EXCLUSIVE: Leaked conversation between Fani-Kayode and Dele Momodu on declaration of State of Emergency

DailyPost is in possession of a leaked chat between former
Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode and Publisher of
Ovation Magazine, Dele Momodu on the state of emergency
rule imposed on Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.
President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday night made the
pronouncement in an emergency nationwide broadcast.
Fani-Kayode and Momodu were however sharply divided in
the conversation which they had on a Blackberry Messenger
group. While the former was against Jonathan’s decision,
the latter supported it.
Fani-Kayode in his argument, said that the declaration
came too late and that having the State Governors and all
political appointees retain their position, portrays the
President as a weakling. But Momodu maintained that
because Fani-Kayode’s political godfather and ex-
President Olusegun Obasanjo dethroned a duly elected
governor during his tenure does not mean that such act was
legal.
Excerpts:
Fani-Kayode – “I am impressed and encouraged by the
tough talk that our President indulged in tonight but I have
never heard of a State of Emergency where the governors
and other political office holders in the affected states are
given the opportunity to “remain in office”. This has never
happened before in the history of Nigeria. As far as I am
concerned President Jonathan’s declaration of a State of
Emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states is too little
and too late. The governors and ALL political office holders
in the affected states should have been completely removed
and the whole state should have been run by a Federal
Government appointed civilian Administrator who would
then have the full backing of the military. That is what is
meant to happen when a State of Emergency is declared.
Sadly Jonathan did not have the guts to go all the way and
to remove the governors and this half-measure that he has
put in place will not have the desired effect. This is another
lost opportunity. What a pity.”
Dele Momodu – “I wish to disagree with Chief Femi Fani-
Kayode on his position against the decision of President
Ebele Jonathan not to sack the State governments of Borno,
Yobe and Adamawa after declaring a State of Emergency!
The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria does not
empower The President and Commander-in-Chief of the
Nigerian Armed Forces to arbitrarily sack a duly and
constitutionally elected government in the States. The fact
that President Olusegun Obasanjo did it with impunity and
got away with it because we had gutless Governors does
not make it right. This culture of rambunctious rascality
and rabid vindictiveness cannot be allowed to continue. On
this one I support President Goodluck Jonathan and salute
him for not terminating the lives of elected Governments in
Federalism. It is not the fault of those State Governments
that Boko Haram has ravaged their States. In reality, how
many States are truly immune from wanton destruction of
lives and properties? Security agents were killed like rats in
Bayelsa the other day. Many lives have been wasted in
Plateau State. The mother of Coordinating Minister of the
Economy was kidnapped and only escaped by the whiskers
and after serious deals. Dead bodies were seen floating in
Anambra State. The general malaise has spread even to
Lagos. To sack those Governors is to also indict the Federal
Government for its inability to crush the viral rebellion with
all its Federal might! It is to sack the entire Nigerian State
for failing to secure the lives and properties of citizens. The
solution lies not in the over-militarisation of North-East
Nigeria or Nigeria in general. It is for our leaders to
terminate the culture of Poverty they have instituted through
their reckless profligacy. The all-pervading state of
insecurity in Nigeria is symptomatic of a brewing Revolution
of cataclysmic proportions. Guns can never chase away
hunger but politicians CAN if they are serious, sincere and
determined!”
Fani-Kayode – “Which court said that the constitution does
not empower the President to suspend state governors?
Which court declared OBJ’s actions illegal? OBJ got the
necessary approvals for his actions from the Nat. Ass. Will
someone ask those that say that OBJ’s actions were not
constitutional whether OBJ was there when all serving
political office holders were removed in the Western Region
when a state of emergency was declared there in 1962.At
the end of the day only one thing matters and it is not my
interpretation of the constitution or anyone else’s. What
matters is whether this hitherto untested system of having a
serving governor who has not been able to maintain law
and order in his state still running it when emergency laws
are in place. It will lead to chaos, abuse of power, the
persecution of political enemies, confusion and more
atrocities. It will not succeed in stopping BH but it will
strengthen it and cause it to spread. The logic of allowing
those that have failed to protect their people to continue for
the prescribed period of six months and avoid suspension is
beyond me. The fear of a state of emergency by the
governors and political office holders is what makes them
sit up and do their best to avoid it. It is a very heavy
hammer and once wielded the consequences must be felt by
all including those that have failed in their duties in the
state. Once they are assured that they will be allowed to
continue in office even after that hammer is wielded the
deterrent is removed and there is no longer any incentive
for them to ensure that there is peace in their states. In fact
some of them would even want a state of emergency
because it would give them awesome powers to deal with
their enemies and commit all manner of human rights
abuses and atrocities. There is nowhere in the constitution
that says that a governor cannot be removed in a state of
emergency and until a court declares it otherwise I shall
deem it lawful, necessary and expedient”
Dele Momodu – “I insist that the bullying of State Governors
under President Olusegun Obasanjo was unconstitutional,
all gas and of no substance or significant consequence. It
was this chicanery that produced the mess that we’ve all
found ourselves in today. Femi should kindly tell us what
Obasanjo’s sledge-hammer had achieved in the long-run. It
is that realisation of monumental failure that has turned
President Obasanjo to the most vociferous critic of
Jonathan today. Femi should also educate us if any
Governor in Nigeria has a State Police to contain insecurity.
If President Jonathan can’t do it with all the soldiers,
Airforce, Navy, SSS, etc, at his beck and call it would be
callous to hold Governors responsible for our collective
failure. Finally, may we find the courage to resist Jonathan
whenever he graduates to the full-blown dictatorship of the
Obasanjo era. I stand with President G. E. Jonathan on this
one occasion for not sacking any Governor to serve a
bloated ego”
Fani-Kayode – “A last word for Dele Momodu: The
governors are described as the Chief Security Officers of
their respective states in the constitution and they are
charged by that same constitution and by oath before God
and the people to provide security for the state. Yes we all
know that the security agencies are Federal institutions and
it could be better but nevertheless that is their duty and
charge. I am not aware of one case where the
Commissioner of Police, the Director of SSS or the Brigade
Commander in any state has refused to follow the
governor’s orders in his state. If a governor cannot handle
security in his state with all the soldiers, SSS officers and
mobile policemen at his disposal then he should resign
from his position and re-apply to become governor again
after the constitution allows him to have a state police force
as opposed to a Federal one. Our governors surely cannot
abdicate the responsibility for security for their respective
states to the President alone. They also have a key role to
play because they are physically present in those states and
they are on the ground. The truth is that in reality the
governors are like little emperors in their respective
domains. They are exceptionally powerful and the power
that they wield is awesome and often unchallenged. Surely
even Dele Momodu knows this. If they really put their mind
to it they can do far better than most of them have been
doing. Over and out!”