Strike: Dear JUSUN: Remember King Pyrrhus of Epirus

By LegalistIQ

Email: legalistiq@gmail.com

According to an ancient Malayalam proverb “Eliye pedichu
illam chudaruthu” meaning “Don’t burn your house to smoke
out a rat”. As the nation burns there is a need to
dispassionately reevaluate the propriety of the JUSUN shutdown. The
victory JUSUN seeks is under threat by greater considerations. A
victory at all cost now, may mean a loss for the Country.

A Pyrrhic victory is a victory that is not worth winning because
so much is lost to achieve it. It is a victory that inflicts such a
devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. The
phrase is named after King Pyrrhus of Epirus whose story serves as
a lesson to everyone throughout history.

Pyrrhus was a Greek King who ruled about two hundred years
before the birth of Christ. He was a great General and tactician
loved by his people and feared by his opponents. Pyrrhus lived life
to the fullest. He was even married 5 times. He was a charismatic
and brilliant leader who enjoyed the company of intellectuals.
Among other noble qualities, King Pyrrhus inspired and encouraged
his men on the battlefield, he would often fight with them in the
thickest of the action.

King Pyrrhus is regarded as one of the greatest commanders the
world has ever seen. The historian Plutarch wrote that Pyrrhus came
second only to Alexander the Great. It is therefore ironic that
Pyrrhus is remembered today more as a symbol of failure than for
all his military successes which included regaining the throne of
Epirus after he was deposed, forging alliances with powerful rulers
like Ptolemy 1 (later Pharoah of Egypt), creating an empire greater
than his forbears could have dreamt of. He even became the King of
Macedonia.

Pyrrhus’ two most significant victories against the Romans: one
at Heraclea, where he was significantly outnumbered, and another at
Ausculum were feats of Pyrrhus’ superior military ability.
These victories however came at a very steep price because Pyrrhus
lost most of his most loyal and skilled fighters. In the end, the
victory was as costly as a defeat. In response to congratulations
for his victory over the Romans after the battle at
Ausculum, Pyrrhus remarked

“Ne ego si iterum eodem modo vicero, sine ullo milite Epirum
revertar.” Rendered by Plutarch as

“If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we
shall be utterly ruined”

When Pyrrhus returned from Sicily, the Romans had regrouped and
he found himself facing a superior Roman army under Manius Curius
Dentatus.

In 272 BC, a few years later, King Pyrrhus was unceremoniously
killed in a street fight with a soldier. He was hit on the head by
a roof tile thrown by the soldier’s mother.

As we proceed into the 4th week of the JUSUN shutdown in support
of financial autonomy or autotomy, all indices show that
this protracted shutdown of the halls of justice may yield a
Jusunic victory. This will be the case if the Courts remain shut
down.

In this battle for autonomy, JUSUN has violated a cardinal rule
of engagement; that the weak and the vulnerable must be protected
at all cost. In other words, as the faceoff with the Executive
draws on with no real end in sight, the helpless masses and
everyday people are the true casualties. What use is a judiciary
devoid of public confidence?

Now is the time for JUSUN to return to the drawing board and
re-strategize because the industrial action is a win-win for
judicial staff and the Executive- the Judiciary staff get a paid
vacation while the Executive gets a blank check to act without the
interference of the judiciary. Without the Judiciary, Governors
have become Executive Administrators. JUSUN should learn from
Pyrrhus, the sanctity of your population is equally and even more
important than the battle at the battlefront.

Many argue that JUSUN as an association is only fighting for the
interests of its members which merely coincides with the issue of
judicial finance. An examination of their antecedents should bear
this out. What has JUSUN done to address the problem of corruption
in the judiciary? What has JUSUN done to address unethical conduct
of its members? Our brethren in JUSUN should tell us, financial
autonomy will make the court staff and bailiffs resume at 8 am? Or
whether the Judiciary will return to its old ways of delay and
deferment of justice. After this paid vacation, will the Bench
still proceed on its usual vacation? Will the judiciary finally
protect the interests of the common man or will the courts continue
to grant long detention orders against Nigerians on the strength of
ex-parte applications by the Police, EFCC, ICPC, DSS and other
‘acronymus’ agencies?

Another voiceless casualty of the JUSUN shutdown is public
confidence in the judiciary. Never in the history of this country
has the public confidence and trust in the judiciary been at an
all-time low. Isn’t it a sign of the failure of the judiciary that
Nigerians have been able to survive for almost a month without the
judiciary? How are disputes being resolved?

In the book of Luke 14: 28-31, Jesus captured the lessons from
Pyrrhus perfectly when He asked

“Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down
and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it?
Otherwise, if he lays the foundation and is unable to finish the
work, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This man
could not finish what he started to build. Or what king on his way
to war with another king will not first sit down and consider
whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against
him with twenty thousand?”

The principle espoused above was as true 2000 years ago as it is
today. As Lawyers, we communicate through the hierarchy of
principles because we are creatures of precedent.

My simple advice to JUSUN and those of us egging them on is:
Remember King Pyrrhus of Epirus.

