Remarks by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, national leader, Action Congress of Nigeria, (ACN) at the conferment of “Person of the Year” award by Leadership Newspapers Group at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, Thursday, September 29, 2011
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I am honored to be here today. I thank the Leadership Newspapers Group for honoring me as the ‘Leadership Person of the Year’. It takes some courage to name an opposition figure as Person of the Year and Leadership Newspaper is to be commended for this step. In doing this, you affirm that the Fourth Estate of the Realm, the media, remains a fertile ground for the growth of democracy. This gathering represents an important forum for us to talk about the state of our nation. I believe I receive this award because of the electoral gains made by the opposition and the positive advance this means for our democracy. Yet, I also believe my most important role tonight is to give an open and public warning about the dangers that now stare at our nation and our democracy.
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Key issues are the judiciary and the operation of the rule of law, freedom from political oppression, electoral fairness, economic deprivation and national security. The earlier we honestly discuss these issues, the better it will be for our democratic development.
Judiciary ?and the rule of law: We need to maintain vigil over the rule of law. In the immediate post-election period, we have been confronted with the abuse of power to muscle out the opposition. Through strict observance of the rule of law, our courts are to be the guardian of fairness and justice. Without such a protector, democracy lies exposed to the ravages of power. This is the case in Nigeria today. Instead of learning good democratic lessons from judicial overturning of its electoral violations, the governing party now seems intent to overturn the impartiality of the judiciary.
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The most glaring example of this has been the government’s attempt to cut short the career of one of our illustrious jurists, the Federal Court of Appeal President, Justice Isa Salami. What was his crime? Refusing to put his sense of justice on sale. For this, they tarnished his name and plot to end his career. They rumoured that he was in the pockets of the ACN. This is a terrible lie against a good man. His verdicts were not for the Action Congress of Nigeria. They were for justice. However, those in power could not tolerate his impartiality. They sacrificed one of Nigeria’s finest jurists to send a blunt message to other jurists: go against our wishes and you shall lose those robes you hold so dear. If such a thing can befall so senior a jurist, what hope do others have? Unless the public cries out, the ruling party may succeed in turning the rule of law from an inalienable right into a tradable item that only it owns and controls.?
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Given this example, no other jurists now dare cross their assumed master. Our courts have become islands of confusion as judges balance their conscience against their careers. This, in some states, we are seeing judicial verdicts that are odd after overturning several 2007 elections, Appeal Courts and tribunals could well have been duly admonished to forget the rule of law in judging current election appeals.
I cannot over-emphasize the importance of this attack against the judiciary. Should it be allowed to stand, all aspects of our democratic life are in danger. Sensing that the courts will no longer overturn their excesses, PDP operatives will return to the most blatant forms of electoral misconduct.
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They will snatch victory like a criminal kidnapping a child but the courts will be too afraid to rectify the wrongful taking. We are in danger of justice becoming so blind that it pretends not to see anything, even the wrong done right in front of it. Even worse, this disregard for the rule of law will spill into every aspect of our lives. Neither our lives nor property will be safe and secure from unjust interference by those who hold the staff of government power.
For our party, the opposition will uphold the rule of law. We will petition the courts to follow the law and work to make sure courts act independently of politics. Each and every Nigerian should expect the full protection of the law and enjoyment of his civil liberties. That is our democratic creed and motto.
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Electoral fairness: We must not relent in our struggle for electoral reforms. The Uwais Report contains a fine blueprint. The Uwais Committee produced a comprehensive report detailing the fault in the electoral process and enumerating 83 recommendations. Important recommendations dealt with the independence of the electoral commission and creating an electoral process less vulnerable to manipulation. The beauty of democracy lies in the power it confers on the citizenry to elect the leader they want or reject those who have failed them. The solemn procession to the ballot box is one of democracy’s fundamental pillars.?
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The ruling party (PDP) has always pilfered votes through brute force or brazen fraud to secure its victories. The 2003 elections were bad but what came next was worse. By 2007, the public was eager to wave goodbye to Obasanjo, but he and his cronies were not ready to give free rein to the will of the people. They snatched the people’s mandate from their very hands. PDP operatives commandeered election materials. Phantom results were announced for phantom polling stations. The electoral pilferage prevented serious opposition parties from going into post-electoral hibernation as was usually the case.
