The Third Republic: 30 Years On               

It is thirty years since the last military coup in Nigeria which aborted the then nascent Third Republic being midwifed by military President General Ibrahim Babangida, to the chagrin of all lovers of freedom and democracy in Nigeria and indeed, the world over.

The Third Republic House of Representatives Forum members  will during this  30th year anniversary commemorate  unfortunate rape on democracy to remind Nigerians of that ugly development and to discourage any future forceful change of government in Nigeria, at a time coups are once again becoming fashionable on the continent of Africa.

However, much as the citizens of those countries in which there have been recent coups are clearly and demonstrably in support of such moves, no sane and patriotic individual who has had the experience of living under military dictatorship will support a coup in Nigeria 63 years  after independence.

Nevertheless, it is generally believed that military takeovers are a direct response to bad governance from the part of the political class, but experience has shown that the military are no better. As a matter of fact, they are not trained to serve effectively in civilian domains, which is why even in peace keeping missions, gross violations of human rights are labelled against them. It is therefore, my humble opinion that our gallant and patriotic soldiers can best serve this country in their traditional roles of defending lives and the territorial integrity of the land, while the administration of government is best handled by civilians.

A government which held a lot of promise for our dear country and her citizens, a government which promised to uplift the dignity of Nigerians and in deed the black race and a Nigeria which was poised to take her rightful place in the comity of nations, under the able leadership of late Bashorun, MKO Abiola.

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For instance, the election that was about to complete the final phase of the infamous Transition Program is often described as the freest and fairest in the history of elections in Nigeria and therefore adjudged to be the best.

As usual, in the event of a military takeover, it is the legislative arm of government that is worst affected because it is completely obliterated from the scheme of governance. Yet, our National Assembly and members turned down suggestions from several eminent Nigerians to cooperate with the military to jettison the cause of June 12th, and form a government of national unity that would be led by the military, but with the legislature in place, as a panacea towards breaking the then impasse in government.  This is notwithstanding the fact that our National Assembly had hardly had time to settle down nor indeed did we have time to know one another fairly well, yet in the spirit of unity of purpose, we chose to be victims rather than collaborate with the military and betray the trust of our people.

This is what 17th November, 1993 reminds us of and what we want Nigerians and especially the youths to know. The elections we now hold every four years as a routine, did not come to us as it is today. Elections were subjected to the whims and caprices of the military rulers who fixed dates, shifted them and cancelled elections at will.

We, the political class of that period were all young and vibrant, just like leaders of previous Republics, with clear visions to enthusiastically serve our country and contribute to the development of our people in various capacities but our dreams were cut short. However, visions do not die and people who have had such visions could not retire until and unless their missions are done.

This anniversary similarly reminds us of the transient nature of life. While we did not lose any of our colleagues during our short stay, we have so far lost 243 of our members, the latest, Hon. Hajara Kusherki, my bosom, sisterly friend who died less than a month ago. May their souls Rest In Peace.

– Allamin, a former member of House of Reps writes from Maiduguri, Borno State