Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka on Tuesday raised concern about how
\nimpunity has allegedly taken over the country.<\/p>\n
In a statement entitled \u2018Trivialise Corruption, Neutralise Justice!\u201d, he
\ntook a swipe at some members of the legal community and blamed politicians
\nfor the rate of impunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reign of impunity will prevail as long as the legal community
\ncontinues to betray its calling, its oath of office, even its rites of
\nprofessional collegiality and its responsibility to the rest of us,\u201d
\nProfessor Soyinka said.<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cIt is disappointing that even under a government that promised
\nto dust up the files of political murders and end that reign of homicidal
\nimpunity, the Association has not thought fit to demand from the Buhari
\ngovernment its findings.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the Nobel Laureate, impunity covers all crimes including
\nmaterial corruption and any social or governance institution which fails
\nto stem the tide of criminality flings open the channels of impunity.<\/p>\n
He accused President Muhammadu Buhari of applying what he described as
\n\u201chands-off approach\u201d to the menace of killings by herdsmen in parts of the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Professor Soyinka further criticised some members of the judiciary for
\ntheir roles in recent events in the country, particularly the trial of
\nJustice Walter Onnoghen.<\/p>\n
He also cautioned Nigerians to be on red alert as such happenings have
\nbecome synonymous with election periods in the country.<\/p>\n
The Nobel Laureate, however, lauded a group of lawyers he referred to as
\nthe reformist council who have taken it upon themselves to clear the
\nalleged rot in the judiciary.<\/p>\n
Read the full statement below,<\/p>\n
TRIVIALISE CORRUPTION, NEUTRALISE JUSTICE!<\/p>\n
It is heartening news that some 20 CONCERNED LAWYERS have come together to
\nundertake the mission of cleaning up the Aegean stables that seem to pass
\ntoday for the Nigerian Judiciary. Some of us do need an institution to
\nwhich we can look up, of which we should even live in awe. Some find that
\nin religious institutions, others in traditional fixtures, some even in
\nfamily and so on. All agree that the Order of Justice is a pre-eminent
\ncandidate for collective regard and even self-regulation. No matter, we
\nall know that, without Justice, society unravels at the seams, and its
\ncitizens resort to self-help.<\/p>\n
I feel especially exercised by recent happenings within that Body
\ncurrently from a dominant perspective: it has become increasingly
\nfashionable to sneer at any anti-corruption preoccupation. No, no one
\nactually ever goes so far as to condone corruption. Perish the thought!
\nGradually, however, the nation\u2019s psyche is being both subtly and brazenly
\nreturned to accept not simply corruption as the norm of social
\nrelationships, but its heightened product, impunity, as a national emblem.
\nThe justification? The machinery that was launched against corruption with
\nsuch fanfare, it is claimed, has run aground. Selectivity has been cited
\nas proof. Insincerity, non-seriousness, cynical distraction, are routine
\nassessments of the current governmental campaign.<\/p>\n
Even the heady draught of \u2018stomach infrastructure\u2019 \u2013 \u2018na anti-corruption
\nwe go chop?\u2019 is now applauded, accompanied by guffaws wherever decanted.
\nNot surprising then, that it was only a matter of time before the
\nflagbearer of one of the \u2018parties to beat\u2019 came out openly to dismiss the
\npunitive option, delivering the promise of Amnesty as one of the
\ncorner-stones of his plans for the nation. It was a well-calculated
\ngambit. That candidate, an astute politician with his nose to the ground,
\nfound that ground primed, ready and conducive. Soon, this will be topped
\nby some rivalling knight in shining armour from rivalling parties who
\npromise prosecution and prison sentence for anyone who bad-mouths
\ncorruption \u2013 of course, always with a\u00a0 caveat \u2013\u00a0 until all the ills that
\ninfest society have been completely eradicated \u2013 guinea-worm, river
\nblindness, soil erosion, oil pollution, rape, kidnapping incest etc. etc.
\nnot forgetting the transformation of the entire national infrastructure
\nand the full elimination of the last vestiges of Boko Haram, killer
\nherdsmen, Lassa bearing rodents and potholes on the road.<\/p>\n
Must one reiterate the obvious? It seems we must. A basic awareness of the
\nlink between corruption and all the above-named preoccupations is fast
\ndisappearing.\u00a0 Such as hospitals that were never built, or never
\nprovisioned. Unthinkable is the proposition that a military commander who
\ndiverts funds meant for the elimination of Boko Haram to his family is
\neven more despicable than Boko Haram which does the actual killing of
\ninnocents. And what of high-profile murders that had their roots in the
\nopen adoption of corruption as a lifestyle, and the increasing
\nsophistication of cover-up operations?<\/p>\n
No connection between the rising tide of unemployment and the corrupt
\nwastage of resources meant for industrialisation and job generation? For
\nthe stubborn skeptics, and\/ or those who understandably mistrust the
\ntestimony of former government associates, such as Okonjo-Iweala\u2019s
\nFIGHTING CORRUPTION IS DANGEROUS, perhaps they will at least credit the
\npersonal testimony of a battle-scarred Nigerian businessman as expressed
\nin a passage from his recent autobiography. That work, artlessly and
\nrefreshingly frank, written by a businessman, Newton Jibunoh makes the
\nfollowing revelation in the chapter titled, CORRUPTION, aka GIFTING IN
\nCONTRACTS:<\/p>\n
\u201cI would go to Mr Farrington (Jibunoh\u2019s boss) on so many occasions and
\nsay, this is the situation, this is the truth (i.e., it\u2019s \u2018gift\u2019 or lose).
