These are really trying and testing times for Nigeria in general, and the Judiciary-the Supreme Court of Nigeria in particular. It is an extremely dangerous season for our dear country. With unkind words and subtle intimidation the political elite are trying to corrupt and muzzle the Court to do their own bidding rather than allowing her to deliver justice in accordance with the law. Each actor is behaving as though justice is for sale or belongs to the greatest bully.They are careless about the consequences of their actions whether they would leave the country in a state of anarchy- if not civil war or not. The politicians seem to forget that without the rule of law and respect for it by all citizens, society will go berserk and descends to the level of animal kingdom with its characteristic jungle Justice.
The Judiciary is important in society. Like it or not, the hope for justice from the court of law saved the country from instant burning after a very disappointing outing by Inec the umpire of the elections .Its announced presidential results dismayed many and produced mourning and anger across the country instead of jubilation. For the avoidance of doubt the anger was not against the winner but the umpire of the game- INEC. However given the devilish arrows being directed at the courts, the signals are not clear whether the political elite’s actions are informed by their trust or distrust of the Justice system of Nigeria.whatever there is no need for war-words.
I am happy that the elections are over but leaving us with some post election issues. As you know I am for the youth and it pleases to observe that they put a responsible, courageous and exemplary conduct during the elections.I am proud of them. They wanted to change our world profoundly but found man- made hurdles too difficult to surmount at that time. There is tomorrow In deed better days lay ahead. ROME was not built in a day.As one great Musician once sang “he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day. Iam sure that sooner than later the principles of rotation and zoning will take deeper roots with constitutional backing as buffer against perpetual marginalization, exclusion, injustice etc. Thank God that inspite of inec’s failure to live up to expectations, the General elections are over.And those aggrieved are in court for redress. While we pray God to grant the judges the courage to do justice honestly in the national interest, I am writing this piece for a number of reasons one of which is to advise the youth to stay far off post election tussle for power and legitimacy by the elite. It is beyond their scope of competency.They are to watch development and pray for the best for Nigeria
I am also writing to address the political class to the need to allow our institutions to grow strong in the national interest of survival.Today
the Judiciary can be said to be on public trial.The situation is delicate..In my last note to the youth l begged them to stay out of trouble. Elections litigation is a highly exclusive and emotional game for the elite.It is not a game for our youth to play for the now.
So weep not my dear Nigeian youth.Let the gladiators be in the ring to fight their war of political survival and pray God that the Judiciary should live up to expectations.
Four developments call for immediate concern since the end of the 2023 general elections. First is the sorrowful attempt by the political elite and their lawyers to kill the supreme court with subtle words and intimidation. Here and there across the country are calculated attempts by some of the interested parties to win the courts to the side, to corrupt and muzzle the Judiciary to do the wrong thing against justice and thus national interest.Our plea is for this illicit pressure to stop because without a respectable Judiciary the country is doomed for ever.
2) Attempt by the government to deodorize or white- wash INEC’s failure to publish presidential election results as promised.The implication of failure is severe.When the state accepts wrongness and fails to punish evil, they deepen their roots and become monsters that could destroy society as a whole.
3) The use of scare mongering as strategy and tactics of frightening influencing the court by threatening fire and brimstone even war or Armageddon has reached a frightening proportion.It should stop in the collective interest.The perversion of justice is unhealthy for any society. It could lead to rocky or crippling instability.
4 )The unguarded and wreckless statements by some of the aides of the president – elect Ahmed Bola Tinubu at a time they should be working hard to win the support of otherNigerians for the peace and unity of the country has become a disturbing concern.They ought to be more circumspect. As we know words are powerful: The right words create love,peace and harmony .The wrong words breed hatred, disharmony and even war. We hereby sue for the use of the right words from today and always. Nigeria is ours;she belongs to us all.
