The measure came shortly after the Presidency had denied plans to declare emergency which sections of the parties in opposition had vehemently opposed because of fears that some of the states under the Boko Haram siege, being under the opposition All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP) such as Borno and Yobe, might be politically undermined to the advantage of the ruling People’s Democratic Party.
States of emergency in the history of Nigeria, both during the First Republic when it was declared in the defunct Western Region, and during the years of the President Olusegun Obasanjo rule always involved the removal of elected political functionaries in the Legislative and Executive branches. Obasanjo had the habit of sending retired military officers to run the states, such as Plateau and Ekiti, after sending the Governor and the State Houses of Assembly packing.
Military approach
In a clear departure from the dreaded military approach, President Jonathan also opted to dialogue with the Governors of the affected states before declaring this emergency. There is a clear indication that he wants to work together with the elected leadership of the affected states to solve the extraordinary security problems posed by foreign-armed and inspired terror networks.
The cooperative approach adopted by the president has shown there is no ulterior political motive other than to allow the Nigerian armed forces to bring out their best to crush an insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and rendered the economy of Northern Nigeria almost comatose.
It is expected that the tension and suspicion as well as fear of tampering with the democratic structures of the affected states will die down and elicit support from well meaning leaders and citizens of the states and the nation at large.
The use of “extra-ordinary” measures by the military requires the total cooperation and support of the citizenry to ensure minimal civilian casualty. It is hoped that local political leaders will put aside politics and support the emergency rule and enable this beleaguered country to put terrorism behind in the shortest possible time. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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Infact, we need people like Obasanjo to rule Nigeria, an ex-military man in Politics NOT people like IBB-International Born Bastard & Co. Nigerians dont need soft hands at all, the leaders, followers are so corrupt, selfih, greedy and no fear of God at all.
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