THE PRESIDENT HAS BROKEN THE LAW.. Written by KEMKA S. IBEJI

In such situation as the one in Rivers State today, many people are exposed in terms of their limited knowledge or ignorance. But it has become important to use the words the way they should be clearly understood. When people break the law, they have committed crime. And when someone commits crime, the person is punishable by the law or the government. And whoever commits a crime is a criminal. It is therefore left for you to call the president by the name of his action.

When we make mention of the principle of separation of powers in government, it does not only mean the demarcation of the three arms of the government - the executive, legislature and the judiciary. It also involves the distinctions between the three tiers of government. Just as the executive cannot usurp the powers of the legislature or judiciary or the legislature taking over either the executive or judiciary or even the judiciary taking preeminence the powers of either of the executive or judiciary, so is the federal government not allowed to take over the powers and duties assigned by the constitution to either the state or the local government.

What Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done is usurpation of powers tantamount to coup. He lacks such powers to suspend the government of Rivers State. What he has just done is a classical invitation of anarchy. And if Gov. Sim Fubara prefers to defend himself and the state government against this overreach by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, it will result in constitutional crisis and thereby heralding anarchy. 

I can tell you without mincing words that what Mr. President has done can simply make the military to take over the government of Nigeria and it will be the most reasonable thing to happen when such crisis happens. This is absolute mismanagement of the common will of the people of Rivers State in particular and the entire citizenry of Nigeria in general. 

Assuming the Governor of Rivers State decides to object to this unlawful declaration and irresponsible bringandage by the President, there will be a total breakdown of law and order which will automatically reintroduce the military into our government and this I can assure you will be legitimate enough.

The President has broken the law and unless the Governor cowers or bows out for the sake of ignorance, there might be total breakdown of law and order which will definitely lead to a military junta in Nigeria. This will legitimately be an act to curb or forestall anarchy.

Nobody will easily tell you this but that is the situation in its finest form. Let us pray for Nigeria and hope that maybe the ignorance of the masses will save the time. But I think it's not the best. The National Assembly should rally round immediately to salvage the situation and get the President to his lawful senses and correct this power drunkenness forthwith. If they fail to do this, in the coming moments from now, there might be a disastrous consequence.

Again, the entire National Assembly should understand the implications to this situation, apart from biases and prejudices, the situation in Rivers State is a nursery and yet between Gov. Sim Fubara and Barr. Nyesom Wike. This matter has only been emboldened by the lopsidedness of Mr. President. Whatever has led the president to support the destruction of the country through the routes of Rivers State and Wike, it is obvious that he has been misled to commit crime against the state and there should be a responsibility to this. 

The President is exposed to possible impeachment by this singular action - he has broken the law. But the question is, who holds president to responsibility or to account?

It should be very obvious to all legislators at the moment that Rivers State issue is the least of national concern where we have states in the entire Northeast, Northwest and even Northcentral under the control of criminals non-state actors. The aggression in these areas are both internal and external. We also have in the entire Southeast where the region has been held down for years now and the citizens live in fears to the helplessness of the federal government. Mondays have been declared unofficial public holidays where it is done against the whims of the federal government and the citizens live hopelessly in such situation. These are states that require and deserve state-of-emergency and not Rivers State. And if this crime by Mr. President is allowed to fester, then the legislators should beware and aware that the entire North and the totality of the Southeast are requisite candidates of state-of-emergency.

To this end, it is beyond the obvious that Mr. President is incapable of managing the country. And if he can make such a nasty mistake in such a minor, simple and noncomplex situation, he will drag the country into catastrophe if a situation that deserves deeper tact comes up tomorrow.

I therefore call on the national assembly to quickly rescind this barbaric state-of-emergency, abrogate the illicit suspension of democracy by the president and immediately begin the initiation of the processes of impeachment on the President who has been found breaking the law he swore to protect and preserve.