NIGERIA: A LAND OF IMPUNITY

I may not be wrong if I say like Thomas Paine that: "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods, and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated"

The events in the last few days have left so much to be desired, and the future itself might not be salubrious if caution is not taken. The Nigeria polity no doubt from history has been a complicated phenomenon, but the level and shape it has taken these days are becoming extremely disturbing. 

More than ever before, the law of the State are being broken with impunity and those that suppose to be its custodians are not bathing eyelids. What is in vogue in Nigeria, today is the rule of men rather than the rules of law. For instance, one cannot but wonder why the Inspector General of Police will fail to honour the invitation of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; and instead of doing so will send his subordinates to represent him at three different occasions. 

Arguably, he may have issues with members of the Senate as many Nigerians including myself do, but refusing to honour their inviation is a denigration of the over 190 million Nigerians which they represent. The Legislatures as seen from other climes represents the first estate of the state, followed by the executive and Judiciary in that other. Hence, disrespecting them is tantamount to disrespecting the entire Nigerians. 

Added to this is the recent invitation of the Senate President in print and non-print media without a formal invitation. The Office of the Senate President is an institution which must be accorded due respect irrespective of the occupier of such office. As far as the Nigeria State is concerned, he is the number one law officer deserving of all necessary respect. Therefore inviting Senator Bukola Saraki on the pages of newspapers, magazines and social media platforms is a denigration of that office and all it represents especially as it relating to the Offa Bank Robbery. 

While nobody is above the law including the Senate President, every accused according to our law is assumed to be innocent before he is found guilty; hence, subjecting any Nigeria citizen to media trial without having his or her day in court is a disservice, and an aberration of the ethos of rule of law and fundamental human rights as enshrined in our Constitution and the dictates of International law treaties such as the African Charters on Human and People's Rights of 1986, and the Atlantic Charter of 1941.  

Be that as it may, the recent show of brinkmanship by the National Assembly in solidarity with their members currently having one issues or the other with the Police is equally one that left much to be desired. I wish they could rise up with such vituperations on issues that concern an average Nigerian. Unfortunately, you and I know that this is not the case, hence, the seemingly disinterested of Nigerians on issues that affect them.  

In all, the present political gladiators, however, are laying bad precedents for successive regimes which may make a mockery of our democratic experiences and institutions. I posit without any modicum of reservation that no arms of government in Nigeria presently in the democratic regime can be said not to be engaging in impunity; from the Presidency to all his appointees and agencies of the Executive, and the Legislature as well as the judiciary. 

For instance, the continuous detain of accused persons such as Dasuki, Elshasaki, among others is a worrisome irrespective of their alleged crimes; as even people who have committed a crime against humanity are given the benefits of the doubt until proven otherwise.  The bench and the bars have also failed to live up to the ethos of their profession through the award of indiscriminate judgement and delay tactics in the dispensation of justice. 

One cannot but equally be bemused by the recent threat by the National Assembly to evoke the relevant Section of the Constitution against the President and his appointees for brazing disregard of the legislature and perceived witchhunt of their members. It would be a delighting and welcome event; if the reason for the threatening impeachment of the President is in the interest of the average man on the streets. 

The dead demands our respect but this seems not to be the case as far as the victims of the Offa Robbery Case of April 5, 2018, is concerned. The discourse today is not so much about getting justice to the victims and the bereaved, but on who blinks the eyes first between the IG of Police and the Senate President. The Police represented by the IG may have a good case against the Senate President considering the evidence some of the accused have spewed out; but the mode of presentation may, in the end, make the whole issue looks like a political persecution. 

In all of these, the common man is at the receiving end of the whole saga because when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. May God save us from this trying moment. 

God bless Nigeria!