24hours for the Nigerian Judiciary and Mallam Yaradua
Tuesday, 26. February 2008, 02:39:12
In less than 8hours from this moment, 2.13AM GMT, 5 Appeal court Justices, sitting somewhere in Abuja - Nigeria's fairytale capital - will deliver a long awaited judgement.
Background:
In 2007, Nigeria conducted presidential elections, that were assessed locally and internationally to be the worst of its kind, in terms of its cheer levels of irregularities. Mallam Yaradua (I shudder to ascribe the title President to his name) had emerged as the coronoted winner, but he was gracious enough to accept the elections were flawed in his inaugural speech.
2 of the presidential candidates - Alhaji Abububakar Atiku and former Military officer, Muhammud Buhari - had jointly contested the presidential elections, and judgement day is fixed for later today.
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To underline the importance and weight this legal question has in Nigeria, Two of the nation's biggest broadcast Networks - the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and African Independent Television (AIT) has been granted authorisation to beam live signals from the court room to the entire world. It has to be said, this is the first time, a court room would enjoy such live coverage, irrespective of the issue, on litigation.
While it is extremely hard to predict what the Court Supremos would rule, I dare say nothing short of an outright voiding of the joke of an election would NOT be welcome by the mass of the people of Nigeria.
It is indeed a moment of utter importance for the Appeal court Justices. Here is their lifetime's opportunity to etch their names, on the annals of history as the fearless souls who had the responsibility of overturning the sickening perception that Nigeria is a namespace incapable of organising a simple ballot process, in a clean, and regular manner. And I would have taken that, without a bat of the eye...
Above all, the notion that Nigerian, and Africans at large always turn to savage methodologies for dispute resolution - exemplified in the recent Kenyan experience - would be repudiated. Confidence in the independence of the Judiciary, and its capacity to dispense justice representative of the wishes of the people is already at an all time high.
The next 24hours may push it up all the way to planet Pluto.
We siddon dey look in the meantime.
Background:
In 2007, Nigeria conducted presidential elections, that were assessed locally and internationally to be the worst of its kind, in terms of its cheer levels of irregularities. Mallam Yaradua (I shudder to ascribe the title President to his name) had emerged as the coronoted winner, but he was gracious enough to accept the elections were flawed in his inaugural speech.
2 of the presidential candidates - Alhaji Abububakar Atiku and former Military officer, Muhammud Buhari - had jointly contested the presidential elections, and judgement day is fixed for later today.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To underline the importance and weight this legal question has in Nigeria, Two of the nation's biggest broadcast Networks - the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and African Independent Television (AIT) has been granted authorisation to beam live signals from the court room to the entire world. It has to be said, this is the first time, a court room would enjoy such live coverage, irrespective of the issue, on litigation.
While it is extremely hard to predict what the Court Supremos would rule, I dare say nothing short of an outright voiding of the joke of an election would NOT be welcome by the mass of the people of Nigeria.
It is indeed a moment of utter importance for the Appeal court Justices. Here is their lifetime's opportunity to etch their names, on the annals of history as the fearless souls who had the responsibility of overturning the sickening perception that Nigeria is a namespace incapable of organising a simple ballot process, in a clean, and regular manner. And I would have taken that, without a bat of the eye...
Above all, the notion that Nigerian, and Africans at large always turn to savage methodologies for dispute resolution - exemplified in the recent Kenyan experience - would be repudiated. Confidence in the independence of the Judiciary, and its capacity to dispense justice representative of the wishes of the people is already at an all time high.
The next 24hours may push it up all the way to planet Pluto.
We siddon dey look in the meantime.
