They and their associates had paid for the use of the Ladi Kwali Hall at the Sheraton Hotel. But the FCT Police Commissioner, Lawrence Alobi and the Director-General of the State Security Service, Kayode Are personally led a contingent of security agents to prevent the meeting from taking place. Their reasons: the politicians did not have "police permit"; they, the security agents, were also acting "on instructions from above". So, the SSS director walked up to Buhari and told him: "Sir, you can't enter." In case anyone had any doubts about the seriousness of this directive, such doubts were soon laid to rest when the security men descended on Francis Amadiegwu, a member of the House of Representatives who had stubbornly tried to enter the Ladi Kwali Hall. He was wrestled to the ground in the presence of his colleagues and reportedly beaten "black and blue". When Amadiegwu was eventually released, he could only mutter a few words: "This is the darkest day in the history of democracy in Nigeria." He obviously did not enjoy the beating!

There have been many dark days in Nigerian democracy, and if present signs are anything to go by, there may well be darker days ahead. What transpired at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja between security agents and the anti-third term politicians last Wednesday, is yet another illustration of the flowering of a culture of dictatorship that is being imposed on the present process by the Obasanjo government. It is reminiscent of the old days of Abacha and Babangida, of crude intolerance and abuse of public institutions. In recent times and as opposition to the third term agenda continues to grow, the Obasanjo government has displayed greater intolerance for ideas or any form of opposition. It is a disturbing antithesis: a government that was ostensibly elected democratically is now in the vanguard of an assault against some of the pillars of democracy itself namely the right to choose, the right to differ, the right to associate freely, and the right to express opinions as free citizens under the rule of law. Any government that breaks the law so brazenly threatens the very foundations of society itself, and the objectives of an open society and the common good. Nor is this the first time that the Obasanjo government will behave in this manner.

Other instances include the disruption, last year, of a rally in Osun, that was organised in honour of Chief Bisi Akande, the 2005 open attack on a group of women led by Mrs Jadesola Akande who were expressing solidarity with women who lost their loved ones in the famous Sosoliso air crash, the March 17, 2006 attack on a meeting of the Advanced Congres of Democrats (ACD) in Dutse, Jigawa State, and the March 20 arrest of Alhaji Lawal kaita, a chieftain of the ACD. Even more telling is the arraignment in court of Miss Funke Adedoyin, Mrs Kofo Olugbesan, Lawal Abba, Musa Garba and others for belonging to a so-called illegal group, the Turaki Vanguard. The accused persons, it is alleged, belong to "a society which is dangerous to the good government of Nigeria". And what did they do? These are friends of the Vice President, Abubakar Atiku, (closeness to the VP is a major crime in the corridors of power these days); in addition, these members of the Turaki Vanguard had the effrontery to describe the current Federal Government as "corrupt". The case is in court. It will be interesting to know what the court will come up with.

But so far, what is indicated in all these instances of repression, is sheer blackmail and abuse of fundamental human rights. The "police permit" that security agencies continue to insist upon has since been upheld by the Court of Appeal in the case of Lewis Chukwuma and 2 ors v. Commissioner of Police (March 2005). Nonetheless, the conduct of the police and other security agencies in these matters amounts to a violation of the right to the dignity of the human person. Of what use is the brutalisation of Francis Amadiegwu? The fellow should go to court to enforce his rights under the Constitution. The job of the police and the SSS is to ensure security, not to act as an attack dog against perceived enemies of the President. If the politicians who gathered at the Sheraton Hotel had been friends of the President, definitely they would have been offered state protection.

There is a creeping absence of civility in the conduct of public officials at the highest levels. "Instructions from above?" Who else could have given such instructions to brutalise members of the National Assembly, a former Head of State, former Governors, former Inspectors-General of Police, former Ministers just because they dared to differ? If Major-General Muhammadu Buhari had defied the SSS Director, and tried to enter the hall, would he also have been wrestled to the ground and beaten "black and blue"? If the Governors had organised a rebellion, would they also have been beaten "black and blue"? Whoever gave those "instructions from above" cares very little about civility. There is only one way to describe what is happening: it is bad.

