26th April, 2012
Nigerian judiciary and legal system came under heavy scrutiny Thursday as Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka took the judiciary to the cleaners over the shoddy way the James Ibori case was handled in Nigeria.
He warned that the nascent democracy presently being enjoyed in Nigeria could become an exercise that may end in futility if the rulers fail to provide the dividends of democracy for the people.
Soyinka gave the hard knock while delivering the keynote address at the 2nd South-South Economic Summit holding in Asaba, Delta State.
“Security is tied up, governance is tied up,” he said, adding that the democratic setting in Nigeria has produced laughable scenario that requires a total overhaul.
According to him, the present democratic setting, instead of exposing corrupt practices, is enmeshed in corrupt practices.
Citing the case involving the former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, as an example, he said: “I want to say that the atrocities of one of you here were covered in shame. But it took external judiciary to expose his corrupt practices, I mean your brother here,” Soyinka said.
“It took an external judiciary to finally put an end to his dirty deals. He held the fortunes of anti-corruption at bay all the way to Dubai. And who was that judge (Justice Awokulehin), the judge who freed him of 170-count charge in this very nation and pronounced him innocent? Am sure the generation under his watch will do unconscionable robbery. So why are we surprised?
“Nations are built on a possible community, but with artificial knowledge, it collapses. So, that judge who pronounced a former governor free of corrupt practices, the question is this, is he still a happy judge in this nation?” Prof. Soyinka asked.
Before declaring the Summit open, President Goodluck Jonathan, who was represented by the Vice President, Arch. Namadi Sambo, said Nigeria will be one of the 20 developed countries in 2020, disclosing that the consistent power outage presently experienced in the country will soon be a thing of the past.
He commended the South-South governors for coming together to chart a common front with a view to making the South-South a developed region without oil as well as using the present forum to create an economy without oil that will make the future of the country productive.
He noted with satisfaction the development in the South-South region, and announced that the Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun, Delta State would soon be upgraded to a university, rehabilitation of abandoned railways and the procurement of 25 additional rail tracks.
“We will transform all sectors and make Nigeria a productive country, create small and medium scale industries to assist the farmers and also create a conducive environment for Nigerians to live.”
He further disclosed that the federal government has approved over $400 million for the development of gas in the region, engaged consultants to develop master plans for the development of Calabar port and support Akwa-Ibom State.
Earlier in his address, Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan said that in the last few years, his administration began an economic empowerment programme to enhance the wellbeing of the people of the state, one of which is Delta without oil’.
He said the state has been faced with a number of challenges, especially not being able to develop non-oil sector and agriculture, which could have been a major hub of economic productivity that will enhance the living standard of the people.
“As a government, it is imperative to develop a state with infrastructural facilities and other social amenities, but we have struggled with enormous challenges that we have overcome through a three-point agenda, and we deem it fit that we should invest in agricultural programme, and that we have done in collaboration with Obasanjo Farms in the state.”
He explained that his administration does not focus on mega projects alone, but also in human and capital projects with a view to developing the state.
On security, the governor said though the task has been daunting, his administration has been working with the federal government with a view to finding a lasting solution to the problem, adding that in the state, the security challenges have reduced to a considerable level.
Uduaghan further disclosed that the $5.9 billion Chevron gas project sited at the Escravos will soon be commissioned, a development that will take the state to the next level.
A representative of Rwanda President at the summit said the South-South of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria has had a share of unfortunate history of conflict, and urged the people to put behind them that history and chart a common front for development, adding that the Rwanda genocide in 1994, the country has risen above it to attain the success it has achieved today.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Executive Director of BRACED Commission, Ambassador Joe Keshi said the summit is a follow up to the first summit held in Cross River state in 2009, and it has laid a foundation for development and identified the challenges the South-South region has been faced with.
According to him, the summit will promote regional development, advantage and benefit for the people as the overall goal is for the nation to achieve success without dependence on oil.
By Jethro Ibileke, Asaba