No sacred ground in the Nigerian republic of corruption?

The change mantra of the Buhari government is not likely to be an idle rallying cry. His reputation for austerity and honesty remains unchallenged. And most importantly, the emergence of Buhari, presents Nigeria, with the dynamic, to look again with a fresh pair of binoculars, at the corrupt underbelly of our political community. And perhaps […]

The change mantra of the Buhari government is not likely to be an idle rallying cry. His reputation for austerity and honesty remains unchallenged. And most importantly, the emergence of Buhari, presents Nigeria, with the dynamic, to look again with a fresh pair of binoculars, at the corrupt underbelly of our political community. And perhaps not surprisingly, the revelations spewing out from the various investigations across the land, have been simply dismaying.
No tier of our national life, it seems, has been free from the acrid stranglehold of corruption. Critical incumbents of iconic national institutions, have one after the other, been found  to have violated their mandates and engaged in self-help, often on scales, that are both shocking and primitive. The Defence Institution, Health Insurance, the Pension entity, Immigration Service, the oil Industry, along with a wide range of other national platforms, appear to have been deranged by the practice of nepotism. It is as if the Nigerian nation has come face-to-face with a tempest of malfeasance.
Corruption is an ancient evil in Nigeria, and most governments in our country, tend to come off the blocks,  promising to castrate venality in public life. Almost always, their campaigns, loud and voluble in the beginning, end up in unimpressive whimpers. However because citizens feel cheated and denied, they has always been a growing clamor for the head of thieving incumbents. This passion to wreak vengeance on violators of the public trust,  sometimes adopts dysfunctional turns.
Corruption is not a new transgression. It has merely grown in intensity. It existed in the first Republic, and caused various panels of enquiry to be set up to investigate public officials. It was also famously cited by the leaders of Nigeria’s first coup, and also by leaders of other subsequent coups or change of government ever since. We have never had a golden past, and no one should cultivate that illusion. However the incidence of corruption has increased, and so has the distrust of the people for an uncaring leadership.
The Nigerian Judiciary is an important institution of state. It has played a historic role in promotion of good governance in Nigeria. It has his  had its blemishes, and the National Judicial Commission has frequently had to wield the big stick to uphold integrity. The Nigerian Judiciary  is not a collection angels, but it has had an astonishing capacity for renewal and regeneration. A few years ago, the National Bureau of Statistics released its first ever crime and corruption survey.  The report dealt with an impact assessment of corruption on businesses in Nigeria based on the experience of entrepreneurs. Institutions identified as corrupt were the Police, PHCN and Customs among others. The Judiciary, not unreasonably, was listed in the report as the least corrupt.
It is no doubt,  adverse enough that any form of corruption attaches to the Judiciary in Nigeria. But surely, it is also remarkable that the Nigerian Judiciary contains important elements of idealism, certainly dominant enough, to make our Judiciary stand taller than many of our national institutions. In addition to enlarging upon the misdemeanour of a few,  it seems that detractors feel no restraint in unleashing frivolous attacks on innocent incumbents in the Judiciary. Once a hallowed  entity, the Judiciary has been turned by these miscreants into a target of unwholesome mudslinging.
One simple incident will put this narrative in bold relief. In April 2015, a firm made a public presentation of a book called an ‘Encyclopaedia of the Rules and Practices of the Supreme Court  in Nigeria’, dedicated to the Honourable Justice Ibrahim Auta, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court. Edited by a Mr. Kola Martins Aduloja, it is over 3,000 pages. What has been seized upon by a certain section and particularly by a so-called  Civil Network Against Corruption, is that it was unethical for Justice Auta to attend an event in which Chief Gabriel Igbinedion was not only present but also made a donation of 8 million Naira, as Michael Igbinedion, a son of the Chief had a subsisting matter in court at the time. The matter was resolved rather controversially later, but this had nothing to do with Justice Auta or his court. The book was not written by Justice Auta, nor was Chief Igbinedion invited by the distinguished Judge.
A proper growth of Nigerian jurisprudence will be guaranteed, among other things, by a judiciary, that is remote, impartial and dignified. Justice Auta  participated in the presentation only pursuant to the achievement of this goal and to the extent that the publication would have important consequences for the practice of law.
It is also curious that some anxiety has been raised by the fact that this legal publication was dedicated to Justice Auta, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court. It was not a responsibility he solicited. In accepting to play that role, he may have indeed been guided by precedence. The owners of the encyclopaedia have had a history of legal publishing, and have in the past presented a number of books to the public. In 2011, it published a book called ‘The Fundamentals of Electoral Reforms in Nigeria’, dedicated to Justice Lawal Uwais. Another book published in 2013 was dedicated to Justice Mudapher Dahiru CJN.  So on grounds of precedence and good taste, it is evident that Justice Auta is in excellent company.
However our judiciary under its current leaderships, deserve to be applauded not only for the contributions it has made to the growth of our jurisprudence but also for the support it has provided for the expansion of good governance in our country. It is also important to recall that when serving governors and high-profile persons moved from PDP to APC, no legal sanctions were invoked. Whatever the laws provide, a less-upright  judiciary could have engaged in a bit of legal waywardness in favour of the ruling PDP. 
The Nigerian Judiciary is not about to walk into a golden sunset. It has several subsisting problems. But it has also had its moments of glory. Those  like Justice  Ibrahim Auta, who have had a hand in promoting this prospect,  do not deserve to be maligned or mischaracterized. If we cannot help, we have no need to hinder. Let us allow honest labourers in the law, to continue quietly growing our jurisprudence, so that good governance can prevail in our country. Surely, they are sacred grounds, even in our republic of corruption.
Olowu wrote in from Abuja