Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s federal government of Nigeria is rearing to go to war in Niger Republic.  Is history  repeating itself ?  Twelve years ago, in 2011, Nigeria was similarly bullish about going to war in Ivory Coast over the presidential election dispute in that country.  That time, President Goodluck Jonathan was the chairman of Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS ), just as President Bola Tinubu is ECOWAS chairman today. There had been a presidential election in Ivory Coast on October 31, 2010 with many candidates in which President Laurent Gbagbo led with 38 percent of the vote, while Alassane Quattara  was runner up with 32 percent vote. Because no candidate scored up to 50 percent of the vote, the two leading candidates – Gbagbo and Quattara – had a run off election on November 28, 2010.  On December 2, 2010, the country’s Independent Electoral Commission declared Quattara winner of the run off election with 54 percent of the vote but on December 3, 2010, the Constitutional Court,  which has the mandate to certify/review the election result , declared President Gbagbo re-elected with 51 percent of the vote.

The ‘ International Community ‘ stepped in , with the United Nations Representative in Ivory Coast issuing a certification of the Quattara victory !!!  Yes, a UN Representative became or arrogated to himself the role of the certifying authority of a presidential election in an African country !   However, President Gbagbo, supported by the Ivorian military and civil service  was sworn in for a second term while Quattara , holed up at the Golf hotel in Abidjan, protected by UN Peacekeeping troops, declared himself president.  There was stalemate, with two claimants to the Ivorian presidency.  Enter President Goodluck Jonathan, ECOWAS chairman,  not as a mediator  but rather a hell-raising , combative warmonger rearing to topple President Gbagbo, who had been tagged a sit tight president who did not want to relinquish power. Jonathan backed the position of the UN Representative.  Like President Jonathan, President Bola Tinubu entered the political fray in Niger Republic, not as a mediator, but projecting as  a combative democracy warrior leading ECOWAS  on a mission to teach coupists a lesson for daring to sack an elected president. Whatever local circumstances which might have prompted the coup were of no consideration to the new ECOWAS chairman, who is also  barely two months in office as president of Nigeria,  and whose victory in the election is still being challenged in court.   President Tinubu has shown no clue on how to tackle Boko haram insurgency, widespread banditry and kidnapping in Nigeria yet he is consumed about restoring democracy in Niger Republic, following the ouster of President Mohammed Bazoum from power in coup on July 26, 2023 led by the commander of the presidential guard, Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani .  At its  Sunday, July 30, 2023 first extraordinary summit  on the Niger crisis,  ECOWAS  had  imposed several sanctions on the coupists and handed them one week ultimatum to reinstate Bazoum or face military action.  At its second extraordinary summit on Thursday, August 10, 2023 ECOWAS activated a Standby Force to actualize its ultimatum .

I had written an article on the Ivorian political crisis dated January 30, 2011 and published in many newspapers including The Guardian  ( February 17, 2011 )  titled : ‘ Nigeria’s  war drums on Ivory Coast ‘.  One can apply that title to the current situation as :  Tinubu’s war drums on Niger Republic. The African Union had initially opted for dialogue on the Ivorian crisis but eventually towed ECOWAS line as the primary authority in West Africa.

I will quote extensively from that my 2011 write-up to highlight the similarity to Tinubu’s warmongering on Niger Republic. I had noted  : ‘’ The ECOWAS has a responsibility to diffuse the volatile situation , but the mediator is now becoming a rabid partisan, eager to deploy the military to dislodge President Gbagbo’’.  In fact, Jonathan had on January 24, 2011, in a letter, lobbied the UN Security Council for a resolution authorizing ECOWAS to deploy the military in Ivory Coast ! The letter was delivered by Jonathan’s Foreign Affairs minister, Odein Ajumogobia (SAN) I had observed  : ‘’ What is most unsettling about the letter is its undue belligerence , with a touch of braggadocio’’, as Jonathan thundered :  ‘’ Gbagbo must be made to understand that there is a very real prospect of overwhelming military capability bearing down on him and his cohorts’’.  Tinubu is exhibiting similar macho on the Niger crisis. In the article, I had posed the question : Why is Nigeria so gung-ho about war in Ivory Coast ?  That question is worth repeating today : Why is Tinubu so gung-ho about leading ECOWAS  to war in Niger Republic ?  Unlike Jonathan, the Tinubu –led ECOWAS has dispensed with UN Security Council resolution on the threatened war against Niger republic, apparently  to establish Tinubu as the new Sheriff in West Africa with a smoking gun !  At the end, Jonathan got UN Security Council resolution for military intervention in Ivory Coast but he and ECOWAS were sidelined in the military operation, in spite of their gra-gra about war. It was essentially UN Peacekeeping soldiers and French forces which captured President Gbagbo at the presidential palace on April 11, 2011 and eventually installed Quattara as president on May 21, 2011.  President Gbagbo was sent to trial at the International Criminal Court at The Hague where he languished for 10 years in detention. President Jonathan and ECOWAS  became pawns of the ‘ International Community ‘ to perpetuate French economic stranglehold on Ivory Coast, a vice grip that President Gbagbo was trying to dismantle.  Similarly, Tinubu  and ECOWAS may be suckered into a proxy war in Niger Republic on behalf of France and the U.S. to sustain the West’s economic exploitation of that country.  But he, apparently, deludes himself as a Big Boy playing in the Big League !

