Comrade Onyinye-Ghandi Chukwunyere, a lawyer and activist, is the spokesperson for the African Action Congress (AAC) National Chairman and former presidential candidate, Comrade Omoyele Sowore. In this interview with EJIKEME OMENAZU he speaks on current issues in the polity, the emergence of a new Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Edo governorship election. Excerpt:
Some people, including policemen were killed recently during a clash between police and the Shiites during the sect’s procession in Abuja. How do you see the development?
The Nigerian state and its crooked managers have always derived pleasure from the killing of Nigerian citizens. From Odi to Zaki-biam and Lekki Toll Gate, the life of the Nigerian citizen is held in such great contempt by the Nigerian state that the citizen is considered expendable. The failed Buhari government through its Army chief, Tukur Buratai, slaughtered hundreds of Nigerians who identify as Shiites. With Tinubu’s collusion, they massacred protesting young Nigerians at the Lekki Toll Gate in October, 2020. The All Progressives Congress (APC), in particular, has shown such astonishing propensity for brutalizing and killing the Nigerian that it is starting to feel like the military all over again. Today, Tinubu and his rouge regime are merely intensifying the desecration of Nigerian lives. Having captured almost every institution of the Nigerian state, including the corrupt and inept security services, Tinubu now serially deploys them to crush any segment of the Nigerian society opposed to his atrocious governance. However, the day of reckoning shall come, and everyone who has been complicit in the sustained attacks on Nigerian lives shall face justice.
Don’t you think the interference of the police during the sect’s processions is against the fundamental rights of the Shiites, especially the rights of worship, association and movement?
Yes, like other Nigerians, Shiites have a constitutional right to freedom of worship, association and assembly. Those rights should mean that they can embark on a procession to vent their legitimate concerns without fear of being attacked by the police or other agencies meant to protect them. This aberration is consistent with our position that the Nigerian constitution is grossly inadequate for the protection of our citizens’ rights. Therefore, in unequivocal terms, we condemn the continued attacks on Nigerian Shiites. We also wish to warn Tinubu’s attack dogs in the security services to be mindful of their roles today, because, there will ultimately be justice for all Nigerians abused and or killed by crooked security forces acting at the behest of corrupt politicians.
How do you see the recent arrest of Journalist Soyinka, a former BBC reporter at the airport by the DSS?
As earlier observed, Tinubu and his APC have completely weaponised the security agencies in their bid to crush the will of the Nigerian people and thwart popular resistance to their disastrous policies. They have increasingly whittled down fundamental rights and freedoms, including press freedom. The attacks on journalists, including Soyinka, and the courageous Fisayo Soyombo are the troubling symptoms of the APC’s new draconian era. They make no pretence about their contempt for democratic rights and they seem clearly determined to brutally silence the sections of the media they consider disloyal. Nigerians should expect the situation to get worse. But, they must organise and resist these anti-democratic attacks. That is the only way to prevent the APC’s burgeoning dictatorship.
Several people arrested during the recent nationwide protest against bad governance are said to still be in detention. What does this say about the Tinubu administration?
Tinubu has repeatedly claimed to be a product of the June 12 resistance against the military. He is quick to point to his so-called NADECO credentials. Indeed, as recently as 2012, he and Buhari organised and led a protest against fuel price hike and rising costs of living. Today, however, he is allergic to criticisms and protests. He now views every protest as an attempt to evict him from power. His crackdown on those protesting his woefully governance exposes his deep hypocritical underbelly. Given the chance, he and his APC goons would quickly impose a brutal dictatorship on the Nigerian people. By the way, protests are a legitimate means of dissent in any civilised society, never mind a democratic one. That makes Tinubu’s draconian anti-protest stance even more worrisome, because it shows the mindset of the characters in charge of the affairs of the Nigerian people. We condemn the arrest, detention, and sham prosecution of citizens protesting bad governance, and we will do our best to mobilise the Nigerian people to resist Tinubu’s efforts at imposing a dictatorship.