\nFarrington would refer it to London and London would say, no way. I tell
\nyou, if you go into how Dumez left Nigeria, how Boutgyes left Nigeria, how
\nGuffanti left Nigeria, how Taylor Woodrow Nigeria, it came from this
\nissue. They all packed up. Taylor Woodrow used to be beside us at Costain.
\nThey packed up.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, \u2018na anti-corruption we go chop?\u2019 is not entirely rhetorical Some do
\nchop and distend on corruption. Others, however, starve from job losses
\nand die of it!<\/p>\n
Yes, it is election time, and issues that are normally generalised take on
\nenhanced desperation. A recent image sticks to the mind, and for it, we
\nmust be thankful to that very desperation that is born of elections. Those
\nwho are familiar with the culture of organised crime \u2013 as perfected,
\nstructurally and sociologically by the Italian Mafia, will have caught
\nthat image. Perhaps it struck me forcefully because earlier, the nation
\nhas been treated to alarms of a Sanni Abacha coming back to rule the
\nnation. It is the image of a Mafia lieutenant paying due homage to the
\nCapo di Capi Tutti. At Freedom Park, only this last day of January, I bade
\nthe nation beware of the convocation of the Conclave of the Corrupt.<\/p>\n
The warning was prompted by that most evocative image. Many have only seen
\nsuch scenarios in cinema \u2013 the Don Corleone narratives. I have however
\nseen it in gruesome activation. I witnessed it first-hand in the \u2018before
\nand after\u2019 of the civilian revolution that was \u2013 coincidentally \u2013 led by
\ntwo lawyers. They fought, and restored the rule of law in Sicily under
\nseemingly impossible conditions.\u00a0 One of them lost his life in the
\nprocess, the other lived to tell the tale of the rescue and transformation
\nof a society whose mayor he also became. Sicily, that erstwhile island of
\nfear has now become a beacon of liberal culture and social enlightenment.<\/p>\n
By contrast, here, to put it charitably, our lawyers appear to be confused
\nabout what their role should be when confronted by the spectre of
\nimpropriety within their own Guild \u2013 note, I do not even say \u2018corruption\u2019.
\nImpropriety will do for now. Is it really that hard to pursue the letter
\nof the law and provisions of the constitution, simultaneously with the
\npursuit of an ethical imperative and thus, guide this nation in the
\nmorality of balanced perspectives? Is it really impossible to interweave
\nboth? The latter \u2013 the ethical imperative has gone missing in the overall
\ncollective voice of the NBA over the affair of the Chief Justice of
\nNigeria. The scantiest lip-service has been done to that social plinth,
\nand I find this most distressful.<\/p>\n
Impunity covers all crimes, not just material corruption. And any social
\nor governance institution which, through act or negligence, fails to stem
\nthe tide of criminality within its charge, flings open the sluices of
\nimpunity. This has been the case of President Buhari in his lacklustre,
\nindeed hands-off approach to the menace of the killer herdsmen \u2013 at least
\nat the beginning, before swathes of Nigeria were reduced to slaughter
\nfields, thriving farms erased off the food supply chain of the nation.
\n(They are back, by the way, reported to have recently set fire to farms in
\nOyo State!) Leadership lapse was further compounded by admission by the
\ngovernor of Kaduna State that he had been paying \u2018blood money\u2019 to the
\nkillers responsible for that human and sustenance campaign of depletion!<\/p>\n
Impunity stalks the land, indeed it is virtually lording it all social
\ninterstices. Let no one take my word for it \u2013 simply turn the pages of the
\nmedia any day. Impunity\u2019s ravages churn the mind. Somehow, this nation \u2013
\nand here again we turn to our learned friends \u2013 this nation generally
\nfailed to recognise, much less learn from the murder and enabling
\nimplications of the unsolved murder of Bola Ige, the nation\u2019s
\nAttorney-General and Minister of Justice. The Bar Association accepted the
\ncasual disposition of its erstwhile captain and has \u2013 understandably
\nperhaps? \u2013 moved on. For some of us, however, the files are not closed.
