Emergency rule declared in Plateau State, Governor Suspended

[Sola]

Emergency rule declared in Plateau State, Governor Suspended

True to speculations, the Federal Government of NigeriaTuesday declared a state of emergency in Plateau State. Making the announcement in a special broadcast to the nation, President Olusegun Obasanjo said: "It has become clear that the constituted authority in Plateau State is incapable of maintaining law and order, giving confidence to the people, managing religious, ethnic and social values, and protecting lives and property of all its citizens or... unwilling to do so. Therefore, by virtue of section 305 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, I hereby declare a state of emergency in Plateau State. This declaration has been published in the Federal gazette as of today." The state will now be administered for the next six months by Major Gen. Chris Alli (rtd) while the elected Governor, Joshua Dariye, his deputy and members of the state's House of Assembly have been suspended.


(The GUARDIAN)

[timogose]

Interesting development and democratic experiment. Many could see it coming, lets hope it will help restore SANITY to the system. Watch and Pray.

NB: More details and twists to the story at http://allafrica.com/stories/200405180648.html

NB2: Hail OBJ! Illegality! Partiality! -these are the different cries currently heard in Nigeria based on newspaper reports. Truly, uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.

Below is the link to a story from Vanguard
By Jide Ajani, Political Editor
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
The plateau state of emergency:- The 1962 State of Emergency, West and the First Republic.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/...319052004.html

[timogose]

Nearly all the legal luminaries in naija (FRA Williams, Gani Fawehinmi, Prof. Nwabueze, etc) have spoken out that OBJ exceeded his powers and has acted illegally -that you can't remove a Governor or State House of Assembly by Proclamation. If so, I think suspended Gov. Dariye should go to court. Any lawyer in the house has a contrary opinion?

[Sola]

Originally posted by timogose
Nearly all the legal luminaries in naija (FRA Williams, Gani Fawehinmi, Prof. Nwabueze, etc) have spoken out that OBJ exceeded his powers and has acted illegally -that you can't remove a Governor or State House of Assembly by Proclamation. If so, I think suspended Gov. Dariye should go to court. Any lawyer in the house has a contrary opinion?

But he was a lousy governor from all indications. OBJ just should have employed due process to avoid this rancor.

[TruTalk]

Damned if he did, Damned if he didnt.

Should he have used due process and waited another week or month as the deaths mounted so that CNN and BBC and Amnesty International could all get on his case? Should he have sent in a contingent of the national troops so that CNN and BBC and Amnesty International could all get on his case? Should he have done what he did knowing that CNN abd BBC and Amnesty International would get on his case?

What I think is that this generation of fake nationalist human rights advoactes should all jump off the numerous bridges we have in Lagos and drownin the Atlantic or just have acute myocardial infarctions and just die. They are doing nothing to make the country better. I would liken the Fawehimis and the Soyinkas and the Falanas to whimpering toddlers that scream over paper cuts.

There are better ways to go about this whole advocacy thing. Numerous countries in Africa are attracting foreign investment while they go through upheaval ten thousand times worse than Nigeria is going through. They havent found solutions, and their governments arent moving as fast as they could. But rather than take this negative, antagonistic view of all things government that our so-called intellectuals are taking, the human rights activists in these countries are consulting with local governments, mobilizing the citizenry through NGOs and other fora, and bringing in foreign aid to tackle the problem, rather than driving investment away.

That is our problem as a people. We are too stupid. We dont think strategically. Especially we Yorubas...I am sick of this current generation in power. I pray that something dramatic happens to just wipe them off the face of the earth, so that we can have a new start. Maybe we will then see peace. Whatever happens, it is clear that they do no thold the solution to Naijas problems.

[cxsm]

Originally posted by Trutalk

That is our problem as a people. We are too stupid. We dont think strategically. Especially we Yorubas...I am sick of this current generation in power. I pray that something dramatic happens to just wipe them off the face of the earth, so that we can have a new start. Maybe we will then see peace. Whatever happens, it is clear that they do no thold the solution to Naijas problems.