Implications for democracy
Let’s us look at more of the implications of each of our concerns for democracy and progress of the country. as follows:
Judiciary:
A disrespect for the Judiciary and disregard for the rule of law can lead to our collective ruination. In its wisdom the constitution of Nigeria provides for three arms of government namely the legislature to make laws, the Judiciary to interpret laws and dispense justice in accordance with the law and constitution of the country and the executive to implement laws and decisions of government. In theory each arm is independent but in practice they are mutually dependent.At a time when almost everyone was decrying the shoddy performance of INEC and when some people had approached the court for justice, the federal government’s declaration of the election as the best….sends a wrong signal that it might not be ready to accept contrary findings or implement court judgement that disagrees with government’s position.In the face of dispute,only the court can state what is correct or acceptable today about that election.The view of government and its dedorization of INEC by explaining that it had good reasons to act in the way it did to the disappointment of the public are in my view subtle attempts to influence the court. They hold gloomy prospect for true justice today. The message by the government 🚶♀ to the Judiciary was clear:You are on your own if you rule otherwise. It is important to recall that during the naira swap palaver, the executive disobeyed court order or decision- an action that made the supreme court to tie a dictatorship tag to the president’s action in its later pronouncement..
Perhaps a more serious signal is the attempt to accuse Labour leadership of treason by the Hon minister of information. It is part of scare mongering tactics by litigants aimed at cowing the populace,frightening the citizens especially the litigants to submission, and alarming the courts to wrong conclusions….The development makes one wonder whether the government officials forget that justice is fundamental to the stability and progress of any society and Nigeria is bigger than each of use or political parties.
For me,these actions are unhealthy for youth development ,empowerment and proper value orientation. They are at best subtle but deliberate attempt to influence the outcome of the political case in court. They are a way of saying it would not enforce the decision of the court if it differs from its expressed view. This is unfair and unfortunate. But woe betides that country whose Judiciary is made impotent by the executive. It is an invitation to anarchy.
The luck here is the assurance of the military that it would defend the Constitution which in my view includes the decisions of the courts. Government must do everything to ensure respect for the rule of law in the country.
History-Selective reference to the history of supreme court’s judgements has been used as a soft touch on the on the soul of courts aimed at influencing the outcome of some election matters before the court.All of a sudden there emerged some spurious reference to history of supreme court’s judgement of presidential petition in Nigeria with doubtful purpose. However to the better informed citizen, the intention is clear : the historical recollection was meant to influence the judgment or outcome of the presidential dispute before the Supreme Court.. Otherwise what is the essence of reminding us that the supreme court has never reversed a presidential election in the country. For me this is a clever or subtle way of telling the petitioners they are wasting their time in court. It was also a way of telling the court not to follow the merit of the case before it, or don’t upturn the apple carte even if there was good, legal and moral reasons to do so- to serve the interest of justice in.They are indirectly saying that it is sacrilege to do justice truthfully and honestly in the national interest. They are wrong.
History is not static and inequitable justice has been the major cause of unrest or upheaval in society. Men and women are ever searching for the truth and justice and society and institutions are ever changing in response to the demands of truth.The fact that the supreme court has not annulled any presidential election in the past sofar does not mean that it cannot do so someday if the judges see the need for it. Everything on earth starts at a time.Everything on earth has its beginning- its first outing. The Supreme court cannot be exception.
Threat of fire & brimstone-
One of the absurdities in Nigeria since the presidential election of 25 th February has been the resort to the use of ” fire and brimstone” aimed at creating intense fear and intimidation in the country aimed at warning institutions including the courts to be careful… Towards this end there had those who had been pugnacious, threatening harmire everywhere. They preach hatred instead of love and understanding.They trade in tribalism, discrimination. They are fascinated by policy of ethnic cleansing, territorial ownership.,instigation of arson against their opponents and selective burning of markets. It is needless to say that these actions are inimical to peace and harmony and we do not need them at this uncertain time of our national history.Truly we dot need all these hypes that poison the souls hurt relationships and breed disunity. Let us develop the patience to wait for the court’s decision.
General concern for justice from the Supreme Court.
Following some controversial judgments made by the Supreme Court in the recent some of them very illogical to the ordinary citizens, there has been a slack of faith in the Judiciary in Nigeria.Indeed, not many citizens have faith in the country’s justice system.It is therefore not surprising that in the face of rising doubt and fears of denial,or possible rape of justice by the more powerful and influential citizens, some have resorted to asking the court not “to support fraud, illegality” and “the president not to handover power” to one who in their view did not meet the constitutional requirements to be declared a president- elect.But these are personal wishes and opinions. Ony the court can say who is correct or not now. We must therefore be patient to hear from the court. It is no use pre-empting it.
But make no mistake: all the litigants are guilty here.
