Re- Rivers: Tinubu can now rule Nigeria with military - Okonkwo faults Supreme Court verdict
Mogaji (Hon) Seye Oladejo
The Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) finds it necessary to respond to the reckless and misleading assertion credited to Mr. Okonkwo, in which he bizarrely insinuates that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu can now “rule Nigeria with the military” following a Supreme Court verdict relating to Rivers State.
Such a claim is not only false but intellectually dishonest.
A Supreme Court judgment is the highest expression of constitutional authority in a democracy. It is neither a military fiat nor an executive directive. To deliberately conflate a judicial verdict with military rule is to either misunderstand the basic workings of democracy or to willfully mislead the public for partisan ends.
The Supreme Court did not suspend democracy in Rivers State; it merely interpreted the law as empowered by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In a constitutional democracy, court decisions may disappoint political actors, but they are binding on all. That is the essence of the rule of law.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, contrary to the alarmist narrative being peddled, has neither sought nor exercised extra-constitutional powers. His democratic credentials are well established. He was a frontline opponent of military dictatorship, a victim of repression, and a contributor to the restoration of civil rule in Nigeria. The suggestion that such a leader would now govern by military proxy is as absurd as it is insulting.
What is evident from Mr. Okonkwo’s commentary is a familiar opposition reflex: when the courts do not validate their political expectations, they attempt to delegitimize the judiciary and sow fear among the populace. This pattern of crying dictatorship at every unfavourable verdict is irresponsible and dangerous.
More troubling, however, is the fact that this brand of anti-democratic rhetoric and the sheer promotion of anarchy now appear to be the default response of the opposition to constitutional setbacks. This constitutes the single greatest danger to our nascent democracy. When political actors deliberately undermine confidence in the courts and demonize lawful authority, they weaken the very foundations of the republic they claim to defend.
Nigeria remains a constitutional democracy governed by laws, institutions and separation of powers. The military is under civilian control as prescribed by the Constitution, and there has been no action, directive or policy under President Tinubu that suggests otherwise.
The Lagos APC therefore calls on all well-meaning Nigerians, democrats and patriots to condemn this new low from the opposition in its entirety. Democracy is sustained by respect for the rule of law, not by incendiary commentary designed to provoke chaos and score cheap political points.
Supreme Court verdicts are instruments of justice, not instruments of tyranny. They strengthen democracy; they do not destroy it.
Mogaji (Hon) Seye Oladejo
Lagos APC Spokesman