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We were alert to the danger that the next election would be even less of an election if we idly watched ?PDP hardliners perfect their scheme. ?The opposition and civil society applied great pressure that resulted in a change of INEC leadership. The country and indeed we in the opposition had faith Attairu Jega and his ability to engender positive change despite the fact that he inherited ?a corrupt system. However after this election, we may have been too quick to hand Attairu Jega a trophy of integrity. We fear INEC is now moving in the direction opposite to democracy. The pretence is there but the substance of democracy is steadily eroding. Across the country there is groundswell of discontent ? with the performance of INEC as evidence in the numerous ?annulments, re-runs and lingering court cases. Testimonies at the Presidential Election Tribunal reveal that INEC did not do enough to make the presidential election free and fair. These developments show that our electoral system is still defective and yet to attain the sophistication needed to deliver free and fair elections comparable to that of civilized nations. It is not too late to reform INEC in time for the 2015 general elections. We expect the INEC chairman to remain true to his commitment to re-organize heads of departments. Serious complaints against senior officials have been ?ignored. It is almost five months after the April elections and about time the fundamental issue of the re-organization of INEC’s dysfunctional system rises to the top of its internal agenda.
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The integrity of our ballot papers is also fundamental. The reason for the avalanche of complaints over sensitive election materials might not be unconnected with lack of due process in procurement of election materials. ??
We want an independent INEC as the name connotes and we want a trust-worthy umpire to boot! INEC ?must clean its house. We urge the government to publish the list of the Resident Electoral Commissioners, REC’s and equally the government should comply fully with the recommendation of the Uwais Panel with regards to this matter. The non-partisanship of every REC appointed must be foolproof, or my party and the people will challenge them.?
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National Security: ?The ?nation’s ?security and stability are being put to a grinding test. No matter who we are and what ?party we belong, we must work together for the unity and security of this nation. On this issue, we must narrow our political differences to work together to keep this nation safe and to repel anyone and anything, foreign or domestic, which would do Nigeria ill.
While we have and will battle over many other issues, on this existential issue, the government has my solemn pledge that I will do what I can to help our nation out of this predicament. Although we talk security, the crux of the matter is our unjust socio-economic system. The security problem will not be resolved by security policy alone. It requires a social and economic reconstruction that we have hitherto lacked. Without strong, visible public support for such an undertaking, government will not have the organic base to quell the unrest and achieve the peace we need. Government will become a stranger in its own home.
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Economic Deprivation: Nowhere is this more obvious than in the sphere of economic policy. ?Our people are mostly struggling and poor. They are also frustrated. And unfairness has become the hallmark of our economy. PDP management of the economy has been ineffective. Nigeria suffers one of the world’s worst rates of income inequality. We do not practice sufficient economic justice to change the skewed regime. There is nothing in the PDP policy arsenal to fight this battle. Just as the PDP’s political strategy is using the instruments of democracy to prevent genuine democracy, its economic strategy prevents economic democracy.?
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High unemployment rates remain unchanged. The amount of people living below ?the poverty line has not decreased. The middle class – the backbone of any democracy – is endangered species. Manufacturing ?and industrial firms are closing faster than opening. Electricity is unreliable and costly. Our people have not enough safe water to drink. Our women line up in blazing sun to buy kerosene in a nation that produces oil.
We in the opposition advocate fiscal federalism. ?Under the Excess Crude Account and now its progeny, the Sovereign Wealth Fund, the federal government has improperly siphoned funds constitutionally mandated for state governments. ?This represents a massive slush fund the federal government can use as it wishes with little public knowledge or oversight. At best, the monies will be used to fund practices that enrich government cronies but make bold to say that the states with ACN governors would rather see their proper share of these funds in the hands of their governors than in the custody of PDP bureaucrats and chieftains.
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Democracy as the only option: As Nigerians, we all have a choice regarding which side of the epic divide we want to reside. ?I, Bola Tinubu, choose democracy. ?That preference does not blind me to the difficulties of my selection. I know others have selected differently from me. Democracy is hard to establish and even more difficult to maintain. It requires restraint and adherence to principle. Dictatorship and authoritarianism are easy to form and give a crude delight to those who operate them. But while democracy now appears to be ascendant, we must keep alert.
My friends, it is one thing to have democracy; it is quite another thing to keep it. ?It is one thing to proclaim democracy; it is quite another thing to live it. We have done well in proclaiming democracy; we have been far less outstanding in living it.
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In conclusion, I thank ?the Leadership Newspapers Group for this great honour. I accept it not on my account but on behalf of all those who believe as I do. I stand here, a Nigerian proud and unapologetic. Despite all that I have endured, I will keep at it until this race is won. I hold no malice against anyone and seek no one’s harm. I focus on the betterment ?of my country and the improvement of my people. ?I see no way to do this than via political and economic democracy and justice.
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The sun is setting on those who would hold hostage the destiny of the many for the benefit of the few. ?Still, the Nigeria that now exists is not yet the Nigeria I see in my dream. Thus, I shall keep working to make those dreams come true.
I look into the shadows of ?how things are, yet I fear not, for I am guided by a light that these shadows cannot extinguish. ?It is the lamp of liberty, hope and the decency and resiliency of our people. We shall attain the full potency of our nationhood and its democracy. The path will be hard but there is no mortal power that can stop us.
Thank you. ?May God bless you and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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