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The police recently accused the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajaero, of terrorism financing, among other allegations, even as the Labour House in Abuja was attacked by police. How do you see this development?
The Labour leadership in Nigeria has repeatedly squandered several opportunities to position the NLC as a viable platform for the protection and advancement of the interests of Nigerian workers. Their failure to maintain a principled stance against the excesses of the APC government has further undermined their capacity for deterrence. For instance, Labour’s recent attempts at a general strike were called off in the last minute without concrete concessions from the government, thereby exposing the leadership as either timid or inept. That is why it is easy for Tinubu’s thugs to invade the revered Labour House supposedly in search of incriminating documents. While no citizen should be considered above the law, it is obvious that the purported investigation of Ajaero for alleged terrorism financing is intended to intimidate and cow him. The APC knows those funding terrorism and they know where to find them. However, it is not too late for Ajaero to redeem the credibility and bargaining strength of labour by standing with the Nigerian people to resist the APC attacks on their collective well-being.
How do you see the dispensation of Justice and the Justice system under the immediate-past CJN Olukayode Ariwolo?
The Nigerian judiciary is arguably the most corrupt institution within the Nigerian state. This is largely due to the secrecy and reverence judges enjoy. They can concoct corrupt and unjust judgments cloaked in legality, and can do so within the privacy of their chambers. The entire judicial system is now a cesspit of corrupt dealings with judgments going to the highest bidder. Tinubu’s APC can brag about sending their opponents to court after stealing elections because they have Arilowo and others in their pockets. The implication is that the rule of law is practically non-existent. Citizens have lost confidence in the courts and that is why it is very dangerous today living in Nigeria.Politicians routinely flout court orders with impunity. The hallowed chambers of justice across Nigeria are now seen as mere centers for performative legalese. This is why we have proffered a radical and comprehensive deconstruction of the current system as the only solution to the lingering judicial rot.
What advice would you proffer to the new CJN, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun?
Sadly, Kekere-Ekun is not much different. Her records raise a lot of troubling questions, including a visa ban from the United States. It is difficult to see how she can act differently now. But, if she wants to redeem herself and reposition the judiciary, she must start by disavowing and purging the judiciary of corrupt political influence. The likes of Nyesom Wike who ran to his pocket judge in Abuja to secure a judgment against protests must be kept far away from the chambers of justice. If she can initiate reforms to insulate the judiciary from the crooked politicians, she would have solved half of the problem. However, given her antecedents, I won’t hold my breath.
What is your advice as Edo people get ready for the September 21 governorship election amid tension and threats of violence?
The people of Edo State must make a decisive break from the past. They must reject the APC, the PDP, and the other status quo parties masquerading as change agents. In Ugberaifo Udoh, the AAC candidate, they have a young man with the passion, drive, commitment, and competence to change the governance narrative in the state. Therefore, I urge them to embrace him and the AAC agenda for the state so that they can start to reap the benefits of the AAC’s people-driven governance philosophy, as well as our party’s concrete programmes designed to catapult Edo State and other parts of the country from the backwaters of poverty to a glorious era of prosperity and development.
What is your advice to Nigerians at this tough time when there is high inflation, rise in cost of living and severe hunger in the land?
As Nigerians face an unprecedented period of attacks on their collective welfare, they must realise that the night will never end until they push back. The APC is a corrupt concentration of mindless, inept, and insensitive scoundrel parading as politicians. They will continue to squeeze the people and gaslight them into submission if the people do not put up a united front against them. This is why the Nigerian people must resist the constant attempts to divide them along ethnic and religious lines. They must drown out the bigot voices of fringe elements who amplify our meagre differences by spreading hateful rhetoric. We in the AAC will continue to provide the platform for an organised, principled, and forceful resistance to the continued subjugation of the Nigerian people by little men whose sense of strength is the impoverishment of their own people.
