Egyptian type revolution impossible in Nigeria- FEC

Nigeria’s highest decision-making body, the Federal Executive Council, on Wednesday said it was sure that the type of popular uprising ripping through some North African and Middle East countries could not happen in the country.

FEC said this even as it disclosed that President Goodluck Jonathan had ordered the immediate evacuation of Nigerians from the troubled countries.

The body at its weekly meeting in Abuja said Nigeria was being “run on constitutional order,” hence it was not possible for the people to rise against the authorities as currently entails in the North African countries, notwithstanding that Nigeria is facing similar developmental challenges as the affected countries.

Former presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) had warned in an interview at the weekend that Nigeria risked a popular uprising if the government failed to give the citizens credible elections in April.

Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, was recently swept away from power after 18 days of sustained protest in Cairo, the capital city, and other major cities in the country, after spending 30 years in power. The protest that swept away Mubarak is today known as the “Egyptian revolution.”

Libya, a country with low population but that is oil rich, is located in the Maghreb region of northern Africa. It has been embroiled in violent uprising since February 11 as the people push for the ouster of Muammar Gadaffi, the man who has been at the helms of affairs since 1971.

A young graduate who set himself ablaze in Tunisia on December 17, 2010, in protest against government’s high handedness in the face of high unemployment and economic challenges, sparked off the wave of popular protests in the Middle East and North Africa.

People in Algeria, Bahrain, Yemen and Iran had equally protested against their governments.

Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, who briefed journalists as the end of Wednesday’s FEC meeting said the current situation in Libya topped the discussion at the session presided over by Vice-President Namadi Sambo.

President Goodluck Jonathan was not at the meeting. He was away in Minna, Niger State, where he held a campaign rally on Wednesday.

Asked whether the Federal Government was not worried that the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt could spread to Nigeria, Maku gave an explanation that purports that such a revolution cannot happen here. He said, “Yes there are parallels between Nigeria and these other countries when it comes to the level of development, but one thing that is clear is that when you see some of the countries where these protests are taking place, you have one man dictatorships that have lasted in those countries for decades.

“The difference between Nigeria and those countries is that this country today is run in a constitutional order where the tenure of office of leaders is fixed”.

He added, “Nigeria is probably the country in Africa today that has the largest number of former leaders alive.

“So our country has lessons that these countries can learn from.

“The lesson today is that it is more important to build institutions that can endure, because leaders can come and go but the institutions remain.”

Maku said Jonathan was committed to effectively address developmental challenges in the country, particularly problems in the power sector.

He said that once the power problem was resolved, the issues of unemployment and wealth creation would also be addressed.

“One of the major challenges we have in our country is power. “Power is what is going to drive the small and medium enterprises; agriculture and water resources cannot be mobilised without power.

“The fact that President Jonathan has taken firm control of power as his key sector is an indication of his serious commitment and determination to overcome this challenge,” he said.

The minister said, “Council discussed and reviewed the situation in Libya and some Middle East countries, where the wind of discontent has led to protest.

“The condition of Nigerians in these countries was particularly discussed.

“The Minister of Foreign Affairs briefed Council on the directives given by the President and the preparations made to evacuate Nigerians.

“Already Mr. President has directed that stranded passengers in Tripoli and Bengazi who are Nigerians should be evacuated and steps are been taken as we did in Cairo to evacuate these Nigerians back to the country “The standard procedure is that whenever there are conflicts in any country we advise our envoys to evacuate their families to safety so that the officers who are manning our missions can concentrate on the work at hand to ensure that they give attention to and consider diplomatic issues on ground.”

Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, also admitted that, like in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and the other countries, “that there are problems of unemployment (in Nigeria),” although he noted that “the president has already put in place measures to address these problems”.

“They are clearly at the fore front of his agenda”, he added.

Ajumogobia further disclosed that the Federal Government “deplores the disproportionate use of force to disperse protesters in the Middle East.”

Instead of the use of force, which had already led to the death of scores of protesters, the Federal Government canvassed “dialogue” as a means of resolving the conflict.

“The crisis can and should be resolved through dialogue in those countries,” Ajumogobia said.

The Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Muhammad Sani-Sidi, confirmed on Wednesday that his agency had received presidential directive to evacuate Nigerians from Libya.

Sani-Sidi said, “NEMA, Federal Ministry of Foreign Afairs, Office of the National Security Adviser, among other stakeholders, have been mandated by the President to work out strategies for a successful evacuation of Nigerians to safety in their motherland.

“The Federal Government is very concerned about welfare, wellbeing and safety of its citizens who are in distress in any country and would do whatever it takes to protect them from the hardship.”

The NEMA boss was quoted in a statement by the spokesman for the agency, Yushau Shuaib, to have spoken when he received the Controller General of Federal Fire Service who paid him a courtesy visit.

The Punch