Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka on Tuesday raised concern about how
impunity has allegedly taken over the country.
In a statement entitled ‘Trivialise Corruption, Neutralise Justice!”, he
took a swipe at some members of the legal community and blamed politicians
for the rate of impunity.
“The reign of impunity will prevail as long as the legal community
continues to betray its calling, its oath of office, even its rites of
professional collegiality and its responsibility to the rest of us,”
Professor Soyinka said.
He added, “It is disappointing that even under a government that promised
to dust up the files of political murders and end that reign of homicidal
impunity, the Association has not thought fit to demand from the Buhari
government its findings.”
According to the Nobel Laureate, impunity covers all crimes including
material corruption and any social or governance institution which fails
to stem the tide of criminality flings open the channels of impunity.
He accused President Muhammadu Buhari of applying what he described as
“hands-off approach” to the menace of killings by herdsmen in parts of the
country.
Professor Soyinka further criticised some members of the judiciary for
their roles in recent events in the country, particularly the trial of
Justice Walter Onnoghen.
He also cautioned Nigerians to be on red alert as such happenings have
become synonymous with election periods in the country.
The Nobel Laureate, however, lauded a group of lawyers he referred to as
the reformist council who have taken it upon themselves to clear the
alleged rot in the judiciary.
Read the full statement below,
TRIVIALISE CORRUPTION, NEUTRALISE JUSTICE!
It is heartening news that some 20 CONCERNED LAWYERS have come together to
undertake the mission of cleaning up the Aegean stables that seem to pass
today for the Nigerian Judiciary. Some of us do need an institution to
which we can look up, of which we should even live in awe. Some find that
in religious institutions, others in traditional fixtures, some even in
family and so on. All agree that the Order of Justice is a pre-eminent
candidate for collective regard and even self-regulation. No matter, we
all know that, without Justice, society unravels at the seams, and its
citizens resort to self-help.
I feel especially exercised by recent happenings within that Body
currently from a dominant perspective: it has become increasingly
fashionable to sneer at any anti-corruption preoccupation. No, no one
actually ever goes so far as to condone corruption. Perish the thought!
Gradually, however, the nation’s psyche is being both subtly and brazenly
returned to accept not simply corruption as the norm of social
relationships, but its heightened product, impunity, as a national emblem.
The justification? The machinery that was launched against corruption with
such fanfare, it is claimed, has run aground. Selectivity has been cited
as proof. Insincerity, non-seriousness, cynical distraction, are routine
assessments of the current governmental campaign.
Even the heady draught of ‘stomach infrastructure’ – ‘na anti-corruption
we go chop?’ is now applauded, accompanied by guffaws wherever decanted.
Not surprising then, that it was only a matter of time before the
flagbearer of one of the ‘parties to beat’ came out openly to dismiss the
punitive option, delivering the promise of Amnesty as one of the
corner-stones of his plans for the nation. It was a well-calculated
gambit. That candidate, an astute politician with his nose to the ground,
found that ground primed, ready and conducive. Soon, this will be topped
by some rivalling knight in shining armour from rivalling parties who
promise prosecution and prison sentence for anyone who bad-mouths
corruption – of course, always with a caveat – until all the ills that
infest society have been completely eradicated – guinea-worm, river
blindness, soil erosion, oil pollution, rape, kidnapping incest etc. etc.
not forgetting the transformation of the entire national infrastructure
and the full elimination of the last vestiges of Boko Haram, killer
herdsmen, Lassa bearing rodents and potholes on the road.
Must one reiterate the obvious? It seems we must. A basic awareness of the
link between corruption and all the above-named preoccupations is fast
disappearing. Such as hospitals that were never built, or never
provisioned. Unthinkable is the proposition that a military commander who
diverts funds meant for the elimination of Boko Haram to his family is
even more despicable than Boko Haram which does the actual killing of
innocents. And what of high-profile murders that had their roots in the
open adoption of corruption as a lifestyle, and the increasing
sophistication of cover-up operations?
