Apply the Same Yardstick to Soldiers and Politicians
Elizabeth Ohene
His reassurances of a fair trial sounds a trifle unconvincing for many reasons; paramount among which must be the trial and conviction by public opinion that has already taken place. More disturbing, of course, is the announcement that special tribunals will be set up to try the politicians.The Nigerian Head of State, Major General Muhammadu Buhari has dismissed in parts, defended in parts and ignored in parts allegations of personal improprieties made against him by people who were part of the government he has overthrown.
It is possible, and indeed very tempting, to take the answer he has given to the charges and subject it to consider. 'able scrutiny and to ask many questions which must necessarily arise from the answer he has offered.
Questions like why he chose to answer some and ignore some of the charges or why he felt it necessary to offer answers at all if he is so convinced those making the allegations have no credibility with the Nigerian public, questions like the worth of the answers he has offered. For example, questions like on what basis he rejects the N700,000 valuation of his house, or how he came to take, by his own admission, a loan of N140,000 from the bank during the years 1975 to 1978, the years that coincide with his stewardship as Petroleum Commissioner in the last Federal Military Government.
What security he offered the bank to qualify for the loan or, if horror of horrors, he could possibly have been guilty of the crime which sent eight Ghanaian Generals to the stakes in 1979 using his position to receive loans from the banks. Questions like how he has been repaying the bank which granted him the facility and on and on. A myriad and one questions which would obviously have to be asked of any 'corrupt politician' who might offer a similar type of defence for similar allegations.
But then of course, maybe corrupt politicians and patriotic soldiers are in different leagues and do not get asked the same questions. Tempting though it is to ask such questions and more, or to even try to find out how the good General came to decide which charges to react to and which to ignore, I believe such a line of questioning is best left to posterity and students of selective amnesia.
MESSAGE
What struck me as important and crucial is the fact that the General availed himself of media facilities to put his case across to the people and the press carried his message giving it the widest publicity including even those sections of the press that had never made any reference to the allegations in the first place.It must mean that the General is very much aware that allegations, even wild and obviously untrue ones, can possibly cause damage to a person's reputation and they therefore need to be answered swiftly and conclusively, and yet by one swing of his officer's baton, he has condemned everybody who has served in government or public office within the past four years as a thief and a felon.
Before any charges had been laid against anybody, 'politicians' have already been tried and convicted and the argument now seems to centre only on the form of punishment; thus learned discussions have been held about whether it will be enough to simply "make them disgorge the monies they have looted or send them to serve hard labour sentences on farms and the merits and demerits of shooting them."
This accusation, trial and conviction all in one breath has obviously even spread into the walls of Nigeria's maximum security prison Kiri-Kiri where, it is said, that the riots by the convict inmates were caused by their feeling that the prison officers were giving preferential treatment to the politicians being held there. Obviously in the eyes of the original inmates of Kiri-Kiri, the newly arrived politicians are in the same position as they are and should therefore be treated no differently. The politicians are thieves because they are alleged to be corrupt, never mind about charges nor trials nor conviction.
It should surely occur to General Buhari that in much the same way as he has offered a perfectly reasonable explanation for the source of his money to finance his house in Kaduna, it is not unlikely that given the same opportunity, some of the "corrupt politicians" might find equally credible explanations for any specific allegation that might be made against them.
OPPORTUNITY
It is also possible that if General Buhari and his colleagues who served in the military regimes before October 1979 had been put into Kiri-Kiri on December 31st, 1979, and the current allegations being levelled against him now were made then, not only would he not have had the opportunity to answer them on radio and television he would have been guilty, simply because he was part of the "corrupt and inept soldiers" who had brought Nigeria from a food sufficient producing country to a food importing one. His reassurances of a fair trial sound a trifle unconvincing for many reasons; paramount among which must be the trial and conviction by public opinion that has already taken place. More disturbing of course is the announcement that special tribunals will be set up to try the politicians.General Buhari has not suggested in any way that the judiciary in Nigeria have also been found as wanting in the discharge of their duties as the politicians have been. In fact, it has been noted with joy that the former Chief Justice resisted what he saw as attempts to put political pressure on the judiciary during the hearing of the election petitions. Now that the military are in charge of affairs and there is no danger of any type of pressure or interference with the judiciary, why are the ordinary courts of the land being by-passed and special tribunals needed to try the politicians? Is the suggestion that the courts of the land cannot be relied on to dispense justice or could it be that the special tribunals are the ones that can be counted upon to dispense the sentences deserved by the politicians seeing they today. have been tried and convicted already and are only awaiting sentencing?
