Tinubu’s Emergency Rule Drama Unfolds

The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu is nothing in need of a political blockbuster film with all of the drama, intrigue, and suspense you’d anticipate from Nollywood.

On Tuesday, Tinubu dropped the bombshell, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and all the Home of Meeting.

The President cited a “extended political disaster” and safety issues as justification for this drastic measure. However let’s be sincere, isn’t this extra about politics than safety? The timing is suspicious, coming shortly after an impeachment discover was filed in opposition to Governor Fubara. Even the Legal professional-Basic of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, admitted that the suspension could have saved Fubara from being eliminated fully. “If that course of had been allowed to proceed, the governor would have misplaced completely,” he stated.

To make sure, Rivers State has been in turmoil for months. The disaster started when Governor Fubara allegedly demolished the Home of Meeting complicated in December 2023. A Supreme Court docket ruling in February 2025 discovered his actions unconstitutional.

Come to think about it, ought to we be celebrating the deployment of army may to resolve what is basically a political drawback? I believed we have been past army options in our democracy. The appointment of retired Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas as state administrator appears to sign a return to our not-so-glorious previous of army directors.

The President claimed he made “private interventions” that have been “largely ignored.” Truthful sufficient. However was an emergency declaration the one choice left? Politics is a recreation of numbers and foyer. This declaration seems to be a sledgehammer method when maybe a scalpel would have sufficed.

Some have argued that the disaster in Rivers threatened the nation’s financial lifeline attributable to pipeline vandalism by militants allegedly emboldened by Governor Fubara. Legitimate level. However the query is, how has suspending democratically elected officers benefitted the frequent man? Will it cease militancy or merely change who the militants align with?

I recall that when the Supreme Court docket dominated on February 28, 2025, in regards to the unconstitutional acts in Rivers, it didn’t suggest an emergency rule. It merely said that “a authorities can’t be stated to exist with out one of many three arms that make up the federal government of a state.” The leap from this assertion to suspending all elected officers looks as if a constitutional stretch.

The attorney-general’s defence of the emergency rule raises extra questions than solutions. “The place do you set the Minister of FCT on this case?” he requested, dismissing claims that Nyesom Wike, Fubara’s political rival, influenced the choice.

Okay, let’s put it this fashion: what occurs when the emergency rule expires after six months? Will the suspended officers return to a clear slate? Or will this simply be a short lived pause in an ongoing political warfare? The seeds of bitterness planted at present will seemingly bear bitter fruits tomorrow.

The Nigerian Bar Affiliation (NBA) has argued that the political disaster didn’t justify emergency rule. I fully agree. The Structure permits for emergency powers when governance is inconceivable, however was governance really inconceivable in Rivers, or simply inconvenient for sure political pursuits?

I strongly recommend that what Rivers wanted was political dialogue, not an emergency rule. The federal authorities may have appointed a mediator or established a reconciliation committee of revered elder statesmen. As an alternative, we acquired a army answer to a political drawback.

It’s additionally an insult to the folks of Rivers State who elected these officers. Their votes have been suspended alongside their elected representatives. Democracy is messy, sure, but it surely’s nonetheless higher than the alternate options.

Consequently, the Nationwide Meeting’s fast approval of the emergency rule additionally raises eyebrows. Whereas President Tinubu has recommended them for his or her “decisive and patriotic ratification,” one wonders if there was enough debate on such a monumental determination.

The President affirmed that the six-month emergency will “empower the newly-appointed sole administrator to stabilise Rivers State.” However stability imposed from above hardly ever lasts. True stability comes from political consensus constructed from under.

The AGF talked about that Rivers State funds could also be launched to the only real administrator. That is the place issues get much more attention-grabbing. Who will oversee how these funds are spent? What mechanisms are in place to make sure accountability?

Finally, this emergency rule in Rivers units a harmful precedent. It sends a message that when political crises come up, the federal authorities can merely droop democracy quickly. It is a slippery slope we should always all be involved about.

These against the Rivers emergency rule have been suggested to method the Nationwide Meeting. However with the Nationwide Meeting having already given its blessing, the place do the aggrieved flip to now?

The President has said that this emergency measure is “a lifeline to safeguard livelihoods, safe crucial infrastructure, and restore democratic accountability.”

Ultimately, the comedy of errors taking part in out in Rivers State is a mirrored image of our broader political tradition the place energy trumps course of, and fast victories are valued over long-term stability. For the sake of our democracy, let’s hope this emergency rule doesn’t grow to be the brand new regular for resolving political disputes.

The reality isn’t any political disaster, regardless of how complicated, justifies the suspension of democracy. Politicians on each side of the divide want one another to make democracy work. Blackmail and delicate threats won’t work. The emergency rule could have quickly resolved the Rivers disaster, however at what value to our democratic tradition?