By Tabia Princewill
IF the Buhari administration has done one thing right, it’s
to show us why exactly it is so difficult to turn things around in Nigeria. The
eyes of the ordinary man on the street should be open to the many strangely
legal and illegal pathways available and commonly used by the political elite
hell bent on maintaining the status quo.
Justice Onnoghen
The first among their methods, besides using legal jargon to
confuse the uninformed or exploiting legal loopholes and technicalities, is
misinformation and manipulation aided by some sections of the media.
Let us take a quick walk down memory lane, starting with:
“no government can fix Nigeria in four years”, a statement by former President
Goodluck Jonathan at the end of his own four-year term. Ironically, he was
right. There are simply too many people standing in the way of progress: our
dysfunctional system was purpose built to allow a predatory elite unchallenged
and unequal access to our resources.
Unequal access to our resources
The Constitution we inherited from the military has many
strange clauses, including ones which place the bodies meant to investigate or
sanction chief executives under the control and authority of these same
executives.
What a perfect way to ensure no one is ever found guilty of
anything: constitutionally, only Onnoghen can suspend Onnoghen in order to
investigate the same Onnoghen.
In legal terms, the NJC, a body under the Chief Justice’s
supervision, is expected to also investigate, suspend and/or sanction him.
What we call “due process” in Nigeria, is faulty in many
ways. Our laws, particularly those pertaining to the code of conduct of civil
servants and political appointees, have built in loopholes which have always
allowed individuals to escape justice, or to escape proper investigation to
begin with.
No Senate has ever deemed it fit to review such aberrations,
for obvious reasons. Protecting politically exposed persons from punishment or
investigation is the primary “human right” of concern to the Nigerian elite and
nothing else.
Politicians have always counted on the ease with which
Nigerians can be manipulated: the collapse of our educational system is
intentional, it’s the reason why some people see nothing wrong with the many
unresolved allegations hanging over some of our nation’s top citizens who continue
to determine our country’s future. When the June 12 election was stolen from
us, some people treated it like a “Yoruba issue” with nothing to do with the
rest of Nigeria.
We’re not wondering why Obasanjo and Atiku are suddenly back
to being friends, despite the terrible and damning things they both said about
each other. We ignored it when former Finance Minister, Okonjo-Iweala said the
National Assembly received N172 billion to pass the 2015 budget and that this
has been the practice from time immemorial.
We made jokes about budget padding. We also ignored the $16
billion power funds allegedly “mismanaged” by the administration led by
Obasanjo who curiously criticises every President he helped install once they
allegedly no longer see eye to eye.
INEC officials who admitted they received $115 million from
Diezani Alison-Madueke, the former Minister of Petroleum to compromise the 2015
elections were sentenced to seven years in prison over the weekend. Curiously,
this isn’t discussed.
We ignored it when Justice Dahiru Sale was removed by
Obasanjo and Ayo Salami was removed by Jonathan. Do we see a pattern here? Our
Chief Justice, Walter Onnoghen, who managed to “forget” $900,000 is only taking
a leaf from the “forgetful” Nigerian people, many of whom act as if justice
doesn’t apply to the rich or well-connected.
The corruption industry in Nigeria is more sophisticated
than any bystander could possibly imagine. While the US, the UK and the EU
“mean well” (although this could be argued given what WikiLeaks cables revealed
they supposedly knew about the activities of oil companies such as Shell which
allegedly also play a key role in subverting our tax income and judicial
processes), they must admit the obvious, like anyone who wants Nigeria’s
progress: the anti-corruption fight obviously needs a judiciary that is above
reproach.
Damaging evidence
Buhari’s “fear” of being perceived as a dictator, despite
the mind-boggling facts or damaging evidence of corruption enacted by those the
EFCC and security agencies have investigated or prosecuted, which could support
or explain his actions, is a thought Obasanjo, Yar’Adua or Jonathan wrestled
with.
Lee Kuan Yew, a man who is now celebrated by the West after
he successfully sanitised Singapore, took many of the steps Buhari is
ironically being criticised for today. Mandela was called a terrorist by the
British government, Martin Luther King wasn’t appreciated by the US government
until his death (in fact “troublemaker” was the most polite term used to
describe him).
So, sometimes foreign governments get it wrong, in pursuance
of their own interests and agendas at the time. Nigerians need to decide what
they want, once and for all. Our country’s survival depends on it.
President Muhammadu Buhari
BY signing Executive Order 007, the President allowed
private companies to build federal roads. This is another one of those
underreported yet potentially game-changing events in recent months. Zainab
Ahmed, Finance Minister said: “Our intention is for there to be at least one significant
eligible road project underway in every state of the federation within the
first year of the operation of this scheme”.
A total of six investors (Dangote, Lafarge, Unilever, Flour
Mills, NLNG, China Road and Bridge Corporation Nigeria Limited) will build 19
federal roads in 11 states in Nigeria (794.4km across the six geopolitical
zones). In return for tax breaks, critical projects will be undertaken by the
private sector. Couldn’t this have been done decades ago?
National Judicial Council
SOCIO-ECONOMIC Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP,
sent a petition to the National Judicial Council, NJC, demanding it
“immediately takes over the case of Justice Walter Onnoghen from the Code of
Conduct Tribunal with a view to setting up a committee to investigate the
allegations of breach of constitutional asset declaration requirements against
him”.
A SERAP statement said: “It is in times like this that the
NJC must be most vigilant and alive to its constitutional duties, if it is not
to permit a diminution of our treasured constitutional rights.” Interestingly,
Onnoghen reportedly postponed the NJC meeting without giving a reason for doing
so. Is that due process?
Kemi Adeosun resigned over an NYSC certificate, yet with the
Onnoghen matter, some people encouraged him to neither resign nor take the
expected steps to clear his name. In Nigeria the accused is never held to the
same standard as the accuser. President Buhari said he expected Onnoghen to
have “acted swiftly to spare our Judicial Arm further disrepute by removing
himself from superintending over it while his trial lasted”.
He also said it was “no secret that this government is
dissatisfied with the alarming rate in which the Supreme Court of Nigeria under
the oversight of Justice Walter Onnoghen has serially set free, persons accused
of the most dire acts of corruption, often on mere technicalities, and after
quite a number of them have been convicted by the trial and appellate courts”.
If petty thieves in Nigeria were granted use of the same
excuses and loopholes as the high and mighty, no one would ever be convicted no
matter the crime.
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