By Mike Ikhariale
Judging by the way things are going presently, it is only those who take pleasure in deceiving themselves that would ignore all the tell-tale signs of the imminent morbidity awaiting the Republic. It is quite sad that Nigeria has rapidly become a theatre of unbridled anarchy, a society that is seemingly jinxed to stumble and fall, where government, through defective actions and policies, is actually at the forefront in the ignoble march to national ruination.
The traditional constitutional schema for separating government
powers and functions for the purposes of achieving stability and effectiveness
in society, namely the Legislature, the Executive and Judiciary as well as
safeguarding us from an overbearingly tyrannical government in the classic
Montesquiuean sense, ie, checks and balances has been corrupted in Nigeria.
It is, however, worth noting that the doctrine of Separation of Powers is also a key element in Nigeria’s constitutional architecture which was structurally designed to serve as a ‘feedback stabilization mechanism’ whereby the various organs of government routinely interact with a view to reinforcing their individual and collective stability in moments of crisis and general constitutional/political turbulence.