Perhaps, Tinubu and his Aso Rock advisers are both ignorant of history and naïve in international geopolitics. Just like Jonathan’s outing in Ivory Coast, Tinubu is turning out as lacking depth in policy decisions  and precipitate in action – shooting before aiming !!.  The seemingly over-hyped Lagos political tactician and ‘magician’ may be unraveling before our eyes .  What is his understanding of the underlying local factors which triggered  the coup in Niger Republic ?  Can ECOWAS realistically dismiss the support for Niger Republic by Burkina Faso and Mali, both ruled by military juntas ?

The laughable aspect  of the Tinubu ECOWAS Ensemble is touting Alassane Quattara and  President Faure Gnassingbe of Togo as defenders of democracy.  This is Quattara , installed by France in 2011 who in 2016 changed the country’s constitution that allowed him to run for a third term of five years in 2020, winning 94.27 percent of the vote, and giving him a cumulative 15 years by 2025.  President Gnassingbe, in 2005,  succeeded his late father, President Gnassingbe Eyadema who ruled Togo for 38 years .  After resisting term limitations for  14 years, he got his party-dominated National Assembly to pass a constitutional amendment in May 2019  that now included  a two term limit for the president but without retroactive clause. The amendment gave him a fresh two terms that allowed him to run in the 2020 presidential election and the option to also run in 2025, potentially allowing him to remain president till 2030, a reign of  25 years !! These are the Tinubu Apostles of Democracy  on Evangelism mission to Niger Republic  !!!  What a joke !   Quattara, the French-installed lackey in Ivory Coast, fronting for his benefactors in urging Tinubu to war, had after the August 10, 2023 ECOWAS Summit in Abuja sought to deflect Nigerians’ criticism of Tinubu’s warmongering by stating that it is an ECOWAS  collective decision.  Who is deceived ?    

As in Ivory Coast, the ‘ International Community ‘ , a euphemism for U.S. and NATO, could possibly aid a lightening victory for Tinubu-led ECOWAS military invasion of Niger Republic if France and the U.S. provide carpet bombing air cover for the ground troops. That could be the pledge emboldening Tinubu to throw caution to the wind.  But then, Tinubu  would have only been railroaded into a fratricidal war  with Niger republic  for the economic interests  of the West in their continuing exploitation of African countries.  Except for the nebulous claim of promoting democracy, no one has articulated the specific benefits accruing to Nigeria or ECOWAS  from an invasion of Niger Republic to reinstate the ousted president, Mohammed Bazoum.     

Virtually all stakeholders in Nigeria have opposed military invasion of Niger Republic by Tinubu-led ECOWAS. But does the Lagos City Boy care. ?  It appears Tinubu does not give a damn, for as long as he can flaunt the anticipated success of his Audacity of Warmongering in Niger Republic !!!  

Emmanuel Udende, the Senator representing Benue Northeast, has commended the zealous Davido fan, Emmanuel Myam, aka Emmiwuks.

The senator commended Emmiwuks, who embarked on a road trip from Benue State to Lagos on his bicycle to meet the singer.

Recall that Davido had ordered the fan to “turn around” that he wasn’t presently in the country but when the fan insisted on continuing his journey, he asked him to send his account number for a token and also pledged to meet him when he returns.

Reacting via his official Facebook page, Senator Udende commended the young fan for his resilience.

He promised to support Emmiwuks’ music career and also host him at his office in the National Assembly when lawmakers are back from recess.

He said, “In the past few days, I have seen a lot of updates on social media platforms concerning the passion and desire of a young man who wishes to meet and present a gift to his music Idol and Afrobeat star David Adeleke (Davido).