No connection between the rising tide of unemployment and the corrupt
wastage of resources meant for industrialisation and job generation? For
the stubborn skeptics, and/ or those who understandably mistrust the
testimony of former government associates, such as Okonjo-Iweala’s
FIGHTING CORRUPTION IS DANGEROUS, perhaps they will at least credit the
personal testimony of a battle-scarred Nigerian businessman as expressed
in a passage from his recent autobiography. That work, artlessly and
refreshingly frank, written by a businessman, Newton Jibunoh makes the
following revelation in the chapter titled, CORRUPTION, aka GIFTING IN
CONTRACTS:
“I would go to Mr Farrington (Jibunoh’s boss) on so many occasions and
say, this is the situation, this is the truth (i.e., it’s ‘gift’ or lose).
Farrington would refer it to London and London would say, no way. I tell
you, if you go into how Dumez left Nigeria, how Boutgyes left Nigeria, how
Guffanti left Nigeria, how Taylor Woodrow Nigeria, it came from this
issue. They all packed up. Taylor Woodrow used to be beside us at Costain.
They packed up.”
So, ‘na anti-corruption we go chop?’ is not entirely rhetorical Some do
chop and distend on corruption. Others, however, starve from job losses
and die of it!
Yes, it is election time, and issues that are normally generalised take on
enhanced desperation. A recent image sticks to the mind, and for it, we
must be thankful to that very desperation that is born of elections. Those
who are familiar with the culture of organised crime – as perfected,
structurally and sociologically by the Italian Mafia, will have caught
that image. Perhaps it struck me forcefully because earlier, the nation
has been treated to alarms of a Sanni Abacha coming back to rule the
nation. It is the image of a Mafia lieutenant paying due homage to the
Capo di Capi Tutti. At Freedom Park, only this last day of January, I bade
the nation beware of the convocation of the Conclave of the Corrupt.
The warning was prompted by that most evocative image. Many have only seen
such scenarios in cinema – the Don Corleone narratives. I have however
seen it in gruesome activation. I witnessed it first-hand in the ‘before
and after’ of the civilian revolution that was – coincidentally – led by
two lawyers. They fought, and restored the rule of law in Sicily under
seemingly impossible conditions. One of them lost his life in the
process, the other lived to tell the tale of the rescue and transformation
of a society whose mayor he also became. Sicily, that erstwhile island of
fear has now become a beacon of liberal culture and social enlightenment.
By contrast, here, to put it charitably, our lawyers appear to be confused
about what their role should be when confronted by the spectre of
impropriety within their own Guild – note, I do not even say ‘corruption’.
Impropriety will do for now. Is it really that hard to pursue the letter
of the law and provisions of the constitution, simultaneously with the
pursuit of an ethical imperative and thus, guide this nation in the
morality of balanced perspectives? Is it really impossible to interweave
both? The latter – the ethical imperative has gone missing in the overall
collective voice of the NBA over the affair of the Chief Justice of
Nigeria. The scantiest lip-service has been done to that social plinth,
and I find this most distressful.
Impunity covers all crimes, not just material corruption. And any social
or governance institution which, through act or negligence, fails to stem
the tide of criminality within its charge, flings open the sluices of
impunity. This has been the case of President Buhari in his lacklustre,
indeed hands-off approach to the menace of the killer herdsmen – at least
at the beginning, before swathes of Nigeria were reduced to slaughter
fields, thriving farms erased off the food supply chain of the nation.
(They are back, by the way, reported to have recently set fire to farms in
Oyo State!) Leadership lapse was further compounded by admission by the
governor of Kaduna State that he had been paying ‘blood money’ to the
killers responsible for that human and sustenance campaign of depletion!
Impunity stalks the land, indeed it is virtually lording it all social
interstices. Let no one take my word for it – simply turn the pages of the
media any day. Impunity’s ravages churn the mind. Somehow, this nation –
and here again we turn to our learned friends – this nation generally
failed to recognise, much less learn from the murder and enabling
implications of the unsolved murder of Bola Ige, the nation’s
Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. The Bar Association accepted the
casual disposition of its erstwhile captain and has – understandably
perhaps? – moved on. For some of us, however, the files are not closed.
