AHEAD of the election that swept him into office on May 29, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari had left no one in doubt that his presidency would be an extension of his earlier shot at the nation's highest office with respect to the fight against corruption.
He had said repeatedly while canvassing for votes that one or two things would happen; the nation would either kill corruption or it would be a victim of the vice. He went ahead to convince the people that he would rescue the country from the throes of corruption if given the opportunity. So, Nigerians voted for him.
Just as he did in 1984 when, as soon as he settled down into office, he arrested suspected corrupt people, tried them and got them sentenced, President Buhari, shortly after getting into office last year, set the machinery in motion to tackle the menace of corruption. However, unlike what it was like during his stint as a military head of state when the constitution was on suspension, and the special military tribunals set up to try individuals suspected of corrupt practices wasted no time in dispensing with such cases, the wheel of justice in the current dispensation has been slowed down by the technicalities of law, especially the aspects which presume that the accused is not guilty until convicted and as a result must be treated with dignity. Also, the aspect which states that anyone who is not standing trial for murder or treasonable offences is entitled to being granted bail. To beat the legal technicalities, the executive has devised a strategy of slamming fresh charges on suspects granted bail by the courts and consequently holding on to them rather than allowing them to savour their freedom.
This is a brazen disregard for the rule of law and the constitution the president swore to uphold. It is akin to blasting the pillar that upholds our nation. Any disregard for the rule of law is an invitation to anarchy, and when anarchy is allowed to set in, the society loses its essence.
Make no mistake about it; corruption is the bane of this country. The nation's poor education system, the rundown health facilities, poor road networks that we have to contend with, the paralytic refineries that are unable to satisfy our needs, poor electricity supply, high poverty level, high level of unemployment and others are all products of corrupt practices. So, corruption affects everyone in the country and everyone remotely or closely associated with corrupt practices which have brought Nigeria into this parlous state should face the music. I am of the opinion that impunity has thrived in the country because we have had the misfortune of having in the saddle people who only played lip service to fighting corruption. Therefore, the president deserves every support he can get from every Nigerian to make a success of this fight against the corruption. Nigerians should not see the war as 'the president's war' but 'our war'.
But should the president fight the war against corruption his way or according to the law? Should he not observe the rule of engagement which is that the rights of the accused should be observed? If the president should disregard the laws of the land because of his determination to stamp out corruption from the land, he will be a civilian dictator. And civilian dictatorship is an oxymoron that should have no place in democratic dispensations.
I have heard and read a number of people say that what we need now in the country is the approach employed by the president. And I respectfully disagree. My reason? Most full-blown dictators usually started as benevolent dictators. Our guide in this respect should be the words of John Acton, who said "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."
If because of the exigency of the moment we allow the president to interpret the law the way it suits him, it will get to a point that he will trash the constitution and nobody will be able to question him. No man should be entrusted with absolute power.
So, instead of resorting to self-help, the president should to do two things; strengthen the judicial system to plug any escape route for anyone who might want to explore the weakness in the system and also strengthen the policing system. The executive should sponsor bills that will strengthen the judiciary and make it difficult for judges to adjourn cases ad infinitum. What we need is a new set of laws that makes it possible for a criminal case to be dispensed with within 180 days just like election matters.
If the fear of the executive is that granting those on trial bails will facilitate their escape from the country, the executive should strengthen the police to keep tabs on them such that nobody on trial will be able to leave the country without the knowledge of the police.
Nations are built on the strength of institutions, not the might of individuals.
Best Regards
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