Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka yesterday warned against impunity and disrespect for the rule of law.
He also urged President Goodluck Jonathan to be careful about the proposed National Conference.
He said the past and issues being raised about the conference must be taken into consideration.
He queried the government’s commitment to anti-corruption campaign.
Soyinka, who spoke at a book launch in honour of the retiring President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami, said justice is the foundation of humanity.
The book, a compendium of Salami’s judgments, is authored by Mrs. Funmi Quadri.
In his address entitled, “Justice is never siddon look,” Soyinka said there must be justice for all whether rich or poor.
He said: “I declare, I quote justice is the first foundation of humanity. At all times, law, even where it is temporary unskilled, emasculated, predominates, written or unwritten, law embodies the total will of the society Yes, law exercises an authority that transcends mere power. That is why we must task those whosoever is administrator of law with an ethical rigour, a measure that is paramount perhaps by only whatsoever the society expects of medical doctors who minister to the people’s physical and mental health or religious ministers who are preoccupied with the requirements of the spirit.
“Governors are blindly selective to what court orders they obey and President becomes completely deaf or blind to judicial orders.
“And that question is this: what is the role of the rest of us the in between humanity, while that cry for justice, awaits the arrival of chariot of law in its awesome majesty. Do we adopt literarily that often misunderstood commentary of Attorney-General and Minister of Justice of the nation, the very figure whose butchery constitute my reference for today’s retrospection. Do we fold our hands and literarily siddon look? Most of the time it does appear that we have no option when justice appears to fail even his own immediate high echelon
He revisited some unresolved assassinations including that of the former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Bola Ige,.
He called on the Federal Government to address these murders claiming that there are enough clues which could lead to the unraveling of these killings.
He observed that while injustices were being perpetrated by the privileged and those in power state agencies had been putting suspects on trial for forging documents to get visa.
On the proposed national conference, he asked the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan to tread softly.
He said he should look at the past and consider issues being raised.
He added: “Yes, many have warned, they have warned tirelessly and in various forms become deafened by the sound of their voice as it bounces back from the stones walls of a different complacency and sometimes criminality and complicity. The most notorious example of this today is of course the so called national conference.
“As many other propositions, the social context which is ever changing may provide avenue of fresh thinking but the stark truth is that all have been said cogently and relevantly. However, sometime it appears that the stone that the builders rejected etc, I think you know the rest, the question however is whether or not the optimism of those scripture(the Christian) is right and that this rejected stone often abusively dismissed indeed prove to be the corner stone of new modesty viable edifice.
“However, even a child knows that before the erection of a simple farmhouse, the ground, large or small has to be cleared, the debris burnt or plough back into the ground while it is converted into entirely new matter composed or disposed of in such a manner that it loses its earlier capacity to obstruct, compromise or endanger the new organism. Those who think they can erect a future without first ridding the ground of the past debris flout against natural order or regeneration.”
The Nobel Laureate added: “Of all the conceivable negative baggage I can think of right now, the most pressing, I have always maintained, takes the form of a critical absence, subversion or suppression of – Justice. One of the elementary lessons we all learnt from school, even those of us with incurably unscientific minds, is that – Nature abhors a vacuum. In the absence of justice, something else takes its place, a monstrosity in myriad forms and shapes, fecund with yet unencountered horrors – indeed even as the portals of Justice are shut, the lid of a Pandora’s box is opened. These are not mere figures of speech but narratives of experienced reality. No society is exempt, and no one experience is unique. They all differ in form, intensity and duration – no more.
“How have we fared, within this environment that most immediately sustains us – well, sort of? I shall evoke here one of the most notorious public profile cases of the serial degradations of Justice that seemingly shook this nation to its foundations. There are other cases we could cite – the murder of Dele Giwa for instance. Or Harry Marshall. Kudirat Abiola. Suliat Adedeji. A.K. Dikibo. Abukakar Rimi. Barnabas and Abigail Igwe, husband and wife, both officers of the law. Or Chief Dina – lest I stand accused of omitting my own homestead. Or indeed numerous others, so quickly relegated into the sump of unsolved cases. My choice today, the main reference point for our sobering retrospection is however singularly apt. Despite his terminal absence, that preeminent victim shares with our celebrant, albeit in a tragic mode, the ironic symbolism of ‘Justice in Denial’, a role that interrogates both the very concept and operations of Justice, and also, the main structure for its delivery, which is – the Judiciary. No one will question the seismic impact of the circumstances that took him from our midst, a dastardly deed which, as already claimed, shook the nation to its very foundations. However, the nation did not topple over – from all appearances. Nonetheless, I am reminded of the condition of Washington ‘Cleopatra’s Needle’ which dominates the zone of the seat of US government – Capitol Hill. When Washington underwent an unprecedented earthquake in 2011, quite mild in comparison with those that regularly hit the other side of the continent – California especially – that nation gave a sigh of relief that very little damage had been done. As we all know however, nations like the United States do not rest satisfied with appearances. Visible or not, internal damages – that very possibility – preoccupied the guardians of public monuments and safety.” Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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