Defiant, the anti-third term protesters moved their meeting to the Niger State Governor's Lodge, where with Governor Abdulkadir Kure as their host, they met till 12 midnight. Curiously, the security agents did not go to that other venue to disrupt the meeting. Was there a police permit for that second meeting? Or the police and the SSS did not consider the logic and consistency of their action? Anyhow, their point had been made based on 'anti-democratic instructions from above". But the main significance of the meeting hosted by the Niger State Governor was the presence of the Vice President Atiku Abubakar. The relationship between the President and his Deputy collapsed a long time ago. But the Vice President has been fighting quietly, while the President has done whatever he can to make him redundant and to ridicule him. Note: Atiku's supporters are in court for opposing the Federal Government; the "Turaki Vanguard", the VP's political machinery has been labelled a dangerous society, and yet this was the same machinery that facilitated the President's election in 1999.

But we have now reached a point when the Vice President is fighting his boss publicly. The President had once accused him of disloyalty: he is now affirming that disloyalty by declaring, once more, his opposition to the transformation of the PDP into a one-man estate, and the abuse of Presidential office. At the meeting at the Niger State Lodge, Atiku openly called on members of the National Assembly to oppose President Obasanjo; he also invited more persons to join the anti-third term campaign. Atiku is an insider, even if his boss has labelled him a leper. His open revolt confirms the existence of a third term agenda.

Atiku's words bristled with anger and disgust. He holds his boss in extremely low esteem. He even called on Nigerians to stand up and protect democracy. And he pledged his loyalty to the struggle; "I want to assure you I am always available and I will give you any support that you need, I will be with you, look when I begin to talk, you will know more". Without any doubt, the Nigerian Presidency has collapsed. The feud between the President and his Deputy has brought that exalted office to great ridicule. With Atiku coming out in the open to organise a rebellion against his boss, it is doubtful if any real governance can take place henceforth. What the Vice President has done is to stage a moral coup against his boss. President Obasanjo may not know it, but his Deputy has proven to be a master politician, he has dealt him a deep, retaliatory cut.

There are some moral questions. If Vice President Atiku is so disgusted with his boss, the PDP and the character of government, should he continue to remain in office? Shouldn't he just walk away and build up the opposition? Does he not see a contradiction in the dual role he now plays as an insider and outsider? If he openly identifies with "enemies of the government and enemies of the President", would he not feel uncomfortable sitting at the same table with the President? I once wrote that there would be injuries on all sides in the Atiku-Obasanjo feud. I also predicted that the "body bags would soon begin to arrive, and we shall start counting....." ("The long knives are out for Atiku", The Guardian, September 2. 2005, p. 51.) We have now entered that season of the swords! Femi Fani-Kayode acting on "instructions from above," has asked Vice President Atiku to resign. You see the kind of government they are running in Abuja: a Presidential Assistant abusing the Vice President? Surely, Atiku is not going to resign: his strength lies in the fact that he is an aggrieved and well-positioned insider. As Vice-President, he is covered by constitutional immunity. He will hold on to that until his fight with the President is resolved: the battle has gone so far now...The Vice President can only be removed in four ways: if he suddenly dies, if he is incapacitated, if he is impeached or if he chooses to resign. The emergent dilemma is that he will not resign and the National Assembly has already been put in a difficult situation where it cannot afford to take sides in the Presidential debacle.

Whichever way it all goes, Atiku's revolt is bound to become another major event in the history of Nigeria's Fourth Republic, in more or less the same class as the crisis in Anambra, Plateau, Oyo, and Bayelsa, except that for now, it is difficult to predict the end of this particular battle. What can be safely surmised is that President Obasanjo may soon discover that he is about to receive another lesson in the intricacies of power politics. Abacha taught him that lesson once. The second lesson may come from Atiku. Why, to start with, did the Niger State Governor agree to host the anti-third term campaigners? Why was the Niger state Governor so defiant? The long awaited "bloodshed" in the Presidency has begun...Poor Nigerians

Robot  # 1 | 07.04.2006 00:54

...Read the full article.

