Sometime in 1967, a governor from one of the states in Nigeria chose to chart a new path by challenging the sovereignty of the leadership at the centre. He was quickly declared a rebel and a full scale war was waged against him and those who supported his rebellion. One of the things he did as a rebel was to print his own currency and a different legal tender was in circulation throughout the period his rebellion lasted.
Today, there are two governors who have decided to rebel against the government of the day by insisting on the use of their own currency which is no longer a legal tender in Nigeria. Ten other governors, apparently from the same party or in sympathy with the first three, have allegedly joined the original three, and have now formed an apostolic rebellion steeped in “Judasic” philosophy.
What they have done is nothing short of treason and should be treated like the case of the man in 1967, or are they above the law? Must the government wait until they convince others to follow them and now necessitate the unleashing of a Police Action on them, as it was in 1967?
Unlike the man in 1967, who rebelled because he sincerely cared for his people then, this set of rebels are propelled by greed and lust for power, and must not be treated with kid gloves. The states they presently govern cannot be said to be in rebellion with them. They are individually and collectively liable for their rebellion.
Their deliberate misrepresentation of the implications of the expired interim order from the Supreme Court, which was not renewed after the 7 days span, should not be allowed to mislead the people and cause them to deride and lampoon the actions of a democratically elected president of Nigeria. The president knows exactly what to do with the rebels.
OR DO THEY ALSO AS GOVERNORS ENJOY IMMUNITY EVEN WHEN THEIR ACTIONS ARE NOTHING SHORT OF TREASON, WHICH IS CAPABLE OF COLLAPSING A NATION AND STIRRING UP CRISIS? Time for a deeper a
interpretation of Section 308 of the Constitution is here again. Even where they are spared arrest and prosecution by the provisions of Section 308, the need to preserve the sovereignty of Nigeria as a country is supreme. This should be a typical case of National Interest against the Rule of Law.
They must not be allowed to gain legitimacy and support from the overburdened and suffering masses. The cash scarcity is indeed scary and biting but it is not meant to last for long. The elections are already here and the window of freedom from the iron grips of the Draculan politicians ruling over their “windy and balloon republics” will soon be opened.
Birth pangs are not in any way orgasmic but the birth of a child is always ecstatic. Let patience and endurance reign.
OBLONG MEDIA UNLIMITED 