objection to popular protest resulting in unconstitutional change of
government.
It also described the recent change of government in Egypt as a coup which was
a blow to democracy.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said regardless of the popularity of public
protests, governments of the day must not be sacked unconstitutionally.
It added that though the public protests that led the military to make the
change was popular, what happened in Egypt was a coup d’etat which must be
condemned.
‘’Democracy remains the best form of government known to man, and in order to
grow it, it must be nurtured. But if every time there are protests in a
democracy, the military moves in to effect a change of government, then
democracy will never grow.
‘’Democracy has some universal tenets, which include the fact that free and
fair election is the only means of getting to power and the only way of losing
it. This means that even if people make a wrong choice, they are stuck with it
until the next elections, unless in countries where you have a recall
mechanism. Some may describe this as a drawback, but there can be no other way
if democracy is to be properly practised,’’ it said.
ACN said while many Britons and Americans disagreed with their governments over
the Iraq war and held several public protests to vent their disappointment,
that did not cause the military in both countries to push their
democratically-elected governments out of power, as was the case in Egypt.
It also recalled that during former President Umaru Yar’Adua’s illness, the
party (ACN) and a number of civil society groups insisted that the constitution
must be followed, as many in Yar’Adua’s inner caucus plotted endlessly for him
to hold on to power, even when it became clear that he could no longer function
effectively.
The party said while many in Egypt may not like the Muslim Brotherhood or be
happy with the government of President Mohammed Morsi, the fact remains that
they won an election that was globally adjudged to be free and fair.
ACN hailed the African Union (AU) for suspending Egypt’s membership of the
continental body in the wake of the coup, saying it showed that the body was
serious about the adherence to its Constitutive Act, which prohibits an
unconstitutional change of government.
The party also said the Nigerian government did the right thing by promptly
condemning the action of the Egyptian military and calling for the immediate
restoration of democracy in the North African country.
It expressed the hope that Egyptians would allow democracy to thrive in their
country by eschewing the kind of change recently brought about by their
military at the expense of the country’s democratically-elected government.