Others also appear to be determined to keep them open, though of course,
remain blissfully unaware that their boastful, impenitent conduct in other
departments constantly re-ignite the time clouded embers. I believe that
the present crisis in judicial ranks offers yet another opportunity to
bring up that tragedy starkly and rub the nation’s face in its horror.
Only thus do we make all understand why it remains intolerable that any
attempt be made at trivialising the nature of corruption. especially in
order to score dismissive political points. The work of the Reformist
Twenty – now firmly established in our minds as a pledge – is clearly cut
out for them, and must not be shirked.
For those whose memories have faded on that crime: Bola Ige was murdered
in his bedroom by professional assassins, his police minders having
abandoned him to his own devices. Before his final posting as Minister of
Justice, he was Minister of Power – and what a frustrating tenure that was
for him, frustrating and humiliating. As I have remarked elsewhere
numerous times, his was a ministry in which I took keen personal interest.
He kept me posted on the ups and downs – the betrayals, conspiracies and
actual bouts of sabotage. When he left Abuja to set up camp in Lagos in
order to slice through to the centre of sabotage, we remained in constant
touch, either in person, or through his Special Assistant, Dr Olu
Agunloye. Bola Ige had been named to a prestigious legal position in the
United Nations and was then on his way to take up the posting. His past in
the Ministry of Power pursued him, however. It had pursued him into the
‘face-saving’ ministry of Justice. That transfer however only placed been
in an even more powerful position to bring to justice those who had held
this nation to ransom for years and retarded her development through
systemic corruption of gargantuan dimensions in his former ministry. He
had to be eliminated.
That was tragic enough. However, what happened next is what remains to
haunt this nation, at least those portions of it that still attempt to
cling to even the barest shreds of social conscience. Talk of history
repeating itself! A shaming round of judicial penkelemes, near identical
to present proceedings, ensued. Even before the trial proper, judges sat,
fulminated, cooed, withdrew, were re-assigned, recused themselves, sat
tight, defied pressure, succumbed etc.etc. on the issue of bail to some of
the accused. Virtually all complained of external interference. One of
them, Justice Abass, kept a diary in which he accused – among other
culprits members of the Bar – that is, members of the Nigerian Bar
Association – of improper importuning on behalf of some of the accused.
One of them was set down as actually bringing messages from highly placed
“least expected” quarters. The judge was moved to soliloquise, in his
diary: What is their interest? What is at stake that officers sworn to
uphold the law should attempt to exert improper influence on me, and in
such a brazen manner. The importuning included material inducements.
Justice Abass put up a struggle but eventually threw in the sponge. The
pressure, the harassment, proved too much. Before that, however, he made
copies of his diary and distributed the pages for safe-keeping. Three or
four of these pages came into my possession – I made this public knowledge
at the time. I asserted that, at the very least, in attempting to solve
that murder mystery, the diary was one place to begin. Who were these
highly placed people who had such a prohibitive stake in Bola Ige’s murder
trial as well as the situation of the suspects that they suborned sworn
officers of the law. The crime, incidentally, was littered with clues –
this was just another wedge through which it became mandatory to penetrate
through to the sordid crime and identify the conspirators. The case had
developed unsavoury but exceedingly useful ramifications. Who were these
forces so bent on subverting the processes of justice in the investigation
of the murder of the highest Law Officer of the land? We screamed in vain.
The NBA did not take up the challenge. That Association had a primary
responsibility of ferreting out the tools of subversion in their midst.
Justice Abass set down dates, place, hour and witnesses – in writing. He
used a code of initials for participants.
