Kidnapping Of Poor Nigerians By Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola Of Lagos By Obi Enweze

“We the people of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria, having firmly and solemnly
resolve, to live in unity and harmony
as one indivisible and indissoluble
sovereign nation under God, dedicated
to the promotion of inter-African
solidarity, world peace, international
co-operation and understanding. And
to provide for a Constitution for the
purpose of promoting the good
government and welfare of all persons
in our country, on the principles of
freedom, equality and justice, and for
the purpose of consolidating the unity
of our people” – The Constitution of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
When it comes to the constitution,
Nigeria’s political class abandons
discretion so stupidly. The legal
impotence of the Nigerian constitution
will likely rank first when compared to
other developing nations of the world.
Politicians, the corruptly enriched and
powerful routinely find creative ways
to simply side-step sections that they
deem inconvenient or uncomfortable.
The section dealing with fundamental
rights of Nigerian citizenship had long
been dust binned and completely
forgotten. When convenient or
supportive of some of their excesses,
like the devil who quote the Bible to
justify an evil scheme, these corrupt
politicians recite the same constitution
often violated at will.
Governor Babatunde Fashola toed this
now predictable line, barely, twenty-
four hours after trampling on the
protected rights of ordinary Nigerian
citizens. Fashola, a Senior Advocate
of Nigeria, sought refuge in the
principles of separation of powers
when protesting a call for the national
government to review his reckless
acts. The validity of contested
provision is not in doubt, yes Fashola
have state police powers. However, he
has absolutely no powers on earth to
deport a fellow citizen! The right of
citizenship is inalienable and remains
the fundamental principle of society.
Today, with evil power-drunk
dictators, like Babatunde Fashola,
those rights mean little in Nigeria.
Somebody should whisper into the ears
of Fashola that the ultimate purpose
of separation of powers is to protect
the liberty and security of the
governed, as opposed to giving him the
unfettered discretion to decide who to
forcefully kidnap and deport to any
place of his choice.
To understand the game that Fashola
is playing, we may have to take a big
leap to the past to see how our
leaders, treat citizens (citizens is
often viewed as a derogatory term by
corrupt politicians).
DEPORTATION OF ALHAJI SHUGABA
ABDULRAHAM
My first encounter with this ugly
fact was as an eavesdropper in a
conversation between my father and a
gentleman. The man, a radical (a term
often used by the government to
discredit social critics), had then
asked my father, the worst possible
thing that the government can do to a
Nigerian citizen. My fathers of
blessed memories, was quick with his
answer, denial of the right of
citizenship. In complete shock and
horror, I listened as my father
narrated the story of Alhaji
Abdulraham Shugaba.
During the years of “Shagari –
Democracy” a one-party dictatorship
similar to what we have now, NPN was
in power. Shugaba, a member of the
opposition party, GNPP was a strong
opponent of the all-powerful NPN in
Bornu State. He was a very
flamboyant orator whose populist
agenda appealed to his constituents.
Shugaba, became too popular and
could not be rigged-out by the NPN
(then with a slogan, NPN-POWER!).
Shugaba was a huge challenge to the
power of NPN to rig in any politician
of their choice.
Through a scheme and a series of
political intrigues that will even baffle
a hard-core Machiavellian, he was
labeled a citizen of a neighboring
country, Chad. Undeterred, he
blasted the NPN rigging machines and
called them citizens of Hell.
Black-market court injunctions were
hurriedly purchased by the NPN,
preventing him from contesting
elections based on lack of, Nigerian
citizenship! A determined Shugaba,
painstakingly and successfully
challenged most of the early
injunctions. His success at the
tribunals outraged the ruling
oppressors.
His detractors became more desperate
that he could have ever imagined.
NPN, purchased another decision with
a deportation order, without
procedural due process. Before,
Shugaba could say, “appeal,” Security
agents were in his house very early in
the morning, all armed to the teeth.
Before the embattled Shugaba could
say “what-up?” he was whisked away
in his sleeping clothes (half-naked,
barefooted) and deported to Chad.
