14 Jun 2007 |
|
Another prize for Achebe
"Ol'Boy, wetin dey shelle? What's gwan? What's up, man? I know that look on your face..." "The Supreme Court has done it again. Their Lordships have once more helped to solve a riddle. They have offered a landmark interpretation of the Constitution in the Anambra matter. This is another prize for Chinua Achebe." " Chinua Achebe? I just hope there won't be any further trouble in Anambra after this." " Achebe is from Anambra state. I guess the logic of the Supreme Court ruling in the Peter Obi case is simple enough: a Governor's tenure begins to run from the moment he is sworn in. If Obi won an election, and the wrong man, Ngige, is sworn in, and he, the right man is later declared winner by a competent court of law, it would amount to a miscarriage of justice to deny him the complete fruits of his legal victory". "So, it means Peter Obi will now be Governor of Anambra State till 2010?" "That is what the Supreme Court has said. And that is the position of the law." "But what happens to the Governorship election of April 21 in that state, and Governor Andy Uba who has since assumed authority, and the election petition tribunal sitting over the April 21 election." "Elementary law, my brother. As Lord Denning put it, you cannot put nothing on nothing, it cannot stand. What the Supreme Court is saying is that there was no basis in law for conducting the Gubernatorial elections in that state on April 21. The Court specifically tongue-lashed INEC." "And the three years that Governor Ngige spent as Governor of Anambra?" "That was Ngige's luck. He benefitted from sheer illegality. In law, you could say the Ngige government is not recognized.." "Does that render everything that Ngige did a nullity?" "More or less." "Including the roads that he tarred? The hospitals that he built?" "Leave Ngige out of this. His government is a good illustration of the effect of electoral fraud." "I am trying to understand the implications of the ruling." "I think the Supreme Court ruling is another wake up call for Nigerians, especially INEC and the politicians." "My fear is that the Courts, at this rate, will start running the country." "I think I prefer the rule of law, to the rule of brigands. But the point I am making is about learning the right lessons from the Peter Obi case. One, it pays to have faith in due process. Peter Obi will now go down in history as one man who stood by the law, and kept faith. Two, the Anambra debacle would probably not have occurred at all; if the election petition on the 2003 elections in Anambra had been determined before May 29, 2003. This is why I think the Electoral Act must be amended to ensure that election petitions are resolved early enough." "Do we ever learn in this country?" "If we don't learn from history, we are bound to repeat mistakes. And in 2007, we are repeating old mistakes." "There is something I still don't understand." "What is that?" "The Andy Uba angle. He was a necessary party in the case, and yet he was not allowed the benefit of making his own representation." "Who is a necessary party in law? That is the question you are asking. That matter was properly defined in Green v. Green. But you don't have to worry yourself. Andy Uba was properly joined in the case as 5th respondent." "He was not joined." "He was. You want to teach their Lordships the law? You think the Supreme Court would overlook such a critical angle to the case?" "I am only trying to look at the matter beyond the law. The politics of it is as important as the law. You are praising the Supreme Court, for example. But think about the conduct of the Federal High Court, Enugu and the Court of Appeal in the same matter. The High Court ruled against Peter Obi. The Court of Appeal ran away from the case claiming it lacked jurisdiction. Will it be correct to say that that those other judges do not know the law?" "That is your opinion. Others would say the apex court ruling is all that matters in this case. Once again, the PDP has been put to shame. The PDP created the crisis in Anambra in the first place." "You mean Obasanjo? Or you mean Chris Uba? Because if Ngige had not fallen out of favour with Aso Rock and his Godfather he probably would have been protected. Only God knows how many Governors completed their tenures between 1999 and 2007 using a stolen mandate." "A precedent has now been established in law. The Supreme Court has offered a clear and unambiguous interpretation of Section 180 of the 1999 Constitution. It is a triumph for democracy." "Suppose the Yar'Adua government refuses to obey the ruling." "The Supreme Court has spoken. Yar'Adua wouldn't dare intervene." "What if he seeks a political solution?" "To what effect?" "But you know, of course, that the matter is not yet over. Even if Obi returns..." "There is no such thing as even if..." "Okay, but the House of Assembly in Anambra is PDP-dominated. Peter Obi could be impeached within two weeks of his assuming office again." "That was not the matter before the Supreme Court." "And if it happens that way?" "Then Obi's Deputy takes over." "And she is also impeached?" "Then her Deputy takes over." "Then the PDP House of Assembly will impeach both Governor Peter Obi and his Deputy, and the PDP will take over the state again. You see, there may be no end to the Anambra debacle." "I hope not." "I foresee a lot of problems ahead, all the same,, not just in Anambra, but in other states as well. The Supreme Court looks very determined." "A determined and judicially activist Supreme Court is the best thing to have happened to Nigeria in the last 20 years." "But what did the Supreme Court say on Governor Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo State. Is he also going back to his office?" "No, his own case is different." "How?" "He took oath of office in 2003." "But he was impeached, and was later reinstated by the Supreme Court." "Yes. But he wasn't sworn into office a second time. He simply returned to his office; and he collected all his outstanding salaries and allowances. In his case, it was as if