By LegalistIQ

Email: legalistiq@gmail.com

According to an ancient Malayalam proverb “Eliye pedichu
illam chudaruthu” meaning “Don’t burn your house to smoke
out a rat”. As the nation burns there is a need to
dispassionately reevaluate the propriety of the JUSUN shutdown. The
victory JUSUN seeks is under threat by greater considerations. A
victory at all cost now, may mean a loss for the Country.

A Pyrrhic victory is a victory that is not worth winning because
so much is lost to achieve it. It is a victory that inflicts such a
devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. The
phrase is named after King Pyrrhus of Epirus whose story serves as
a lesson to everyone throughout history.

Pyrrhus was a Greek King who ruled about two hundred years
before the birth of Christ. He was a great General and tactician
loved by his people and feared by his opponents. Pyrrhus lived life
to the fullest. He was even married 5 times. He was a charismatic
and brilliant leader who enjoyed the company of intellectuals.
Among other noble qualities, King Pyrrhus inspired and encouraged
his men on the battlefield, he would often fight with them in the
thickest of the action.

King Pyrrhus is regarded as one of the greatest commanders the
world has ever seen. The historian Plutarch wrote that Pyrrhus came
second only to Alexander the Great. It is therefore ironic that
Pyrrhus is remembered today more as a symbol of failure than for
all his military successes which included regaining the throne of
Epirus after he was deposed, forging alliances with powerful rulers
like Ptolemy 1 (later Pharoah of Egypt), creating an empire greater
than his forbears could have dreamt of. He even became the King of
Macedonia.

Pyrrhus’ two most significant victories against the Romans: one
at Heraclea, where he was significantly outnumbered, and another at
Ausculum were feats of Pyrrhus’ superior military ability.
These victories however came at a very steep price because Pyrrhus
lost most of his most loyal and skilled fighters. In the end, the
victory was as costly as a defeat. In response to congratulations
for his victory over the Romans after the battle at
Ausculum, Pyrrhus remarked

“Ne ego si iterum eodem modo vicero, sine ullo milite Epirum
revertar.” Rendered by Plutarch as

“If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we
shall be utterly ruined”

When Pyrrhus returned from Sicily, the Romans had regrouped and
he found himself facing a superior Roman army under Manius Curius
Dentatus.

In 272 BC, a few years later, King Pyrrhus was unceremoniously
killed in a street fight with a soldier. He was hit on the head by
a roof tile thrown by the soldier’s mother.

As we proceed into the 4th week of the JUSUN shutdown in support
of financial autonomy or autotomy, all indices show that
this protracted shutdown of the halls of justice may yield a
Jusunic victory. This will be the case if the Courts remain shut
down.

In this battle for autonomy, JUSUN has violated a cardinal rule
of engagement; that the weak and the vulnerable must be protected
at all cost. In other words, as the faceoff with the Executive
draws on with no real end in sight, the helpless masses and
everyday people are the true casualties. What use is a judiciary
devoid of public confidence?

Now is the time for JUSUN to return to the drawing board and
re-strategize because the industrial action is a win-win for
judicial staff and the Executive- the Judiciary staff get a paid
vacation while the Executive gets a blank check to act without the
interference of the judiciary. Without the Judiciary, Governors
have become Executive Administrators. JUSUN should learn from
Pyrrhus, the sanctity of your population is equally and even more
important than the battle at the battlefront.

Many argue that JUSUN as an association is only fighting for the
interests of its members which merely coincides with the issue of
judicial finance. An examination of their antecedents should bear
this out. What has JUSUN done to address the problem of corruption
in the judiciary? What has JUSUN done to address unethical conduct
of its members? Our brethren in JUSUN should tell us, financial
autonomy will make the court staff and bailiffs resume at 8 am? Or
whether the Judiciary will return to its old ways of delay and
deferment of justice. After this paid vacation, will the Bench
still proceed on its usual vacation? Will the judiciary finally
protect the interests of the common man or will the courts continue
to grant long detention orders against Nigerians on the strength of
ex-parte applications by the Police, EFCC, ICPC, DSS and other
‘acronymus’ agencies?

Another voiceless casualty of the JUSUN shutdown is public
confidence in the judiciary. Never in the history of this country
has the public confidence and trust in the judiciary been at an
all-time low. Isn’t it a sign of the failure of the judiciary that
Nigerians have been able to survive for almost a month without the
judiciary? How are disputes being resolved?

In the book of Luke 14: 28-31, Jesus captured the lessons from
Pyrrhus perfectly when He asked

“Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down
and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it?
Otherwise, if he lays the foundation and is unable to finish the
work, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This man
could not finish what he started to build. Or what king on his way
to war with another king will not first sit down and consider
whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against
him with twenty thousand?”

The principle espoused above was as true 2000 years ago as it is
today. As Lawyers, we communicate through the hierarchy of
principles because we are creatures of precedent.

My simple advice to JUSUN and those of us egging them on is:
Remember King Pyrrhus of Epirus.