Permit me to begin this
contribution with a few comparisons. Consider the following.
Mr. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
was elected President of Ghana in 2016.
His father Edward Akuffo-Addo,
was one of Ghana’s “big six” nationalists and elderstatesmen who led and fought
for Ghana’s independence from the British in 1957. He was a former Chief
Justice of Ghana and a former ceremonial President of Ghana. He dedicated his
life to the liberation and service of Ghana.
Again consider this. Mr. Uhuru
Kenyatta was elected President of Kenya in 2013 and again in 2017.
His father, Jomo Kenyatta, was
the much loved and reverred first President of Kenya and leader of Kenya’s
famous “Mau Mau” movement. He led an armed struggle against the British
colonial masters and fought for and won Kenya’s independence from colonial rule
in 1963.
Finally consider this. Mr. Felix
Thishiekedi- has just been elected President of the Congo DRC.
His father, Etienne Thishiekedi,
was former Prime Minister of the Congo and one of the most courageous,
respected and formidable opposition leaders in Congo’s colonial and
post-colonial history. He fought gallantly against French and Belgian colonial
rule and later the brutal and corrupt dictatorship of the neo-colonial stooge
and brutal dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko. He dedicated his life to the liberation
and service of the Congo.
Nana Akuffo Addo and Uhuru
Kenyatta are doing very well as President of their respective countries. They
both preside over the affairs of nations where the rule of law is respected,
institutions work, human rights are respected and, most importantly, where
there is a healthy respect for the principle of separation of powers between
the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary.
I have no doubt that Felix
Thishiekedi will do equally well for the Congo and, over a period of time,
establish the same ethos of democratic values and good governance in the Congo.
Sadly in Nigeria the story is
very different. Consider the following. General Muhammadu Buhari, as he then
was, led a mutiny against his Commander-in-Chief and toppled a
democratically-elected government which was led by President Shehu Shagari, one
of those that fought for Nigeria’s independence, a former Minister of Education
in the First Republic, a great nationalialst, a humble and gentle patriot and a
much-loved elder statesman in 1983.
Buhari put Nigeria under his
cruel yoke and bondage and was military Head of State for two gruelling and
evil years, till 1985 when he himself was toppled in another military coup
d’etat by his own Chief of Army Staff, General Ibrahim Babangida. He was elected
President of Nigeria in 2015 and he is seeking a second mandate next month.
His father, Hardo Adamu, was a
nomadic duck-seller from Niger Republic and later a “dogari” (bodyguard) in the
Emir of Daura’s palace.
Other than that we know little
about Buhari’s background, heritage, lineage and upbringing. What we do know
however is that his tyrannical and abysmal record as President speaks for
itself.
It has been an eloquent testimony
to carnage, nepotism, misoginy, corruption, bigotry, strife, sectarianism,
division, wickedness, evil, incompetence and the abuse of power.
If anyone has any doubts about
this they should ponder on the following.
Prince Deji Adeyanju, a leading
voice of the opposition and a well-known human rights activist, is in custody and
is being framed with murder.
Senator Dino Melaye, a leading
member of the opposition PDP and a Senator of the Federal Republic, is in
custody and is being framed with attempted murder.
Dr. Doyin Okupe, a leading
opposition figure and a former spokesman to President Goodluck Jonathan is in
custody and is being framed with corruption.
Colonel Sambo Dasuki, a leading
opppsition figure and the former National Security Advisor to President
Goodluck Jonathan, is in custody and is being framed with corruption.
Sheik Ibrahim El Zak Zaky, a
leading oppositiion figure and the leader of Nigeria’s Shiite Muslim community,
is in custody and is being framed with murder.
Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, a leading
opposition figure and the leader of IPOB, is driven into self-imposed exile and
is being framed with treason.
Is this the way to silence all
dissenting voices and the opposition? Is that the way to run a democracy?
What about Air Chief Marshall
Badeh another leading opposition figure who was President Goodluck Jonathan’s
Chief of Defence Staff, who was murdered in the most suspicious and mysterious
circumstances and whose Air Force security men either refused or failed to
defend and protect him during the attack?
Many believe that the state had a
hand in his assasination and this is quite plausible given the circumstances of
his murder and the fact that many things just don’t add up.
One is constrained to ask: is
that the way to deal with the opposition in any civilised society?
The latest atrocity is that the
Federal Government has directed the Chief Justice of the Nigeria, Justice
Walter Onnoghen GCON, to vacate his office immediately.
They have also declared their
intention to arraign him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal on what I have no
doubt will be spurious, bogus and baseless criminal charges on monday.
Worse still, one Dennis Aghanya,
the author of the petition against Onnoghen was Buhari’s former Media Aide and
the former National Publicity Secretary of Buhari’s former political party the
CPC.
He is the Executive Secretary of
the group that wrote the petition against the Chief Justice of Nigeria!
All this in a brazen attempt to
intimidate and control the Judiciary before the February 16th presidential
election. We are now officially Africa’s biggest and most hopeless basket case
and a Banana Republic where one man can thwart the will of almost 200 million
people.
Yet the truth is that if the
legal profession had spoken with one voice, especially the NBA and NJC leadership,
in October 2016 after the DSS’s illegal invasion of Judges homes and trials,
like yours truly did, we would not have got to this stage.
