Why I hate the rule of law

Ikechi Udegbunam Chukwunonye
 

FOR Obasanjo to be impeached the rule of law must be observed. Rule of law enables the Rotimi Ameachis, Atiku Abubakars challenge various ‘infringements of their rights.’ Can’t there be any flexibity in throwing all these people out without resorting to the rule of law? Rule of law is time wasting and arduous. There may be little revolution in the people vested with authority to throw out erring members. This is my grouse with the rule of law. It provides a shield to rogues, serial under-performers, and treasury rapists. Under the rule of law criminals appeal for ‘rights.’ Rule of law says we have to provide enough evidence for prosecution: ‘Beyond reasonable doubt.’ Is rule of law all that modern ‘civilization’ has for a crime-free society?

A.V.Dicey’s famous pronouncement on the rule of law greeted my entry into government studies in secondary school. ‘No one is above the law, everyone is subject to law,’ so I was taught in Senior Secondary School (SSS).Rule of law, we were taught, requires basic submission to law. We were taught the importance of due process, separation of powers between the three arms of government, the various checks and balances and the insubordination of everyone including those in the top notches of authority to law. At the time Nigeria was under a dictatorship where violence was rife so the rule of law made sense to me but embryonic to conclude on its validity. Human life was worth less than a loaf of bread. Life was abused of any dignity by people ballooned with quick powers of violation. At a very young age I was instructed by a relative many times to read newspapers. Not once, not twice would I be told so. The newspapers/magazines I would read ranged from Punch, Guardian, Tell, and Newswatch etc.The relative was himself a journalist who wrote with fire and brimstone in his time. He told me during his heydays as a journalist he was approached by some people who had come to apprehend him for writing so poignantly against their deeds.

I remember when Abacha came on stage. The whole stage was quiet. His appearance seemed to have been done very stealthy. The atmosphere I lived in was largely indifferent to politics. People cared about their immediate well-being. Market women, traders, teachers etc occupied themselves with activities that would ensure their existence. There was no one to look up to in government; the hoi polloi were left to their own elements.  The Nigerian newspapers as far as I was concerned offered me nothing. They appeared to be procrastinators unable to report progress because there were genuinely none. They never reported any tangible progress – it was always going to happen. This futuristic deception offended my straight-shooting inclination. I quit reading Nigerian newspaper because they were town criers with no audience. There was nothing good on the ground they could report, just vain rhetoric of corrupt sectional rulers. The newspapers had to survive so they kept their pages going with these empty, worthless renderings.

Years on I am confronted with the same decision: should I stop reading Nigerian newspapers? They offer nothing because nothing is happening in Nigeria . Nigeria is not working. Government has been reduced to a vast business empire where the most shrewd and influential takes home as much as secrecy and greed would allow. After eight years there is nothing visible to show on the ground.
Nigeriaworld.com was perhaps the first Nigerian news site I was given. I would go there from time to time, read Nigerian news as well as  articles and feature articles. I found it all an interesting adjunct to the conventional media outlets because more voices prevailed in national discourse but still  a sense of national unfulfillment trailed me. Here we go again: rule of law would enable Gov. Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, Gov. Orji Uzor Kalu, Muhammadu Buhari etc contest the forthcoming presidential elections.Atiku is now in court contesting his absence from the presidential list. He might eventually be reinstated. Why I hate the rule of law.

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Robot  Villager

# 1 Wh...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 19.03.2007 09:35

busanga  Villager

# 2 Undermining the rule of law is very dangerous- it is an harbinger of anarchy which is far more dangerous than any ill in our society since security and self preservation are the basic tenets of modern existence. If disobeying the law has brought us to this point, undermining the same law under the guise of correcting the current situation will only amount to digging ourselves farther in to the same pit. Two wrongs never make a right except mathematically of course. Posted by busanga| 19.03.2007 10:44

I Love Nigeria  Villager

# 3 http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/paul-adujie/the-rule-of-law-due-process-as-sword-sh.html http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/paul-adujie/index.php Busanga wrote these WISE words! Undermining the rule of law is very dangerous- it is an harbinger of anarchy which is far more dangerous than any ill in our society since security and self preservation are the basic tenets of modern existence. If disobeying the law has brought us to this point, undermining the same law under the guise of correcting the current situation will only amount to digging ourselves farther in to the same pit. The rule of law is a cloak and dagger... the rule of law is sword and a shield and the rule of law is almost like rain, rain falls to irrigate the crops in farms.... farms owned by good farmers and bad farmers! Mr. Ikechi Udegbunam Chukwunonye SORRY! I feel your PAINS. The law is the law, the rule of law is the rule of law.... we may sometimes get exasperated... but the rule of law is for our own good! Posted by I Love Nigeria| 19.03.2007 14:29