It might possibly strengthen General Buhari's assurances to the politicians on his "wanted list" that he would give them fair trials, if he would demon- strate the fairness to those politicians he already holds in Kiri-Kiri; that should be the strongest argument to compel such politicians to return to Nigeria, apart from the laying of specific charges.
It is not merely for the sake of meting out justice to the politicians that it is advisable for any such cases to be tried by the ordinary courts of the land, it is equally vital that Nigerians are left in no doubt about the credibil- ity of these tribunals. Human memory is notoriously short and fickle as General Buhari must surely know if he looks back on how much Nigerians wanted him and his colleagues to return to the barracks back in the 1970s and the reasons why and how this same group is now being hailed as having the answers to the country's problems.
Back in 1979 in Ghana, there were not many people who had much doubt in their minds about how corrupt late Gen. Acheampong and his colleagues were and yet the secret and unconventional "trials" given to them have led to the ironical situation whereby they have become martyrs to some people.
Everybody who went to any of those Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) courts and emerged, wears the experience with some pride and a conviction from those courts, far from being a stigma has become a door-opening slogan.
Doubtless there were some, in fact many, who were guilty of the very crimes that took them to those courts, but simply because they were tried by those "revolutionary" courts, their guilt or innocence will remain forever doubtful. Martyrs are not only made through executions, a guilty man will appear innocent simply because the court which tried him has no credibility outside the heat and euphoria of the moment.
Unless, of course, General Buhari can provide convincing reasons why the politicians should not be tried by the ordinary courts of the land he is running a risk of the same people reappearing a few years later and claiming that the special tribunals were under the thumb of the military.
If there is one abiding good the General can do his country, it is to take the offending politicians through the ordinary courts, so that if found guilty, no future political event can ever wipe away their guilt.
The people of Nigeria deserve that and from the confident pronouncements that have been coming out of Dodan Barracks, there should be dearth of evidence for corruption and wrongdoing and therefore no need to establish special tribunals with special ways crafted to suit whatever "evidence" is available.
If General Buhari has seen the need to offer an explanation for his behaviour, as an officer and a gentleman, he should extend such facilities to those he is holding in jail. What is good for the goose, they say, is good for the gander also.
I BUILT MY HOUSE WITH LOAN
GENERAL BUHARI has dismissed as completely untrue allegations that he has a 700,000 naira house in Kaduna and the joint ownership of a multi-million naira farm in Funtua. In an interview with Radio Nigeria in Kaduna he explained that he built his house in Kaduna with a loan of 140,000 naira from the Mortgage and Union Banks between 1975 and 1978.General Buhari then challenged run away politicians to return home and substantiate their allegations of wrongdoing against certain members of the Supreme Military Council. He particularly guaranteed Alhaji Umaru Dikko, Isiyaku Ibrahim and others, safe passage and fair trial.
The Head of State said they would be free to engage any lawyers to defend them on the wealth they amassed while in office, adding that it was foolhardy for them to remain outside the country and yet attempt to blackmail certain Nigerians back home.
He said he would declare his assets publicly given available facilities, including the mass media, if Alhaji Umaru Dikko and others would do so on their return.
Commenting on the findings about some detained politicians, General Buhari expressed shock and dismay at the way a number of the former governors were found with large sums of money. This, he said, was unpardonable, especially when teachers and other civil servants were owed salary arrears for months. General Buhari said one of the most startling discoveries so far was how two fictitious companies were used to sap several millions of naira.
On the possibility of Nigeria operating the Western-type of democracy in future, General Buhari said hitherto the problem is not that of the two previous systems. Rather, he said the operators of the systems were completely insincere. General Buhari said it was therefore up to Nigerians to develop a system that will be more African than Western.
