NIGERIA: THE FALL OF JUSTICE WALTER ONNOGHEN

By Igbotako Nowinta

Those that destroyed our country by every inch of their actions while holding public offices must be made to cough out their loot, now or in the next administration either by APC or PDP masters. But one thing must be made clear to Buhari, and that is until he starts to make sure that corrupt politicians or those accused of looting who have found cover under his regime are prosecuted the same way, Nigerians and the world will continue to find his anti-corruption war as lopsided and vindictive. The likes of Walter Onnoghen who was indicted by Justice Kayode Eso in 1994 and recommended for dismissal for trading with justice and donating it to the highest bidders simply has no space in a Nigeria of my dream; such negative character should be dumped by hook or crook.

In local parlance we are used to saying that ‘there is no smoke without fire’, and this fact has manifested perfectly in the  Nigerian Judiciary where things have recently fallen apart since the presidential hammer landed on Honorable Justice Walter Nkami Samuel Onnoghen.

The ‘fire’ that has engulfed the judiciary since the January 23, 2019 axing of Justice Walter Onnoghen could be attributed to the ‘smoke’ of many factors that gathered and dogged his tenure as Chief Justice of Nigeria.

It must be recalled that the presidency of Nigeria was reluctant to accept Walter Onnoghen as the nation’s number one justice in the beginning for reasons that have now become public knowledge today.

Thanks to some critics who alluded to the debilitating medical trip that forcefully removed President Muhammadu Buhari out of the scene, before Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo finally bowed to consistent and concerted drums of pressure from some stakeholders by swearing in Walter Onnoghen.

It was therefore very obvious that the peace that existed between the presidency and the camp of Justice Walter Onnoghen was more of the ‘peace of the grave yard’ while the now ‘suspended’ Chief Justice of Nigeria was in the saddle of leadership within the nation’s Supreme Court and the National Judicial Commission (NJC).

Looking at the hue and cry that have taken over the narratives being dished out by many Nigerians since his dramatic fall, it is clear that many have simply sentimentalized, emotionalized, tribalized and regionalized the issue at stake.

For me the issue is about desperate and ruthless political struggle between the elite in Nigeria most of whom do not care a hoot about impoverished masses, democracy or the rule of law.

What has President Muhammadu Buhari done terribly that ex-Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan did not do worse when they were in charge?

Credit must be given to President Muhammadu Buhari for trying to use the ‘war against corruption’ to dare, humble and destabilize the so called ‘untouchables’ in our clime, even as some critics have described the battle against corrupt elements as one sided and artificial.

Whatever opinion being canvassed against the Buhari government, it will go down in the annals of Nigerian history as one that shook a brazenly and recklessly corrupt arm like the judiciary to its foundation mercilessly.

President Buhari might have applied an illegal act or method to bury the likes of Walter Onnoghen out of judicial reckoning, but leaving such a double dealer cum political prostitute who had shamelessly used the umbrella of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as a political cover, in the present scheme of things is an anathema to the fight against corruption in the land.

Who says Walter Onnoghen and a chunk of members of the wig and gown in Nigeria are not swimming in the bottomless pit of corruption? Who says a large percentage of political players in our land are not soulless, unfeeling and bereft of ideological mission to remove our country from the pit of ridicule and stagnation?

It is regrettable that President Muhammadu Buhari has found himself in the kind of circumstances confronting him today in his fight against corruption, but the fight must be fought if it means politicizing it.

The opposition should take a cue from him if the scale of victory swings in their direction come February 16, 2019 Presidential Election. The point being made here is that give or take no administration has dealt with the high and the mighty the way and manner the Buhari presidency has done in the name of fighting corruption.

Those that destroyed our country by every inch of their actions while holding public offices must be made to cough out their loot, now or in the next administration either by APC or PDP masters.

But one thing must be made clear to Buhari, and that is until he starts to make sure that corrupt politicians or those accused of looting who have found cover under his regime are prosecuted the same way, Nigerians and the world will continue to find his anti-corruption war as lopsided and vindictive.

The likes of Walter Onnoghen who was indicted by Justice Kayode Eso in 1994 and recommended for dismissal for trading with justice and donating it to the highest bidders simply has no space in a Nigeria of my dream; such negative character should be dumped by hook or crook.

It is seething to know that the current President of the Nigeria Bar Association) NBA) is being prosecuted by government for cases relating to corruption.

Nigerians should stop glorifying bandits and banditry in the name of rule of law, that is not clapping for President Muhammadu Buhari for not adhering to constitutionality hook, line and sinker; that is not saying that the current presidency does not have its own excesses and short comings, but something must give way anyhow.

Come February 16, 2019, well-meaning Nigerians must fish out the professional spoilers of Nigeria now posing as sunshine patriots and saviors. As the country evolves democratically, this Project called Nigeria must be saved from ideologically bankrupt politicians.

Nowinta wrote: Where We Are – a call for democratic revolution in Nigeria.