By Casmir Igbokwe
Some Federal Government officials appear to be afraid of their shadows. It looks more like the proverbial saying that when a fowl farts, the land pursues it.
Last week, Nigerians witnessed another attempt at authoritarianism. Some group had put up billboards in Abuja and elsewhere with the inscription, “All eyes on the judiciary”. The powers that be became fretful and ordered that the billboards be pulled down. They also dissolved the secretariat of the Advertising Standard Panel (ASP) for approving the advert and suspended its director and deputy director in charge of regulations.
As the director-general of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, put it, “The advertisement is considered a blackmail against the Nigerian judiciary, the presidential election petition tribunal and particularly the justices of the tribunal who are expected to discharge their judicial functions without fear or favour over a matter that is currently jus pendis.” He added that the advertisement was controversial and capable of instigating unrest and breach of public peace.
Which unrest if one may ask? It looks like some people are having guilty conscience. To me, there is nothing offensive about the advert. It did not mention any particular individual, tribunal or political party. There is also nothing unusual about it. Before the general election, our eyes were on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Our eyes were also on the major political parties and their candidates.
During the campaign for the presidential election, for instance, many supporters of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, expressed concern that he was not visible on billboards; that his major opponents had their billboards everywhere. Obi’s response was that he was a moving billboard himself. While others concentrated on billboards and posters, he moved round many parts of Nigeria, including some remote areas of the North where he was warned to avoid visiting because of the insurgency in that part of the country. This made him more popular among the masses.
Some other presidential candidates had their idiosyncrasies which made them the cynosure of all eyes. A particular presidential candidate had told his supporters that “power is not served a la carte. At all cost, fight for it, grab it, and run with it.” Now that the elections are over and results announced in the ungodly hours of March 1, 2023, all eyes will naturally be on the judiciary. So, why are some people fretting and fearful of unrest? Indeed, as Usman Dan Fodio said, “Conscience is an open wound; only the truth can heal it.”
What will even instigate unrest in the real sense of it is the assault on the freedom of expression as enshrined in Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). They may have pulled down billboards urging us to fix our eyes on the judiciary. But they can’t stop some diehard believers in our democracy from having the inscription, “All eyes on the judiciary” on their clothes. I have seen women who have the inscription on their bags as well. No billboard will be more effective than that.
Do you even blame Nigerians when they express fear about our judiciary? Recently, the chairperson of the Kano State National and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, Justice Flora Ngozi Azinge, alleged that some lawyers were attempting to bribe judges in her team. Recall that Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa had said recently that he influenced his wife, Zainab, to help his colleagues when she was the president of the Court of Appeal. People know that our judiciary did not drop from the moon. The judges are susceptible to the influence of money and other considerations. That is why we have forum-shopping in the profession. Besides, some recent judgements by our justices leave a sour taste in the mouth. Former Senate President Ahmad Lawan, for instance, did not contest for the senatorial election in his constituency in the 2023 election. He contested for the presidential primary election of his party and lost. Today, he is a senator courtesy of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
In any case, since they have barred us from keeping our eyes on the judiciary, we have to change tactics. Now, will there be any crime to keep our eyes on the executive, especially President Bola Tinubu? We must keep watch on their movements and actions. This time round, there should not be any nocturnal visits to judges. Nor should judges embark on any such crooked movement.
Nigerians must keep their eagle eyes on bullion vans; where they enter and the routes they follow. Let it not be like what happened on the eve of the 2019 presidential election when two bullion vans were spotted entering Tinubu’s premises on Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi.
We must keep our eyes on the plans of this government. Just look at the recent appointment of new ministers. Already, there are insinuations that the ruling party is planning for any eventuality. You know that it is only the Labour Party presidential candidate that got 25 per cent of the votes in Abuja. So, if the tribunal calls for a rerun of the presidential election, for instance, it means the new minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, will be very useful in securing that 25 per cent for the ruling party in Abuja. The fear in many quarters now is that Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers State, may replicate the magic he performed in Rivers State that gave the All Progressives Congress (APC) questionable victory in the presidential election.
Let us also keep our eyes on the performance of this government. Its flip-flopping on major policies is becoming worrisome. The president announced the removal of fuel subsidy without any serious plans on palliatives. He enthused that it was not in his inaugural speech but that he just summoned courage and announced it. When Nigerians kicked against the action, he reeled out some ridiculous palliative measures. Some poor households, for instance, would be given N8, 000 cash each per month to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal. When people slammed the policy, he made a U-turn and suspended it.
Less than three months that this administration assumed office, the naira has suffered undue pummeling. A few days ago, the exchange rate climbed to over N900 per dollar. Inflation rose to an all-time high of 24.08 per cent as of July 2023. In June, it was 22.79 per cent. Nigerians have further been impoverished.
Amid all these, our government threatened to send Nigerian troops to Niger Republic to flush out the coup plotters that removed the civilian government of Mohamed Bazoum. Meanwhile, the current security situation in Nigeria calls for more urgent action. How can we spend our scarce resources on a military adventure into another country when we have continued to record casualties against our innocent citizens and soldiers? In Shiroro local government area of Niger State, soldiers ran into an ambush laid by terrorists recently. At the end of the firefight, at least, three officers and 22 soldiers got killed. Seven others were wounded. A Nigeria Air Force helicopter that went to evacuate the victims crashed, leading to more casualties. We are in deep trouble really! All eyes should be on the executive please!
