The Impending Constitutional Crisis

The constitution of the country was recently reviewed while an electoral act passed on the basis of the new provisions of the constitution as per elections and election management in the country was accented to and became law not too long ago as well. The problem is not so much with the new electoral law […]

The constitution of the country was recently reviewed while an electoral act passed on the basis of the new provisions of the constitution as per elections and election management in the country was accented to and became law not too long ago as well. The problem is not so much with the new electoral law because it is purely a creation of the National Assembly and can be attended to if any of its provisions affects the polity in the magnitude such as the dilemma of the moment.
The problem is with any constitutional provision that may serve as an issue at a critical threshold of the nation’s life as the current dating of election period is in relation to the time that the 2011 elections are to hold. Many factors are responsible for this logjam but two stand out very clearly. The fact that the constitution of Nigeria was successfully amended for the first time only a few months to the end of 2010 when an election is expected to take place early in the new year and the failure of government itself to constitute a new electoral commission at the heat of national outrage and call for the disbandment of the old INEC on the basis of poor performance.
The government failed to heed to the numerous calls made by Nigerians to change the leadership of INEC in good time so that those things that are necessary and must be done are done in good time so as to allow for sufficient planning and preparation for the coming elections. The commission was constituted only recently and about the time that the National Assembly was to complete the review of the constitution.
Secondly, the process of amending a rigid constitution is painstaking. It is almost impossible for such constitutions to be amended because of the tortuous provisions. For the first time the National Assembly was able to amend the constitution despite the hysteria and doubts expressed by a skeptical Nigerian society. The amendment which for now and hopefully for the future in my view, came at the right time because in the ordinary it would have extended till the end of the life of this parliament which by implication would have rendered all work done equals to zero.
Now that the nation is agreed with the fact that we cannot go to the polls in January, certain important issues are yet at the front burner of national discourse. We are again caught in another serious trap that requires serious political brinkmanship of the stakeholders and the polity in general in order to resolve.
The political brinkmanship of the National Assembly especially is crucial in resolving this very serious national issue and crisis that is impending. What would the National Assembly do to rid the nation of the possibilities of political rapture? Would the National Assembly be made to re-amend the constitution to address this emergency? How would it be done? Would the legislature come up with a transitional provision on the matter or would they go straight away and reverse the provision which imposes a time frame of not later than and not less than 150 and 120 days before the expiration of the tenure of office holder?
Any attempt to amend the constitution in any of this regard will mean mutilating and eroding the sanctity of the constitution. It will mean that the rigidity which characterizes the Nigerian constitution is taken for a ride by the political authorities. A constitution whose successful review took more than two years to achieve cannot be reversed in a week just because of the desire to achieve certain political exigencies.
Agreed that shifting the elections from January is necessary, Nigerians must also realize that it is essential to make further sacrifices in order to preserve the sanctity of the constitution by not mutilating it through expeditious and hurried re-amendment just because some people believe that the 29th May handing over date is more sacrosanct than other provisions of the constitution.
I am of the view that we are about to begin threading a very dangerous path if we think we can make the national and state legislatures re-amend the constitution to address the new date of election and at the same time retaining the May 20th handing over date. I am of the view that if we agree that we need to give INEC more time to do elections, we must also be prepared to shift the handing over date from May 29th to probably October 1st 2011.
Amending the constitution in this regard makes more sense than any attempt to temper with any of the provisions of the amended constitution. My reason is simple; the constitutionality of the constitution is under serious threat from those who should protect it. Any transitional provision will render the exercise just concluded which Nigerians are celebrating a futile exercise and has the potency of reducing the sanctity of the constitution to a mere instrument in the hands of elected officers.
Agreed that either a transitional provision or re-amending some portions would serve the purpose of Election Day adjustment. What about the intent and spirit that in the first place necessitated the insertion of a relatively long period between the election period and inauguration which would be defeated?
If elections are conducted either in March or April and handing over date remains in May, what that means is that the same old process of having people that are likely not elected inaugurated and thus perpetuating the illegality which the new provision seeks to prevent will be entrenched. I am of the view that that particular amendment is a response to public yearnings as captured by the Justice Uwais committee which recommended it, and though not taken by the executive but wisely accepted by the legislature as a way out of the illegality syndrome that has cast doubts on the integrity of the Nigerian democracy.
The constitution is not an electoral act that can be tempered with at the exigencies of the parliament in Abuja, it is a more serious document which both the executive, legislature and the public must strive to protect at all cost.
I am of the view that if any adjustment is to be done as must be done, the adjustment in the handover date is the easiest in the circumstance even if the constitution has to be amended to reflect the new reality. Subjecting any section that was recently reviewed to any new review will make nonsense of the exercise and erode the tissues and fibers that make the constitution a sanctuary of national norms and order of good governance.
We must all rise and protect the constitution so as to retain its place. I vote for postponement of the election from January, I also vote for adjustment in the hand over date as the best solution out of the current constitutional logjam that the nation finds itself in. This is the only way the nation can avert the impending constitutional crisis that it is likely to find itself in.