OF PEOPLE'S MANDATE, LAWMAKERS, THE JUDICIARY, AND AN UNJUST SOCIETY
By Taiye Olaniyi
From whatever quarter the adage ever emanated, "The Judiciary is the final hope of Man" calls for a second thought in a closer examination of realities in our world today. I do not know whether or not the judiciary had served such a purpose for humankind, but King Solomon to date is world-renowned in spirito- the religious circle as a man of wisdom. He became popular as a result of his administration of justice and for coming out with a landmark judgment when two women were alleged to be claiming ownership of one baby. According to the biblical account, through divine guidance, King Solomon sorted out an apt judgment creditably.
My quest for knowledge prompted my desire to visit and have a snapshot at King Solomon's tomb in Israel when on pilgrimage in the year 2012 having been earlier privileged with that of King David, but that never came to pass because the tour guide was uncomfortably silent and suspicious of my long throat for wanting to penetrate the pilgrim's veil of obscurity.
One however would not know and of course, not in the position to know how the judiciary if any, ended with King David and brother Uriah who was sent to live beyond at the hottest part of the war front for having the audacity to marry a beautiful lady sumptuous enough for the craving throat of the king.
King Solomon too was equally notorious for always intruding on women's dormitories like father-like sons.
One cannot easily sweep below the carpet, the "Alocutus" of Jesus Christ who in the courtyard of Pontious Pilate was wrongly condemned and offered as a sacrificial lamb on the cross as a replacement for the criminally minded Barabas due to democratic and popular demand by the unenlightened masses that had been indoctrinated by the bourgeoisie class of the Sadducees and Pharisees.
In today's democratic climes, the majority is always the winner, and it doesn't matter the level of corruption, indecency, lack of integrity, lawlessness, and innumerable cases of abuse associated with how our lawmakers get to their conglomerates both at the federal and state level, the strings of law they make, bills passed, those neglected, blows exchanged and numerous ignoble shows that are anti-progress to an ideal law-making process and procedures for a nation.
In most cases the majority of electorates are first dehumanized by abject poverty, their consciences deadened, and then the pittance to rig votes at all cost and get their elected representatives to ascend the ladder of law-making where both the divine and mundane laws are broken with every trait of impunity. When lawmakers are equally garbed in law-breaking, the arbiter and dispensers of the nation's justice become chattels in the hands of rulers that ruin.
Justice becomes vulnerable to whims and caprices under the auspices of the money bags, the political cabals, economic cartels, and the caucuses of religious spiritists.
I got pissed off recently about gruesome injustices in Nigerian society where the highest number of our home breed Barabases commit all sorts of crimes and get vindicated or given the lightest of punishment if any.
Where is justice dispensation when money bags, custodians of the nation's commonwealth, those who churn out currencies, and those that should archive and dispense with sanity, appropriate and/ or misappropriated beyond human imagination either go scot-free or are given a soft landing with their loot?
Daily we are bombarded with arrests made of highly placed Nigerians by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission but at end of it all, nothing ever happens.
Human rights activists in Nigeria especially those with their bed bugs-infested wigs rather than join sane minds to flush the society of bald and big-bellied oppressors most times remain frontliners of agitators against war against corruption insinuating religious and ethnic sentiments.
The Guardian newspaper once carried a one-page story on the gory tales of economic morass and bleak future of development in Kwara State and huge debts accruing to return on politically oriented investments which are now an albatross to good governance in the state. For us who had benefited from harmony, peace, and tranquility including educational advancements we once experienced in Kwara State up till the mid-80s, during the last two dispensations, we mourn the glorious past as we bemoan self-induced media honors and achievements bereft of realities of before the "Otoge" syndrome in Kwara.
Should oga "pata pata" continue to probe the rotten rottenness of corruption in almost everything Nigerian in Nigeria today?
Capital " Yes," I say but then where is the judiciary that is so just and conscientious as would be completely blind to the sparkling and glittering gold convertible in naira, dollars, and all the balderdash that have also subjected many of our legal practitioners to the once-upon-a-time era of, "Apes obey"?
Can't remember who sang this song between the late 60s and early 70s, "There is no justice in this world anymore", but then, I can remember the conviction of Samuel Oredein a one-time political stalwart in the Action Group camp and who contrary to great expectations of very popular legal luminaries, was dazed and dazzled by the landmark remarks of conviction and condemnation by our one and only indefatigable conscientious judge of Offa extraction, Chief Justice James Adesiyun who stated and I quote,
" We don't need blood money in Kwara".
What courage in the face of big money and intimidation by a few learned colleagues.
Let the truth be told loud and clear, let it be known by all and sundry that no one can hide from God even though mountains may cover one, the eyes of the Almighty are on us all, capturing our thoughts, words, and actions.
Those that for one reason or another were once caught for stealing fowls, chickens, and other pickpockets in Nigeria easily find their way to prison. Many innocent ones get hanged for offenses they never committed because they belong to the lowly classes in our Nigerian society.
ASUU was on strike for justifiable reasons but the money doublers in Accountant General's office revel and swim in misappropriated public funds to one's dismay, nothing has justly happened to the unjust big catch because in Nigeria, "Nothing ever happens" to the "Big Thieves".
Hmmmmmmm Time will tell Time will tell! Time will always Tell!
Is there Justice in Nigeria? , Time will soon Tell!
Taiye Olaniyi, a retired Postman of the Nigeria Postal Service, is based in Lagos.