Justice Ayo Salami recently delivered a paper titled Corruption Eradication and the Nigerian Ethical Revolution at the Nigerian National Merit Awards. He spoke about his forced retirement and the need for ethical cleansing at the bench.
The demon fighting Nigeria’s greatness is inside the court room. He does not go home. He is the one that tells corrupt officials to mention the worst case scenario. “Jail? if you have money very well enough in Nigeria and you killed no one with your hands, you can’t go to jail. The case will spend 70 years in court”. So he tells them. The demon will repeat “if Obasanjo himself had a case that was in court for 20 years without judgment, then what is your own? Spend the money in the right places-police, bar, bench, witnesses, the right links and you are out- negative publicity might come but there is a way around it.” The only thing that scares Nigerians is jail! Sometimes Nigerians fear jail more than death!
Crime slaps the Truth in the Nigerian Court room so hard that sometimes Truth goes deaf, blind or dumb. At that explosive sound of the slap, innocence is shivering like a midget and Truth herself can no more talk! It has become very difficult to be right and bold together in Nigeria. The more you steal the more supporters you get. Infact the more you steal, the creamier the lawyers you can afford and perhaps the wider the backdoor you can escape through.
Crime and corruption has become so endemic and since no one goes to prisons except riffraffs here, it just made too much sense to steal government funds. There are people who have been in prison for years for stealing goats and chickens. I have seen someone who awaited trial for 2 years for squeezing a woman’s breast while the people who spent monies for arms purchase (which led to loss of thousand of lives) are going to be busy in court soon explaining away why they must never see prison. Never again in his life will he squeeze another woman’s boobs. So he told me! But the guy that diverted funds for hospital drugs or water projects will come to courts with 5 SANs. Any country where the citizens know that they can commit a crime and beat the law is a country warming up for a wild revolution.
I believe very strongly that as this dawn raid on the Supreme Court justices opened an irritating can of worms, it will also show incorruptible judges in this country.it will never leave us the same. The judiciary will read more from the law and never again from any bribe. However, government particularly state governments must take care of judges. The worst thing you can do to judges is to owe them dues and allowances. We must recognize incorruptible judges and celebrate them with honours. Best judgments, workaholic judges etc. must be recognized nationally. There are many lazy judges in Nigeria. If we can have our way, court proceedings in Nigeria should be recorded for post court view and audit. Organic problems need pragmatic solutions.
With the 7/10 Dawn Raid, Buhari has placed himself at the center of crushing the ribs of corruption in Nigeria but he cannot do it alone. Corruption in Nigeria is already systemic, grown up, extremely learned, strong and financially buoyant. It can buy anything, including judges, lawyers and witnesses. It can silence the truth but note today that it is the same bench it corrupted that will crush it! And that crush will be so fatal but for the good of all. Buhari needs Ayo Osinbajo, Itse Sagay and the Attorney General of the Federation to take decisions that will exterminate corruption and heartless effrontery in the public sector via the coming incorruptible bench. Should they fail, corruption will fight back, in no distant future and crush the four of them!
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