By Tochukwu Ezukanma<\/p>\n
President Buhari\u2019s war on corruption struck a responsive chord in
\nNigerian minds because corruption has, for long, been the bane of
\nNigeria. It convoluted our value system and rendered every institution
\ndysfunctional, and portends to unravel the social fabric of the Nigerian
\nsociety.\u00a0 A successful war against corruption in Nigeria will nudge the
\ncountry towards a renaissance and herald her joining the ranks of the
\nprosperous nations of the world. So, we enthusiastically supported his
\ndetermined assault on this national malady. Just, as we were ready to
\nvote for him, even, if, \u201che presented a NEPA bill for his certificate\u201d,
\nwe celebrated his anti-corruption fight, even, if, it breached the law.<\/p>\n
Many Nigerians saw his administration\u2019s disobedience to the law as a
\nnecessary evil in the fight against corruption. They felt that the
\nsubordination of justice to order, while undemocratic, was tolerable
\nextremism in a laudable crusade against this most hideous national
\nmonster. After all, had earlier German political philosophy and
\njurisprudence not subordinated justice to order? And had that most
\nfamous Black American leader, Martin Luther King Jr., not distinguished
\nbetween kinds of extremism, when he wrote, \u201cthe question is not whether
\nwe (are) extremists but what kind of extremists we (are)\u201d \u2013 a logical
\nparallel – to Barry Goldwater\u2019s famous proclamation, \u201cExtremism in
\ndefense of liberty is no vice\u201d. Analogously, we thought that extremism
\nin extirpation of corruption is no vice.<\/p>\n
However, with time, it crystallized to Nigerians that Buhari\u2019s defiance
\nto court orders were not motivated by the public good. They were natural
\npenchants of an inveterate dictator. By four years into his presidency,
\nhis dictatorial bent was rattling the institutional moorings of Nigerian
\ndemocracy: the independence of the judiciary was compromised; freedom of
\nthe press and free speech, stifled; peaceful protesters, arrested and
\ndetained indefinitely; and the authority of the legislature, weakened.
\nEvidently, in perceptible gradations, the country is regressing towards
\na dictatorship.<\/p>\n
The unconstitutional replacement of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter
\nOnnoghen, with Ibrahim Mohammed paved the way for the emasculation of
\njudiciary independence. Onnoghen put up a despicable defense because he
\ncame to equity with unclean hands. His hands were soiled by glaring acts
\nof corruption, including feigned amnesia: he \u201cforgot\u201d to include a
\nsignificant portion of his assets in his assets declaration. According
\nto legal experts and other observers, the new\u00a0 Chief Justice, Ibrahim
\nMohammed, is unqualified for the job and totally, clueless; he can only
\nfunction as a malleable tool of the presidency. Not surprisingly, the
\ntravesties of justice recently emanating from the courts, especially, in
\nelection petition cases have been repulsively evident.<\/p>\n
Disappointed by unfulfilled electoral promises, and roiled by
\nencompassing economic misery, more and more Nigerians are driven to
\nprotest against the government. Despite the constitutionally guaranteed
\nrights of Nigerians to peaceful protests, the Buhari administration
\nsuppresses peaceful protests. On August 3 2019, the Directorate State
\nSecurity (DSS) arrested Omoyele Sowore. His only \u201ccrime\u201d was planning to
\nlead his group known as \u201cRevolution Now\u201d on a peaceful protest.
\nParadoxically, he was charged for treason. In its distastefully colorful
\nparlances, the DSS accused him of \u201cthreatening public safety, peaceful
\nco-existence and social harmony in the country\u201d and calling for a
\nrevolution – \u201cforceful overthrow of government\u201d. He remains in jail,
\neven, after perfecting his bail conditions. To call a planned peaceful
\nprotest a revolution because the protesters gathered under the auspices
\nof \u201cRevolution Now\u201d is nauseatingly disingenuous. The word revolution in
\nthis context is hyperbolic; to define it literally, as forceful
\noverthrow of a government is Machiavellian humbug.<\/p>\n
With the increasing Machiavellianism \u2013 unscrupulous despotism \u2013 of the
\nBuhari administration, we are witnessing increasing repression of the
\npress (harassment and arrests of journalists) across the country. For
\nexample, a journalist, Agba Jalingo, for writing an article accusing
\nGovernor Benedict Ayade and the Cross River Micro Finance Bank of
\ncorruption, was arrested and charged for treason and disturbing the
\npeace. He has remained in jail since August 22nd, 2019. And the security
\ndetail of Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo beat up a photojournalist,
\nAbayomi Adeshida, and damaged his professional camera. In the words of
\nthe journalist, \u201cI was shocked when the DSS started beating me for no
\nreason. They tore off my accreditation tag, and dragged me on the floor
\nwhile hitting and kicking me\u201d. He was hospitalized.<\/p>\n
In his inexplicable ingratiation of the president, the Senate President,
\nAhmed Lawan, scandalized Nigerians by stating the willingness of the
\nsenate to grant all the president\u2019s requests. He said, \u201cAny request that
\ncomes from Mr. President is a request that will make Nigeria a better
\nplace \u2026and the senate will act expeditiously to\u201d grant his request.\u00a0 It
\nwas a statement that impugned the independence of the senate. It cast
\nthe senate as an obsequious institution willing to pander to the whims
\nand caprices of the president. Constitutionally, the senate is a
\nformidable bulwark against presidential excesses.
\nThe social media provides a superb forum for the governed to express,
\nand the governing to appreciate, the prevailing moods and sentiments of
\nthe masses. If the Nigerian political class is committed to democracy
\nand its attendant sensitivity and responsiveness to the legitimate
\naspirations of the people, it would have been enthused by the social
\nmedia. But consumed in their cupidity and sordid ambitions and totally
\nunconcerned with the plight and yearnings of the people they were
\nelected to serve; the Nigerian power elite are weary of the social
\nmedia. This is because it provides unparalleled spaciousness for free
\nspeech. Uncensored, it gives voice to even the dregs of the society and
\nplaces no one, irrespective of his status, above criticism and censure.
\nIt allows even the forgotten destitute, at the bottom of the economic
\nladder, to take swipes and haul insults at the rich, famous and
\npowerful. In addition, it is a potent instrument for mobilization and
\ncoordination of mass protests. It is a redoubtable safeguard against
\ndespotism, and all forms of abuse of power. Not surprisingly, the Buhari
\nadministration wants to gag the social media. It is angling for
\nlegislative enablement to muzzle the social media.
\nThe attacks on free speech and the whittling down of the independence of
\nthe judiciary and legislature reinforce Buhari\u2019s dictatorial powers.
\nHowever, his dictatorship will remain circumscribed by that bastion of
\nfree speech, the social media. It will take a successful suppression of
\nthe social media to complete Buhari\u2019s dictatorial grip on Nigeria.<\/p>\n