‘Respect for human dignity’

Since Her Majesty is Head of Commonwealth and the Governor-General is representative of the Queen, it is appropriate that on assuming this honourable office, the appointee should subscribe to the Oath of Allegiance as a visible sign of belief in this association. The Commonwealth is an historic coalition of nations who stand for certain common values and ideals which are generally described as liberal democracy.

In this free association of countries, Britain stands supreme as the source of certain spiritual values, such as individual freedom, respect for law and religious toleration. In course of their development from colonial status to independence, the members have been nourished with these concepts of British democratic heritage.

When I subscribed to the Oath of Office, I swore that I would ‘‘well and truly serve” in the office of Governor-General. In view of the historical forces at work since the publication of the Durham Report in 1840, and the enactment of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, it is obvious that the evolution of Commonwealth countries have gravitated from authoritarian to constitutional government.

In Nigeria this means to me government of the inhabitants of Nigeria, with consent of the citizens of Nigeria, through the accredited representatives of the voters of Nigeria, who are periodically elected by secret ballot and by adult suffrage, by a responsible cabinet selected from such accredited representatives which remains in office as long as such a cabinet retains the confidence of the majority members of such an elected legislature.

This definition of representative democracy, as it has been adapted to Nigeria, is based on the concepts of the rule of law and respect for individual freedom which have been bequeathed to us during our political association with Britain. These notions are the foundations upon which have been built the pillars of our parliamentary government. Without respect for the rule of law permeating our political fabric.

Nigeria would degenerate into a dictatorship with its twin relatives of tyranny and despotism. I hold that the arbitrary exercise of power without the restraining influence of the rule of law must be condemned as a fundamental departure from constitutional government. Any justification of such untrammeled exercise of political powers is, to me, an outrage on human conscience and a gross violation of basic human rights.

I hold that the arbitrary exercise of power without the restraining influence of the rule of law must be condemned as a fundamental departure from constitutional government.

With this concept of the rule of law, we have inherited the idea of individual freedom, which is the sheet-anchor of democratic institutions. The sanctity of the person, the right of a person to fair and public trial, the assumption of the innocence of an accused person until he is proved guilty: these are examples of the basic human rights which feature our Constitution and which I have sworn today to uphold. But there are other ancillaries to these elements of liberal democracy.

I have in mind religious freedom – freedom of thought, freedom of conscience, freedom of worship, the independence society, and the existence of an untarnishable public service whose members are appointed or promoted strictly on the merit of their qualifications and good character and not on any other extraneous criteria.

What I have analysed, in so far as the kernel of the two oaths taken by me today relate, can be summed up in four words: respect for human dignity. I submit that respect for human dignity is the challenge which Africa offers to the world. The lack of respect for human dignity has led to the political bondage of man by man in Africa. This act of commission has also accentuated race relations in Africa. Until the conscience of the world has been energetically aroused to solve this problem frankly with absolute honesty, it is safe to predict that the political resurgence which is now sweeping all over Africa, is capable of leading to a revanche movement which would be disastrous to the peace of the world.