A
Judicial Ray Of Hope
By
Kunle Sanyaolu
culled from GUARDIAN, November 5,
2006
Forty-six years of the existence
of Nigeria has not reduced the belief of some citizens that the entity
cannot stand. Such Nigerians, and they are in large number, believe strongly
that we are all wasting our time and deluding ourselves that Nigeria can be
sustained as a country. They maintain that it is simply a question of time
for the crash to come; and then, we would all realise our folly in thinking
we were indivisible. Their position is at variance with that of our leaders
from the past military regimes to the present civilian administration.
Government's position has always been to emphasise the country's unity,
which they add, is non-negotiable. Former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim
Babangida was reported to have publicly explained why he refused to convene
a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) during his tenure. According to
reports, Babangida said he could not preside over the disintegration of
Nigeria, particularly having presided over it as president for eight years,
albeit eight uninspiring years.
Strikingly, there have been
little practical events to support government position. On the contrary,
policies after policies tend to expose the country's double standards. The
leaders do little to justify their cravings for unity. The followers
regularly polarise, often violently, the country's existing divisions along
ethnic, cultural and religious lines. Up to now, no one has been able to
stop ethnic and religious cleansing embarked upon by sections of the
populace usually on flimsy excuses.
On its part, government is
always quick to react, after the orgy of killings and destruction, to
the effect that people should remain calm and go about their normal
business. No one takes the government spokespersons seriously, whether
they are police officers or governors, or even the president. Their
statements are too predictable, such that they no longer convey any
meaning. One saving grace for government officials is what has turned
out to be natural cover available for their ineptitude or hypocrisy.
This natural cover is the rapidity and regularity of tragic events. The
examples of the murder of Bola Ige and subsequent murders of Marshall
Harry, Aminasoari, Dikibo and much later Funsho Williams and Ayo
Daramola are too far away. It is sufficient to take a look at the last
week. First, a Sokoto- bound flight of the ADC airline crashed, after
take off in Abuja, killing 96 persons including the Sultan of Sokoto,
Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido. The next few hours witnessed a trading of
blame and buck passing by the Minister of Aviation who simply declares
the flight pilot Captain Kolawole Atanda as the cause of the disaster,
supposedly because he failed to heed control tower's advice. As the
drama was enacting, the court of Appeal in Ibadan declared illegal and
unconstitutional the impeachment of erstwhile Oyo State Governor,
Rasheed Ladoja. Expectedly, the verdict triggered off a horde of
intrigues and violent activities in the state. Inexplicably, the Police
Inspector General, Sunday Ehindero declared that he was not bound by the
verdict because the Supreme Court had asked him to stay action pending
appeal. Curiously, the Supreme Court denounced the assertion hours
later, as the court registrars stated that they hadn't even received any
appeal by the governor, Mr. Adebayo Alao Akala, let alone the court
making a pronouncement. Again, like another scene in another act, the
Anambra legislators impeached their governor, Mr. Peter Obi in
controversial circumstances. Simultaneously, a new Sultan was appointed
in the person of Sa'adu Abubakar, even in the midst of speculations
about who would succeed Maccido.
If it was difficult to
digest each event as it happened, it was practically impossible to
assimilate them, without incurring constipation or indigestion! The
events happened too rapidly such that the public needed to be alert
to keep abreast of them. Needlessly to say, the situation
facilitated the commission of mistakes. The country is the worst for
it. It remained permanently tottering after 46 years, never seeming
to do anything right. Those who have lost faith in Nigeria as a
corporate entity point to these circumstances as the very reasons
why the bid for a true nation will fail. Obviously, our leaders are
confounded, but they don't have the courage to admit it, or to call
for a drastic change in our approach to treating issues or governing
Nigeria. The country dangles dangerously on the precipice, unable
either to make progress or to renounce its dilemma. It is a matter
of national despair that while this dreadful state of affairs
pervades the country and virtually grounds its attempts to move
forward in any area, smaller countries around, with little or no
resources except their land and modest population, are marching
ahead. They are recording tremendous success in democracy, economic
and social development. The international community is acknowledging
and encouraging them. Supply of electricity is fairly stable in
these countries. Schools are operating without hitches, and schools'
products are up to expected standard. In the light of tremendous
resources in its possession, is Nigeria not a failed state without a
hope of breaking the apparent curse on it? All the global
institutions including the World Bank, the International Monetary
Fund, and the United Nations and the Non Governmental Organisations
keep lamenting Nigeria's hopelessness in the midst of plenty.
Nigeria was reported missing in the list of Africa's growing
economies while Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Cape Verde, Senegal,
Mozambique and Uganda have taken concrete steps to lift their
citizens out of the poverty level. But in Nigeria, it seems the more
money we spend, the greater the level of poverty among citizens.
That is why the average Nigerian is not enthused by the fact that
the federal government plans to spend N2.3 trillion next year. He
knows that the money or much of it will disappear without anything
serious to show for it. Huge amounts similarly appropriated in
previous years have ended up without getting accounted for
particularly in terms of public infrastructure like housing, roads,
schools and hospitals.
Before allowing
reason to prevail, Ehindero, the Inspector General of Police
certainly caused a big stir with his statement not to disturb
Alao Akala's tenure despite the Appeal Court verdict
re-endorsing Ladoja. My first thought was, why would the most
senior law enforcement officer, also a lawyer, be unwilling to
carry out the order of a court of superior record like the Court
of Appeal? Further, how can the Supreme Court ask the police to
stay execution in a subsisting judgement, over which no appeal
has been lodged? Ehindero's initial pronouncement simply
reconfirmed knowledge that the federal government was behind
Ladoja's removal. Else why should the police withdraw its men
from Ladoja amid the unconstitutionality that informed his
impeachment in the first place? If the police had then not
withdrawn from Ladoja while giving special protection to the
pro- Adedibu lawmakers, Oyo people would not have the burden of
having been governed by an unconstitutional governor. Without
doubt, what is happening in Oyo State simply is continuation of
the assault on democracy that was played out earlier. Ehindero's
utterance at least encouraged supporters of Alao Akala to
unleash some violence on persons known to be pro-Ladoja.
The seeming afterthought of
government officials in performing their lawful duties, and
doing what is right is not good enough to restore hope on
Nigeria. The judiciary, in spite of its limitations, has
done its bit well, by subjecting the processes on Akala's
governorship to strong judicial analysis. The Supreme Court
has also acted timely by publicly giving a lie to Ehindero's
claim that he had been asked to maintain status quo ante
bellum. The court must be praised for similarly and promptly
calling attention to the unconstitutional circumstances by
which a judge was appointed Acting Chief judge in Ekiti,
prelude to Ayo Fayose's impeachment.
Clearly, the
executive and legislative arms of government have failed
the country. If there is any ray of hope for
sustainability or progress, it is being offered by the
judiciary. It remains to be seen whether or not the
judiciary can go far, in terms of making Nigeria right.
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