Nigeria: Yesterday and Today
April 5 2016 By Abiodun Giwa
Bola Tinubu, Bukola Saraki and Muhammed Buhari
On Monday, a story was published on this page titled "Leadership and the lack of it". The story beamed the failure of leadership around the world and partly oo the trial of Bukola Saraki, the Nigeria's Senate President. This website was unaware that Saraki would be in court on Tuesday in continuation of his trial for alleged fraudulent declaration of assets as a governor of his state between 2003 and 2011.
Why is this website focusing on Saraki's trial or being critical of Nigeria's government for making Saraki's trial part of its fight against corruption, when it is not? Global Pentorch is focusing on Saraki's trial, because it is the resort of the powerful people in government to use government apparatus to settle score over political issues. This amounts to misuse of the judiciary and it is against President Muhammed Buhari's oath to uphold and defend the constitution.
Saraki may be corrupt as alleged, just like so many Nigerian politicians are corrupt. But it is perversion of the rule of law to go all way out to deal with him, because he outsmarted you in your plans to have your candidate installed as a senate president. This is Nigeria's old way of doing things and for which Nigerians seeking a change. But instead of giving Nigerians a change, Buhari has continued on the dangerous political witch hunt that has done Nigeria and Nigerians no good in the past.
It is easy to hear Nigerian political pundits say that when a politician becomes too critical of the Nigerian former President Olusegun Obasanjo, he sends the Economic and Financial Crime Commission against the politician to coerce the politician to submission to his will. Is that what the EFCC is established to do, to become an organ in the hands of the president against politicians with whom he does not agree? Is it not not an impeachable offense for a president to be seeing acting against the constitution? This time in the case of Saraki, the government of Nigeria has not used the EFCC, but the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
Was the CCT established as an organ for the president or the government to use in settling a score in a fair political election of a senate president and other officers of the National Assembly? Obviously, it is clear that if Saraki has not outsmarted the ruling party bigwigs to become the senate president against the candidates the bigwigs have sponsored, Saraki would not be facing any case in the CCT today. Therefore, it is clear that Saraki is facing a case in the CCT, because he became the senate president and against the wishes of President Buhari and Bola Tinubu, one of the party's national leader, whose candidates were defeated in the election for senate president.
Saraki is not facing trial for fraudulent declaration of assets. The fraudulent declaration of assets charge against is a smokescreen and turns into an organ and and the CCT is turned into an organ of perversion of fair play and instrument of coercion by those in control of government against one of themselves for the sake of seeking a pound of flesh, as a retribution for Saraki's temerity challenging his party leaders' oligarchical tendency to impose their candidates as senate president and deputy senate president.
Ironically, instead of which Saraki's party leaders should have embraced and congratulate him, they are seeking to coerce him into surrendering the senate presidency, and if he refuses to be coerced and refuses to surrender the senate's presidency, he be made to pay the price. Is this the way to fight corruption? It is Nigeria's way of fighting corruption. It is Nigeria's way managing political disagreement. But for the EFCC and the CCT to be turned into an organ of political vendetta is what the Nigerian media and all well meaning people should reject.
It is Saraki today. It will be another public officer tomorrow. This development shows that Nigeria has not changed and remains the same way it has been in the days of Obasanjo and his predecessors in office, when evil can be visited on anyone who seeks to be competitive or critical of government.
Why is this website focusing on Saraki's trial or being critical of Nigeria's government for making Saraki's trial part of its fight against corruption, when it is not? Global Pentorch is focusing on Saraki's trial, because it is the resort of the powerful people in government to use government apparatus to settle score over political issues. This amounts to misuse of the judiciary and it is against President Muhammed Buhari's oath to uphold and defend the constitution.
Saraki may be corrupt as alleged, just like so many Nigerian politicians are corrupt. But it is perversion of the rule of law to go all way out to deal with him, because he outsmarted you in your plans to have your candidate installed as a senate president. This is Nigeria's old way of doing things and for which Nigerians seeking a change. But instead of giving Nigerians a change, Buhari has continued on the dangerous political witch hunt that has done Nigeria and Nigerians no good in the past.
It is easy to hear Nigerian political pundits say that when a politician becomes too critical of the Nigerian former President Olusegun Obasanjo, he sends the Economic and Financial Crime Commission against the politician to coerce the politician to submission to his will. Is that what the EFCC is established to do, to become an organ in the hands of the president against politicians with whom he does not agree? Is it not not an impeachable offense for a president to be seeing acting against the constitution? This time in the case of Saraki, the government of Nigeria has not used the EFCC, but the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
Was the CCT established as an organ for the president or the government to use in settling a score in a fair political election of a senate president and other officers of the National Assembly? Obviously, it is clear that if Saraki has not outsmarted the ruling party bigwigs to become the senate president against the candidates the bigwigs have sponsored, Saraki would not be facing any case in the CCT today. Therefore, it is clear that Saraki is facing a case in the CCT, because he became the senate president and against the wishes of President Buhari and Bola Tinubu, one of the party's national leader, whose candidates were defeated in the election for senate president.
Saraki is not facing trial for fraudulent declaration of assets. The fraudulent declaration of assets charge against is a smokescreen and turns into an organ and and the CCT is turned into an organ of perversion of fair play and instrument of coercion by those in control of government against one of themselves for the sake of seeking a pound of flesh, as a retribution for Saraki's temerity challenging his party leaders' oligarchical tendency to impose their candidates as senate president and deputy senate president.
Ironically, instead of which Saraki's party leaders should have embraced and congratulate him, they are seeking to coerce him into surrendering the senate presidency, and if he refuses to be coerced and refuses to surrender the senate's presidency, he be made to pay the price. Is this the way to fight corruption? It is Nigeria's way of fighting corruption. It is Nigeria's way managing political disagreement. But for the EFCC and the CCT to be turned into an organ of political vendetta is what the Nigerian media and all well meaning people should reject.
It is Saraki today. It will be another public officer tomorrow. This development shows that Nigeria has not changed and remains the same way it has been in the days of Obasanjo and his predecessors in office, when evil can be visited on anyone who seeks to be competitive or critical of government.
