THE SUPREME COURT ON OKONKWO

THE Supreme Court savaged Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Okonkwo, gubernatorial candidate of the Nigeria Advance Party (NAP) in Anambra State in last April’s elections, while giving judgment on January 29. Mr. Okonkwo had asked the Supreme Court to declare that Mr. Peter Obi was unfit to be the governor of Anambra State because his lawyer had allegedly offered him money not to reveal an error made at the Appeal Court that would have hurt Mr. Obi’s interests.

MR. Obi had gone to court to argue that his term as governor of Anambra State had not ended at the time election was held for the office last April and Mr. Andy Uba of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was sworn in as the new governor of the state.

MR. Obi had been governor for only about a year when he had to leave the Government House. His challenge of the election of Dr. Chris Ngige in 2003 took three years to decide.

THE Supreme Court agreed with Mr. Obi that his term should be for four years and with effect from the date he took office. It ordered Mr. Uba to immediately leave the Government House.

MR. Uba initially said that he had no quarrel with the Supreme Court judgment and made public appearance to show that the decision had not depressed him. This proved to be a pose as Mr. Uba soon asked the Supreme Court to reverse its judgment and restore him as the governor of Anambra State. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Mr. Okonkwo joined Mr. Uba in asking the Supreme Court to reverse its earlier decision.

MR. Okonkwo told the journalists that Governor Obi, through his lawyer, Dr. Onyechi Ikpezu (SAN), had given him N10 million to drop his objection to the case filed by Mr. Obi to keep him in office for four years. Mr. Obi’s lawyer denied Mr. Okonkwo’s claim and said that he (Mr. Okonkwo) was in the pay of Mr. Uba. Mr. Okonkwo responded that he had bank drafts to prove his allegation that he had been bribed by Governor Obi through his lawyer.

MR. Okonkwo repeated the allegation at the Supreme Court on January 29. Mr. Okonkwo’s confession got the justices searingly hot under the collar. The comments of some of the justices as published in newspapers deserve to be quoted from at length.

SAID Justice George Oguntade: “Did you [referring to Okonkwo] get money from Obi? Is that really true? Since you collected money, what are you doing here? What is your interest?

“WE know your antecedents. Every election year, you contest election. Every election you contest, you lose. Every election you lose, you go to court, you are settled by politicians.”

JUSTICE Oguntade cautioned: “You are a common crook. I wonder where you derived the courage to come before us and ask us to set aside our judgment after you took (a) bribe to compromise yourself.”

JUSTICE Mahmud Mohammed told Mr. Okonkwo: “You are not fit to be in the company of decent people. You are an animal who is supposed to be living in the jungle. I will jail you if I were alone.”

JUSTICE Oguntade had also threatened Mr. Okonkwo with jail: “You will be lucky if you go back home without being arrested,” he told Mr. Okonkwo. But Mr. Okonkwo was not arrested, never mind being in jail. Mr. Okonkwo even thumbed his nose at the justices. He said their comments were of no consequence and that they dared not record them for legal reference or even for political posterity. He said he would sue the justices if they did.

MR. Okonkwo had reportedly told the justices that he had used “intellectual robustness and sagacity” to make Governor Obi pay him N10 million through his lawyer. Is Mr. Okonkwo sacrificing himself to try to ruin Governor Obi’s reputation? Is he a political suicide bomber?

MR. Okonkwo has made an allegation that is not exactly uncommon in Nigeria. A gubernatorial candidate in the last election recently told the press that a governor came to his house on two occasions to urge him to withdraw his suit challenging the governor’s election. He named the people who accompanied the governor to his house. He said the governor asked him to name his price for withdrawing the suit.

ANOTHER gubernatorial candidate said he had been approached by leaders of a political party to withdraw his petition at the tribunal. He named the men who came to his house to offer him a huge bribe to accept INEC’s declaration of his opponent as the winner of the election.

THERE is no doubt that corrupt political horse-trading goes on in the country. Mr. Okonkwo has only brought to the open what usually takes place in cult-like secrecy. His motive is unclear, though he complained that he had not been paid in full.

GOVERNOR Obi swore an oath that he did not pay Mr. Okonkwo even one kobo. His lawyer said he did not make any payment to Mr. Okonkwo on behalf of the governor. But Mr. Okonkwo told journalists that he had in his possession solid evidence of a bribe being given and taken.

DEMANDING or accepting a bribe is a crime. The police should arrest Mr. Okonkwo and charge him with accepting a bribe. His trial should reveal the names of the people who offered him a bribe and they should also be tried.

AMINU'S MANY WARS

PROFESSOR Jibril Aminu, a cardiologist, appears to think he is military commander. He seems to prefer war to love. But he let it all hang out for a new love about 10 years ago. He won a verbally brutal bedroom battle and his prize was a young bride. A divorce is not death and those who seek it should not be tried for murder, as some newspapers and magazines tried Professor Aminu.

PROFESSOR Aminu won many wars as a vice chancellor. As minister of education, many vice chancellors quaked in his presence. In an advertorial after he left office, he stated that no vice chancellor dared disobey him when he was minister of education.

AS Nigeria ambassador to the United States, Professor Aminu was said to have determined American foreign policies. This was put about by his enemies with an ostentatious risk. They wanted it understood that Professor Aminu was an unimaginative, docile diplomat. Absolute nonsense.

PRESIDENT Umaru Yar’Adua has not said anything about sending Brigadier General Mohammed Marwa (rtd) to the United States as ambassador. So the claim by some people that Professor Aminu tried to prevent the confirmation of the general as ambassador because he feared his glittering record in Washington would be eclipsed is rottening rubbish.

PROFESSOR Aminu and General Marwa are both from Adamawa State. Professor Aminu believes, or so it seems, that war and not charity should begin at home. He fought and defeated former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar. He won the war to recall him from the Senate and successfully worked against Alhaji Abubakar’s presidential ambition.

BUT Professor Aminu is more than the saviour of a state. He is a national hero. He was also against the confirmation of the nomination of Dr. Kema Chikwe and Mr. Polycap Nwite as ambassadors. They are from the eastern part of the country. Professor Aminu, Chair, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, said security reports were against their confirmation.

THE Senate disagreed and confirmed the nominations when Professor Aminu was not in the chamber. In 1950, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution authorising war in Korea when the Soviet Ambassador was temporarily absent from the chamber. The war was a disaster for many countries.

PROFESSOR Aminu lost the ambassadorial war. But was his opposition to the confirmation of the nominees based on pettiness or high principle?