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It is altogether a needless storm. It’s a helluva of avoidable brickbat. But it is down to lawlessness fuelled by desperation and oiled by greed. The matter of suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen and his brash suspension by President Muhammadu Buhari clearly indent the frailty of the nation’s democracy and the obvious weakness of institutions. It throws up the sordid realism that tyranny brews where institutions are deliberately made weak.
It is a case of two wrongs. Onnoghen was wrong not to have declared his assets. As chief law officer of the federation he should lead by example. He should be seen to be above board.
He does not need to be perfect, none is, but he should never be seen, perceived or interpreted to be lawless. His alibi of forgetfulness further accentuates his liability before the law.
And by the way, those who crucify Onnoghen for having fat deposits in his account should stay action. Until the Federal Government is able to prove that the source(s) of the deposits are not clean, he is presumed innocent. In the law, the sources of the deposits and the intendment of the depositors are key, not the amount. Are the deposits proceeds of sale of property belonging to the Justice Onnoghen’s family, extended or nuclear or his in-laws or married children above 18 years or any other source that does not offend the law?
But the truth remains that with such grandiose allegation, Onnoghen ought to have stepped aside. Nigerians rarely resign on account of mere allegation but as the head of the judiciary, the CJN carries a bulky moral burden to continue in office especially after he had admitted his forgetfulness to fully declare his assets. The sporadic invasion of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) and various courts by a bevy of lawyers including Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) to obtain injunctions and restraining orders against further prosecution of the CJN only helped to compound a simple matter.
Yet, even this manic dance by lawyers to defend their own and the admission of negligence by Onnoghen do not justify the rascality of the Buhari government. The President and his team simply went overboard in the suspension of the CJN. The path to such action including his removal from office are well laid out in the statutes. So, why stand the law on its head just to weed the CJN out? The speed of delivery of the suspension and the sudden compliance of the order of the CCT by a government notorious for breaching the law, including flagrant violations of court orders, attest to the desperation of the Buhari government to nudge the CJN out of the way.
Buhari and his handlers have wittingly or unwittingly turned themselves against the popular will. By their action, they demonstrated their strong aversion to the rule of law. This is the greatest danger to any democracy; when the leader stamps the law and stinks up due process. Onnoghen deserves to be suspended or removed but that must and should be in conformity with laid down rules. Emasculating the National Judicial Commission (NJC) from playing its role and usurping the role of the Senate just to axe Onnoghen is in itself an act of corruption, executive recklessness and a crude affront on democracy. You don’t enforce law and order by being lawless.
Nobody is putting up a defence for Onnoghen, if it is proved before the court of law that he illegally acquired any asset but such proof shall only be made valid if government abides by the law. The crass bumping of the judiciary smacks of irresponsibility on the part of the Executive. The NJC which has queried all the parties in the judicial soap opera must be allowed to do its job. Buhari and his agents must therefore abide by the decision of the statutory body empowered by law to investigate and recommend penalty or prosecution for any judge including the CJN found to have contravened the law. There may be no morality in law but there is morality in leadership. This is more of leadership and responsibility than it is of law. Both Buhari and Onnoghen are wrong. Buhari should stop behaving like an uncaged tyrant while Onnoghen should stop playing the possum. Hiding under the cauldron of an armada of SANs does not help his cause.
He ought to have recused himself from the exalted seat after he was confronted with incontrovertible evidence that he failed to comply with the Code of Conduct for public office holders by not declaring his assets. He heads a sensitive arm of government that preaches to lesser mortals that ignorance is not an excuse or a defence. He should simply lead by example.
But wait, who says the United States, European Union and the United Kingdom should mind their business in this matter.
To ask the US, EU and UK to stay away from the nation’s internal business is arrant nonsense, sheer hypocrisy. Why do we quickly ward off Western nations anytime they disagreed with us but are quick to jet to their domains for proper medicare. We are quick to dispatch our children to study in the properly managed institutions of these nations. We have even overtly submitted ourselves to them when we package our pregnant wives to the US and EU nations or elsewhere to be delivered of our baby just so our children will enjoy the citizenships of these nations. We are the chief consumers of the technologies of these nations from household to automobile and when we need a good rest, it is to their nests we nestle in search of maximum comfort.
Visit the High Commissions and embassies of these nations, our children are huddled in long queues to grab their visas. There is even a growing trend these days. Nigerians are resigning from their jobs and applying for residence permits and citizenships of these nations. It is a long list of why Nigerian leaders should never bare their blurred fangs anytime the West makes a point about our ill-mannered behaviour especially as it affects democracy.
Yes, Nigeria is a sovereign nation. But our sovereignty becomes someone else’s liability each time there is humanitarian crisis here. As Africa’s most populous nation and one whose citizens are all over the world, the world must never look away from how we conduct our affairs. The people we borrowed democracy from are only asking us to play by the rules. This is not too much to ask from a nation that they feed her citizens with their technologies, education, hospitality and even religion.
Those who attack EU, UK and US should spare a thought: our President is one of their biggest clients in medical tourism. Ditto for other top politicians. We must learn to respect our seniors, sovereignty or not.
