A new pan-Nigeria political coalition, Save Democracy Mega Alliance 2027 (SDMA’27) has announced an ambitious plan to rally the country’s pro-democracy movements, opposition political parties, ethnic nationalities’ social-cultural organizations, organized labour, leaders of the country’s religious blocs and consenting thought leaders of all walks to demand amendment of the Nigerian constitution in two critical fronts.
According to the body, these demands are “the non-negotiable removal of the powers of the president and state governors to appoint the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), state electoral commissions and heads of the Nigerian judiciary at national and state levels respectively.
The alliance stated that those powers should be vested on a new body of non-partisan, integrity tested Nigerians whose selection and appointment process should be determined by “sacrosanct and inviolate character criteria that are beyond reproach.”
Addressing journalists in a pre-launch briefing in Abuja, the nation’s capital at the weekend, the national spokesman of the movement, Comrade Tony Akeni Le Moin, a political activist, civil rights crusader and veteran journalist who is also a founding co-convener of the movement, disclosed that the coalition shall be formally launched in all states of the federation and climax with a boot camp grand finale in Abuja on dates to be scheduled in the coming months.
Probes by journalists and documents sighted revealed that eminent Nigerians across the six geopolitical zones, leadership of leading pro-democracy organizations and activists in different parts of the country have received and endorsed the two-prong advocacy of SDMA’27. One of them, Prof. Pat Utomi, an eminent professor of political economy and management luminary, hailed the goals of the alliance as “the next best thing to happen to Nigeria after the return to civil rule in 1999.”
According to Prof. Utomi, “Amending the Nigerian constitution to divest the powers of the president on appointment of INEC chairman and commissioners by insulating the commission from the influences of the executive arm was one of the cardinal recommendations of the Justice Uwais electoral reforms report. The same amendment should apply to the Nigerian judiciary which is vested with the function of post-election matters and adjudication. Transferring those powers to a clearly neutral apolitical body of statesmen is long overdue. This campaign is coming behind time given our traumatic experiences of fraudulent conduct of elections by INEC and equally fraudulent election tribunal verdicts. But now that the idea is here at last, every Nigerian who desires true progress for our country should see the project as a national emergency. The boots of democrats, irrespective of their political backgrounds, should be on ground to mobilize for and demand these amendments from the present rulers of Nigeria until the goal is attained.” Prof. Utomi said.
One of the documents of the SDMA sighted by the media, bearing its mission content which has been high-praised by pro-democracy luminaries of the country who have signed into the campaign, gave a three-fold outline of the group’s roadmap.
According to the document, SDMA was out “To coordinate nationwide consensus building efforts integrating Nigeria’s ethnic nationalities, virile opposition political parties, labour and civil society networks, interfaith leaders of thought, pro-democracy movements and progressive Nigeria diaspora concerns into one cohesive national demand action front to pragmatically engage the present leadership of Nigeria.”
It further said it was the group’s goal “To galvanize and have the above collective convoke and undertake a National Confab which will drive actions to compel the National and State Assemblies of Nigeria to amend Nigeria’s Constitution entailing, above other subjects, the following categorical demand: removal of the powers of the President and State Governors to appoint INEC and Judicial Bodies at federal and state levels respectively, transferring those powers to a new, truly independent body of eminent, integrity tested, certified politically non-partisan Nigerians.”
Thirdly, the statement said the alliance shall “pursue with unrelenting vigour and uncompromising determination the above objectives to victory within the shortest practical time and at all cost to the vision bearers of the cause, including imprisonment and the ultimate price of life, so that Nigeria may have, at last, an excellent, corruption-free or corruption minimized country under a new order of conscientious, committed, compassionate and capable nation building leadership.”
The statement continued, “It is our studied view that to save Nigeria from her current catastrophes of daily increasing social-economic turmoil, pandemic poverty and insecurity, fatal future mortgaging foreign debts obtained for consumption and looting, and our beleaguered democracy from total and irretrievable state capture is now a task that should not be postponed a day farther.
“Assuredly and sadly, the election results of 2027 have already been decided by the APC Federal Government of the day in favour of itself. Doing the same opposition campaigns the same way and expecting different results in 2027 should be out of our reckoning. We aver that in the absence of a successful pursuit and attainment of our above designed counter-cause to their predetermined fait accompli, all labours, funding sacrifices of citizens and blueprints to take power back from the current locust leadership of Nigeria, no matter how well-meaning and superlative, shall amount to monumental failure and another menu of lamentations. Thus, the earlier we begin the counter-measures of organized and legitimate resistance advised in the SDMA’27 roadmap, the better and brighter our hopes of reversing Nigeria’s obliterating leadership calamity in 2027.”
Explaining further, the SDMA’27 document stated, “The preemptive wisdom in the words of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. herein ring true and imperative. ‘Those who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love war.”‘
“King’s prescription above is corroborated by three parcels of wisdom in Islam critical to our mission. They demand practical actions in line with our SDMA’27 roadmap and are germaine for the consideration of every patriotic and reasonable Nigerian. The first is by the Prophet Muhammed himself found in Hadith 32: ‘One day of justice by a just ruler is better than the continual worship of sixty years.’ This is reinforced by the Hadith that ‘The man most beloved and closest to Allah is the just leader, and the man who is most hateful and contemptible in the sight of Allah is the unjust leader.’ The second is found in the famous quote of al-Imam al-Ghazali, which states: ‘There is no act of religious worship greater to God than just governance.’ Finally, Saidina Abu Bakar as-Siddiq, on his appointment as the First Caliph after the demise of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), told the multitude in what would have been called ‘inaugural speech’ in today’s realpolitik: O people, I have been elected as your leader although I am not the best among you. If I am in the right, then help me. And if I am in the wrong, then set me right. Truthfulness means fulfilling the trust; while disregard for truth is tantamount to treachery.'”
The SDMA document exhorted and rallied Nigerians to the cause stating: “Even if God might intervene to save Nigeria with some unforeseen colossal miracle en route 2027, he will use men to manifest it. Let us avail and position ourselves to be that breed of men tailormade and ready for his use, providence and purpose,” the document concluded.
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