This narrative remains incomplete without reference to another form of
intervention. Along the way, during our own ‘busybody’ forays, we invaded
the American Consulate. Why? Simply because we had learnt that the
American government had offered help, that they had assigned some experts
to assist the Nigerian police in unearthing the mystery of the murder, but
that the police had rejected help. We headed for the embassy to insist
that they should ignore the Nigerian police. Bola Ige was already an
international civil servant of the United Nations anyway, and was
entitled, even more so in extra-judicial death, to considerations of
international intervention. The Consul-General received us cordially. She
confirmed our information, that the Nigerian government had refused the
offer of assistance. I asked permission to use her phone and we called the
president, who was none other than Olusegun Obasanjo. Was it true, I
asked, that his government had rejected external assistance?
Details of the exchange are not relevant to this narrative, though they
are readily available if of interest to anyone. What matters is that there
was serious talk of introducing lie-detectors to be used on the accused,
its effectiveness or whatever or acceptability. We were put on Hold while
Obasanjo called the Inspector-General of Police, and put him on the
speaker-phone. All that is of interest, but is not really crucial to the
subject of this intervention. There will be further elaborations in due
course.
I have brought it up principally to exclaim: History Strikes Again! Also
to decry yet again the unbelievably short memory span of that breed known
as Nigerians. Amnesia is often a contrived tactic of escapism, which, to
put it bluntly, is another word for moral cowardice. I have brought it up
principally to remind the judiciary, and associate orders such as the Bar
Association, that the war between impunity and Justice is an incessant
one. Corruption is not a trait to be trivialised for political opportunism
or locker-room guffaws. Corruption murdered the Nation’s Minister of
Justice and Attorney-General, and Justice was rendered helpless in the
defence of its own Prime Advocate.
The reign of impunity will prevail as long as the legal community
continues to betray its calling, its oath of office, even its rites of
professional collegiality and its responsibility to the rest of us. It is
disappointing that even under a government that promised to dust up the
files of political murders and end that reign of homicidal impunity, the
Association has not thought fit to demand from the Buhari government its
findings. There is more than ample material to warrant a Judicial
Commission, and that demand has come up again and again. It will continue
for as long as there remains a shred of conscience somewhere in this
nation, especially when provoked into resurgence by the antics of those
who murdered Justice to enthrone corruption and bask in the miasma of
Impunity.
As always, election time brings out the worst of animalism in political
participants. Justice was betrayed on that edition, repudiated, hung up to
dry, and the door left wide open for commissioned killers. Bola Ige,
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, died in the line of duty. Justice Salami at
least survived the rites of passage – I felt honoured to have been invited
by him to deliver the lecture for his valedictory occasion. The government
at the time of Ige’s killers know the truth. That government protected – I
repeat – protected, and rewarded his killers.
Those who wish to dispute this had better first immerse themselves in the
circumstances of that murder, and the unconstitutional, indeed illegal
trajectory of the principal accused, one that not only facilitated his
unconstitutional participation in the ensuing election but catapulted him
straight to the occupancy of the seat that had been kept warm for him
during his trial and absence. On release, he was ushered straight into the
slot of Chairman of the Appropriation Committee of the House of
Representatives. That was not all. The head of that government, General
Olusegun Obasanjo, proceeded to burnish Ige’s memory with characteristic
zeal. With that victim in no position to defend himself, that inveterate
letter-writer sent a reference letter to Ige’s new abode – just in case
there are ministries of power over yonder:
“We put Bola Ige there to rectify the power situation. It turned out that
he did not know his left hand from his right”
Bola Ige’s murder took place at election time. Once again, we are
confronted with another election. Killings and kidnappings have escalated.
Once again – coincidence be damned! – the judiciary is in disarray. A
political association – which I once described as a den of killers – is
regrouping, wishes to direct the fortunes of this nation yet again. This
nation needs no reminding that, yes indeed, the rule of law must prevail,
and constitutionality must not be trivialised. Neithe, however, must
criminality, or else, history merely repeats itself in increasingly dismal
accents. Justice becomes neutralised.
Citizen Forum welcomes the Reformist Council of Twenty. On the political
forum, we urge: Let the ghosts of the past be laid to rest. Let a new
breed emerge.
Wole SOYINKA
Convener, CITIZEN FORUM