How to prevent tyranny in a democracy – Ekweremadu
Senate Deputy President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Monday said strict
adherence to the rule of law is the only way to prevent tyranny and
oppression in a democracy.
A statement by the Special Adviser, Media and Public to the Uche
Anichukwu, said that Ekweremadu spoke in Enugu on the topic:
“Strengthening the Foundations of Rule of Law in Nigeria, “at a public
lecture in honour of late Prof. G. O. S Amadi.
It said that at the lecture, organized by the Faculty of Law,
University of Nigeria and Prof. G. O. S Amadi Foundation at the Moot
Court Complex, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Ekweremadu further
stressed that the rule of law was indispensable in any society that
craves for justice, equity, and fairness.
It said that while noting that the foundation of the rule of law in
Nigeria was the 1999 constitution, as amended, Ekweremadu, who is an
alumnus and former lecturer at the Faculty of Law, was however quick to
add that to make the foundation stronger, Nigerians all have a duty and a
role to play.
He added: “Those who think the strengthening of the rule of law is
not their business are only playing the dangerous game of the cockerel,
which refused to attend a meeting of the animal kingdom, claiming it was
not his business. But, sadly for him, it was agreed at the meeting that
his lineage would be used as sacrifice to the gods. The cock and his
kindred are yet to recover from that I-don’t-care attitude. Maintaining
the rule of law is, therefore, everybody’s business.
“We must all be ready and willing to live by the spirit and letters
of our laws. Much of our problems are not about the laws themselves, but
about our disrespect for them. Indeed, a major difference between us
and the developed world is that while we choose which rules, laws, or
court judgments to obey or not to obey, they command obedience to their
laws through strict enforcement that does not respect persons. We need
to imbibe that attitude and culture in order to strengthen the
foundations of the rule of law in Nigeria”.
Ekweremadu also called on leaders at all levels to lead by example,
insisting that it was one sure way to entrench the rule of law in
Nigeria.
He said, “On leading by example, the words of Justice Louis D.
Brandeis in Olmstead v. United States are instructive. In his dissenting
opinion he states: ‘Our Government is the potent, the omnipresent
teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its
example. Crime is contagious. If the Government becomes a lawbreaker, it
breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto him;
it invites anarchy’”.
“It is very clear, therefore, that impunity and lawlessness are
contagious. If those at the helms of leadership have no respect for the
rule of law, their subordinates are not likely to respect the rule of
law also. If they by any means show that the law is meant to catch their
opponents and perceived enemies alone, they have unwittingly licensed
their purported friends to scorn the rules and break the laws. And
certainly, as a leader, you cannot choose which law or court verdict to
obey or which to disobey”, he declared.
Drawing from the words of the American statesman and former
President, Thomas Jefferson, Ekweremadu maintained that even under the
best of leadership, no man was good enough to exercise power outside the
dictates of the Constitution or law, as that would amount to an
invitation to tyranny and anarchy.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Chairman of the event, Hon.
Justice Peter Umeadi, Chief Judge of Anambra, who described Senator
Ekweremadu as “an icon” and a worthy alumnus of the UNN, emphasised the
need for strict adherence to the process of arraignment, stating that
there is nothing like “Holden Charge” under the Nigerian legal system.
“The process of arraignment is a strict part of the law. If you don’t
observe it, then everything you have done would have been rendered null
and void,” he emphasised.
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