Their Imperial Majesties of Southern States
By Aminu Iyawa
Yesterday, their imperial majesties, the Governors of the southern states of Nigeria, rose from a meeting occasioned by the arrest of IPOB secessionist leader, Nnamdi Kanu and the declaration of another, Sunday Igboho, wanted, to direct the federal government to inform them of any future operations against criminals and enemies of state.
Their majesties have also directed that the next President to be elected in 2023 must come from the South.
These directives were contained in a six point communique issued at the end of their meeting in Lagos, their newly designated headquarters.
Fifteen hours later, I am still waiting for the federal government’s reaction, either from the Minister of Information, the Attorney General of the Federation or any political appointee of the President, including cabinet ministers and Advisers, but mum is still the word.
It is really sad that chief executives of states who swore by the constitution to uphold the tenets of our democracy are the ones trampling on it by defending miscreants through technicalities.
I cannot imagine a state Governor in the US, asking the FBI, the Federal Marshals or the Police not to embark on security operation in the state without telling him.
I think that the ambigous word “executive” that is falsely prefixed before their official title has led to the misleading impression that the Governors have about the vastness of their power, often siphoning the functions of other tiers of government.
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Our dear country, Nigeria, operates the presidential system of government in which three tiers – executive, lgislature and judiciary were adopted to function as the operating machine that drives our democracy.
Such arrangement by design is also replicated at the three levels of governance; Federal, state and local government. Despite the clarity of sanctity of each tier as supported by the constitution, the Governors have progressively eaten into the powers of both the legislature and local government, and they have now boldly attacked the executive at the Federal level.
The six-point communique is all about usurping the powers of the President and the federal legislature. How can they demand foreknowledge of federal security operations in their states? Have we forgotten the case of a corrupt judge in Rivers state that was given refuge by the Governor when he was about to be arrested by EFCC operatives?
How can the Governors also challenge, for example, the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) that had imput from Nigerians and exaustively deliberated by the represenrstatives of the people and passed.
The Buhari administration must stand up and assert its rights and authority. I am sorry to say that the Governors are becoming bolder, because they have seen weakness in the administration. Heads must roll. The President needs to reshuffle the cabinet, boot out some and retain those who show capacity and are strong enough to defend our constitution, our democracy and the President’s vision.
Nigerians must also say no to this new form of imperialism developed by the Governors. They must abide by the constitution.
