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The Law Almighty: Afe Babalola/Obasanjo v. Ben Nwabueze/Atiku By Farouk Martins, Omo Aresa
If it is hard enough getting between Obasanjo and Atiku, it is even crazier trying to sort out the different positions of their two eminent legal scholars, Babalola and Nwabueze. We can not even hold lawyers to the same position in every case. Some of us have followed their arguments closely because they touch on democracy and corruption in high places. We can not get enough of the revelations from, or on how Obasanjo and Atiku fleece Nigeria as individuals and how their Party PDP was sponsored.
One of the US prominent Judge and Professor, R. E. Keaton who wrote one of the law books on Tort with his brother once said that many times he would read opposing briefs first. Though not a judge or professor of law, some of us have done the same on many occasions. That is, whoever has the burden of production, assuming that the plaintiff is right or wrong, what has the defendant got to preempt or neutralize the dart against him?
So please bear with me now, based on this narrow knowledge, I have read the reply of my dear Professor Nwabueze to the bombshell thrown at him from the book he wrote, by my other Professor Babalola. I came to the conclusion that there is some form of agreement between the two which may not favor Atiku.
Whenever democracy and corruption is at stake, many of us do not leave matters in the hands of experts alone. We want to wade in our views. A better way to explain this logic is another saying by another experienced Judge that no matter how educated lawyers may be, if one can not communicate with the Jury, that case is lost. We are members of a jury.
Therefore, Nigerians will benefit as Jury hearing this interesting case between Obasanjo and Atiku, if both lawyers can agree on some salient important points, simply:
This complex made simple situation can be understood by many of us that whenever you want to be elected, let us know in advance which party you belong to or if you want to be elected as Independent. Cross carpeting has a long history in all the regions of our Country. It has always generated bad blood and reasonably so. In the presidential system of government, the position of the Vice President is mainly a standby until Jimmy Carter empowered Mondale in US, and Shagari empowered Ekwueme in Nigeria.
Struggle within the party is like a house divided within itself. It can not stand. Our Constitution may have foreseen this and try to eliminate it but as we now see, without success. We have a way of beating any system or law. It is even more complex in Nigeria. The Governor of Lagos State, his Deputy and a host of others all over the Country have abandoned their original parties.
Some people still think it was a mistake for Senator Kennedy, who was not the Vice, to challenge Jimmy Carter who was an incumbent President at the time for the nomination of his Party. Vice President Mondale was left in an awkward position because of loyalty to the Kennedy family and to his President. It probably contributed to the defeat of Carter in the national election against Ronald Reagan. The fact that Carter and Kennedy made up just before the election did not help.
Anyone who thinks that Atiku can make up with Obasanjo before the Election because of their mutual fear of Buhari may not be totally insane. The chances of that becoming real dim as the court cases linger on and we as spectators are not ready to see the end of this movie. Lawyers also have a duty to vigorously defend their clients and as their pay days linger on, they may not be in a hurry to wrap up these cases. Fortunately for us, nobody will elect Obasanjo if running, even as a dog catcher.
My only problem is the Herculean task given my friend, Nuhu Ribadu. As he continues to explain and defend the integrity of EEFC about the number of PDP men disqualified compared to lesser number in other parties, I do not know too many of us who would want his job. He has bravely contradicted Obasanjo many times. If we are really sick and tired of corruption and willing to do something about it by taking the first step, why not support Ribadu as our first step?
One would think that with the type of damage done to our Country by corruption, many of these lawyers who know the source of the money their clients pay them, will bow out of many of these cases. If they do, the doctors will not charge them for service, the school will not charge their children fees, accountant will not charge them for book keeping, the market men and women would give them free food, do not forget free car and housing, and all those trips to “civilized” countries would be free!
Not even trade by barter will cure greed if money as in “cashistic” or hard currency is the problem. We have to get to that stage where every Nigerian understands that he has to: “Declare Your Assets or Forfeit the Surplus”; see that article.
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