NIGERIA AND THE RULE OF LAW
The rule of law is a political theory that was popularize in
the 19th Century by a British Jurist called A.V Dicey. The principle
of rule of law emphasis the supremacy of the law over every citizen, both the
government and the governed. According to the principle, law should govern a
nation and not individual government officials. I.e. the law should have the
greatest influence over the behavior of every citizen both government officials
and the general public. The principle went further to state that every citizen
no matter his/her social strata, should be subject to the law including those
that made the law.
Even
before A.V Dicey popularized the principle of the rule of law, many philosophers
had advocated for the supremacy of the law over everybody in a state. According
to Plato, the Greek philosopher, “Where law is subject to some other authority,
and has none of its own, the collapse of the state, in my view, is not far off;
but if law is the master of the government and the government is its slave,
then the situation is full of promise and then all the blessings that the gods
shower on a state”
He was not the only note able philosopher that advocated for
the law to be more powerful, Aristotle, another Greek philosopher also
contributed when he said “It is more proper that the law should govern than any
one of the citizens: upon the same principle, if it is advantageous to place
the supreme power in some particular persons, they should be appointed to be
only guardians, and the servants of the law”
Now, haven seen the picture of what rule of law should be or
look like, let’s relate it with our political system here in Nigeria since we
claim to be operating a democratic government that goes in consonance with the
rule of law.
In Nigeria, the law is first before any other thing, like I
said in my article last Monday, a cane in the hands of the rich, to whip the
poor or those who are not on the same page with them politically. Here, the
government is bigger than the law that’s why you’ll always see government
officials disobeying traffic rules where ever they go with their convoys that
most times cause accidents on our ever congested roads. If you would remember,
just last year, one of Nigeria’s most respected professor died in an accident
that was said to have been caused by a governor’s convoy in Kogi state.
In this part of the world, laws are made to suit individual
interests or political interest. Take for example, the current outrageous
pension laws that have been made in many states across Nigeria where billions
of naira is spent yearly to take care of ex-governors and their family members
whereas the civil servants who serve the country or state for 35 year can
barely afford three square meal after retirement.
A governor will just wake up one morning and declare public
holiday just because he/she does not want a particular group or opposition
party to hold a rally. In fact, the law has been relegated up to the point that
corruption is no longer a crime but a game.
The law is now like a toothless bulldog in Nigeria. Our
lawmakers have developed a culture of collecting heavy salaries and allowances
only to turn the assembly chamber into a boxing ring. New laws are made almost
on daily basis yet our lawmakers don’t obey court orders.
If you visit any prison in Nigeria today, 99 percent of the
inmates {both those that have been convicted and those that are awaiting trial}
are the poor. Is it that only the poor commit crime or what?
We are still a young democracy, and we are evolving. But, if
we want to progress in the right direction as a nation, we must make every
citizen to be equal before the law; the law should rule and not the wishes of
individuals.
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