“I wish to applaud the resilience of Master Emmanuel Myam with the stage name Emmiwuks, who is my constituent from Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State, for embarking on this journey from Benue to Lagos on a bicycle to meet Davido, the Afrobeat superstar.

“As it has been my policy to encourage young people to pursue their dreams, I wish to encourage Master Emmanuel in his chosen career which I have been told is Music.

“I will also host him in my office at the National Assembly when he returns from Lagos and we are also back from recess so that we can look at the areas I can intervene to make him excel in his chosen career.

“Ensure you are a proud ambassador of Our constituency and Benue state at large when you meet the Music icon.”

Godwin Obaseki, the Governor of Edo state has spoken up about how he found out that his deputy, Philip Shaibu, was “working against him”.

According to Obaseki, Shaibu has become so desperate to succeed him, ahead of the Edo governorship election in 2024.

He spoke at a gathering with stakeholders in the state.

The governor said: “He (Shaibu) went to Abuja and was boasting that he has connections in Abuja, that he has people in the national assembly, that they are all with the president now, that they will take care of him. That if he cannot get the ticket in PDP, he knows what to do.

“I kept quiet and said I thought we were together. But what struck me, and I have never said this to anybody, is that after I proclaimed the house of assembly, we were now going to elect officers.

“He was in Abuja, he came back that day. I am the chief security officer of this state. I get any information I need. But I have that responsibility to keep quiet and use the information properly.

“My deputy called the leader in APC, telling that leader that during the elections on the next day, particularly speaker of the house of assembly, that he has five members who are loyal to him and that he would like the seven members of APC to work with his five members of PDP to produce the next speaker.

“As far as I am concerned, that was not working in our common interest. Why would the deputy governor seek to have another speakership candidate outside of what the governor wants? Are we working together?

“That was when I knew we had a problem. That the deputy governor has become so desperate to take over that he would do anything, including carrying out a coup, against his governor. How can you say you are loyal and you will do such a thing?”

Meanwhile, Shaibu has dismissed speculations of joining the All Progressives Congress (APC), following his rift with Obaseki.

The deputy governor said this in response to speculations that he would be received in Abuja next week by the APC National Working Committee (NWC).

Shaibu, in a statement by his chief press secretary, Musa Ebomhiana, described the rumour as the handwork of mischief makers who are bent on destabilizing Edo state.

“Mischief makers bent on destabilizing our dear Edo State are still at work. They will stop at nothing to widen the gulf between Mr Governor, His Excellency, Governor Godwin Obaseki and his Deputy, Comrade Philip Shaibu.

“They have generated more lies from the pit of hell, saying that Shaibu has perfected plans to rejoin the APC next week. There is no iota of truth in this. The mischief makers claim that the APC NWC is set to receive me in Abuja. Is it the NWC of a party that receives a decampee into the party?.

“In view of this, I plead with these characters bent on driving a wedge between Comrade Shaibu and his boss, to put the Edo project and the people far above their own selfish interest,” the statement read in part.

The Military High Command says there are plots from different quarters to instigate members of Armed Forces of Nigeria to overthrow the present democratic administration being led by President Bola Tinubu.

It, however, said the attempt will fail, insisting that the military is happy and better under democracy, and as such it will not get involved in any act to sabotage the hard-earned democracy of Nigeria.

The Director, Defence Information, Tukur Gusau, a Brigadier-General, who stated this in an early message sent to Daily Trust on Saturday morning, described the development as “unpatriotic and wicked”.

According to him, the military would continue to perform its constitutional duties rather than plotting any coup against the present democratic administration, saying the armed forces of Nigeria would not be distracted.

Gusau’s reaction came on the heels of calls by some Nigerians that the military should step into the country’s leadership position owing to the perceived failure of democratic governments.

But in his message, the senior military officer said the armed forces of Nigeria under the leadership of Gen. Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff, would not for any reason involve in any form of insubordination.

“The reports calling on the military to interfere in our democracy is highly unpatriotic, wicked, and an attempt to distract the Armed Forces of Nigeria from performing its constitutional responsibilities,” the senior military said.

He also dismissed insinuations in some quarters that the troops of the Nigerian military were not well taken care of, noting that it would not allow any individual or group of individuals to instigate military officers against the present government.

Gusau added, “The Defence headquarters frowns at a report being circulated online about welfare issues in the Armed Forces of Nigeria. We wish to state unequivocally that the military is happy and better under democracy and will not get involved in any act to sabotage the hard-earned democracy in our country.