The protests of the Chadian
government, that, Shugaba is not
from Chad, met the unsympathetic
ears of the ruling class.
The sensibilities and conscience of
Nigerians were agitated, that was
then, before the current state of
hopelessness. A group of people with
similar political interests mounted a
legal defense. It went all the way to
the Supreme Court, thank goodness,
the apex court overturned the
deportation order.
Monetary damages were awarded to
the obviously rattled Shugaba, no
amount of money can compensate one
for such blatant and traumatic
ordeal. The sad thing is that, Shugaba
had to overcome high artificial
obstacles before he was given a
fraction of the court award. The
result was again surprised, oppressive
leaders found a weapon of choice,
deportation.
DEPORTATION AS A WEAPON BY IBB
– PATRICK WILMOT.
When a professor in ABU, Patrick
Wilmot, became critical of the excess
of Babangida, the man called
Maradonna simply laughed. Nigerians
watched helplessly when without any
due consideration to his legal status,
Babangida deported the hapless
professor.
GOV. BABATUNDE FASHOLA’S
FORCEFULLY SEIZURE, AND
“DEPORTATION” OF FELLOW
NIGERIANS THE HEIGHT OF CITIZEN
ABUSE.
Now, the ruling class is moving it
notches higher, of course in
geometrical progression. Deportation
based on poverty, is even worse that
the above cases and that is exactly
what Fashola is doing, period. What
the man who at the bare minimum
understands the meaning of human
rights is doing is unreasonable or more
obnoxious to Nigerian constitution
which he once swore to uphold.
When Gov. Babs Fashola started his
new wave of violating fundamental
human rights of Nigerians, he did by
deporting, Northerners. His rationale
for the deportation was “to free the
state of the destitute and beggars,
and who are mostly from the northern
part of the country.” Some of us
cried out in shock. This argument
remains the most heart-breaking
argument proffered by any person
anywhere in the world for an
egregious constitutional breach. One
of the most important duties of a
government is to improve the welfare
of the citizens, including the poor,
rather than do that, Fashola is not
only trampling of the rights of the
poor, but committing mass-murder.
Some of these people will die off out
of frustration.
After listening for a while, and
sensing that Nigerians have
forgotten. Fashola then embarked on
a new wave. This time just like in the
first exercise, he looks at people
faces, and decided that they are
likely from Anambah State, and
deported all of them.
Even if one grudgingly listen to
Fashola’s belated argument of
“Welfare,” what type of welfare is he
providing by forcefully deporting
them from a place they call home.
Fashola is eager to welcome the rich
who swell the huge purse of his
godfather with monies taken through
taxes, levies and penalties for
unlawfully confiscated goods, yet he
cannot even use a small percentage of
the fund to provide basic amenities
for the poor. The quick-fix is
deportation.
THE WRONGFUL ACT OF FASHOLA IS
NOT DEPORTATION BUT KIDNAPPING
Simple definitions with very little
explanation:
Deportation
The expulsion of an undesirable alien
from a country! Therefore, to be
deported, one has to be expelled from
another country where he is an alien.
Never in the history of mankind has a
man been deported from his own
country! If there is genuine dispute
as to the citizenship of the deported,
the court ought to resolve it, not the
executive. That is exactly why we have
anti-aggrandizement principle.
Kidnapping
The crime of unlawfully seizing and
carrying away a person by force or
Fraud, or seizing and detaining a
person against his or her will with an
intent to carry that person away at a
later time. See http://legal-
dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/
kidnapping
The situation even when viewed in a
light most favorable to Babatunde
Fashola, will still be kidnapping. The
formulation of illegal deportation
decrees in these type of cases
presents problems of considerable
complexity. Any public policy
consideration of appropriate goal of
freeing the state of destitute must
necessarily be subordinated to the
primary question — the
constitutionality of a dictatorial state
governor trampling in a most
egregious manner, on the
constitutional rights of Nigerian
citizens. Such an act is a violation
equal protection of the laws and the
most basic right, fundamental human
rights.

Obi Enweze was the Secretary General
of NADECO –USA/Canada