closes, it looks as if 2010 will roll in just the same way the outgoing year started.
Many of the policy issues of the Federal Government were expected to top the happenings that would set the year apart from previous years. For instance, activities of militants in the Niger Delta region of the country had reached its peak that the heavy loss in revenue by the Federal Government was becoming too worrisome.
The amnesty granted militants by President Umaru Yar‘Adua, was so crucial to the resolution of the crisis in the region that it precipitated a series of controversies, many of them still raging even as the year ends.
Of course, the health of the President was no longer seen as the personal problem of the number one citizen of the country but one of major concern to the entire country especially with the frequent trips of the President abroad, leaving vital state matters behind.
Other issues that defined the year include the have been the build-up to the governorship election in Anambra State in 2010 and some of the rerun elections in various states and how the Independent National Electoral Commission handled them especially in view of the general perception of the commission as a biased umpire.
Yar‘Adua‘s health
Yar‘Adua had on January 25, August 21 and November 24, 2009 embarked on medical trips outside the country without formally handing over to his vice, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. This issue that brought about arguments in January, resurfaced in August and finally in November, running into December, still occupying the front burner in public discourse.
In fact, the latest one which has for now lasted over one month has generated so much controversy. While some are calling for his resignation, others, particularly his aides and members of the Peoples Democratic, have described such calls as ‘unpatriotic.‘
In the light of the above, questions have been raised on the role of Jonathan in the absence of his boss, with many arguing that the President ought to have written the National Assembly informing of his absence so as to enable Jonathan act in his absence.
Yar‘Adua, in all the instances that he had travelled on medical trips, had failed to comply with Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution. The section states: ”Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such functions shall be discharged by the vice-president as acting President.”
Ekiti governorship rerun election
The rerun governorship election in Ekiti State was also one event that remarkably shook the political scene during the year.
The rerun election, which came following the Court of Appeal‘s ruling nullifying the results of the 2007 election in nine wards of the state, came up on Saturday, April 25 and was marred by violence.
The appellate court, which nullified the election of Governor Segun Oni of PDP, ordered a supplementary election in 63 wards of the state. With the nullification, Dr. Kayode Fayemi of the Action Congress was leading with about 12,000 votes before April 25 when the supplementary poll was conducted.
Fayemi maintained the lead until the last batch of results was turned in from Ido-Osi Local Government Area, where Oni hails from.
Scores of people, including journalists, local and international observers were reportedly attacked by political thugs. The two leading contenders in the race claimed victory in the poll; accusing each other of masterminding the violence that characterised the contest.
The Ido-Osi result turned the tide against the AC candidate at the last minute and the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs. Ayoka Adebayo, after series of drama, released the final result on May 6, with the candidate, Oni returned as the winner of the election, having polled 111, 140 votes as against 107, 017 votes polled by AC candidate.
The Ido-Osi votes were alleged to be phoney ballots by the AC and the governorship candidate headed for the tribunal for the second time.
Boko Haram crisis
On July 6, the country woke up to orgy of bloodletting as riots erupted in Bauchi and soon spread to Yobe, Borno and Kano States. The crisis led to loss of several lives and destruction of property as security operatives battled the rioters identified as Boko Haram (Western education, a sin) a fundamentalist religious group said to be averse to Western civilisation. The governments of the affected states were forced to impose dusk-to-dawn curfews in their respective jurisdictions.
The disturbance was eventually halted on July 26, following successful raiding of the hideouts of the group, suppression of the fighters and the controversial killing of the sect leader, Mohammed Yusuf.
Amnesty granted to militants in the Niger Delta region
Another issue that shaped the year was the amnesty declared for the militants by the government of Yar‘Adua on June 25, 2009. The amnesty lasted for 60 sixty days, precisely from July 6 to October 4. The beneficiaries were people from the region who had direct or indirect participation in the commissioning of offences associated with militant activities.
While the amnesty programme was on, Lagos State witnessed attack on the Federal Government‘s Atlas Kove on July 11 by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta. The attack, which was the first of such strikes outside the region, did substantial damage to the 50 million-litre jetty that supported 75 per cent of the country‘s oil import and led to death of five security personnel, including Navy Commander Kolawole Awe.
