[allAfrica.com] [celtel.com] Emergency Rule'll Fail - Mantu - President Was Wrong, Says Gov Udenwa Daily Champion (Lagos) NEWS May 25, 2004 Posted to the web May 26, 2004 By Dan Onwukwe and Ndidi Okafor Lagos/Abuja AGAINST the tide of thinking in some quarters that he conspired to bring Plateau to its current pass, Deputy Senate President Ibrahim Mantu yesterday said neither emergency rule nor heavy security presence could bring genuine peace to the state. Rather, he contended, only a Truth and Reconciliation Commission similar to that of South Africa would help to bring genuine peace in the crisis-torn state. Mantu spoke while briefing newsmen at the National Assembly Complex Abuja on the crisis in Plateau State and the subsequent emergency rule. Speculation was rife in some quarters in Plateau, Mantu's home state, that the Deputy Senate President was linked to the declaration of emergency rule. But Senator Mantu said the answer to the problem in his state was not in such emergency rule or even in massing troops. Further discordant tunes over the action on Plateau yesterday came from Imo State Gov. Achike Udenwa who criticized it as wrong. Insisting that the deep wounds have been inflicted in people's hearts, given the incessant crises in the state, Mantu noted that a Truth and Reconciliation Commission which would give the citizens the opportunity to embrace genuine and open reconciliation would be necessary at this time. Said he: "I believe that the Oputa Panel was more of just confessions. But if you watched that of Desmond Tutu (who chaired the South African Truth and Reconciliations Commission), you could see people who came in as arch-enemies and at the end of the day embracing each other. We really need to look deeper. We must reconcile from our hearts. We must purge ourselves. I like what I saw in South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It gave people the opportunity to vent their anger, let off steam and at the end of the day, you find people who after their testimonies broke down in tears. "Even at times, you saw Desmond Tutu, the chairman of the Commission, crying with them. At the end they embraced one another and regretted what they did before and that is what I want to see in Plateau State. That is what I want to see in all parts of Nigeria where this kind of crisis has arisen." Mantu also deviced facilitating the imposition of the state of emergency saying "God knows the efforts I have made behind the scene to ensure that we do not have this kind of situation in Plateau State." "Like I said, I cannot create an ant, let alone one human being. Since I cannot create, I cannot insist on having my way if having that my way will cause the death of human begins", he added. Mantu, however, said that suspended Governor Joshua Dariye will come back when peace and order have returned to the state saying the emergency rule was not meant to witch-hunt anybody, but to save lives. Meanwhile, Gov. Udenwa described as a breach of the constitution, President Obasanjo's action in imposing emergency rule on Plateau and suspending Gov. Dariye and the state legislature from office. Fielding questions from editors in Lagos yesterday, Gov. Udenwa said the Forum of State Governors is looking into the president's action in Plateau, adding that except for two governors sharing boundaries with Plateau, President Obasanjo did not consult the governors before the proclamation of May 18. Analysing the issues that led to the President's action, Udenwa said though the Plateau crisis was a desperate thing that needed a desperate measure, he said suspending the governor and the state House of Assembly for six months in the first instance, was an illegal action by the President. Said Udenwa: "The President has no right under the constitution to suspend the governor. Where did he (Mr President) derive his power to suspend the governor and the House of Assembly? We all have to be careful and the President needs to watch it or else he creates a dangerous precedent for democracy." The governor's position, Udenwa said, was to avoid this looming precedent "already created by the President's action. Beyond that, the Imo governor said when the governors met to deliberate on the Plateau matter, the Akwa Ibom Governor, who also doubles as Chairman of the Governors' Forum, Obong Victor Attah disclosed to them that he was not consulted by the President. But the Presidency said last week its efforts to reach Gov. Attah was unsuccessful. Nonetheless, Udenwa said legal opinions sought so far showed that the President was right in invoking section 305 of the Constitution, but acted ultra vires by suspending the governor and the democratic institution represented by the State Assembly. Besides, Udenwa said the decision of a majority of the governors asking the President to re-consider his position in Plateau does not amount to "over protecting our colleague" (Dariye), but in the interest of democracy, saying that," a different situation may arise tomorrow, and today it is Dariye, tomorrow, it may be another person." He questioned the inability of the President to extend same to Kano State where, in his words, "I lost many Imo citizens in the Kano mayhem as did many other Nigerians, yet, the President did not find it sufficient reason to warrant state of emergency. Speaking on the quest for Igbo presidency in 2007, Gov. Udenwa said this time around, there is a new impetus to the agitation. "The time is now ripe for us to get it because there is a new impetus and a new support base. He said very soon, the entire project would unfold as well as the arrowheads of the Igbo presidency. He maintained that consultations have been made and lessons learned from past mistakes.   ===============================================================================  Copyright © 2004 Daily Champion. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). ===============================================================================