I Love Nigeria  # 2 | 07.04.2006 01:57

Dr. Abati, has brought us clear analyses of the issues... again. But here are my first/immediate reactions 1. Mr. Atiku does not have a factual, moral or legal high ground in all of these. 2. Those who attempt to have a public gathering ought to have obtain the required permit... in America such gathering are also subject to requirement of permits... there is nothing undemocratic in these requirements as reported and Honorable Amadiegwu should have gotten a court order permiting him to have meetings without permit... or respected the police request of do not enter do not pass 3. Mr. Atiku is self-serving and he is full self-contradictions! He alleges that the entire elections of 2003 was replete with fraud, in essence he is, and he has been a product of fraud since the elections? But only now, because he wants to succeed President Obasanjo by all means.. Atiku now cries foul? Because he is not an acceptable heir apparent to Aso Rock and PDP? Mr. Atiku has confessed to a crime and or a conspiracy that he was part of all along.... he has engaged in anti-party activities.... he is confrontational with his boss President Obasanjo... Atiku is consumed with his ambition to become president in 2007 and that is all that is driving Atiku sudden "moral" indignations and grandstandings! Mr. Atiku Abubakar should resign or be impeached... before he wreaks havoc and anarchy upon Nigeria

gwobezentashi  # 3 | 07.04.2006 02:10

What can be safely surmised is that President Obasanjo may soon discover that he is about to receive another lesson in the intricacies of power politics. Abacha taught him that lesson once. The second lesson may come from Atiku. Why, to start with, did the Niger State Governor agree to host the anti-third term campaigners? Why was the Niger state Governor so defiant? ABATI Goes to show that you are never too old to learn a thing or two and no one knows it all. As for Kure, he represents IBB's views - another factor and chess grandmaster sitting in the wings and deftly plotting his moves. We have seen for a long time politics by proxy of sorts and little by little the masquerades are unmasking. It also shows that the President's opponents are coalescing to fight their exclusion from power and his dominance of the political space. We certainly do live in interesting times. Special Advisers (interesting that they are all "special" and there are no "ordinary" Advisers) shooting from the hip and calling for the resignations of Superiors well out of their league signifies the moral depths our democracy has sunk. No one is resigning so why can't we have some good old impeachment politics or is one about to get the Ogbeh treatment? If a mere SA can be so disrespectful to the VP, why can't the VP be disrespectful to the President? Is this the loss of innocence? The more ridiculous claim suggests that Atiku's oath in office is an Okija type pledge to his "benefactor" President rather than to the constitution of Nigeria, so he should resign. Perhaps Fani should be reminded that Atiku was on the ticket for the PDP primaries and the Presidential polls. He certainly was voted for and has a claim to the ticket. In the classical pattern of "use and dump" they have been trying to get him out of the way for more than a year now. Since he won't resign and they have not got the numbers to impeach him, he better watch his back. The terrain is littered with the corpses of brave men who stood their ground and did not live to tell the tale. Surely there must be plenty qeueing up to compromise Atiku if only to show how loyal they truly are to (hear it - not the constitution, hell No....................... to) Baba! In true Godfather style, will they make him an offer he can't refuse and/or he them? We are watching and waiting for the next move. Aluta! Gwobezentashi

Odinaka  # 4 | 07.04.2006 08:04

ILN can keep deluding himself but he should not think that everyone is stupid to swallow his comments. Let him keep talking about America as if he is the only one living there. He does not know yet that there is a supreme court ruling that Nigerians don't require the bloody permit he is talking about to associate, I guess he just arrived from Jupiter the night before.