“While the leadership of the AFN gives priority to welfare of its personnel however, we detest any attempt by any individual or group to instigate the law-abiding Armed Forces of Nigeria to embark on any unconstitutional change of government in our country.

“The AFN under the leadership of the Chief of Defence Staff, General CG Musa is determined to ensure complete subordination of the Armed Forces to constitutional authority under His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and will not be distracted from its roles that are well defined in the 1999 constitution (as amended).”

It was a dramatic day for the co-hosts of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Australia, as they escaped France’s battle in the quarter-finals to qualify for their first semi-final in the history of the tournament.

After a goalless 120 minutes of action, France and Australia who the Super Falcons of Nigeria beat 3-2 in the tournament’s group stage, settled for a thrilling penalty shootout.

The quarter-final clash at the Brisbane Stadium recorded a massive 12 goals from the two teams via the penalty shootout.

Australia won 7-6 in the shootout that exceeded expectations with its dramatic turns. Cortnee Vine scored the game-winning penalty kick after Vicki Becho had hit the post for France.

Mackenzie Arnold of Australia made a total of four saves in the shootout, including two against Kenza Dali after the latter moved off the line for the first stop and necessitated a retake.

After Eve Perisset’s save, Arnold herself had an opportunity to give Australia the victory with a penalty kick as the fifth shooter, but she missed the post as the roughly 50,000 Australians in attendance felt every emotion imaginable.

Eventually, the hosts managed to push themselves through to their first-ever semifinal of a Women’s World Cup after the thrilling penalty shootout.

In the semi-finals on August 16, at 11:00, the co-hosts will take on either England or Colombia at Sydney’s Stadium Australia.

Indications have emerged that Nigerian Senators reportedly shared N218 million as a “holiday” allowance.

Naija News understands that each of the 109 senators was paid N2 million before the red chamber went on its seven weeks recess.

Recall that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, had on Tuesday during plenary when he mistakenly revealed that tokens had been sent to senators to ‘enjoy’ their recess.

A video clip showing Akpabio making the blunder had gone viral on social media.

The incident reportedly happened on Monday after the senators concluded the screening and confirmation of President Bola Tinubu’s ministerial nominees.

“In order to enable all of us to enjoy our holidays, a token has been sent to our various accounts by the Clerk of the National Assembly,” Akpabio said.

He later withdrew his earlier comment saying, “I withdraw that statement. In order to allow you to enjoy your holiday, the senate president has sent prayers to your mailboxes to assist you to go on a safe journey and return.”

A source who pleaded anonymity told Premium Times that bank alerts were received by the senators on 8 August, just before Akpabio announced it.

The source, however, did not clarify if presiding officers also got N2 million each but confirmed that all 109 senators were paid the allowance for the holidays, which commenced on Monday and will end on 26 September.

Attesting to this fact, Naija News reported earlier that a lawmaker representing Bauchi Central senatorial district, Abdul Ningi revealed how much lawmakers got as a recess ‘token.’

According to Ningi, some lawmakers have gotten N2 million as recess allowance. However, he claimed not to have received his own.

Senator Ningi speaking on the development days after Akpabio’s statement confirmed that some lawmakers had gotten an allowance as earlier hinted.

Speaking with Channels TV, he said, “Nothing has come to my account yet. I heard that some people got N2m but for me, nothing yet. Hopefully [I would get] when they tidy up things.

“Some of these things, if they happen, you don’t broadcast it the way he (Akoabio) did.

“I think it is a huge embarrassment to the Senate President as a person and to the institution of the National Assembly. The Senate President should have gone further to say what the allowances are for. How did he come about the allowances? Who gave the allowances? Is it part of the remuneration?

“I don’t know what N2m would do for a holiday. I find it very difficult to understand what this money is for.”

This platform, however, gathered that the N2 million allowance given to the senators is illegal as no such provision is made in the remuneration package approved by Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), a body authorised by law to prepare salaries and allowances for public servants.

According to the commission, what lawmakers are entitled to as a “recess” allowance is 10 per cent of the annual basic salary of each legislator, which is paid once a year.

The commission states that in a package prepared by RMAFC, a senator earns N2,026,400 and therefore gets N202,240 as a recess allowance per annum.

The basic salary of the senate president per annum is N2,483,242, and therefore receives N248,424 as recess allowance, while that of his deputy is N2,309,166, and his recess allowance is N230,916.