I can understand your anger re: some issues pertaining to Nigeria and governance there in particular, but there's no need for name calling, inappropriate blame, generalizations or ill-wishes.

[Sola]

Originally posted by cxsm
Originally posted by Trutalk


I can understand your anger re: some issues pertaining to Nigeria and governance there in particular, but there's no need for name calling, inappropriate blame, generalizations or ill-wishes.

I read you ocassionally and I wonder which Nigeria you are from, really? What generalisation? The whole lot of them hide under the same cloud. Inappropritate blame? So I should bear the blame, ehn? What name calling? You don't want us to name names? Or are we in denial? And how did speaking the truth as one sees it translate to ill-wishes?

You have a right to your worldview, but you disagreeing with another's shouldn't make theirs "ill" - really.

And how did speaking the truth as one sees it translate to ill-wishes?

as you see it may not necessarily be as it is.
these are people who are calling for change, should they keep quite? or leave the country? don't they have a right to express their opinion?
they may be wrong but there is nothing wrong in calling for caution so that a precedence is not established.

[Sola]

Originally posted by omerese
as you see it may not necessarily be as it is.
these are people who are calling for change, should they keep quite? or leave the country? don't they have a right to express their opinion?
they may be wrong but there is nothing wrong in calling for caution so that a precedence is not established.

"As you see it" is always as "it is" for you, believe me. I have nothing against the "people calling for change" - I mean what else is there to call for in today's Nigeria? But the same people you listed would gladly support what I posted previously:

OBJ just should have employed due process to avoid this rancor.

I believe due process still translates to "the law"

And that does not change the fact that the man was a lousy governor despised by many of his own people.

i have no problem with obj's call, its labelling the fawehinmis and others as trouble makers i have reservations about.

but remember, we are talking of nigeria, the next thing will be governors sacking local goverment chairmen, chairmen sacking counsellors and general chaos based on the precedence set

[Sola]

Originally posted by omerese
i have no problem with obj's call, its labelling the fawehinmis and others as trouble makers i have reservations about.

but remember, we are talking of nigeria, the next thing will be governors sacking local goverment chairmen, chairmen sacking counsellors and general chaos based on the precedence set

True word... It starts and it never stops...

[TruTalk]

Maybe I was a tad bit vitriolic...I think I temporarily reached the point where my dreams for the country came head-on with the reality that in trying to make things better, we seem to be making things worse.

Dont get me wrong, I respect Fawehimi, Falana and Soyinka on some levels. They have the ability to articulate the probllems of the everyday man with great insight, even though they arent your typical avergae Nigerians. What I do have a problem with is the manner in which they go about trying to make these reforms that they want. Everyone 'striking' leaves us all broke, as the nation is now.

There are excellent models of how NGOs can be used as powerful platforms for reform. I think what has happened is that one of he shortcomings of our national identity (if we can say there is one) has hampered the efforts of these citizens: as Nigerians, we tend to be very bad at delegation. We make our extolled leaders judge, jury and executor all at once. Falana might be great at voicing the concerns of the nations workers and mobilizing them together. He doesnt seem to be good at dialogue, though, and it would probably do his cause better if he found someone else to do this work for him.

In the same way, Soyinka is great with highly symbolic protests, but it seems that he has a penchant for building innocuous institutions and trying innocuous-looking protests that eventually go awry and out of control (read cults, and numerous protests he has staged).

As for wishing that this current generation of leaders would step aside, I think everyone feels that way. I just happen to have a really impatient personality, so my vocalization of this sentiment will be much stronger than that of many who speak the same truth, but in different tones.

In the end, we all want a greater Nigeria. May we see it in our lifetimes.

amen to that

[Obariba]

So where is talk about his money laundering and his UK ordeal ?????...Nigerians na wa...I guess at the time it was insignificant right ?...not a single thread addressed Dariye's money laundering