\nOthers also appear to be determined to keep them open, though of course,
\nremain blissfully unaware that their boastful, impenitent conduct in other
\ndepartments constantly re-ignite the time clouded embers. I believe that
\nthe present crisis in judicial ranks offers yet another opportunity to
\nbring up that tragedy starkly and rub the nation\u2019s face in its horror.
\nOnly thus do we make all understand why it remains intolerable that any
\nattempt be made at trivialising the nature of corruption. especially in
\norder to score dismissive political points. The work of the Reformist
\nTwenty \u2013 now firmly established in our minds as a pledge \u2013 is clearly cut
\nout for them, and must not be shirked.<\/p>\n
For those whose memories have faded on that crime: Bola Ige was murdered
\nin his bedroom by professional assassins, his police minders having
\nabandoned him to his own devices. Before his final posting as Minister of
\nJustice, he was Minister of Power \u2013 and what a frustrating tenure that was
\nfor him, frustrating and humiliating. As I have remarked elsewhere
\nnumerous times, his was a ministry in which I took keen personal interest.
\nHe kept me posted on the ups and downs \u2013 the betrayals, conspiracies and
\nactual bouts of sabotage. When he left Abuja to set up camp in Lagos in
\norder to slice through to the centre of sabotage, we remained in constant
\ntouch, either in person, or through his Special Assistant, Dr Olu
\nAgunloye. Bola Ige had been named to a prestigious legal position in the
\nUnited Nations and was then on his way to take up the posting. His past in
\nthe Ministry of Power pursued him, however. It had pursued him into the
\n\u2018face-saving\u2019 ministry of Justice. That transfer however only placed been
\nin an even more powerful position to bring to justice those who had held
\nthis nation to ransom for years and retarded her development through
\nsystemic corruption of gargantuan dimensions in his former ministry. He
\nhad to be eliminated.<\/p>\n
That was tragic enough. However, what happened next is what remains to
\nhaunt this nation,\u00a0 at least those portions of it that still attempt to
\ncling to even the barest shreds of social conscience. Talk of history
\nrepeating itself! A shaming round of judicial penkelemes, near identical
\nto present proceedings, ensued.\u00a0 Even before the trial proper, judges sat,
\nfulminated, cooed, withdrew, were re-assigned, recused themselves, sat
\ntight, defied pressure, succumbed etc.etc. on the issue of bail to some of
\nthe accused. Virtually all complained of external interference. One of
\nthem, Justice Abass, kept a diary in which he accused \u2013 among other
\nculprits members of the Bar \u2013 that is, members of the Nigerian Bar
\nAssociation \u2013 of improper importuning on behalf of some of the accused.
\nOne of them was set down as actually bringing messages from highly placed
\n\u201cleast expected\u201d quarters. The judge was moved to soliloquise, in his
\ndiary: What is their interest? What is at stake that officers sworn to
\nuphold the law should attempt to exert improper influence on me, and in
\nsuch a brazen manner. The importuning included material inducements.<\/p>\n
Justice Abass put up a struggle but eventually threw in the sponge. The
\npressure, the harassment, proved too much. Before that, however, he made
\ncopies of his diary and distributed the pages for safe-keeping. Three or
\nfour of these pages came into my possession \u2013 I made this public knowledge
\nat the time. I asserted that, at the very least, in attempting to solve
\nthat murder mystery, the diary was one place to begin. Who were these
\nhighly placed people who had such a prohibitive stake in Bola Ige\u2019s murder
\ntrial as well as the situation of the suspects that they suborned sworn
\nofficers of the law. The crime, incidentally, was littered with clues \u2013
\nthis was just another wedge through which it became mandatory to penetrate
\nthrough to the sordid crime and identify the conspirators. The case had
\ndeveloped unsavoury but exceedingly useful ramifications. Who were these
\nforces so bent on subverting the processes of justice in the investigation
\nof the murder of the highest Law Officer of the land? We screamed in vain.
\nThe NBA did not take up the challenge. That Association had a primary
\nresponsibility of ferreting out the tools of subversion in their midst.