gwobezentashi  # 5 | 07.04.2006 08:45

Sharing of third term bribes starts Tuesday By Atang Izang, Abuja The much awaited jumbo bribe to be shared to the members of the National Assembly to influence their voting pattern on the third term agenda is expected to start in earnest on Tuesday April 11, 2006, LEADERSHIP has reliably learned. According to the plan hatched by the pro-third term group backed by the presidency, every member of the House of Representatives is to receive an inducement of $750,000. The share of every senator is $1 million. However, in states where the governors are viewed to be amenable to the third term agenda, they will be given such monies to disburse to their representatives in the National Assembly. But in states where the governors are viewed as hostile to the tenure extension project, other friendly channels will be used to disburse the funds to the federal law makers. For example, in Niger state where Governor Abdulkadir Kure is openly opposed to the third term agenda, the bribe money will be piped through a former minister in the Obasanjo cabinet who is now the Chief Executive of a Federal Parastatal. Leadership reliably gathered that the illicit funds are to be distributed through the following agents Hon. Bako Sarai (Kano State), Hon. West Idahosa (Edo State), Mercy Almona-Isei (Rivers State), Attai Aidoko (Kogi State), Idoko (Benue State) and Bunmi Atteh from Osun who is currently in China. However, all inducements for National Assembly members from the South-West are to be channelled through their family heads. Meanwhile, Leadership has reliably gathered that President Obasanjo has effectively taken away all assignments concerning the third term plot from Senator Ibrahim Mantu. Tony Anenih who Obasanjo calls the “bulldozer” is now in full control of the project due to the role he played in the 2003 elections. However, members of the anti-third term forces have already told every member in the National Assembly approached with the money to willingly accept it but when it comes to voting, they should reject the dubious third term agenda. source: Leadership Newspaper 07/04/2006 "But, what I want to assure you is that third term cannot succeed in this country. We will make this country ungovernable for anyone supporting third term. No one has a monopoly of causing problem. We all want peace, unity and progress in this country, but we will not tolerate dictatorship" GOV. ORJI KALU source: Daily Tribune 07/04/2006 Former Ogun State governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba, was philosophical, noting that the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, an Egba man like himself, died fighting for democracy, while Obasanjo, another Egba man, wanted to die in office. Osoba said that Nigerians should assist the Egba by saving another Egba man from dying over the Presidency, and that Obasanjo should be pushed home alive and not to come home a dead man. He said: "Help me to bring Obasanjo home alive by rejecting the third term." source: Guardian 07/04/2006 Quote of the Day: North gives Obasanjo conditions for 3rd term And that is to disappear from Aso Rock by May 28, 2007 source: www.leadershipnigeria.com Aluta! Gwobezentashi

OmoNigeria  # 6 | 07.04.2006 08:49

Here we go again, anything that happens is always the cause if this President. Where were you Oga Abati when Brigadier General Buba Marwa's declaration for PDP (ordianry declaration) was frustrated by Atiku's agents in Yola?. You didnt write to accuse him then of undemocratic tendencies and intolerance is it because you know where you bread is being buttered?. Where were you when a colleague of yours (a journalist) was brutalised by the security details of Mr Vice President in the course of doing his duties? We didnt see you raise a pen condemning the barbaric act then. The young man was not a politician, he was just performing his duties. The simple truth to tell the Vice President is to resign honourably. Kofo Akerele-Bucknor was disloyal to her boss Bola Ahmed Tinubu (who incidentally is among those who are urging the VP on) and she saw the consequences. You mentioned Turaki Vanguard tagged an "unlawful society" that has been taken to court. It seems to me alot of time that we are making the whole thing look like we dont know what democracy is all about. Mr Abati a suposedly veteran "human rights and pro-democracy writer" does not even believe in the court system. That an accused is presumed innocent until proven otherwise is not even the concern of this our neo-democratic proponent. Can Atiku be President at all cost? Why cant those whose "human rights" have been infringe upon go the courts. My worry is not the politicians in this country, for they do what they do because they want power, my major concern is our media people who out of frustration will denigrate all our democratic institutions because of their ego and personal interest and that of their pay masters. There is nothing you guys have not written about the legislature and the presidency and now the courts. By saying you are awaiting what the court will come up with to me sounds like you are already pre-empting the outcome. Your pattern of writing am afraid is getting antiquited. This is a democracy, no matter who you are or maybe, our democratic institutions are superior, must be superior. In any democracy, powers are fought for and won through the ballot. Tell Mr Vice President to resign honourably. There is no other option than that. And he must do that immediately. PDP has said several times that it is not afraid of "load shedding". If he is such a "superior politician" to the President as you claim, is he so difficult to resign? After all, "90% of Nigerians" are oppose to the "third term" agenda as he claimed. Atiku must resign period.