When agents of the state went
after courageous, independent-minded, upright and forthright Judges like
Justice Niyi Ademola, Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta
and so many others and sought to destroy their lives and careers with unproven
and baseless criminal charges simply because they refused to bend to their will
and be manipulated by them, few of their colleagues on the Bench or members of
the Bar expressed outrage. Clearly the chickens are now coming home to roost
and, outside of those that have been intimidated or compromised, none of them
are safe.
In this context the words of Mr.
Dele Okenla, a legal practitioner, are incisive and insighful. He said,
“First they came for Justice
Adeniyi Ademola, because he dared to give order that Dasuki Sambo their
arch-enemy be given bail. Then they came for Paul Usoro (SAN) the NBA President
because he seems to be closer to PDP than to APC. Now they have come for the
jugular, the Chief Justice of Nigeria himself, the head of a parallel, separate
and independent arm of government. These people have no conscience, no
inhibitions and no limits. The Judiciary is the last hope of the common man and
when they have finished with us, they will surely come for you. As sure as the
sun rises in the East and sets in the West, they will come for you the common
man. It is just a matter of time”.
That is the bitter truth yet
sadly few are listening.
Even the traditional media has
been thoroughly intimidated and has lost the courage to stand firm, speak out
or even publish the articles and comments of those that are prepared to damn
the consequences and speak the bitter truth to power. The television networks
are even worse.
In view of the situation that we
have found ourselves in I urge my compatriots to ponder on the following long
and hard.
Now that CJN Onnoghen has been
ordered to step down please take note that in Nigeria today the the Presidency,
the Federal Government, the National Assembly, the Judiciary, Security
Agencies, Military, Intelligence Agencies, INEC and even the leading opposition
party are all in the hands of northern Muslims. The implications are startling
and obvious and the consequences will be dire.
Given that, I advise the CJN to
ignore this monstrous, self-serving, unlawful and unconstitutional directive
and refuse to vacate his office.
I also urge him not to submit
himself to the jurisdiction of any criminal court or the Code of Conduct
Tribunal without proper reference to and a recommendation for prosecution from
the National Judicial Council.
Anything short of that will be a
capitulation to tyranny, injustice, lawlessness, anarchy and servitude and it
would result in dangerous and far-reaching consequences for the unity of our
country.
Every southern leader worth his
or her salt, regardless of party affiliation, ought to ponder on this matter.
It is either Nigeria belongs to us all or let there be no Nigeria.
It is either we have a real
democracy with a clear delination and separation of powers between the
Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary or let the whole system and country
go to blazes.
We are not interested in being
slaves and we refuse to accept the yoke and bondage of dictatorship.
Chief E.K. Clark, one of the most
reverred and respected voices of the south and an elderstatesman of our nation,
spoke our collective minds very well when he said,
“They just want to harass him
(Onnoghen) and molest him simply because they want somebody that will be
pliable after they have rigged the elections, to appoint tribunal chairmen and
members for them to consolidate their rigging. That is all what they are
looking for. But I want to warn that this country belongs to all of us. If some
people think that they own this country, let them have it and others will have
their own country. You cannot treat some people as if they are slaves or
second-class citizens in this country. We will never allow it! Not at this
time! he harassment is becoming too much!”
Let us hope that those that are
hell bent on holding on to power at all costs and enslaving and subjugating our
people are listening. For their own sake I hope that that they refrain from
treading the dangerous path that they have chosen to take before it is too late
because I see dark and thunderous clouds lying ahead.
Sadly I also see what Prophet
T.B. Joshua has described as a “stop-over” and “an interruption in our
democratic process” unfolding if we are not careful and if we allow this
anarchy, chaos, lawlessness and impunity to prevail. As he rightly said, we
must pray hard to prevent such a calamity from befalling us.
When one compares Nigeria’s
fortunes over the last three years and six months with that of Ghana, Kenya and
now the Congo DRC one is constrained to ask the following questions.
What happened to us? How did we
get to where we are? How did a man like Buhari become President of the largest,
most educated, most respected and most powerful country in black Africa? Is our
problem spiritual or is it self-inflicted?
Who took us to the dark forest
and unleashed this plague of bloodtirsty demons and devouring locusts upon us?
Who brought our nation to her knees and turned her from being the giant of
Africa to the dwarf of the continenent? Who has bewitched Nigeria?
Can someone please ask Prophet TB
Joshua, Bishop David Oyedepo, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, Bishop David Abioye, Pastor
David Ibiyeomie, Pastor Paul Enenche, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, Pastor Paul
Adefarasin, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, Pastor El Buba, Pastor John Kennedy, Apostle
Johnson Suleman, Dr. B.O. Ezekiel and all the other great men of God in our
country to answer these profound questions?
As they say, the first step to
solving a problem is to identify its source. May God deliver Nigeria.
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THANKS FEMI ... I & THE REST 199 MILLION NIGERIAN ARE BURYING OUR HEADS ON SAND PRETENDING AS IF ALL IS WELL OR IT'S NOT HAPPENING....
ReplyDeleteGET UP MY COMRADES AND HAVE YOUR SAY AS TO WHAT TYPE OF FUTURE YOU WANT AND THOSE OF YOUR LOVED ONES..
THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY...TAKE A POSITIVE ACTION FOR POSITIVE HUMANITIES...
DF ROLE (in Nigera Rustic Village)ichi