Deji Adeyanju, a public affairs analyst, made fun of Nasir El-Rufai after it was announced that he had withdrawn his name from consideration for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ministerial nomination.

According to Anaedoonline.ng, the Senate deferred El-Rufai’s and two other nominees’ confirmations after receiving security concerns from the Department of State Services.

El-Rufai allegedly told President Tinubu of his decision to resign from his ministerial position as a result, along with a suggestion for a replacement.

Adeyanju Reveals Where Tinubu Should Be Instead of Running For Presidency

Adeyanju responded by stating that it would make sense for El-Rufai to run for office in 2027 by joining Peter Obi’s Labour Party.

He suggested that the former FCT Minister run alongside Obi, claiming that their combined ticket would be like a match made in heaven.

According to him, he would meet fellow religious bigots the moment he defects to the Labour Party.

“But it will make a lot of sense if elRufai joins Labour Party. He will meet his fellow religious bigot there, and they can both run as presidential and VP candidates in 2027. They will fight their religious war together.

“Peter/El-Rufai 2027 ticket will be a strong one. A union made in Heaven. They both have bigotry and betrayal running in their DNA,” he tweeted on Friday.

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dele Momodu, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s ministerial team.

Momodu said Tinubu’s ministerial list was worst than his predecessor, ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s team.

This was as he disclosed that some of Tinubu’s ministers are unknown unlike what was obtainable in the past.

He disclosed this while featuring on the latest edition of a Podcast, Mic On.

Momodu noted that former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai was an original version of himself when he was a minister under PDP.

According to Momodu: “Every leader has what it takes to be a good resident if he has good advisers and listens to them. It’s just like a journalist without corrections, he will always carry fake news.

“For any leader to succeed, he must look at his team and what I’m seeing now is worst than Buhari’s team.

“What I expected was a star-studded cabinet, I like to recall myself with sweet memories of Ibrahim Babangida’s cabinet in those days.

“We remember them till today, most of the people appointed now, I don’t know them. Under Babangida, I remember Akinyele, Bolaji Akinyemi, Bolasodun Ajibola, Tai Solarin, Wole Soyinka.

“You can’t say that today, somebody is on her way to screen you remove her, that’s disgraceful, it means you didn’t do your due diligence before appointing people.

“In the days of Okonjo-Iweala, Ezekwesili, Nubu Ribadu, original El-Rufai when he was a minister under PDP was original El-Rufai.”

[DailyPost]

One cannot be envious of the presidential election petition court (PEPC), as the 180 days that the current laws give the tribunal to render a verdict are about to expire. The concern, however, is that the high hopes are progressively giving way to perceived uncertainties that the country would be forced to deal with a compromised judiciary and a desperate incumbent president whose election is being contested. These issues are gradually replacing high hopes, which is a cause for anxiety.

Perhaps the only place in the world where a president-elect gets sworn in before the legitimacy of his election is decided is Nigeria. Although it is a highly irregular practice, Nigeria has been operating it ever since the current democratic system was restored in 1999. It is such a peculiar mess.

The Nigerian judiciary has endured several terrifying and emasculating experiences over the past ten years, many of which are self-inflicted, especially under the presidency of Muhammadu Buhari. Recently, the United States issued a travel block on seven of the twelve supreme court justices due to strange rulings. Other examples include the arrest of various supreme court judges, notably Walter Nkanu Onnoghen, then a sitting chief justice of Nigeria, and raids on their houses. The majority of people were shocked by the prominent jurists’ forced fall from grace and desecration of the temple of justice by the presidency.

The National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), two judicial authorities that could assist or mediate during Onnoghen’s struggles, remained at a safe distance. Their cowardly silence over what ordinary Nigerians perceived as an assault on the judicial branch of government raised more concerns about the much-touted independence of that branch of government and its ability to uphold its reverence as the last hope of the common man.

Yes, both the NJC and NBA remained docile and virtually mute while the incursions lasted, and their stirring remained wimpy and ineffectual throughout. Thus Onnoghen and the likes of Justice Ngwuta, who died shortly after possibly from the trauma, were so easily isolated, humiliated, and spurned, while their professional colleagues watched perhaps helplessly or they were just playing the ostrich.

The result was such that while the body of lawyers was busy fighting a credibility battle, the head of the judiciary was, by that token, blocked from receiving any form of solidarity or protection from his foot soldiers. Onnoghen was lost in the swirl in this manner, thus becoming history.