The interested parties may be speaking to different audiences but their real target is same- the Judiciary – to cajole the supreme court to attend the case before it in their own favor.
Strange happening in Nigeria Many strange things are happening within our polity.One of them is wrong intervention by security agents.For instance a man- in fact a local leader whose people’s market and property were burnt or raided by thieves and so began to look for effective means for protection through self- help was invited by the security agency for questioning while those who provoked the concern were not known to have been so invited by law enforcement agencies. Perhaps the fault of the local chief is his desire to protect lives and property by speaking about his plan to put in place some deterent measures against any rude incursion in future was reportedly invited by security agency for questioning. But those who carried out the arson, made the market and neighborhoods unsafe, prevented some people from voting and asking some Nigerians to leave Lagos are not known to have so invited for interrogation or arrested.Some have spoken of double standards under the law. For sure the gap here raises many questions especially of unequal treatment of citizens before the law.Whie many are wondering if this was how we want to run Nigeria henceforth, it should be stressed that the bravado here is purpose driven -to intimidate the Judiciary – more specifically to influence the outcome of the political case before the Supreme court.
Fascism? No Please.
Unlike Prof Soyinka the highly respected Nobel Prize Winner who had had a long history of defending the the cause of the oppressed- locally, globally, and who had seen fascism in the air Nigeria, l do not see fascism in Datti’s emotional outburst. Rather than fascism, what l see are anger, frustration, fear, doubts, cry for justice based on some understanding of how easy it has been for our institutions to be manipulated by some elite groups to their own advantage in Nigeria.
SOYINKA Is not a stranger in Jerusalem.He is not an ordinary Nigerian, African or mere international figure. He is grear man of letters and substance. His voice carries great weight. For sure he is aware of how very hysterical the western world including the USA could be any time Hitler, Musoloni and fascism are mentioned. For them fascism are utmost horror or evil or highest degree of intolerance personified. Given his high national and international profile Methinks that Soyinka shoud not have used such dreadful word to tag Datti’s interview. Going by his antecedents Datti is a moralist, great patriot and a strong democrat to the core. I see in him an honest, stoic determination to reclaim what he thinks truly belongs to the Labor party but now in his view given wrongly to the APC.He has a right to challenge percieved injustice He may be wrong or right here. This is not important. His party went to court to seek redress. Honestly a real fascist has no business with the court of law because his view is supposed to be supreme.In any case,fascism which was actually inforned and driven by intense nationalism and patriotism was not bad originally until Hitler in Germany and Mussoloni of Italy poisoned it and made it a weapon of intolerance, oppression, horror and dictatorship. Datti is not yet in power and his statements are only part of the the general struggle by each of the litigants to win the court to its side..He was only alerting the big brothers to be careful for the ordinary citizens are watcing.. They are only part of the subtle efforts by all the feuding parties to influence the court to go in certain direction that favors them.
However as already indicated we are worried about Soyinka’s view because it carries much weight both at home and abroad.He is not an ordinary Nigerian, certainly not a tribal or ethnic bigot or champion not an Igbo hater for he was jailed by Gowon for his pro Igbo sentiments and actions during the war.He is a Nigerian patriot and a humanist of the finest specie. Still his intervention could hurt the cause of the LP badly and influence global opinion and the supreme court’s decision against the labor party. It may be unintended consequence or pressure. This is the pains of LP and the tragedy of the intervention.The mere mention of fascism or fascist inclination by him’ -a Nobel laureate is enough to harm labour party, conjure frightening memories of Hitler and Musoloni Era in Europe and to make them to stay clear off the labor party of Nigeria. This is the effect of alarm or danger of Soyinka’s reference to fascism in his observation on Datti’s TV interview.
Unwise Actions of some of the aides ofpresident- elect.
Since the end of the presidential election there had been streams of provocative words and harmful actions led by some aides of the president elect. A child whose candy has be taken cannot be prevent from crying. Against this background, let me appael to Nigerians to give peace and justice a chance and offer some words of advice to aides of the president’- elect. Some of their actions had been unwise and provocative. While every patriotic citizen must work forthe peace, unity and progress of Nigeria, the aides of the president elect ought to lead the peace team to ensure that nothing seriously calamitous happens to prevent inauguration in May 2023.As the wiseman has observed, those who live in glasshouse should not throw stones. While uneasy lies the head lthat wears the crown the sacred duty of the palace guard is to protect the crown and not to break or expose it to breakage.The present belligerent posture of the aides of the president elect is therefore counter- productive.The over bearing triumphal attitude of some of the aides is unwise, disgusting and uncalled for. They should know that all is not well with the country.She has been extremely sick, divisive, disunited and disoriented.Nigeria needs calming and healing right now .