nothing happened, and the Court cannot give what it does not have." "I see. The law is sometimes convoluted." "It is straightforward if you look at it closely enough." "There is something I still don't understand. Suppose Governor Andy Uba refuses to hand-over to Peter Obi?" "The Inspector-General of Police knows what to do. He and his men will be expected to do their job." "Which Police are you talking about?" "The Nigeria Police Force." "Come on. But you know this is a police organisation that has been declared the most corrupt public institution in Nigeria, perhaps in the whole world" "I read that. If I had a say in the matter, I would recommend that the Nigeria Police should be disbanded. And if not, then the entire top hierarchy of the Police should be fired." "Oh come on. Don't throw away the baby with the bath water. The only man who is in the eye of the storm is the former Inspector-General, Mr. Sunday Ehindero." "In my view, it is the entire police command that has been exposed, dragged in the mud, its integrity completely rubbished." "No. It is Ehindero you should condemn. The man promised "To Service And Protect With Integrity". But look at the kind of stories we have been reading about him. These are stories being released by Police Headquarters, not even by any outsider. The whole thing stinks." "I agree. No wonder the entire police is so undisciplined. When the rank and file read about money being hidden in toilets, television sets, and nylon bags in Police Headquarters, why won't they feel encouraged to collect bribe from the public?" "I like the way the details are being released." " I read that the former Inspector-General of Police has many palatial houses. There was also something about the purchase of one of the houses of former Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun. Then a missing N2.5 billion Police Cooperative Fund and N300 million meant for kits and uniforms" "Tafa Balogun must be having a good laugh wherever he is." "I hear the Acting IG Mike Okiro is Tafa's man, and he is helping his former boss to deal with Ehindero who is Tafa's arch-rival. It is the clash of the police bosses." "I am not interested in any conspiracy theory. What I think is that Sunday Ehindero should begin to speak up. He has a right to defend himself." "What do you expect him to say?" "You mean he has nothing to say?" "Well, the public is listening? Who is the owner of the N21 million that was found inside the toilet, nylon bags and old television set at Police Headquarters? Who bought the IG's House? What happened to Police Cooperative Funds? When did Police Headquarters become a bank?" "Nigerians have no respect for money at all. That is why the Naira is losing value. Imagine how those policemen were moving money out of Force Headquarters as if they were moving household appliances?" "But is it only the police? Look at the new class of lawmakers at the Federal level. The Yar'Adua government is giving them lorry loads of money, money meant for settling themselves down in Abuja." "We had discussed that before, didn't we?" "That was before the entire list of allowances was published. It is nauseating. The Federal Government is even taking loans from the banks." "It is a bribe." "It is a crazy bribe. It is going to cost the Federal Government N3.7 billion per annum." "For a part-time political assignment? Where then is the idea of service?" "You are asking me? Each Senator is getting N8.1 million to buy any car of his or her choice, members of the House of Representatives, N7.9 million each, and for Senators N126,650 to maintain the car monthly while Representatives will get N124,075 monthly for the same purpose." "What kind of car maintenance is that? A brand new car? It doesn't even cost that much to maintain a helicopter in a month." "You have bought one before?" "When something is unreasonable, it speaks for itself. Nobody spends N126,000 to maintain a car in a month." "Every lawmaker will also get a tidy sum as Constituency allowance." "Constituencies that they do not visit once the election is over?" "Wardrobe allowance." "Are they going to the National Assembly for fashion parade?" "Annual utility allowance also to cover their bills for electricity, gas, water, telephone, refuse disposal." "You now see why we may never have free and fair elections in this country? That N3.7 billion that is going into the pockets of Federal lawmakers can be used to subsidize petroleum prices, for the benefit of all Nigerians. It can repair some roads, or buy hospital equipment." "Nobody is thinking along those lines." "But this is a new government. Yar'Adua should wake up. He is rather slow." "He has just asked all the people paying solidarity visits to him to stop coming around, so he can start doing some work." "You mean he has been busy receiving visitors since he got to Aso Villa?" "He said so himself. And may be he has been playing squash too." "And the same government will not meet with labour officials and ASUU to resolve lingering industrial disputes.?" "The Federal Government is meeting with officials of the Nigeria Labour Congress today." "Only today? They had to wait for Labour's 14-day ultimatum on the increase of the prices of petroleum products and VAT to expire before agreeing to discuss the issue? Is that the new style in Aso Villa?" "Take it easy. You know our friend, Segun is the President's spokesman. You sef. You too dey do." "And what has that got to do with the price of petroleum products? Candidly, I think labour should go ahead with the strike. Shut down the country. Force the government to reverse the unfair increases. Teach the Yar'Adua government a lesson about priorities, and the value of being pro-active." "I agree with you. The man should wake up. Sleep-walking cannot be a leadership style." "In Nigeria, you never know...."
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
# 
Your Comments
Please make The Square an enjoyable experience for everyone by refraining from gratuitous ad-hominem contributions, defamatory comments and off-topic posting. Such posts will be removed.