And now we may be witnessing the commencement of Act 2 Scene 1 with the directive issued by APC high command on Thursday, 23rd January 2014 to its lawmakers in the National Assembly to block all legislative proposals emanating from the presidency in protest against what it calls the impunity of the Police in Rivers state. Rising from its 8th regular meeting, the Interim National Executive Committee of the APC issued a communiqué directing its lawmakers to frustrate the passage of the 2014 budget as well as the confirmation of ministerial nominees and service chiefs. This directive raises profoundly disturbing questions about the political and moral health of the APC.
The directive, in my opinion, is not only illegal but also irresponsible. It is the civilian equivalent of a coup d’tat. It is political desperation taken too far, such that it has now become subversion. APC members in the National Assembly do not represent only APC. They represent the entire people of their constituencies regardless of political party each may belong. APC now wants to ground the whole nation because of a problem in one state. This is double standards and questions must now be asked. Why didn’t APC give the same directive in respect of states in the northern part of the country being terrorized by Boko Haram? Oh I see, I now recall what a friend once told me to the effect that Boko Haram has been hijacked and is now being financed by APC money bags to destabilize the country and bring down the government of President Goodluck Jonathan. How else could one reconcile this APC directive with the fact that it was the same APC that pressured Jonathan to grant Boko Haram amnesty? I posit that the APC leadership should be arrested for incitement against the government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Now let us look at the implications of the APC leadership directive. The logic of APC reasoning is that it makes better sense to them as leaders of the people to shut down the economy by blocking the passage of 2014 budget. The collateral damage of this directive, if obeyed, would be that Nigerians who are already impoverished as it were, will suffer more, all because APC would rather protect an already wealthy Governor Amaechi than the Nigerian people that they profess to serve.
Secondly, all on-going Federal Government projects that would have benefited the people, as well as domestic and international commitments would be halted for lack of funds. This is not to mention that federal civil servants would also not be able to receive their salaries. The result is that their families and dependents would suffer. Also, the education sector would be shut down; law enforcement and public safety would be severely curtailed as security agencies would not be able to cope. The security of the country which is already in dire straits would be further jeopardized. In fact, the effect of obeying this senseless directive may go beyond federal projects and obligations. The entire economy of Nigeria might collapse all together. I hope the APC high command did think this through before issuing the directive. As Chief Obafemi Awolowo once said “a man may build for himself a throne of bayonets but whether he is able to sit on it or not is another matter entirely”.
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