Onnoghen and Justice Ngwuta’s disgrace expectedly shook the judiciary to its foundations. It was not that Onnoghen was above the law. But the particular way in which his culpability was handled reeked more of politics than of justice. It correctly raised questions about the independence of the court and the ability of the Tribunals to render impartial decisions free from the influence or emasculation.

However, numerous decisions have already been made by various tribunals across the nation, and little has shown that the judiciary has been tied to anyone’s apron. The election petition court, which is poised to issue its historic ruling, should thus be given the same amount of hope. Men at that level should be more concerned with the future than with everyday issues.

The tribunal should view this as a wonderful chance to reinforce the judiciary’s independence by enforcing the rule of law in a fashion that perfectly exemplifies the idea of the separation of powers in a presidential democracy. Nigerians rightfully want to know the results of the 2023 presidential election so that the situation may be resolved.

Yes, history and posterity call to the esteemed jurists. At their Olympian levels on the Nigerian appellate court, it shouldn’t be a problem for them to administer justice without fear or favour because there has never been any indication that any of them at the PEPC has integrity issues.

The fear of Nigerians in the presidential petition tribunal, however, is not entirely unwarranted in light of the Onnoghen and Ngwuta treatments, and the preeminent jurists need to be aware that much hinges on the credibility of the judgement they issue in the coming days. The general guidance is still there: There can’t be judgement without justice. Or it could be a repetition of legalese or political rulings that Nigerians won’t comprehend or accept as just. Because of how ambiguous they are, the nation’s judiciary’s already teetering credibility can only be strengthened if the presidential election tribunal does a fair job. Vague judgments can only reinforce the suffering credibility of the nation’s judiciary and can throw the name into chaos.

The justice Nigerians demand should not mirror the 12 2/3rd ruling in the presidential election suit between Alhaji Shehu Shagari and Obafemi Awolowo in 1979, aside from the sins of technicalities as shown in the case of Senator Ademola Adeleke in 2019. That ruling was so absurd and for illustrating a flaw in Nigerian law and judicial decisions, it is rarely cited as case law in our country.

The lacklustre and severely critical assessments from the international observers regarding the general election in 2023 are yet as concerning. They affirm that despite investing a staggering amount of nearly N400 billion in it, the 2023 general election still ended as the worst the country has held since returning to democratic rule in 1999.

Despite all the obstacles, the five distinguished jurists should be able to inform Nigerians whether the exercise substantially followed the established laws and regulations. If it did, who won?

Fortunately, the history of the Nigerian courts gives reason for optimism that the Tribunal would uphold the highest standards of impartiality and rigor in its decision-making. Despite the terrifying experiences and declining trust of the arm of government, the Nigerian judiciary has generated and presented many remarkable fearless and incorruptible justices over time.

Despite the recent struggles of the judicial branch of government, Nigerians should reasonably expect that the successors are continuing this rich history. Therefore, even while concerns about the nation’s judiciary’s independence and dependability are mounting, they nevertheless merit the benefit of the doubt because only time will tell whether or not this optimism is incorrect.

No one needs to be a lawyer to recognise when justice has been done. No matter whose ox is gored, justice ensures that laws are administered rationally and proportionately when it is properly served to citizens’ expectations.

The Nigerian judiciary must constantly keep in mind that people expect justice to bring some predictability to situations that are out of their control so they may organise their lives and live with a measure of security, certainty, and peace of mind. Justice is crucial because it creates a civilised community and allows for a fair living in a complex world. On the other hand, unfair judgements leave room for dispute, self-help, and conflict.

For credit, it should also be noted that the Nigerian judiciary has so far kept the country’s democracy strong. Nigeria arguably has the biggest number of election-related lawsuits worldwide. That the outcomes of elections in our country are determined by judges rather than by the people is rather humiliating and unusual. The good news is that Nigerians continue to have faith in the legal system. To save and progress the country’s democracy and maintain Nigeria as a nation of laws and not a nation ruled according to the whims of individuals, the judges themselves must protect the immense faith reposed in the nation’s judiciary.

City FM is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Programme: CITY TALKS WITH REUBEN ABATI

Time: 12:00pm

Guest: Ambassador Joe Keshi (OON)

Topic: ECOWAS and the Niger Coup Crisis

Date: 12th August, 2023
                         
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https://zoom.us/j/92877141732?pwd=VEJWb29OL2VVekZUTHRpdWYxK0xxZz09

Meeting ID: 928 7714 1732
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