By Njoku SaintJerry A.
“No matter how sublime and magnanimous outlaws may choose to appear, they should never be admitted into any institution that is governed by law unless they choose to abide by the rules and regulations as enshrined in the constitution governing that institution.”
The present Nigeria government as long as it is operating on the absence of the constitutionally mandated 25% win in the federal capital territory, Abuja, the seat of federal power, every person relishing in the existence of that government is either a lawbreaker or an accomplice, operating outside the constitution of the federal republic binding the nation and should be considered as defined.
Outlaws are not hard to find. Any human community, organization or institution that is not guided by law or operates outside stipulated rules of engagement or operates on a selective guideline of rules and regulations for selected members of the society and the ordinary citizenry should be regarded as a society of outlaws.
Where such illegal institution is in operation, whether it is the government or an organization, it is only a matter of time, outright disregard of the acclaimed constitution binding such people or any form of rules and regulations guiding every organization or institutions under such group of outlaws will become a mere exercise of judicial citation and oratory in futility.
There is no justification to any form of illegality or disobedience to law especially a federally constituted law governing the activities of the people and their state. Whether it is in the Peoples Republic of China, in the United States, UAE or even in the tiny country of Botswana, as it is said in the military; Obedience first to the laws of the institution of governance before any plea or excuses and your excuses, plea of whatsoever maneuvers in error is only subject to consideration according to the law.
No matter how sublime and magnanimous outlaws may choose to appear, they should never be admitted into any institution that is governed by law unless they choose to abide by the rules and regulations as enshrined in the constitution governing that institution.
When we choose to feign ignorance of the law and forge ahead and celebrate our ignorance in the public space, perhaps the outlaws are family members, friends and neighbors, we would only have acted as accomplices and endorsed the making of a criminal group that will soon introduce their own brand of a constitution that will redefine what is legally acceptable in their own terms of disregard to honor and dignity of man to live and create a society in harmony.
A society in harmony is only made possible by judicial implementation of those rules and regulations defined by the constitution of the land that will put a check on the excesses of the citizenry to exhibit their animal instincts on fellow citizens’ and their society. Do not be surprised, every human being has its fair share of those crazy and sometimes bizarre instincts likened to animals in the jungle, we call it a moment of madness, it is those unacceptable short-lived moments we hit the roof and throw caution off the window.
Civil society do not approve of such behavior so they introduce a law and make it binding on all citizenry so that no individual should magnify its own madness and foolishness so much that it overrides the laws of the land otherwise it would be replica of an animal kingdom and I wonder if Nigeria is drifting towards that lane where an individual error in understanding this simple rule of law as enshrined in the constitution of the land is now blanketed under a heavy cloak of ignorance on the role of outlaws.
In the early acceptance of this animal behavior, outlaws will apply the Robbin Hood principle, they will begin to redesign a policy that will portray them as legitimate and magnanimous to the welfare of the citizenry, they will make pronouncement of offers and appointments that has a semblance of a government with the interest of the people and their society. For some obscure reasons, certain groups of the society will swing towards the way of the outlaws, churches and mosque will begin to accept donations from them and pray for their continuity, they will explain their error in government as ‘the will of God’, corporations will begin to accept them, other public institutions and people of means will begin to accept and endorse them until the whole system is rife with people who has no regard for any law.
This is how a government of outlaws are formed and before you know what has befallen you, every group, individuals, community and organizations will begin to make its own laws and challenge whatsoever is called law instituted by another group, and entire society will descend into a conflict of interpretation of what is right or wrong, what is legally acceptable by my group against your group.
EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa was alleged to have been suspended by the current INEC declared Nigerian president and the young man of the law enforcement agency responded “You cannot suspend me when your presidential election win is still being disputed in Court” – the ongoing election petition tribunal that is likened to a routine Nollywood homemade thriller is as a result of certain individuals acting out the script of outlaws in total disregard to the electoral laws according to the constitution binding the Republic.
Sometimes ago in 2006 Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, former EFCC boss listed 5 governors as worst thieving governors in Nigeria. Today all 5 men are in the hierarchy of the power game at the federal government of the republic. This is what you get when there is a total disregard to the constitution of the land, you will be ruled by outlaws who do not see the need to abide by any constitution or simple rules of law, every form of engagement will be in accordance to their interpretation of the law as it suits their lawless behavior, dishonor to civility and outright lack of integrity in any manner of relationship including electoral laws of the land and fiscal prudence, everything will be abused under the law and the world will hardly notice any difference between the black Africans and the wild animals in the jungle.
But we are not to be classified under a general cloak of barbarism, idiots and lawless bunch of individuals, Nigeria retains highest number of decent and intelligent administrators and entrepreneurs anywhere in Africa and we have outsourced that to Europe, USA and the UK while outlaws take the reins of governance in the country. We let that happen and we alone can rise to stop such high level abuse of the constitution of the land.
This cannot continue and the ongoing Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) should set a precedence while outlaws should not continue to thrive otherwise nobody will notice the difference between the judiciary and the outlaws and that will be a greasy stain of dirt on the honor of men of letters, lawyers, clergy, teachers and statesmen of Nigeria origin as people who approves of lawlessness and condone outlaws.
I look forward to see one sane Nigerian imbued with integrity reject appointment from outlaws in government because it negates the principle of justice and constitutionally unacceptable like a certain journalist stated “I cannot accept responsibility from an unconstitutionally accepted government.”
It is not a government by the people and for the people but by outlaws for the outlaws and no sane individual will approve outlaws to rule his homeland.
