CJN Katsina-Alu Must Promote Himself Now

Posted: February 10, 2011 - 19:48

By Ayo Turton

Promotion is generally viewed as a positive process, like raising a person to a higher office, rank or grade as a compensation for an exemplary work and having shown aptitude for a position with more responsibility.

Promotion usually will be accompanied by pay raise, benefits and responsibility; this indicates that the person is useful, valuable and successful. It is meant to be an encouragement for the beneficiary to do better. Well, that is not always the case, at least not in Nigeria.
The word ‘promotion’ has joined other words that have their own peculiar meanings in the Nigerian lexicon.

When Prof. Dora Akunyili was in charge at NAFDAC, her exemplary work in that organization was widely acknowledged by all and sundry, her outstanding works fetched her several accolades and awards across the world. Then she got promoted – she was appointed the Minister of Information. Tongues started wagging; many curious minds want to know why a performing regulator/Pharmacist should be promoted to be the mouth piece of an administration generally perceived to be inept, redundant and non-performing. It turned out that Aunty Dora as she is popular called was not promoted to do better in what she knows how to do best, she was promoted by the government who wanted to exploit her positive image as a cover up for its own severely battered image. No sooner has Aunty Dora accepted the position against wise counsels than she started to speak in tongues, Dora the Enforcer has suddenly become Dora the Rebrander, she tried to white-wash Nigeria as against addressing our fundamental issues, Dora the Rebel, at least to the late President Yar’Adua kitchen cabinet and worse still, Dora the Rabble-Rouser, to the rest of us watching her trying pull a rabbit out of a hat for the government she served, a trick she apparently never learnt. We lost the real Aunty Dora to promotion.

When Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iwealla was brought back to Nigeria to help in ex-President Obasanjo’s administration, she was widely applauded for what she was able to accomplish for the country in the Finance Ministry by helping to shore up our foreign reserves and paying off our debt to the Paris Club. Then she got promoted. She was moved from the Ministry of Finance, her area of expertise, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and according to the government spin masters we were told, using the American example that the Secretary of State the equivalent of our Minister of Foreign Affairs is the most senior cabinet office, they insisted that what Aunty Ngozi got was a promotion and we all shouted, haaa!. It turned out that Aunty Ngozi did not want to be promoted, but her effrontery to question the power that be got her the promotion, Dr. Iwealla resigned, we lost her to promotion.

There used to be this woman known Oby Ezekwesili she headed the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit, she was reputed to be so thorough that she got nick-named Madam Due Process, but then she became too efficient that she has to be rapidly promoted away from where her ever prying eyes will be useful.

There is Nuhu Ribadu, a fearless corruption fighter; he took on the big and mighty fighting the monstrous evil that has towered over Nigerian landscape like Colossus. His work as the head of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was internationally recognized and applauded, his efforts moved Nigeria out of the ignominious list of the most corrupt countries in the world and our position on world corruption index rapidly improved, but unfortunately some powerful people became uncomfortable with Ribadu, the corruption fighter-in-chief had to be promoted and promotion was what he got, he was asked to proceed on one year full time course to Nigeria Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, to ease him out of the office, an acting Chairman was to be appointed to replace him, Ribadu protested, one thing led to the other, he got fired for insubordination. Ouch! We lost another one to promotion.




This ugly scenario is beginning to play itself out again. Justice Kayode Eso (JSC rtd) Panel came out with a damning report of unbridled corruption in the Nigerian Judiciary, but there are still some shinning spots amidst the cloudy landscape, one of the most outstanding judges of the Nigerian Judiciary is Justice Ayo Salami, the present President of the Nigerian Court of Appeal. He is reputed to be fair, fearless and honorable. The Appeal Court under his leadership has overturned many of the decisions of INEC in the 2007 general elections widely acknowledged intra and internationally to be one of the worst elections ever conducted in Nigeria.

Just as we begin to praise his courage, the news broke, as is usual for all crusaders for justice, due process and rule of law in Nigeria, Justice Ayo Salami has to be promoted from the President of the Court of Appeal to a Justice of the Supreme Court, whether he likes it or not, against due process and the rule of law, they did not even bother to ask him. This move is being protested by all Nigerians of good conscience, some like Chief Femi Falana actually went to court to challenge the move, it is generally believe that the ruling party has been uncomfortable with the decisions emanating from the Court of Appeal under his watch and so he has to be promoted to pave the way for another President of the Court that will be amenable to “discipline”

But that is not the real bombshell. The real bombshell is contained in the affidavit filed in support of the suit challenging his removal, sorry promotion, Justice Ayo Salami revealed under oath that the Chief Justice of the Federation, Chief Justice Katsina-Alu had invited him to his office and asked him to pervert the course of justice by instructing the Justices sitting on a case before the Court of Appeal to either rule in favor of a particular party or disband the team and appoint other ones that would be amenable to “discipline” Lord have mercy! This is serious, this is not a journalistic speculation, this is not an investigative reporter’s scoop from his “reliable sources” it is also not a beer parlor gist, this is an allegation by the sitting President of the Court of Appeal against the sitting Chief Justice of the Federation under oath. How did we get here? To lend credence to the allegation raised by Justice Ayo Salami, the way that particular case was hijacked and disposed off by the Supreme Court has been confounding to all legal minds in Nigeria and beyond.

The judiciary is considered the last hope of the ordinary man for the enforcement of his rights, there is no doubt that this weighty allegation whether true or not has created a doubt in the mind of every Nigerian regarding the possibility of getting justice under the leadership of Chief Justice Katsina-Alu, our confidence in his ability to carry on in this position has been totally eroded, the time for Justice Aloysius Iyorger Katsina-Alu to honourably promote himself out of our Supreme Court is now!

Ayo Turton is a US based Attorney.

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/cjn-katsina-alu-must-promote-himself-now