Adeola Aderounmu

When I was a little boy I was told that lawyers are liars. It was a joke but it stuck. I was determined never to become a lawyer but I do admire them.

Almost everything institution in Nigeria is corrupt and upside down. All our democratic institutions that should be protecting the rights of citizens and promoting justice and fairness are all corrupt. Nigeria is a peculiar country.

The thing is, when something fundamental goes wrong, you cannot just point at the person concerned. You have to look at the institution that he or she belongs to and give a summative judgement.

That is why I have the title covering the Nigerian Judiciary. I tried to trust this institution but over the years it has contributed to the destruction of the democratic pillars that it ought to be building. The best way to describe the Nigerian Judiciary is lukewarm. It is very inconsistent and highly fallible.

This week one of Nigeria’s most notorious politicians James Ibori was cleared of 170 charges of corruption – involving the laundering of millions of dollars. The trial judge Justice Marcel Awokulehin was reportedly appointed by Ibori himself! You see, this is why I’ve always said that Nigeria is the most corrupt country in the world and I will stand by this any day any time, UNTIL I see changes.

No matter how corrupt other countries are, you will never hear of an accused person appointing his own judge! This can only happen in Nigeria. To me the most corrupt people in this world are living in Nigeria..! I mean the outcome of this case became predictable several weeks ago.

So the Nigerian Judiciary has dragged itself into disrepute-stinking, useless institution that should never be trusted. The EFCC-Nigerian anticorruption agency said it will appeal the judgement. Where were they when that hungry judge Awokulehin was hand-picked by Ibori? How much money did Ibori give to this shameless judge? Why did they ignore all the warning signals issued by bloggers and online reporters until the case went as predicted. Yes bloggers and online reporters because the Nigerian media is totally enveloped in fear of “what to report or not”.

It is an open secret that Ibori sponsored Yar Adua’s illegitimate presidency. So it is easy to see that the Nigerian government is in support of this judgement. The AG of Nigeria Michael Aondoakaa has travelled to London several times to defend Mr. Ibori. I cannot believe just how stupid we appear as a country.

The Attorney General of Nigeria went to London to defend a criminal. That makes both of them criminals and the fake president also an accessory to crime. Is this a country? I cannot shout..!

And you don’t even see the end of corruption in sight. It’s just getting deeper and deeper by the day. Ibori stole Delta State to dryness and he is walking free because he gave substantial part of the money to Yar Adua for his campaign. The Nigerian people are suffering no doubt and it is such a helpless situation when you are trapped between the devil and a deep ocean. The only way out is to fight back. When Nigerians do this by protest or revolution, freedom will be earned.

To expect that freedom will be earned by passivity or endless prayers will only add to our burdens. Our lives are in our hands.