nero africanus  Villager

# 4 =busanga;162325>Undermining the rule of law is very dangerous- it is an harbinger of anarchy which is far more dangerous than any ill in our society since security and self preservation are the basic tenets of modern existence. If disobeying the law has brought us to this point, undermining the same law under the guise of correcting the current situation will only amount to digging ourselves farther in to the same pit. Two wrongs never make a right except mathematically of course. what are you saying busanga , there is no rule of law in nigeria . nigeria runs on a very unique system called patronage Posted by nero africanus| 19.03.2007 14:46

busanga  Villager

# 5 =nero africanus;162370>what are you saying busanga , there is no rule of law in nigeria . nigeria runs on a very unique system called patronage Following your logic, there is no constant electricity in Nigeria- so the goal of having constant power supply should be abandoned and we should remain perpetually in darkness. Does that sound right? Posted by busanga| 19.03.2007 17:21

olusola  Villager

# 6 No big deal amassing wealth while in office - Alamieyeseigha Saturday, March 17, 2007 ABUJA – FORMER governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha currently facing trial for corruption believes there is nothing wrong in accumulating millions of dollars while in office. Alamieyeseigha arrested advertisement The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is accusing Chief Alamieyeseigha who was removed from office 18 months ago of acquiring 18 properties in three countries, six companies, and more than $6 million in banks in four countries and shares in an oil refinery in Equador. He has denied most of the charges — he says he has never been to Ecuador — but is unrepentant about 1.7 million pounds ($3.3 million) frozen in British bank accounts, which he says were unused campaign funds from elections in 2003. “You can’t say that you will be the governor of a wealthy state for six years and your standard of living not improve. No way. Everyone wants to improve,” he told Reuters in an interview from detention in hospital in Abuja. “There is nobody you can probe in public office in Nigeria and not find anything. That is not realistic.” A three-bedroom flat he owns in South Africa is tiny compared to the “palaces” of some other governors, he added. Before his arrest in London on money laundering charges in 2005, Alamieyeseigha was an ally of the vice president. “The only offence I have committed is that Atiku said he would use me as his vice president,” said Alamieyeseigha. Despite cases against him at home and abroad, Alamieyeseigha hopes things will look up after the poll. His deputy governor for six years in Bayelsa State, Goodluck Jonathan, is now the PDP candidate for vice president and Alamieyeseigha is hoping for some clemency if he wins. His release is also demanded by militants in the oil-producing Niger Delta, who see his detention as a slight on their ethnic group. Many see his freedom as a precondition for talks with armed militias whose attacks have cut oil output. “I didn’t kill anyone. The charge is money laundering and the sentence is two years. I have almost served that already,” he said, reclining in a leather armchair in an air-conditioned sitting room at the hospital where he is in detention. Posted by olusola| 19.03.2007 18:21

Auspicious  Villager

# 7 =busanga;162325>Undermining the rule of law is very dangerous- it is an harbinger of anarchy which is far more dangerous than any ill in our society since security and self preservation are the basic tenets of modern existence. If disobeying the law has brought us to this point, undermining the same law under the guise of correcting the current situation will only amount to digging ourselves farther in to the same pit. Two wrongs never make a right except mathematically of course. Ten Solid Gbosa's to Busanga's small ego: Gbosa! Gbosa! Gbosa! Gbosa! Gbosa! Gbosa! Gbosa! Gbosa! Gbosa! Gbosa! Don't mind Nero jare Busanga. If he had his way, Nigeria will be a socialist state, modelled after Stalin's Russia. Auspicious. Posted by Auspicious| 19.03.2007 19:12

I Love Nigeria  Villager

# 8 Auspicious your avartar is BOTHERING me! What is the way UP? does anyone know the way up? ^ || || ^ ^ | | Posted by I Love Nigeria| 19.03.2007 19:21

nero africanus  Villager

# 9 development is different from the rule of law , busanga, auspy, democracy is the dictatorship of the majority, i dont want a socialist state modelled after stalins's soviet union. i want a socialist state modelled on collective responsibility pending the point of excess liquidity when we shall embrace the free market. i understand that socialism is not sustainable in th long run especially when the income gap has been bridged and the goal of industrialisation has been achieved. it was pope john paul who told the americans at the height of the cuban embargo that unbridled capitalism is worse than communism go figure Posted by nero africanus| 19.03.2007 19:21

Auspicious  Villager

# 10 =nero africanus;162428>auspy, democracy is the dictatorship of the majority, While my first instinct is to admonish that you stop playing tricks with words. I feel I should simply ask you thus: And, what is wrong with that, Nero? The simplest solution to life's most contentious issues, as far as I am concerned, is allowing the will of the majority to prevail amongst specific groups of people. Note the underlined words - it means the will of the majority must prevail, not at the expense of the smaller groups of people within a group of groups but within each constituent group. And this is why some if us advocate decentralization of power within the Nigerian polity so the smaller groups will have a better say in their local affairs. Perhaps, that is why America's founding fathers gave the individual states so much control over their local affairs, such that they have their own local constitutions, laws etc. "Every man has go a right to decide his Own Desitny.. And in this judgement there is No Partiality.." - Bob Nesta Marley Auspicious. Posted by Auspicious| 19.03.2007 19:39

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