\nJustice Abass set down dates, place, hour and witnesses \u2013 in writing. He
\nused a code of initials for participants.<\/p>\n
This narrative remains incomplete without reference to another form of
\nintervention. Along the way, during our own \u2018busybody\u2019 forays, we invaded
\nthe American Consulate. Why? Simply because we had learnt that the
\nAmerican government had offered help, that they had assigned some experts
\nto assist the Nigerian police in unearthing the mystery of the murder, but
\nthat the police had rejected help. We headed for the embassy to insist
\nthat they should ignore the Nigerian police. Bola Ige was already an
\ninternational civil servant of the United Nations anyway, and was
\nentitled, even more so in extra-judicial death, to considerations of
\ninternational intervention. The Consul-General received us cordially. She
\nconfirmed our information, that the Nigerian government had refused the
\noffer of assistance. I asked permission to use her phone and we called the
\npresident, who was none other than Olusegun Obasanjo. Was it true, I
\nasked, that his government had rejected external assistance?<\/p>\n
Details of the exchange are not relevant to this narrative, though they
\nare readily available if of interest to anyone. What matters is that there
\nwas serious talk of introducing lie-detectors to be used on the accused,
\nits effectiveness or whatever or acceptability. We were put on Hold while
\nObasanjo called the Inspector-General of Police, and put him on the
\nspeaker-phone. All that is of interest, but is not really crucial to the
\nsubject of this intervention. There will be further elaborations in due
\ncourse.<\/p>\n
I have brought it up principally to exclaim: History Strikes Again! Also
\nto decry yet again the unbelievably short memory span of that breed known
\nas Nigerians. Amnesia is often a contrived tactic of escapism, which, to
\nput it bluntly, is another word for moral cowardice. I have brought it up
\nprincipally to remind the judiciary, and associate orders such as the Bar
\nAssociation, that the war between impunity and Justice is an incessant
\none. Corruption is not a trait to be trivialised for political opportunism
\nor locker-room guffaws. Corruption murdered the Nation\u2019s Minister of
\nJustice and Attorney-General, and Justice was rendered helpless in the
\ndefence of its own Prime Advocate.<\/p>\n
The reign of impunity will prevail as long as the legal community
\ncontinues to betray its calling, its oath of office, even its rites of
\nprofessional collegiality and its responsibility to the rest of us. It is
\ndisappointing that even under a government that promised to dust up the
\nfiles of political murders and end that reign of homicidal impunity, the
\nAssociation has not thought fit to demand from the Buhari government its
\nfindings. There is more than ample material to warrant a Judicial
\nCommission, and that demand has come up again and again. It will continue
\nfor as long as there remains a shred of conscience somewhere in this
\nnation, especially when provoked into resurgence by the antics of those
\nwho murdered Justice to enthrone corruption and bask in the miasma of
\nImpunity.<\/p>\n
As always, election time brings out the worst of animalism in political
\nparticipants. Justice was betrayed on that edition, repudiated, hung up to
\ndry, and the door left wide open for commissioned killers. Bola Ige,
\nSenior Advocate of Nigeria, died in the line of duty. Justice Salami at
\nleast survived the rites of passage \u2013 I felt honoured to have been invited
\nby him to deliver the lecture for his valedictory occasion. The government
\nat the time of Ige\u2019s killers know the truth. That government protected \u2013 I
\nrepeat \u2013 protected, and rewarded his killers.<\/p>\n
Those who wish to dispute this had better first immerse themselves in the
\ncircumstances of that murder, and the unconstitutional, indeed illegal
\ntrajectory of the principal accused, one that not only facilitated his
\nunconstitutional participation in the ensuing election but catapulted him
\nstraight to the occupancy of the seat that had been kept warm for him
\nduring his trial and absence. On release, he was ushered straight into the
\nslot of Chairman of the Appropriation Committee of the House of
\nRepresentatives. That was not all. The head of that government, General
\nOlusegun Obasanjo, proceeded to burnish Ige\u2019s memory with characteristic
\nzeal. With that victim in no position to defend himself, that inveterate
\nletter-writer sent a reference letter to Ige\u2019s new abode \u2013 just in case
\nthere are ministries of power over yonder:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe put Bola Ige there to rectify the power situation. It turned out that
\nhe did not know his left hand from his right\u201d<\/p>\n
Bola Ige\u2019s murder took place at election time. Once again, we are
\nconfronted with another election. Killings and kidnappings have escalated.
\nOnce again \u2013 coincidence be damned! \u2013 the judiciary is in disarray. A
\npolitical association\u00a0 \u2013 which I once described as a den of killers \u2013 is
\nregrouping, wishes to direct the fortunes of this nation yet again. This
\nnation needs no reminding that, yes indeed, the rule of law must prevail,
\nand constitutionality must not be trivialised. Neithe, however, must
\ncriminality, or else, history merely repeats itself in increasingly dismal
\naccents. Justice becomes neutralised.<\/p>\n
Citizen Forum welcomes the Reformist Council of Twenty. On the political
\nforum, we urge: Let the ghosts of the past be laid to rest. Let a new
\nbreed emerge.<\/p>\n
Wole SOYINKA<\/p>\n
Convener, CITIZEN FORUM<\/p>\n
Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka on Tuesday raised concern about how impunity has allegedly taken over the country. In a statement entitled \u2018Trivialise Corruption, Neutralise Justice!\u201d, he took a swipe…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":64470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n