Justice Saleh’s chivalry

IT is not clear what purpose Justice Dahiru Saleh (retd) hoped to serve when he claimed in an interview with The Interview magazine that he, not ex-military president Ibrahim Babangida, annulled the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, a businessman and publisher won that election handily. Justice Saleh was at the time Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja. Claiming responsibility, he said it was the natural thing to do at the time, and he would remorselessly repeat that infamous judgement were he called upon to review the case.

Justice Saleh perhaps wishes to deflect that historic and eternal blame away from Gen Babangida. But he forgets that in fact an unsigned statement presumably from Aso Villa actually put the death knell to the election, not his judgement, nor the machinations of the Association for Better Nigeria (ABN) inspired by charlatans like Abimbola Davies. Moreover, Gen Babangida has himself claimed responsibility for the annulment, insisting however that he would not apologise for the infamous act. According to the former military president, had he not annulled the poll, the Abiola presidency would not have lasted for more than a few months. It was a disingenuous excuse.

As if the annulment was not treasonable enough, Justice Saleh happily claims responsibility for what may perhaps qualify as the most infamous act in Nigerian history. Surely there is a limit to chivalry. Not only was the overthrow of a hypothetical Abiola presidency feared by Gen Babangida nothing more than childish conjecture and paranoia, the annulment robbed Nigeria of the unique chance to defeat religious and ethnic politics. That chance was missed, and with it decades of peace, growth and development. Gen Babangida had his indefensible reasons to annul the poll; Justice Saleh, after about 23 years in retirement, has no reason to claim responsibility for that heinous and idiotic act except he lacks the sense of proportion to be discriminating, and seeks to mitigate the anonymity his treasonable and immoral judgement had consigned him for more than 23 years.

Source: nation