Two Sides Of A Coin

By Daniel Bulusson

The scale of justice can be likened to the sides of a coin, irrespective of where it is placed; there are always two sides, i.e the head or tail. So also is the scale of justice, the weight of evidence is always placed on one side, affecting the other, likewise the impact and effect of its judgment, one party will benefit, the other looses, one side happy, the other side sad.

A classic example of the above, is the recent judgment of the Supreme Court vacating Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP as governor of Imo State, to be replaced by Senator Hope Uzodinma of the APC. Supporters of APC, including the president of the country, referred to the judgment as reflecting the wishes of the people of Imo State, while the PDP is of the opinion that the Supreme Court has truncated the mandate of the people of Imo State.

Some even went further to say that the Judgment for Tambuwal and Ganduje in Sokoto and Kano, scheduled to be delivered on Monday the 20th of January, will be decided along party lines. According to this school of thought, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal of the PDP is likely to be removed as Governor as opposed to Alhaji Ganduje.

Even the laymen on the streets are divided on the judgment of the Supreme Court based on ‘hailers’ and ‘wailers’. The hailers of the current administration say the judiciary is on track to be the last hope of the common man, while the wailers feel the judiciary is slowly becoming the lost hope of the common man. The judgments and orders of the court are now considered based on bias, the side that benefits from a court order or judgment always praise the outcome, while the other side condemns the outcome.

It is sad that affairs of the country have become one determined according to the political party one belongs. Merit and reason have left many conversations concerning the state of affairs, only fanatical support for and against the issue in contention.

While I cannot comment on the judgment of the Supreme Court so I don’t fall foul of the same issue this article seeks to address, I will however comment on what the future holds for the unborn generations if this trend continues unchecked. I happen to be a firm believer of merit and competence over familiarity. I believe every Nigerian owes it as a duty and obligation to do the right thing even in the absence of any physical eye watching.

The description and division of ourselves as ‘wailers’ or ‘hailers’ is in itself a setback to the progress of our country. Nigerians must understand and come to terms with the fact that, man by nature is bound to make mistakes irrespective of political party. And when we don’t see anything wrong in personalities, we are loyal too even when they are wrong, then we shoot ourselves in the legs we are supposed to use in moving forward.

Now when a particular order is mostly favourable to only those in powers, then you leave room for doubt, but when a particular order is favourable to all, at the same time, detrimental to all irrespective of party lines or who is running government, then and only then, can the citizens trust and have confidence in the government of the day.

Development and Justice are Siamese twins, one cannot survive without the other, and so for there to be development, there ought to be fairness and equality before the law. We all need to meet at a common ground, where no one feels victimized and discriminated against, just the desire to make mother Nigeria GREAT again.

Half-baked comments from supporters of both sides of the coin does more harm to our beloved country, than good. Constructive criticism is good, not misleading the public through propaganda of sentimental opinion of what one particular person thinks is good because of personal interest.