Jonathan and the emergency rule

In a nationwide broadcast to announce the emergency rule in line with the power conferred on him by section 305 of the 1999 constitution as amended, the President noted that “The activities of insurgents and terrorists have been reprehensible, causing fear among our citizens and a near-breakdown of law and order in parts of the […]

In a nationwide broadcast to announce the emergency rule in line with the power conferred on him by section 305 of the 1999 constitution as amended, the President noted that “The activities of insurgents and terrorists have been reprehensible, causing fear among our citizens and a near-breakdown of law and order in parts of the country, especially the North. We have taken robust steps to unravel and address the root causes of these crises, but it would appear that there is a systematic effort by insurgents and terrorists to destabilize the Nigerian state and test our collective resolve… They have attacked government buildings and facilities. They have murdered innocent citizens and state officials. They have set houses ablaze, and taken women and children as hostages. These actions amount to a declaration of war and a deliberate attempt to undermine the authority of the Nigerian state and threaten her territorial integrity. As a responsible government, we will not tolerate this.”
The number-one citizen, consequently, directed the Chief of Defence Staff to forthwith deploy additional troops to the affected states for more effective internal security operations, saying that “the troops and other security agencies involved in these operations have orders to take all necessary action, within the ambit of their rules of engagement, to put an end to the impunity of insurgents and terrorists.”
While many Nigerians see the action of the President as a welcome development, there are some who have condemned the move in very strong terms, arguing that it won’t in any way resolve the problem as, according to them, it was not the right step to have been taken by the Federal Government (FG). 
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), in its usual characteristic manner was among the first to bang Jonathan with a sledge hammer for his pronouncement on the emergency rule. The party’s national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, insisted that the emergency rule imposed by the President was a deliberate gambit to subvert constitutional democracy.
Noting that the declaration of state of emergency was meant to fail right from the onset, the erstwhile Lagos State Governor said: “The body language of the Jonathan-led administration leads any keen watcher of events with unmistakable conclusion of the existence of a surreptitious but barely disguised intention to muzzle the elected governments of these states for what is clearly a display of unpardonable mediocrity and diabolic partisanship geared towards 2015.” Tinubu’s position came just as the ACN spokesman, Lai Mohammed, in a statement on behalf of the party equally decried FG’s action, describing it as lacking in original thinking, while calling on the National Assembly to reject it.
However, Ondo State Governor Dr. Olusegun Mimiko feels it was unfair for people to unnecessarily crucify Jonathan for a courageous and laudable step he has taken in his bid to end the security challenges in the country. Imploring Nigerians to rally round Jonathan in this current effort towards checkmating the Boko Haram menace, the governor urged that those who have chosen to embark on the unwarranted politicization of the present national security challenges should not be listened to.
Interestingly, ACN presidential candidate in the 2011 general election, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu hailed the action of the federal government, agreeing with Mimiko that it was a step in the right direction. Ribadu, a former Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), said: “Personally, I believe that any initiative in that direction is a good one. Federal government does have responsibility and they must work towards getting peace for the country. It is their responsibility. For now, all Nigerians must support our military. This is what happened in all nations when you are confronted with difficulties. People must come together and unite.”
I believe very strongly there is truly the need for all of us to come together to support the Federal Government in every commendable, brave and valiant step it takes to surmount the precarious security situation we find ourselves at the moment with the noxious activities of terrorists. The government had offered to grant amnesty to the insurgents (Boko Haram members). But the group clearly rejected the offer and the destruction of lives and property continued unabated. Do we expect the government to fold its arms and allow them to continue to have a field day?
I do not see how in the opinion of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), the emergency rule in just three states amount to a declaration of war against the north which has 19 states in all. I wonder what would have been said if the President had dismantled the entire governmental structures in the states affected, leaving them in the hands of sole administrators, as postulated by some prominent Nigerians.
Jegede wrote in from Abuja.