The amnesty period was characterised by open surrendering of arms by repentant militants, including key elements among them. Notably, collection of arms from these militants continued even beyond the expiration of the amnesty period. But some of the militants declined to embrace the amnesty. Amongst them was leader of Niger Delta People‘s Volunteer Force, Mujaheed Asari-Dokubo, and some elements within the MEND.
However, the prevailing fragile peace in the region snapped on December 19, as MEND attacked a major crude oil delivery pipeline operated in the creeks of Abonnema, Rivers State.
The group said it carried out the action to protest the prolonged absence of ailing Yar‘Adua from the country, adding that it was not comfortable with the slow pace of implementation of the post-amnesty programme in the Niger Delta.
Hillary Clinton was here
The visit by the US Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, was another event that shaped the year 2009. Her visit was significantly on the heels of the controversy thrown up by an earlier visit of President Barrack Obama, to a number of African countries, including Ghana, without coming to Nigeria .
She berated the country‘s high corruption profile as well as the seeming lack of political will to tackle it. She attributed the country‘s underdevelopment to persistent deep-rooted corruption. Clinton‘s verdict, however, was trailed by considerable controversy. While the Federal Government, PDP and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission condemned her assessment, opposition parties and civil society groups agreed with her.
Of course, many would see US recent stern warning to Nigeria that it would get tougher with the authorities as a further show of interest in the Nigerian affairs.
Appropriation Bill: Face-off between Senate and House of Representatives
The face-off between the Senate and the House of Representatives on the presentation of the 2010 Appropriation Bill by Yar‘Adua was another issue that generated controversy. The argument was over which of the chambers of the National Assembly would host the presentation ceremony. The Senate had said it should take place in its chamber, which sits 109 persons; but the House, with 360 members, insisted that it would host the session because its chamber is more spacious. This was the first time in 10 years that the Senate had declined to go to the House for the yearly ritual as the presentation had always been done in the Green Chamber of the House since 1999. However, on November 23, Yar‘Adua took probably the last option of laying the budget separately before the two chambers before departing for Saudi Arabia for treatment.
2010: Politics comes alive in Anambra
The build-up to the 2010 governorship election in Anambra State produced some of the most intriguing episodes in Nigeria‘s politics. Contenders, especially within the PDP had continued to engage each other in legal battles over the imposition of the former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Chukwumah Soludo, as the party‘s candidate.
Others
Other issues which also generated debates were defections by top political office holders including Governors Isa Yuguda and Ikedi Ohakim of Bauchi and Imo states, respectively to the PDP; Senator Sati Gogwim, from AC to PDP, among others.
Also, the appointment of the new Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ogbonna Onovo, on July 24, elicited public debate. It came years after the South-Eastern states had complained of marginalisation in the Police.
Meanwhile, a number of high profile deaths were recorded in the country‘s political scene during the year. They include that of the former Yobe State governor, Senator Mamman Ali, who died on January 27. Another former governor of the old Anambra State, Chief Christian Onoh, on May 5; and the September 5 death of Nigeria ‘s foremost human right activist and legal luminary, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, among others. With Fawehinmi‘s death, many have asked what the future of human rights crusade is especially with the seemingly uncompromising posture that the lawyer maintained till his death.
The arguments continue
While issues that shaped the political scene in 2009 cannot be exhaustively analysed, for the National Publicity Secretary of the AC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, many of the issues have remained unresolved. He feared a situation whereby they will continue to remain issues of public debate in 2010.
For instance, Mohammed stressed that the campaign for credible electoral reform; the role of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, in fighting corruption; the unresolved Ekiti rerun election; the President‘s health, among others, would remain issues that need urgent solution.
In his conclusion, Mohammed said, ”2009 was full of many issues different from one another, but none of them was resolved.” But, the Publicity Secretary of the Lagos State chapter of PDP, Dr. Wale Ahmed, heaped the blame on the heated polity on the AC, through what he described as media propaganda.
According to Ahmed, the high points of political discussions during the year were issues that would naturally not have attracted serious attention, but for the numerous reactions of the AC and other opposition groups.
In a way, Ahmed‘s assessment of the issues and the role of the opposition amounted to an admission that the AC remained in the vanguard of putting the ruling party on its toes especially on issues that on the rule of law.
Whichever way the argument goes, it must be noted that the year did not just pass by without eliciting thought provoking arguments from various stakeholders. Such discourse may form the basis for creating a level playing field by a government that wants to listen to the yearnings of Nigerians.