Phrank Shaibu, the Special Assistant on Public
Communications to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, has described the destruction of
billboards with the inscription, “All Eyes on The Judiciary” as clear evidence
of President Bola Tinubu’s authoritarianism and assault on freedom of speech.
Shaibu stated this in a statement issued Tuesday while
reacting to the directive by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria
(ARCON) to pull down all billboards carrying such an inscription across
Nigeria.
He said the entire incident reinforced the argument that
election cases in court ought to be completed before beneficiaries of
questionable elections are inaugurated.
Shaibu stressed that ARCON had already begun acting like the Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency (LASAA) which had built a reputation of denying Nigerians the right to carry advertisements, which the Lagos State Government deemed “unfavourable”.
He noted that it was ironic that Tinubu claimed to be a
democrat and even boasted of funding the June 12 struggle, only for him to
transform into an intolerant authoritarian after the election.
Atiku’s aide added that it was hypocritical for the same man
to be championing democracy in Niger while at the same time denying Nigerians
the most basic form of democracy, which includes freedom of speech and
expression.
Shaibu noted: “Tinubu has, once again, put his dictatorial
tendency on public display. How has a simple message that says “all eyes are on
the judiciary” suddenly become offensive?
“This is a clear case of abuse of office and reinforces the
argument that court cases ought to be concluded before inauguration so that
beneficiaries of fraudulent elections would not be able to manipulate the
system in their favour.
He further wondered how a message like: “All Eyes on the
Judiciary” would translate into a threat to society.
Shaibu stressed: “The basic principle of social justice is
about the people. The advertisers of the billboards only did what the norm is
in civilised climes.
“It was the agents working to impress an interest that read
meanings to that innocuous advert. Otherwise, it is a basic principle that eyes
must be on the wheel of justice. Eyes must naturally be on the wheel of justice
because when justice is delivered, it must be ‘seen’ to have been just!
“In any case, both Tinubu and the APC are before the same
court. It is curious how they find this particular message upsetting. Anyway,
even if they pull down the billboards, they can never stop all eyes from being
on the judiciary at this historic time.”
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