Political blunders, myopia and other ailments
It is very sad that the Abubakar regime discarded the Abacha constitution, which had imaginatively dealt with the issue of smooth succession in the event of a president’s death while in office. The Abacha constitution was the first of its kind that formally entrenched zoning in the sharing of key elective offices such as President […]
It is very sad that the Abubakar regime discarded the Abacha constitution, which had imaginatively dealt with the issue of smooth succession in the event of a president’s death while in office. The Abacha constitution was the first of its kind that formally entrenched zoning in the sharing of key elective offices such as President and Governors at state and federal levels. According to the Abacha constitution, if a President died in office, the Vice President would only hold office for three months, pending the election of a new President from the same political zone that produced the President in the first place.
Indeed, this arrangement would have gone a long way to prevent the kind of controversy that greeted the future of the PDP zoning policy in the wake of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s death. The Abacha constitution would have ensured smooth implementation of the zoning policy without any section of the country feeling short-changed. Curiously, however, the Abubakar regime set aside the Abacha constitution by expunging the provision of zoning policy or power rotation. With hindsight, General Abubakar would himself be privately disturbed by the turn of events, following the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua. Such is the consequence of short-sightedness in the formulation and implementation of laws and policies.
The eminent team of distinguished Nigerians that produced the Abacha constitution knew what they were doing when they entrenched zoning in the constitution. In fact, the exigencies of our political realities must have influenced their decision to entrench zoning in the discarded Abacha constitution. Former Vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme, who was one of the distinguished members of the National Constitutional Conference (1994-1995), openly expressed his concern over the acrimony that followed Yar’Adua’s death. In a lengthy article he wrote in December 2010, he lamented the ill-considered decision of the Abubakar Abdulsalami regime to abandon zoning as provided for in the Abacha constitution.
Why should any leader abandon a policy without giving it a critical and imaginative evaluation? Hostility to Abacha’s memory, for whatever reason, should not be allowed to overshadow the longer term interest of the country. Throwing away the baby with bath water is always a thoughtless policy. Whatever may be its weaknesses, zoning had achieved the benefits of achieving unity, equity and reducing the fear of domination of one section over the other.
If we insist on the so-called notion of majority carry the vote, the country would continue to exist with mutual suspicion or distrust. With zoning, however, even the smallest community can legitimately aspire to produce the President of Nigeria. In fact, President Jonathan became Vice President to late Umaru Yar’Adua on the basis of zoning.
Power rotation, which was actively promoted by southern delegates to the 1994-1995 constitutional conference organized by the late Abacha regime, was purposely designed to address the basic challenge of political domination of power on the strength of population. The northern delegates supported the idea as a means of promoting equitable power sharing formula at federal and state levels. The conference also created the six geopolitical zones as we have them today. The wisdom of throwing away power rotation provision in the Abacha constitution by the General Abubakar regime still remains a mystery to many Nigerians.
It is unfortunate that Nigerians were denied the opportunity to put power rotation to the test as a constitutional provision. The abandonment of this principle is re-opening old wounds, exacerbating the north-south divide. The current debate about whether President Jonathan should continue in office beyond 2015 or not is a manifestation of the problems associated with discarding zoning. With the north insisting that it can no longer make another sacrifice by conceding power once again in 2015 and the southeast saying it is their turn, we are now thrown into a needlessly messy situation. Once power rotation is constitutionally protected, no section of the country would contemplate working against it.
Fifteen years after Abacha’s death, Nigerians are now forced to look back to the abandoned constitution formulated by his regime. Whatever might be Abacha’s personal ambition, the constitution is a document that can outlive leaders and succeeding administrations. With power rotation discarded by General Abubakar, the PDP worked out their internal power sharing arrangement. Since 1999, the system of zoning had succeeded in promoting unity, fairness and equity in sharing elective offices. It encouraged and guaranteed even the smallest communities the right to seek the nation’s highest public office through democratic means.
No nation should seek to kill good ideas to satisfy selfish motives. Obasanjo held power for eight years on the basis of zoning. However, as soon as President Umaru Yar’Adua died in office, General Obasanjo shamelessly argued that zoning kills merit. Such is the kind of hypocrisy that undermined the entire objectives of power rotation. The repudiation of zoning had emotionally divided Nigerians and the pattern of voting during the 2011 Presidential election; confirming this ugly reality. It would have been difficult to abandon power rotation once it was entrenched in the constitution. As Dr Ekwueme argued, power rotation was one of the most important provisions of the Abacha constitution. Sadly, the nation is once again groping in the dark over the tough question of power sharing. Can we afford to continue with confusion when we had the option of sensibly avoiding a situation like this?
Kalambaina wrote from Koforidua Street, Zone 2, Wuse, Abuja