Trivialize Corruption, Neutralize Justice By: Wole Soyinka

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 rivaling 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 life-style, and the increasing
sophistication of cover-up operations? No connection between the
rising tide of unemployment and the corrupt wastage of resources
meant for industrialization 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
generalized 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 organized 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 recognize, 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 understands why it
remains intolerable that any attempt be made at trivializing 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 the judge was
moved to soliloquize, 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 unsavory 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 trivialized 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 trivialized. Neither however, must criminality, or else,
history merely repeats itself in increasingly dismal accents.
Justice becomes neutralized.

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

PDP in Gombe an opposition in waiting -Dr.
Gwamna

Dr Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna, A Chieftain of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) in Gombe State says President Muhammadu Buhari’s
visit to Gombe has finally paralyzed the Peoples’ Democratic Party
(PDP) in the state and made it an opposition in waiting.

Gwamna who made this disclosure while fielding questions from
newsmen in Gombe said the PDP was yet to recover from the colossal
damage that the visit of Buhari to Gombe has inflicted on them.

According to him, since the return of democracy in 1999, no one
has pulled the kind of crowd that President Buhari got over the
weekend when he visited the state.

He said that the visit of the president to the state had proven
to all stakeholders and the world that APC had become a political
religion in Gombe, adding that the victory of APC at all levels in
Gombe would be a landslide.

“Today, I can tell you that PDP has become an opposition in
waiting. After the general elections, many will forget if we ever
had PDP in the state. Majority of those in the PDP now have their
hearts in the APC but for fear of losing their daily bread, they
have remained in the party to mourn silently,’’ he said.

“The visit of the president to Gombe State has paralyzed if not
finally buried PDP in Gombe. Many now see what I saw then that made
me defect to the APC and now they are coming in their numbers to
join the winning team.

“We have lived and risen with the political knowledge of Gombe
politics and governance. But I can tell you that never in the
history of Gombe state, since its creation, has she welcomed such
an ocean of gathering. The support as well as the kind of crowd
that the APC is putting up in Gombe State is heart-warming.

The APC chieftain said he was confident that Alhaji Inuwa
Yahaya’s chances of becoming governor were enhanced by over 70 per
cent by the president’s visit. He added: “Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya is a
lucky man and his victory has been guaranteed by over 70 per cent.
This is the first time a seating president was campaigning for
Inuwa; so, you see that he has received the mantle of leadership by
that jinx’’.

Dr. Gwamna however, cautioned that all APC supporters should use
the remaining days to collect their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs)
so as to speak loud and clear that Gombe electorates have divorced
the PDP in the state.