National Telescope national telescope newspaper
By Munir Ishaq Morality.
The last person you would ever wish to engage or confront is the Government, it is so mighty and powerful that it hardly miss its prey, it shoots precisely on target, and when it shoots, it shoots accurately and intelligently. George Washington said it all when he said “Government is not reason; it is not eloquent, it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”
In the recent weeks, we’ve witnessed the unfolding drama between the Federal Government Versus the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the former accused the latter of not declaring his assets when due as far back as 2011, the CJN knowing the gravity of the situation and the sensitivity of the issue at hand, replied that he “forgot” to declare those assets, he wanted to avoid trouble and avert the flood, not knowing that the flood has already gained entrance into his compound, he had no choice but to unsheathe his sword from its scabbard and braced himself for war.
Assembling his team of lawyers, consisting of over 30 Senior Advocates of Nigeria, he obtained numerous Court orders, in an attempt to stop the Government prosecution, but the Government was already out to hunt him, and vowed never to return from hunt without a bounty, and with a single Court order, they finally shot him down, the prey has been caught, the hunt was successful.
The Government was very much aware that they could not effect his “removal” unless it satisfied the laid down constitutional provisions, on the other hand the CJN is not in any way ready to step down, afterall he is still on trial, as such he’s presumed innocent until proved guilty, so they opted for “suspension of the CJN”, a term novel even to the Almighty Constitution, throwing the entire Nigerians into a legal fiasco, debating ferociously as to whether or not the suspension is legal/valid or illegal/invalid.
There are speculations that all these are connected in one way or the other to the forthcoming elections, the atmosphere is growing tense, sounds of the drums of war can be heard, the political masquerades are thronging out from their groves to dance, the king is not in any way ready to vacate his throne, the deposed ruling family wants to return to the palace at all costs, the battle line has been drawn and warriors have been assembled in battle positions.
What more can we do than turn to the Almighty in prayer, for sanity to reign and peace to prevail, this is indeed troubling times for the Judiciary and the Nation at large.
Munir Ishaq Morality, writes from Bayero University Kano. +2348147841027.