Free Publius  # 7 | 07.04.2006 09:09

Mr. Adujie, To say that you have little credibility is to pay you an undeserved compliment. Perhaps, sooner rather than later NVS will discontinue giving a forum to odious thoughts like yours. Question: when you and your ilk who constitute the the corrupted NIDO have your meetings in hotels across the US, do you obtain "permits" or have you ever been denied the opportunity to freely gather? Did any law enforcement officer ever beat you or your fellow syncophants up because you were trying to have a meeting? Your spurious attempts to engage in unavailing moral relativism here exposes your own morally bankrupt core. The question to the vast majority of Nigerians is not which of OBJ or Atiku is morally superior. That would be an irrelevant exercise. They are both immutably corrupt and are products of rigged elections and should both go. Finally, Mr. Adujie, there are those who know you very well and will make make sure you're brought to account once these discredited crooks have exited main stage, which is sooner not later. You should check the annals, there has never been anyone who yoked themselves to OBJ and prospered; they all come to ruin sooner rather than later. Free Publius

Observer  # 8 | 07.04.2006 09:16

Well, what can I add to Abati's piece except to say I agree entirely with all he has written. It is quite unfortunate that Obasanjo is adopting exactly the methods that Abacha and his henchmen used about 10 years ago. The only difference is that an 'elected' government is perpetrating all these atrocities. When I voted for Obasanjo in 1999, I thought he was a man who could help establish a solid foundation for democracy to thrive and survive in Nigeria because as we have seen all over the world, it is only democracy that can bring development in today's world. I also voted for Obasanjo in 2003 because I thought he needed more time to help re-shape Nigeria's destiny. Now I know better. Nigerians' fortune cannot be turned around for the better under Obasanjo because he is not working for us. He is working for Europe and America. Otherwise, why will a government boast that it will have 34 billion dollars in foreign reserve when we do not have electricity to drive the economy and our roads are death traps? Why are you locking up your money when millions of youths are jobless? I am not an economist but I understand logic. Economists should please come to my rescue. The right to have and express an opinion is guaranteed in section 39 of our constitution. Also in section 40 every person is entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons. When individuals and groups are now prevented from gathering to express their opinions or position on any issue, including the 'third term' phenomenon, then we should realise that we now have a full blown dictatorship on our hands. In any case, if these individuals have broken any law, the police ought to charge them to court and not manhandle them. My advice to these 'lunatics' is that they should learn from the experience of Major Mustapha and his Gang. Can somebody please tell me what comes upon our leaders after they are installed on to the 'throne' at Aso Rock Villa! Is it that Lucifer takes over their hearts? Is this not the same Obasanjo who was brought out of prison just a few short years ago? Truly, this 'animal called man' cannot be fathomed!!!

SBI  # 9 | 07.04.2006 10:31

Any government that breaks the law so brazenly threatens the very foundations of society itself, and the objectives of an open society and the common good. Nor is this the first time that the Obasanjo government will behave in this manner. - Dr Reuben Abati. Certainly without a doubt Dr. Abati can be qualified as an erudite journalist, he has a witty mind and an incisive pen, and a large readership. However, his thought processes which inspire his writing, are often flawed by an inability to distinguish between institutions and the personalities that represent such and as a consequence his analysis of and contributions to public issues become glaringly deficient of a developmental or historical perspective. In other words his comments are sometimes useless to Nigeria. And most times, those times are at critical periods such as these times. It was this same Dr. Abati who in 2002, at the peak of the renaissance movement in the National Assembly to impeach President Obasanjo for 17 recorded acts of breaching the Constitution, led the 'mgbati' press on a rear guard action to decimate the very fragile moral canopy shielding the then Ghali N'Abba led House of Representatives by referring to them as "Representathieves" And thus helped President Obasanjo to survive in power and indeed proceed to crush the key caucus of that nascent opposition movement and all other challenges on his way to secure his second term in office. Today, Nigerians are faced with the prospect of an 'elected' goverment that may have relegated the law to irrelevance which is indeed a tragedy, but this is even compounded in several multiples when leaders of thought and brilliant minds like Dr. Abati on whom millions of confused and parched Nigerian minds depend upon for elightenment as nourishment on the quest for the way forward, now deliver views that at best are only able to spawn apathy to positive action to do what is right. What a pity.

Ajasco  # 10 | 07.04.2006 10:41

How about getting OO and AA to resign at the same time? What about having the two share the same jail afterwards? Won't that be wonderful? Just thinking out loud!

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