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07.12.2009 Nigeria

Constitutional Thieves at Military-Constitutionalism—Disparaging Popular Sovereignty

07.12.2009 LISTEN
By huhuonline.com

When we saddle establishments and institutions with narrative at a construct, constitutionalism, we must appropriately accompany the idea, with deployable measuring capacity, with biased barometer to compute statistical data, measure improvements & re- evaluation. Within the contexts, of unprecedented prevailing culture of militarism at constitutionalism, popular sovereignty, freedom and liberty will be disparaged and totally diminished. If a culture is contested within itself, it sooth emerging constitutional thieving,

whose pathological inclinations aggressively, if not challenged, will practically dominate political space, heightening tensions, increase sectionalism, widen regionalism, as whatever is left of societal norms becomes contaminated even defeated.


The relevance of examining and understanding constitutional district and its interconnectedness is provincially interfaced with intricacies and technicalities at that; it exposes pettiness and derision at popular sovereignty, which again, asks for further examination, assessment, for better realignments based on constitutional innovativeness protected by popular sovereignty, as opposed to military-constitutionalism and despotism.


As this writer was putting finishing refinement to this piece, a friend called-in, expressing dismay, with the activities of some political characters, attended by the state of the nation, incapacitated. It was reported, that some political machines are pressurizing, Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President, of this banana republic called, Nigeria to resign. Curiously, the smarting attempt was/is gravitated toward creating political space for, David Mark, current Speaker of the House, to takeover political leadership of the state. Lately appeasing the Arab-fundamentalists led by Sokoto Caliphate, in other not to get her “angry” is popular in the North. With the hospitalization of Yar'Adua or his possible death, in Saudi clinic, we are beginning to witness emerging political movement, at political opportunism. May we unequivocally state in print and electronically: to hell with “getting the North angry”; Angry my FOOT. They better don't get this regional block angry over against the backdrop of one of the longest running lunacy at civilization in recent history. We must warn and vehemently state that the geopolitical trajectory has long shifted and the north must realize that each, nation-state, in this cagy-estate is a war-machine in full attack mode. Nobody is intimidated by his aggressive posturing. This posture is a farce. If former eastern region, shuts-down its economic power-houses, it will automatically put her existence on life-support even to a point of extinguishing her totaled. Make no mistake; we are angry at your longest running-mismanagement of this administrative state. Enough is enough.



We have touched this matter at other times. Overemphasizing this clime, with limited on our side is a time well wasted. But note that my friend was irritated, and aggressively veered-off into the irony why healthy VP, is being pressurized by some constitutional thieves to resign, while a sick or dead unelected President, Yar'Adua, is left to take the nations-states for granted, even moving its Executive powers with him to Saudi Arabia clinic. He is holding the nation at a gun point. Yet, under this crass, nobody is pressurizing and asking for his resignation. We must not allow truth to be placed on its head. This is the height of hypocrisy. This caller stated that it is time to divide this country; declaring that former Med-West region, would be happy to go along with the former Eastern-region—Biafrans. For record, past hostilities and suspicions have widened current prevailing mistrust against OPC; many remember her past treacheries and betrayals. If former Mid-Western-region has no atom of trust for OPC or Arewa, nobody does. We might as well part ways, observers think that past and present constitutional miscarriage via military constitutional regimes, against popular sovereignty and against will of the people is an abomination.



For record, Nigerian-State became a miscarriage in 1914 British creation. This was further compounded by military-coups that preceded military constitution through decrees. Ever since, the population is besieged with disappearances, maimed, disgraced and rubbished to opprobrium, time and space. For example, the 1999 Nigerian-Military constitutional Decrees is a case study, which, frustrated popular effort at true-constitutionalism, like those found in the United States . Effort at Sovereign National Conference (SNC) was sidelined and marginalized. The fallout is that from that point forward, this estate came to head, as all forms of democratic representative government, infrastructures, industrial capacities and more were placed on its head; factual representation at governance became a pipe dream for her citizenry, as constitutional thieves room the streets with little or no resistance from the populace. The result is a colossal pauperization, dysfunctionalism, apathy, degradation and depletion of all norms and standards that would have promoted and safeguarded security for its nationals.



In the United States , virtual representative governance and vise versa became a primordial for its revolution & nationalism. Result—Leadership they have. By 1776, she declared its Independence from Britain . Through popular sovereignty and nationalism, she emerged with a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Emerging democracies and societies must revisit and learn from this unprecedented constitutional war-machine, in order to understand the intricacies of patriotism, freedom, and country, for her to become a strong competitor in the new emerging market economy and globalization.



