Deputy President of the Senate,
Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has called on Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to be
vigilant in order to arrest the dwindling fortunes of the nation’s democracy.
He stated this in Abuja at the
2018 Law Week of the NBA, Abuja Branch, on Tuesday, while recalling the
courageous sacrifices of some lawyers and activists in enrhroning democracy in
Nigeria.
According to him, “the current
state of the nation’s democracy would make heroes of the struggle like Chief
Gani Fawehinmi, Chief MKO Abiola, Chuma Ubani, Bamidele Aturu, and Kudirat
Abiola sad in their graves.”
“Our society is in despair today;
democracy is receding; rule of law appears to be at the crossroads; and the
killings across the land have become so massive, frequent, and mindless.
Politicians that were once friends have turned our politics into a war of
attrition.
“Our elections, in many
instances, have been highly militarised, with some security officers accused of
physically assaulting the staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC). Nigerians have watched on live television the raid of the hallowed
chamber of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the carting away
of its mace by thugs.
“As if emboldened by that,
political thugs stormed the premises of the Rivers State High Court. The nation
watched with great concern the heavy and prolonged gunfire by armed thugs, who,
but for the resistance put up by the people of Rivers State, had virtually
succeeded in preventing the court from carrying out its legitimate duties.
Today, to hold a different political opinion appears tantamount to a political
suicide”, he stated.
The Senator, however, said that
frightening as the emerging trend appeared, he was more troubled by the loud
silence of the NBA.
“The Bar has not uttered any word
of condemnation of these and other clear acts of aggression against the
legislature or the judiciary in recent years.
“We must bear in mind that
democracy does not die in a day. Democracy dies a slow and painful death. Democracy
will die if the independence of the judiciary is destroyed, the National
Assembly turned to a rubber stamp, the media gagged, the Civil Society
Organisations sucked-in, and the electoral umpire annexed.
“But it is not in anybody’s
interest, let alone the Bar, for our democracy to fail. However, we cannot fold
our hands, keep sealed lips, and expect Heavens to play our parts as lawyers.
So, the Bar must rise in defense of democracy.
“There is no sitting on the
fence. The poet, Dante Algheri, warns that the hottest parts of hell are
reserved for those, who in the time of moral crisis, preserve their neutrality.
The Bar must speak up against impunity. The Bar must be heard loud and clear in
condemnation of desecration and intimidation, and annexation of key
institutions of democracy.
“The Bar must stand up in defence of the rule
of law, separation of power, rights, liberties, and other laudable tenets
without which democracy becomes an empty barrel, a civilianised dictatorship,
and, above all, the Bar must continue to promote justice, equity and fairness
to sustain our democracy”, Ekweremadu emphasised.
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