The Presidency and the ruling PDP forcefully had their way in
Adamawa. Governor Nyako has been impeached. Nigeria's constitution
suffers violence. Democracy has been setback. Under the constitution, a
governor can only be impeached for 'gross misconduct.' For the PDP,
Nyako's crime was not the false allegations contained in the articles of
impeachment. To them, his gross misconduct was leaving the reactionary
PDP to join the progressive APC. His misdeed was to exercise his
constitutional right of freedom of association and political expression
by leaving their corrupt assemblage and joining the party that just may
represent the best hope of rescuing Nigeria from its present descent
into authoritarian darkness. Perhaps, Governor Nyako's greatest sin is
his temerity to speak truth to power albeit in a courageous way. On two
different occasions, he gave an unvarnished insight into the Boko Haram
menace and the insecurity engulfing Northern Nigeria. At the Institute
of Peace in Washington DC this year when he visited with other Northern
governors, he placed the blame for the Boko Haran insurgency on the
Jonathan presidency. He then followed this up with a detailed letter to
the forum of the Northern governors in which he accused the Jonathan led
government of genocide against the North. This rattled and unsettled
the government. Repeated attempts to have Gov. Nyako withdraw his letter
and apologize to the President failed. From the moment he wrote that
letter, he became a marked man. The government savaged the governor
through the media. This kangaroo impeachment is government's way of
punishing Nyako. The plan is to use the contents of the letter he wrote
to the Northern Governors as a basis to try him for treasonable felony
and eventually sentence him to life imprisonment. Nyako's frank, if
rough-edged, letter concerning the security situation apparently
infuriated the monarch of Aso Villa who has become so arrogant as to
believe no opposition against him is justified, thus he has the liberty
to impose his brand of injustice to crush those who oppose him. Before
our eyes and under Jonathan's watch, Nigeria gradually descends into
fascism. We must all act now before it consumes us all. In impeaching
the Governor Nyako, the PDP used the constitution to abuse the
constitution and the democracy it is supposed to enshrine. Governor
Nyako's impeachment must be seen completely as political move to punish
his and deter others from leaving the PDP. It was a sanction imposed
against political freedom and freedom of expression. It had little to do
with alleged financial or other wrongdoing. A view of the alleged
charges against him reveals that his purported wrongdoings revert to
when he was still in the PDP, some dating back three years. His actions
were known to the House of Assembly then. While he still adhered to the
PDP, there was no talk of misconduct. Upon leaving the PDP, his actions
suddenly became the meat for impeachment. There is only one thing new
which was not then present. The governor's political party affiliation
changed. In the PDP mind, his party change transmitted him from the list
of those to be praised to the list of those to be persecuted. He gave
green light to this move and winked approvingly as his minions poured
cash into the pockets of the pliable Adamawa State Assembly members who
would do their bidding. That the impeachment came on the same day that
PDP governors and National Assembly members scurried to Aso Villa to
endorse another term for their king is no accident. This was
orchestrated to appear that all the wind is at the PDP sails and that
the APC has been stalled by PDP strong-arm tactics. They want to create
the impression that all is well and that the president rides high on
popular acclaim. But there is a large crack in their wall. Because they
profit from and love the wreckage they have done to us, the president
and his subordinates delude themselves into believing the average
Nigerian also loves them for the damage they have caused. After over
three months of avoiding the parents of the Chibok victims, Jonathan was
shamed by the visit of a heroic teenager from another land, Pakistan's
Malala, into agreeing to meet them. However, after being shunned for
months by the President's cold indifference to their plight, the
aggrieved parents refused to be party to the President's slick public
relations game. The parents shunned the man who would not meet with them
when they wanted to meet him. He only decided to meet them to gain
publicity. The parents saw through his uncaring charade. They decided
not to add themselves to the farce. In the universe of his political
hacks and courtiers, President Jonathan can do no wrong because his
pockets are deep and seem never to run dry. For him, this is popularity
and legitimacy. But if he truly wants to gauge how the people of Nigeria
truly feel about him, he would seriously consider why the parents
boycotted his meeting. These parents more accurately represent the mood
of the nation than do all the processions of politicians who come to the
Villa to lay themselves at the feet of their monarch. He and the PDP
contrived the removal of Governor Nyako from office. This is a temporary
and costly victory for it reveals more and more the undemocratic heart
of the man who rules over the nation. He now justifies his illegal and
immoral acts by claiming that any show of dissent or opposition to him
is the product of partisanship and thus not to be seriously considered.
This is what all dictators tell themselves and he has become one. As
such, he believes he can turn his back on the will and welfare of the
people in order to attain his personal ambitions. Yet, while he may
ignore the people, even he cannot make them disappear nor can he keep
them for seeing him for what he is. If he truly believes the false
acclaim of his coterie and party dregs are genuine, let him stop these
contrived attacks against opposition politicians. If he believes so much
in himself, let the people decide things at the polls. He will not do
this because he rightly fears Nigerians will do unto him what he has
done unto them. When he calls unto the people, they will turn their
backs to him in just reward for his sad and indifference misrule of this
precious nation. Impeaching duly elected opposition politicians will
not increase his popularity. These acts only undermine our democracy.
The one party state and quasi-monarchy the PDP seeks are relics of the
past and will not again stand in Nigeria.
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