Enlightened and educated societies, will always question state instruments of as discharges her responsibility, public must maintain final line of defense, as public officials derives her legitimacy through the consent of the governed not its disenfranchisement. Viable constitutional state must derive its legitimacy through the consent of the governed without which, that society will eventually collapse and left to oblivion and anarchy. Lacking in these credible legitimacies, there is no republic.


It is therefore, the duty of nationals, scholars, syndicates, policy-makers, social critics, traders, and actors to critically analyze the implications, contradictions, plausible and susceptible elements of the aforementioned legal instrument, which is a prerequisite at framing effective public policy. It must deconstruct state legal instrument, examine, demonstrate, and provide promotional climate to enhance and facilitate checks and balances within a republic. This balancing would harness future constitutional amendments, for example Bill of Rights in the case of US. When a governmental establishments or institutions fails in this premise, such a government must be overthrown and in its place, another constitutional establishment established to take its place within the republic. Ideological compass is flawed, if sustainability becomes unsustainable within the context of available resources, including productive manpower to sustain her, the joke is on the operators of such state. Huge administrative state must have the finances to run huge system; otherwise they fail with time. Nigerian state is a failed state that lacks maintenance culture, and refinement.



The revolutionary Communist Party is old political relics that lacked checks & balances, whose party leadership came across as demigods, those practices are long past, just as oligarchy, feudalism, and selfdom are old establishments-past, that has been overtaken with time.


Recently, General Akinrinade (rtd) and IBB (former self-acclaimed Military President, 1985 to 1993), contradicted their institutional past military decrees at constitutionalism hoisted, on centralization of government, in its quest to control, impose hegemony and dominance others. With time, Akinrinade, now, “regretted fighting that war” meaning Biafran & Nigerian war, 1967-70; during hostility, millions of innocent Biafrans and more perished, thanks to Awolowo, Anthony Enahoro, who used starvation as a weapons of war, thereby creating institutional principalities and fiefdoms against the will of the people.



Akinrinade, recently requested that 1999 Military Constitution, be jettisoned. Stating that the 1999 military constitution did not meet representation at what he called the “Federal Character.” It is ironic that Akinrinade is hypocritically running his mouth this late, after benefiting from past military constitutionalism, an act, that made mockery of popular sovereignty; a heresy that raised him to the rank of General. Interestingly, he must be out of character in these bogus remarks. Akinrinade is a constitutional thief. He defended illegalities and benefited from it. Some suggested that perhaps, Akinrinade is broke. “Give him some Oil blocks” like OPC political machine, he might yet again, change his political rhetoric. Sadly, there are few Oil-blocks to go round these days, as these military relics, are beginning to distance themselves from their checkered military past, 50 years later.

IBB on the other hand, is calling for decentralization or statization of the Police force. This is interesting times, this regionalization will take us back to Aburi confederate purveyor—that advocated transformational development at governance. Transferring political, economical, and social and technical powers to regions or states will bring government closer to the people and the people will in turn hold their elected officials responsible locally; especially if they are discharging their responsibilities as expected of them.



Freedom and responsibility to independent nation-states, will give the people hope and a sense of place. However, this coming from IBB, one of the constitutional thieves, who, presided over military despotism for eight (8) years, constantly rolling out military decrees after military decrees is looks more like an aberration. During his (8) eight years of narcissist-autocratic regime, he mismanaged the military, navy, air-force and police force. His era, witnessed increased disappearances, killings, and institutionalization of advanced-fee-fraud (code 419), including other innumerable criminal practices. IBB must shut up his mouth and face the wall and cry in shame.



As constitutional thieves, IBB and cronies played to the gallery, when SNC quest came up. During that era, the critical mass, repeatedly demanded and insisted on a Sovereign National Conference (SNC), so that nations-states, inside British-Nigeria, could negotiate whether to remain part of the geo-political expression called Nigeria or opt out. He annulled June 12, 1993 elections that MKO Abiola, won. We will leave MKO Abiola travesty for another time, we are aware of these things, including sponsoring majority of military coups that subverted democratic principles consented on the will of the people, conducted themselves with reckless abandonment.



Worse still, in 1999, another constitutional thief, “This Animal Called Man” Obasanjo, belligerently mocked human sensibilities. He was pulled out from jail, by his military cabal, and rigged their way into office. His name will forever remain within the borders of everlasting opprobrium. History will hold them hostage as they held mankind hostage at gun point. Obasanjo was forced out office, after his failed TTA bid, in 2007. With numerous expositions, he made effort to cover-them-up, facilitated, reactivated and imposed a sick man, Yar'Adua on sick nation-states as he made his exit. As political cronies of military regimes past seek relevance, they ask the pulverized public to calm down and “allow interplay of politics to play-out”. However, their cycling order of operation hoisted on falsehood, is only bringing to fore their past misgivings at their behest. Problematizing remarks from such cronies is evident at their impunity past, which is comparatively identical with current constitutional thieves.



