Posted by By KENNY ASHAKA, Kaduna on
As Nigerians kick against third term, religious leaders have also joined the fight against the review of the 1999 constitution to allow the elongation of the tenure for President Olusegun Obasanjo and governors.
As Nigerians kick against third term, religious leaders have also joined the fight against the review of the 1999 constitution to allow the elongation of the tenure for President Olusegun Obasanjo and governors.
Controversial leader of the Shiite Islamic fundamentalist group in Nigeria, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, said that if Nigerians fail to stand up and fight against the idea, the country may be treading the path of Rwanda and Burundi ravaged by tribal war and genocide.
Speaking at a public lecture to mark the birthday of Prophet Mohammed, the Islamic cleric warned of the consequences of sitting down and doing nothing to stop the third term moves, saying it is capable of leading the country into a tribal war.
He said that the ongoing review of the 1999 constitution by the National Assembly, with the aim of giving the president and the 36 state governors another term of four years will only lead to anarchy, adding that Nigerians must rise in unison to stop the move before it is too late.
He noted that Nigerians, irrespective of their religious beliefs, should emulate the people of Nepal by forcing President Obasanjo to respect the constitution by leaving office in 2007.
He argued that any attempt by Obasanjo to hold on to power and refuse to leave in 2007 would lead to serious crisis which could culminate in a tribal war in the country, saying that any attempt at sit-tight leadership meant greediness, which the people must resist.
"The leaders believe that power is might because whoever is given leadership does whatever he likes; benefiting only himself and cheating everybody as is he has the right to do so.
"Even the constitution that has been written, he believes he can violate it with impunity or he (Obasanjo) applies it the way he likes. It is as if the people of this country believe that whoever has power, whatever he does is right; that leadership is right.
"Therefore, it is better for the people to understand one thing: right does not belong to those who have power. It belongs to the people. Nigerians should demonstrate people's power, they should be the people who will resist misrule.
"Why should we be led like cattle? Imagine what is happening in Nepal. The king of Nepal seized power from an elected government. He (king) turned himself into a full monarchy; that is king with full powers, but the people came out and resisted it.
"The king said that the people of Nepal should be whipped even when they were hundreds and now, they are in their thousands protesting in the streets. The whips of the king have been exhausted. Even though the king has soft-pedalled, the protesters still refused to go. He is now contemplating going into exile in India.
"That is the people's power for you. This thing has happened in Nicaragua, Haiti, Philippines, Ukraine etc. They all demonstrated people's power.
"So, there is no issue of amending the constitution for whatever reason. We must simply say no to it. We don't want it and we must resist it.
"Nigerians have lost faith in the leadership of President Obasanjo since every
presidential broadcast he makes to the nation are 99.9 percent lies.
"Those who could not afford to pay N60,000 before they contested and won elections today are billionaires. Even our ministers are liars. It is difficult to find a useless old man without a useless youth. In our country, big man is big thief. It is even an offence not to steal or to be honest. Nigerians deserve a change of leadership"