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The slow but certain destruction of the Nigerian Bar Association

"Nuhu Ribadu, who we love here at the NigerianNews (not minding accusation of his catching only the thieves from the opposition) is in the USA this week, some of the president's handlers know that NigerianNews has a strong presence in the USA and they know our reach, however, the presidential handler does not deem it fit to invite us to any of the events. They are very slow to understand that the forces against them are so great that they need all the independent and unbiased goodwill they can get! We understand AllAfrica.com is being invited to interview Ribadu and we at the NigerianNews assert that we understand the issue more! At least our non invitation puts some of the accusations of being Obj lackeys to rest. We do not know him here, and he does not know us, but we know that he has a perchance for surrounding himself with wolves in sheep's clothes,  for which he is now paying dearly."

The slow but certain destruction of the Nigerian Bar Association
NigerianNews Editorial

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It is with sadness we embark on this article. When Mr. Agbakoba asked INEC not to appeal whatever judgment came out of the Federal High Court ruling yesterday, predictably, we knew he was up to his strings of mischief. However, little did he know that a more superior court will be barring his friend Atiku from this election! As a man who claims to love the law and Nigeria, will he let his buddy Atiku know now however that the Federal Court of Appeal is more superior to Justice Tijani's court? Any appeal of Tijani's judgment goes to the same Federal Court of Appeal. In order not to institute confusion as a staple of the Federal High Court, will our friend Agbakoba tell Atiku and Nigerians that once Tijani heard the judgment of his superior, he ought to have stayed any further interest on this same case? It is sad, though Agbakoba thinks he is helping NBA and the rule of law, but how does he explain his visitation with Bamisile after it had become clear that Bamisile was actually working to subvert the justice he was sworn to uphold? Agbakoba may say that the Ekiti Assembly subverted their legislative obligations, to which we must then ask him how he decided which illegality to accept and the one to throw away? Was Agbakoba not also at the door step of Dariye in solidarity? Does he worry about the N100million ecology fund Dariye claimed he gave to PDP but destined for the salvation of the Plateau State environment? Is this not as illegal as the  supposed illegal action of the Plateau State members of the Assembly? Does Agbakoba again think since Dariye tied Obasanjo and Atiku to the ecology fund, Dariye is no longer guilty? Again, how does the head of the NBA decide which illegality is acceptable? Again, he may recite his litany of knowledge of morality (he sees Atiku's only offence as that of immorality!), but does he not bring NBA to disrepute by paying solidarity visit to the judge sitting in aid of a guy who skipped UK before he could be nabbed by the Metropolitan police? Can his friend Dariye, a State Governor, go back to the UK any time soon? His explanation along with his apparent and infamous Atiku alignment, was that everything was about the "third term", but what other cause will he now pursue when Obasanjo leaves town? It does not faze this "great legal mind" what the destruction he will be causing the Nigerian political system if Atiku is allowed to institutionalize a divided executive. You may not like Obasanjo's face and his method, but in other to heal the damage Atiku's victory at the Supreme court will bring to the polity, the constitution may have to be changed to specifically spell out the punishment for a Vice President who jumps ship because he does not like the President any more. The judiciary can fix this problem, sparing us of constitutional amendment that can only be accomplished with sacks of "Ghana must go". This judiciary can achieve this through scholarly, innovative and contemplative  interpretation of the constitution. However, some of them have joined the "crucify him" club and have become Atiku's alter ego. The way this type of Presidential system works is to accept the indivisibility of the Presidency. Any moral Vice President who disagrees with his boss must be shown the way out for the sake of the system. That is the only way the system can work. The President "wins" the primary election and he selects his running mate, and not the other way round. He who wins the primary must be given the free hand to execute his/her  manifestoes unimpaired if he wins the presidential election. Election is instituted to reward or punish unfaithfulness to election promises, not a rampaging Vice President staking claims to fraudulent moral ground. We hope Agbakoba will now let Tijani know that the Court of Appeal is more superior to his court. A decent judge, not up to a mischief, would  have held his sword after the Court of Appeal spoke. Any appeal, which our learned Agbakoba counsels for or against, must go via the Federal Appeal Court, but has the court not spoken loud and clear? If some people decide to forgo their conscience because of their hatred for one man, we will not follow their foot steps as this can destroy our beloved country! Surprisingly, many people are listening to us as one news paper (see our today's letter to Frisky) even copied the  NigerianNews Special (written by Mr. Frisky Larr) and published it in its paper. Nuhu Ribadu, who we love here at the NigerianNews (not minding accusation of his catching only the thieves from the opposition) is in the USA this week, some of the president's handlers know that NigerianNews has a strong presence in the USA and they know our reach, however, the presidential handler does not deem it fit to invite us to any of the events. They are very slow to understand that the forces against them are so great that they need all the independent and unbiased goodwill they can get! We understand AllAfrica.com is being invited to interview Ribadu and we at the NigerianNews assert that we understand the issue more! At least our non invitation puts some of the accusations of being Obj lackeys to rest. We do not know him here, and he does not know us, but we know that he has a perchance for surrounding himself with wolves in sheep's clothes,  for which he is now paying dearly. Our view on this issue has nothing to do with a love for the unequal and non media sophisticated half of the presidency, it is for the sake of Nigeria and the future generation. If Atiku wins in this imbroglio, the destruction it will cause will become clear during the presidency of a more beloved president. Fortunately, the Supreme Court seems to be running far away from the madding crowd as it puts his final judgment to April 20th, giving Atiku a reasonable time to think about Nigeria and not himself. There are a lot of good candidates in the presidential field already, and his experience as a Custom officer and political wheeler and dealer may therefore not be missed. This is definitely not the NBA of Alao Aka-Basorun and the other noble leaders of the past. We hope all the good people in NBA would let Agbakoba know that his pronouncements before any court judgment color the outcome, and may even scare some judges who may fear they could be ostracized in the aftermath of a backlash. After all, Obasanjo seems to be currently unpopular, why then will any judge stick his neck out on the wrong side of the unpopular camp? NBA in its current posture merely destroys and not build this noble organization. As Chief Gani Fawehinmi said, where was Agbakoba when a defendant in Abuja threatened the family of the Justice sitting on his case? Should NBA not say something about that? Softly, Mr. Agbakoba, you have crossed the line, and perhaps now engineering illegality! Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com