As they make peaceful change impossible, they are excellently making violent change inevitable. If a seating president is incapacitated by say scandals, illness, and/or impeachment, he should resign within a specified period of time—and in its place the Vice President, in this case, Goodluck, Jonathan, takes over leadership of the republic. We are conflicted. But which constitution are we actually talking about here? The military decreed constitutions or what? This writer thinks that in a case of non-existing-constitutional instrument, any thing emanating from military constitution or otherwise is null and void, usurpation and arrogation of people's power to themselves based on self-aggrandizement. Everything else is embellishment and counterproductive.

Again, rather than pressurizing the VP to resign, Yar'Adua should act like gentlemanly and make a hasty exit. But no, they are constitutional thieves, rather than resign they will entrench their gluttonous greedy lifestyle, bending and subverting popular sovereignty.

Unprecedented political shenanigans are currently a float, “interplay of politics” playing out, within the context of the narrative constitutional interpretations, irrespective that administrative popular sovereignty at constitutionalism is non-existence. National Assembly is faced with Speaker's 52 billion traveling, allowances, other scandals and more of much of the same. Under this debilitating contextualized state, a pontification of “Servant leader” represents public comic. The question remains: why would unelected President Yar'Adua disparage the purported republic, from faraway Saudi Arabia ? This is nothing but gloss irresponsibility and greed.



In the meantime, some constitutional thieves are running around in North-America and Europe , designating themselves as Constitutional Reviewing and Drafting Committees without, any mandate from the homeland or popular representation or factual representative or consented by populace. This is indeed the state of the nation. With the unprecedented economic melt-down that started here in the United States, that rapidly spread to major industrialized nations, causing financial crisis that makes 1930s Depression a child's play; this economic melt-down has facilitated one of the longest running and longest lasting unemployment requisition; creating more joblessness now, more than any other time in recent history.



Finally, we must vehemently warn world citizens, that freedom, justice, and equity is fought for with all he energy of heart, might, mind and strength, they are not free. We must not allow political imposters to perpetrate illegalities as legitimate businesses while we live. They will be reminded, repeatedly that they will face an uphill task at that ignorance at constitutionalism. They and their ignorant sponsors will be stopped by any means necessary. It is not a threat, it is a promise. Those who create and front for these constitutional thieves at home and in Diaspora will live to regret these colossal mischief-making. Establishments perpetuating generational-ills and generational-evils must realize that their actions will definitely come with a prize. Again, for record, only Biafran Constitution was written by popular plebiscites, a popular sovereignty whose instrument became her precursor that launched her into primordial of nationalism in its three (3) years of freedom. These accomplishments were made possible through her Consultative Assembly & Council of Elders, not military decrees. In that three (3) years of freedom, she built her tele-communication, communicated to the world and the world communicated to her; she refined her own petroleum, converted passenger-Air-craft into war-planes; in those heady years of freedom and popular sovereignty, she has broken technological advancement locally, her Air-strip was the busiest in the whole black world, sorting 50 flights per day, under heavy-bombardment, she has become the most civilized black-nation and most civilized human-being in the world. Within that three years of freedom, she can look back, with pride, at her accomplishments and creative-innovation at productivity, and in this dispensation she must yet again, show readiness and preparedness to reminiscent and celebrate her rebirth.



After Fifty (50) years of infamy, institutions and establishments are beginning to concretize substantially, the relevance of constitutional freedom, individual freedom found in popular sovereignty, established on rule of law. With creative imagination, love, which promotes, encourages, and facilitates climate for egalitarianism is possible again. With this disposition, dreams will come through, as structured organizational leadership established, technological advancement becomes flexible as we face the challenges and difficulties of these changing times. Imperatives: while still at it, distancing, rejecting, shaming constitutional thieves and the lunacy of unmerited wealth, repositioning ethics and fiscal responsibility in public domains, will vehemently quicken and enlighten human-consciousness, to understand the relevance of popular sovereignty and popular constitutionalism that will harness provisional legal instrument for a separate society, including City-states, independent States & emergence of multiculturalism at emerging global interdependence.


Carlisle U.O. Umunnah
Is New York-based Freelance Writer

Contact: [email protected]

Originating at www.huhuonline.com

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