Former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has asserted that the National Assembly’s lack of strength has enabled President Bola Tinubu to violate the constitution.
Amaechi made this statement on Thursday during an event in Lagos, where he condemned the suspension of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and members of the state assembly.
He was speaking at the ninth edition of the Akinjide Adeosun Foundation’s Annual Leadership Discourse, themed “Fearless Leadership: A Panacea for Sustainable Development.”
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He said, “Do you agree that there is nothing like a fearless leader and there is nothing like courageous leadership? Do you (Nigerians) need a courageous leader where the system works? Just push the button, and everything will give you the answer. It is only when there is a failed leadership that you begin to look at who is the courageous leader. There are different types of leadership traits, and fearless leadership is not one of them. There is the authoritarian leadership trait, which is one who knows it all. Such leaders tell you what to do without consulting and expect you to obey.
“You can either have a fearless followership or a docile followership. Does Nigeria resonate here as per the docility of followership? Does it resonate here? Yes. Good governance is about constitutionality and the rule of law. It is also about the concept of the separation of powers. The absence of good governance and the rule of law breeds arbitrariness in governance. Arbitrariness here has to do with the non-observance of the basic principles of law.
“For a governor or a president, who subscribes to such a concept, it is what he or she does that is law. It is not what is in the book that is the law. There is also the non-observance of the basic principles of law. This is where government is not by law, but by the whims and caprices of an individual leader, like the current pronouncement of an illegal and unconstitutional state of emergency in Rivers State, aided by weak institutions like the National Assembly, which is very weak.”
Amaechi also encouraged Nigerians to actively respond to poor governance, arguing that passivity only encourages ineffective leadership.
“What is even more alarming is that the breach in the situation is not even about the law. The president didn’t break any law. He broke the Constitution. Now, this breach of the Constitution is a breach of the sacredness and sanctity of the Constitution.
“The constitution of a country is the Bible of that country. And its sanctity must be protected. Can we say the same in Nigeria? Obviously, the response would be a resounding no. The president looked at the whole of Nigeria and removed an elected governor in Rivers State and appointed a military man, yet the country continued. Nothing happened.”
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