Wike vs Lt. Yerima: Nigerian democracy on trial

BY OLADAPO OLANIYONU

Nigeria in its 65 years of history has oscillated between various forms of governance. It has gone from a parliamentary system, to military rule and then finally, the Presidential system we have today. Of those 65 years, 36 have been spent under civilian rule while 29 years were spent under military dictatorship.

However, in those 65 years, Nigeria has not been able to successfully define the relationship between the civilian population and its military. This is perhaps due to the culture engraved in the psyche of Nigerians. The culture of a military that act more like overlords rather than protectors of the national territory and the population residing inside it.

It is instructive to note that in the 26 years of uninterrupted democracy in Nigeria’s present 4th republic (1999-2025), 16 of it have seen Nigerians led by men who once ruled through military decrees. The ex-Generals later transformed into ‘agbada’ wearing democrats. The military rulers and top actors of the past decades still wield a lot of influence over different spheres of the Nigerian society. These factors have probably contributed to this damaging notion of a cocky military whose members only take orders from their superiors in ‘khaki’. This must stop!

On Tuesday November 11th, Nigerians were treated to a spectacle between the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike and one Lieutenant AM Yerima. The spectacle has triggered various reactions among Nigerians, and unsurprisingly, Nigerians especially those of the Gen Z extraction not knowing the implications of what they are cheering have reacted with glee especially at the so called “embarrassment” of the Minister of the FCT, the ever-garrulous Nyesom Wike.

However, what occurred there was the Nigerian Democracy on Trial, nothing more, nothing less. It is indeed true that the Minister’s ways on a lot of occasions leave a lot to be desired, and there have been allegations of high-handed practices especially in the revocation and reallocation of land in the FCT.

However, when treating such issues, we must look beyond the man and analyse the issue holistically. In doing this, we must answer a couple of questions, was the soldier carrying out his lawful duty? Did the FCT Minister have to go to that site personally? Can a soldier under the pretext of taking orders stop a public officer from carrying out his duties?  It was not Wike that was on trial. It was the office of the Minister of FCT that was being prevented from performing his constitutional duties. The overarching document that governs daily life in Nigeria or as lawyers call it “the grundnorm” is the 1999 constitution as amended. It governs both the civilian and the Military, and it details the role of every public office holder, the military and by extension the other citizens. Section 147 of the constitution mandates the President of the country to appoint Ministers and Section 148 grants the President the powers to delegate any business of the Government of the Federation, to the Vice President or any of his Ministers. In the olden days when we had Kings, they appointed chiefs or advisers and delegated duties to them as they deemed fit. In the same vein, the constitution has empowered the President to appoint Ministers to carry out duties on his behalf as the President cannot be everywhere at the same time.

However, let us analyse the duties of the military as enshrined in the constitution, Section 217 (2) of the constitution outlines the duties of the armed forces (Army, Navy and Airforce) as thus: ‘’(a) Defending Nigeria from external aggression (b) Maintaining its territorial integrity and securing its borders from violation on land, sea, or air (c) Suppressing insurrection and acting in aid of civil authorities to restore order when called upon to do so by the President and (d) performance of such other functions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly’’.

In essence, the primary duty of the armed forces is to protect Nigeria’s territory, the military has no place in internal security except in special situations when called upon by the President, and subject to conditions prescribed by the National Assembly. This begs the question, what was Lieutenant Yerima doing at the building site? He had no business being there. It is sad that in a period where Nigeria’s territorial integrity is under threat from subversive elements in the North and South, our soldiers have been reduced to private ‘gatemen’ securing land for ‘big men’. It is an aberration of the provision of the Constitution from which they derive the powers to exist in the first place! If anything, it is the police that has the responsibility of maintaining internal law and order, as per Section 215 of the Constitution. This is why in saner climes, you hardly see military men roam the street, rather you see policemen.

As for the 2nd question, did the FCT Minister have to be there? One important detail people have missed is that before the Minster went there, he had sent members of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to the property and they were denied entry by the armed men. As the saying goes ‘’desperate times require desperate measures’’. The FCT Minister felt the need to go there himself to stop the impunity on display. The Land Use Act 1978 states that all land is vested in the Governor of each state, and Section 299 of the Constitution states that the Constitution shall apply to the FCT as if it were a state of the Federation.

Having stated that, it can be implied that the President by appointing a Minister in charge of FCT has delegated his powers to superintend over the FCT to whoever holds that office. Therefore, Wike was not at rhe site in his personal capacity, he was there as the substantive Minister of the FCT representing the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces! Therefore, any affront to him was an affront to the President. I have not seen any provision that prevents the Minister from inspecting properties that have violated regulations.

I wonder if the reaction from the public would be same if it were someone more ‘likeable’. As Nigerians, we must start analysing issues devoid of personal bias, and our loyalty should first be to the constitution.

The final question here is whether a soldier acting under orders is allowed to obstruct a public officer who is carrying out his lawful duties. Nigerians took particular delight in the words of the officer “I am acting under orders from a 3-star General”. My question is if the General asks him to slap a passerby on the road, would he have done it simply because he was acting on orders? I cannot answer categorically because clearly we live in strange times.  Also can a retired senior officer still command serving Nigerian soldiers, not officially attached to him, to run personal errands?

It leaves a lot to be desired. However, in both international and local laws, it is a well established principle that “obedience to unlawful orders is not a lawful defence”. A case in point was when Gen. Mark Milley, the American equivalent of the Chief of Army Staff in Nigeria apologized after he accompanied Donald Trump for a photo op at St. John’s church shortly after peaceful protesters were forcibly displaced. He said “I should not have been there, my presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics. As a commissioned uniformed officer, it is a mistake that I have learned from”. That is the statement from a man that understands his constitutional duty as a military man. Clearly Yerima, the Nigerian Army and Nigerians have a lot of learning to do.

However, I must fault Minister Wike on one thing. He should not have called the officer names, no matter the provocation. That was unbecoming of a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This episode is a very good opportunity to correct the impunity and high handedness of the uniformed men. Democracy is on trial especially in the African continent, and very recently, there have been rumours of a coup plot in Nigeria, it is therefore a good time to clamp down hard on this impunity and emphasise that no citizen or officer is above the law. We are all subservient to civil rules and the constitution that guides us all. Letting this matter slide would further embolden the impunity and oppression by uniformed men, if that can happen to a Minister, what about ordinary citizens?

I call on the President to use his good office to thoroughly investigate this matter, and ensure that the officers involved including the acclaimed owner, of the property in the so called “3-star General” is punished if they are seen to have violated the Constitution, and the Minister must also be cautioned to be more circumspect in his use of language. Finally, Nigerians need a reorientation, the role of the military must be clearly spelt out. Nigerian civilians deserve a military that would be partners in National development and not military officers who would see them as “bloody civilians” or say “I am talking, a policeman is talking”, the arrogance and impunity must come to an end.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria, May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Olaniyonu writes from Abuja.