This is the Day II “Critical Reason” as contained in the publication “10 Critical Reasons Why President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua Should Resign Now” on http://nigeriarevolution..com for your perusal. Kindly point out all the “sic(s)” you can find. Am sorry for a ll the grammatical suicide. The writer proofread it,so you can imagine how possible it is to see all the mistakes. Am correcting them on my blog and also here so that I don't spoil some people's day. Thank you.

I saw a post by black where he stated that Nigeria has gone mad.This is a country that has four refineries that are not working and you can imagine the madness that is playing out right now. as posted by back2back.

II. Antidemocratic Impulses.

“ It has been well noted that every democratic state is sustained by political criticism,but,at the same time,every government feels threatened by this very criticism”
- Eduardo Andre Bertoni

The antidemocratic nature of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has continued to rear its ugly head in various forms since the inception of his presidency. This negative tendency inhibits the advancement of democracy. Yar'Adua government's intolerance of a critical press is evident in the intimidation, harassment, assault, arrest and unlawful detention of journalists by agents of the state. News photographers have had their expensive digital cameras seized and smashed by over-patriotic agents. Sardonically, these breaches of human rights and press freedom occurred under the nose of a President who likes to project himself as the guardian of the rule of law.

The RSF 2007 Index released in 2007 by World Public Opinion which rates media freedom in various countries ranks Nigeria at the 131st position with 70 percent of public opinion calling for more press freedom. In our democracy, press criticisms of the federal government are interpreted as hanging offences. Critical comments are seen by nervous security agents as plots to undermine the nation and a threat to national security. The most recent is the crackdown and threat by the government to revoke the licence of African Independent Television (AIT) owned by DAAR Communications over a news commentary program 'Focus Nigeria' anchored by Gbenga Aruleba. The State Security service (SSS) invaded the TV station to retrieve a proposed 30-minutes video footage which was to be aired. Read the full story here.

This is not the first time as the administration has a track record of clampdown on journalists and media houses. The regime drew widespread local and international criticism when it closed down two television stations, African independent Television (AIT), and Lagos-based Channels TV for reporting “unfriendly stories.” Late last year, Yar’adua invoked an obsolete law dug up by Attorney General Michael Aondoakaa to sue Abuja–based the “Leadership” newspaper for alleged criminal libel. Nigerian political bloggers Jonathan Elendu (who cannot leave Nigeria) and Emeka Asiwe (who has not been heard from since his arrest in October) are victims of Yar'Adua's intolerance of a critical press.

True democratic leaders respect the freedom of the press and protect them in their various countries. They tolerate all manner of criticisms. They recognise media freedom as one of the major pillars of democracy. We know the role of the traditional media and the internet in the West. They articulate,debate and voice their support or opposition to various government policies and actions. In the US, they help to keep the executive who has immunity clause attached to his office on check. True democratic leaders never threatened to close these media houses down or revoke their licences. Instead,through press releases and conferences these leaders clearly state the position of their government on such government policies and actions that attracts widespread criticisms. In some instances where the public is fed wrong information, they straighten it out. Instead of resorting to dictatorial tendencies of suppressing the press,the leaders rally round public support in their favour through the implementation of people oriented and popular policies. Because these media houses constantly juxtaposes their analysis and opinions against opinion polls,when government enjoys positive results in the polls, the criticisms automatically decline. However,these criticisms are never eliminated completely because individual opinion can never converge on every issue in this dynamic world we live in.

True democratic leaders encourage the use of the internet as an avenue for its citizens to express their opinion and participate in governance. The reverse is the case in Nigeria. What is obtainable in Yar'Adua's administration is a “rebranding project” designed by Information Minister Dora Akunyili whose sole aim is to stop top local and foreign-based Nigerian websites and blogs critical of the Nigerian leadership. It aims to achieve this goal through an “anti-bloggers project” of $5m by funding the setting up of new websites designed to deceive unsuspecting readers with “patriotic rhetoric.” The government plans to roll out 50 of those websites before the 2011 elections.

The National Assembly has failed to pass the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill because this government of the day does not support it. If this government is truly democratic,this is the kind of bill it should rally round public support for its speedy passage. While the President calls for the removal of the immunity clause has deterred the lawmakers from passing their own immunity bill, which has scaled through the second reading to give themselves immunity like the governors,president and vice-president. The President should state his position on the FOI bill and better still on every national issue as it obtainable in sound democracies. It is disheartening that some members of our Parliament boldly tell us that the proponents of the FOI bill have not made their case clear on the passage of the bill. If Yar'Adua gives his total support to this bill,it will spur the reluctant lawmakers to see more reason to pass this bill into law. The lawmakers who are always behind Yar'Adua are at the forefront of opposition to this bill when it considered for passage. The FOI bill will compliment the removal of immunity when the later scales through. The current norm is also not surprising because a government that threatens media freedom will be the least supporter of such law that will ensure free access to secret government information which could be used to hold government officials accountable.

It is indeed shocking that this government does not realise that carrying a national passport is a right of a citizen and not a privilege. The story of former Minister of Federal Capital Territory,Mallam El-Rufai, and former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,Mallam Nuhu Ribadu is familiar to Nigerians. The Federal Government sent a memo to National Intelligence Agency (NIA) directing that both men be barred from consular services or renewal of their passports. It is also not news that this directive was issued because these men don't make complimentary remarks about the government at any occasion they attend both home and abroad. It is beneath the status of a democratically elected government to resort to such cheap underhand strategies in order to deal with an opponent. If the Federal Government obviously tackles these men because of what it sees as a campaign of calumny then it will need to seize more than half of the entire population of Nigeria's passports! Nigeria are disillusioned and bad month them at every given opportunity. Although the government has reversed its self, it is unbecoming of them to conceive this unwholesome some idea at first instance. Perhaps Yar'Adua only needs to hear of the joke going round now in which a man was said to have walked into a restaurant and ordered two pieces of 'Yar'Adua'.When the restaurant owner requested what Yar'Adua meant,the man replied,'Snail'.Now should the Federal Government not take offence and find out the proponents of this joke and withhold their passports?

This not the kind of leader that Nigeria deserves now in this critical time that we need deliverance neither is this what we need in 2011 elections. We have suffered long enough in Egypt.

waiting for the other reasons though we already have more than enough to chase him out of the rocks.

We have more than enough reasons for him to be out, but the problem remains the good replacement.

Who the same people

can't you do the job? lol am going to deal with that in my next article 2015 and Nigerian unity.but wait oh,if we can't one person in over 140million people.I move a motion that Nigeria be swallowed up by the earth.