Many citizens are still angry and disappointed with INEC’s poor outing.In the final analysis, it is really not about Alhaji Ahmed Bola Tinubu perse the president-elect.Rather, it is more about injustice, neglect, marginalization of a section of the country – the SEZone and the need for proper power shift based on some shared values and belief since 1999 when democracy was restored.The task is to ensure that everyone feels a sense of safety, belonging and unity in Nigeria. This cannot be achieved through mutual antagonism , distrust and alienation of others or ane another.The importance of peace, stability, cooperation, etc ought to be obvious especially to aides of the presidential aides.
Disappointment, disagreement,shattered values and adjustment to the new reality will take some time and deliberate efforts to abate or settle.
Based on the priciples of powershift and zoning there are many citizens such as this writer who believe that the APC and PDP should have zoned the presidential ticket to the SE in the interest of justice and fair play and unity of the country.There are indeed many pressing issues to tackle today with great wisdom and for everyone especially the aides of the presidential Elect to be wiser to avoid deep crisis of confidence and distrust.
There are cogent reasons for them to be more cautious, less wreckless in words and actions: No matter how we deodorize it, the presidential election conducted by Inec was heavily flawed. The failure to publish results as promised by Inec or agreed before the game started provided much grounds for suspicion.Nigeria is bigger than each of us.And we have a collective responsibility to safeguard her unity,security and promote her development and progress.There are violated values that need restoring, promoting. Going by conventional practice since 1999 which rested on the principles of zoning and rotation of power some groups felt that the political system was unjustly operated and power was snatched from them.Recall that at the APC convention some asked:”where is justice”?They saw neither justice nor respectfor shared values and belief in the country..These are soul issues that cannot be white- washed.This is part of the sad and distrustful background we must consider today in dealing with life after elections in Nigeria.
The persistent injustice and failed efforts to remedy the situation are historical facts and reality that require due attention of the camp of president elect that cannot be wished away with a wave of the hand. It requires a more sober approach than being exhibited by the president elect’s aides to produce the desired results especially peace, harmony, unity and development of country.
Any major crisis precipated by arrogance of power, insensitivity to injured feeling violated shared valurs and poisoned utterances could hurt all of badly.This is why the unity, development and survival of the country are of great concern after the General Elections.
For us no matter the provocation, the president elect’s aides must learn to exercise restraints expecially in their utterances.They do not need to pour petrol on an already burning house. INEC, not Tinubu is on trial.
For me all these hypes, bravado and grandstanding of the moment are not necessary or helpful. .This is not the right time for dirty fight, for self- chest beating,for emphasizing”it is our turn” stuff.Rather it is time for national healing and genuine reconciliation and reconnection. It is certainly not the time to preach hatred, disharmony and to abuse others especially to ask the Igbo to go to blazes or jump into the lake or even to leave lagos.
Well our desires for power shift and all that are mere wishes for the now.The new reality is that a president elect had been declared for the country by the Umpire who must begin to do all in his powers to calm frayed nerves. However some political parties are in court to challenge the declaration by INEC.While we must be humle, democratic and patient to hear the courts” decision it should be recognized that the country which is bigger than each of us is walking on very slippery ground and in need of support for survival. It is our collective duty to stretch our hands of friendship and support to prevent her from falling. Nigeria is in urgent need of healing especially of recent wounds infllicted on the ⁹body and soul of the citizens,and on stability,, unity, development of the country.She needs justice, cooperation and support of all Nigerians.
Our prayer is that God should grant the courts the courage to deliver justice in the national interest.No one can say with certainty who will win or not win the court cases today. For now it suffices to note that the current belligerent approach by the aides of the president elect would doom the country and make the Tinubu presidency uneventful- if not checked in time.
▪ John Abhuere, PhD @ Centre for Child Care and Youth nonDevelopment Abuja.
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