Open Letter To President Buhari

Editor’s note: The opinions in this article are the author’s, as published and do not represent the views of  SNN NEWS.

Dear President Buhari,

Let me commence by stating that, I did not intend to achieve any parochial or cynical interest for making this a public consumption, no matter how minute it may be conjure up. Rather, I write in trepidation, perturbation and outrage, just like every average Nigerian, who are patriotic to the development of this nation. Without any modicum of doubt, certain voice needs be added to the existing cacophony of voices and torrent of criticisms, unheard in every nook and cranny, as regard the state of the nation.

Your Excellency sir, permit me to state from the onset that this writer is not a member of any political party, and that points to the fact that, I stand with the dictates of objectivism and constructiveness; thus, I am not driven by any self-interest. My stakes are in two folds. Firstly, I have always been a patriotic Nigerian whose right to express himself is fully guaranteed under section 39 of the 1999 constitution; the grund norm that legitimatises your administration as the president of Nigeria. Secondly, I am a young legal practitioner, who, in the formative years of his career, is bemused by the goings in this country; particularly in the judiciary, which surely may or are tragically affecting my career’s peregrination.

For innumerable number of times, I have pondered over and over on what system of government Nigeria is currently practising? Democracy? Ok, conceding but not convinced, then, I questioned further, are there different versions of democracy? Amidst the indecisiveness, I was left with none but a coinage or portmanteau of concepts called Demo-Military; a democratically elected government wielding powers in disguise with full military interregnum. The concepts of democracy and kakistocracy are two bipolar systems of government that are distance apart, just like the sky and the earth. There is no two ways to this: it is either you choose to follow God or the devil. The former is living in the light while the latter is thriving in the darkness. The fact is that our political system has degenerated from the Democratic government we voted for in 2019 to a stifling kakistocracy, camouflaging democracy! A despotic totalitarianism cum plutocracy. Where the rule of law is subverted and immersed, the consequence is undeniably-a state of irredeemable disintegration.

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The continued detention of Omoyele Sowore by the Department of State Services, DSS, under your “interregnum”, despite two different court orders is a tell-tale indictment and authentication to the widely claim, that your government is totally anti-democratic, anti-rule of law and generally considered anti populism. It is selfish and ironical, that the judiciary that gave several orders in your favour, in the legal battle challenging your victory on the 2019 elections, is the same that your government treats with scorn. It is asinine to see that the court verdicts on your electoral victory, whose orders were generally accepted with equanimity, as binding authorities, is the same institution that your government and its agencies, under your lacklustre watch, conveniently flout its orders and treat with utter contempt. This, I must say, is a sad day for our chequered democratic peregrination.

In a despicable manner, a revered judge was forced to scamper and caused to vacate a sacred court room, all in a bid to re-arrest an accused who had just been released by the order of same court, all within ticks of 24 hours! With flagrant disobedience of court order and the unabated wave of scofflaws, the end, God forbid, maybe a journey towards consuming conflagration and social unrest, where the citizens would be forced to revolt against all government(s) sitting comfortably on the throne of suppression and all other vices. In the long run, the arrow head of blame shall be directed to none but the head of government. That brings to my memory, the Yoruba aged-saying which does say: “bi di ba baje, tio ni di nii da”. And that’s the more reason why you, as the head of government, commander in chief of armed forces, should with alacrity and exigency of posterity, call to order, the sycophant agencies that have been going beyond the permissibility, thumbing the government’s nose against international best practice of democratic system of government, all in a bid to (dis)please baba.

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This act is totally condemnable, despicable and horrendous, I dare say! What the Department of State Services, DSS, intend to achieve is nothing but grandiose accolades for being “good” servants. The bitter truth, however, is that, in the long run, they ended up scandalising your government on whose authority and command, an average Nigerian believes they are acting. For unjustifiable reason, many political adversaries with perceived anti-APC idealism had been confined to solitary and outlawed. They are excruciating in pang of torture in detention, with no right to fair trial and justice delayed till thy kingdom comes. In your administration, the nation has been labelled as the anti-human right republic. In Jurisprudence, whenever something drastic happens in defiance to the rule of law or grund norm, that, we say is tantamount to a revolution! Truly and indeed, the DSS abnormality might be a step further, pushing Nigerians to the state of real revolution. All these are the naked truth which any close associate or cabinet member will dare not mute to your innocent ears.

In conclusion, Mr. president, less than 10% of Nigerians know Yusuf Bichi, the controversial DSS boss, even among the elite, paltry less than 20% can talk more on the unpopular decisions, single-handedly masterminded by your chief of staff, Abba Kyari, in fact, the truth is, we are less concerned about those with whom you entrusted with powers but are power drunk and have indeed, bastardized the privilege to serve. You are the face of this administration, therefore, not even your political party, APC, shall be called accountable for all this disorderliness, but the man, Muhammadu Buhari. Whether or not your name will be hedged in gold or black book, as the head of government who sits comfortably over flagrant abuses and desecrations, perversity and ethnocentrism, is for posterity to judge. This boils down to the fact that: “Oba to je ti lu toro, ati eyi to je ti lu ba je, oruko won ko ni pare” so goes a Yoruba truism. God forbid that Nigeria vanishes before our very eyes, and there, we yell in regret, that there was a country! I pray this gets to your table in due course.

God bless Nigeria.

Balogun, a legal practitioner, wrote in from Lagos 

Daily INDEPENDENT