Trial by video
By Levi Obijiofor
IN politics, the value of every high profile politician is as unpredictable as the value of ordinary non-blue chip stocks in the stock market. A politician who attracts high value in the political market today could watch his value tumble overnight. And so it is with suspended Governor Joshua Dariye of Plateau State. As far as the Presidency is concerned, Dariye is as useless as a used-car. Anyone can have Dariye but not the Presidency. It's not just the Presidency that has distanced itself from Dariye; the hierarchy of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) wants to distance itself also from a former political jewel in the Middle Belt. In the skullduggery style of politics within the PDP leadership, Dariye is being demonized because he allegedly dipped his fingers into a public honey pot and his hands were found stuck in that pot. Politicians never learn. In politics, it is easier to fall from grace than it is to achieve fame. All a high profile politician needs is one stupid act of self-aggrandisement and his/her dream world becomes a nightmare.
Within the hierarchy of the PDP, political chicanery is regarded as an unofficial party slogan. A man who is lionized today could become a villain tomorrow. Look around and you will find similar instances: from former governor of Anambra State Chinwoke Mbadinuju to the present but embattled governor, Chris Ngige. These are men who fell out with the PDP leadership and the presidency although not in the same circumstances as Dariye. In Anambra State, President Olusegun Obasanjo and his advisers have boxed themselves into an impious and inelegant corner - worsened by their obvious biases and wrong-headed interpretation of judicial pronouncements. It is in Anambra State that Obasanjo and his Inspector-General of Police exposed their weird interpretation of which judicial pronouncement to implement and which to ignore, in regard to the question of restoring the police orderlies to the state governor.
It is in Anambra State that Obasanjo finds it convenient to play politics of vendetta " those who are not in his camp are perceived as enemies and are routinely deprived of their constitutional entitlements. And Obasanjo presents himself to the nation as a devout Christian, a man of religion; a God-fearing man who is guided in his actions by the virtues of justice, fairness, morality, forgiveness, forthrightness and steadfastness. It is these contradictions, embodied in our hypocritical president, that make it harder for the majority of the people to subscribe to Obasanjo's brand of Christianity. Those who preach the words of God must lead by examples, not by precepts. Owing to his inability to practise what he preaches, Obasanjo's political opponents have long argued, perhaps justifiably, that Obasanjo uses religion as a cover - to shield his flaws, his failures in office and the contradictions inherent in his government's policies.
In Plateau State, Dariye typifies a common metaphor in international relations - the notion that there are no permanent enemies or friends but permanent interests. Dariye has watched his political fortunes plummet. To cap his humiliation, he has watched heavy weights in his party bargain endlessly for his dismissal and how that plan should be executed. Determined not to wait for further dithering within the PDP, the federal government is wielding the axe and is waiting to deliver the final blow to end Dariye's political career. It will not be an easy battle though. There are formal constitutional procedures to adopt in removing an elected governor. There are political interests and state legislators to be convinced about the veracity of the allegations against the suspended governor.
Bidding for Dariye's luscious governorship post appears stalled in the political stock market, as the federal government tries to use all means to remove him from office. So far, the government has found it difficult to amass enough damaging evidence to mount a successful challenge in the courts to unseat the elected governor. Which is why the federal authorities have suddenly resorted to the Sani Abacha era style of using video clips as evidence to destroy the integrity of their enemies. But Dariye is determined not to lose his job without giving the Presidency a good fight. His value may have dropped in the weighing scales mounted in Abuja but Plateau State legislators still rate Dariye as valuable as a brand new car.
The idea that the federal government should whip out suspect video clips and use the contents as evidence of corruption against an elected governor is scary. If the government could use this weapon against a state governor, consider what the government might do to silence ordinary people who refuse to toe the government's official line. This secret practice is against democratic principles and values. The federal government's latest resort to trial by video should remind us all of how Sani Abacha used truncated video evidence to humiliate his former deputy General Oladipo Diya and other top ranking members of his military junta. Since that incident, Nigerians are a lot wiser when a suspect video is used to discredit enemies of the government. In this age of new technologies, there is evidence of digital manipulation of images in many forms. If the government was convinced that it had the video evidence against Dariye, the government should proceed to the courts, not call a surreptitious meeting of legislators to sway their judgment on Dariye's guilt.
The Speaker of the suspended Plateau State House of Assembly, Simon Lalong, was right when he implied to journalists that Dariye could not be removed without observing proper procedures slated for impeachment of a governor. The challenge for the federal government is simple: if there is sufficient evidence to warrant a push for the impeachment of Dariye, the government should recall the suspended House of Assembly and present the evidence to the House. The rest should be left to the legislators to determine how Dariye should be removed, if the evidence is convincing enough.
The federal government must be worried that it has allowed the speaker of the suspended Plateau State House of Assembly to deliver a lecture to the government on how to observe constitutional procedures in a democracy. His words: "It is the duty of the Assembly to investigate and take appropriate decision if there is any allegation against the governor or any other public figure in the state...the House could not just conclude based on mere allegation... if Obasanjo restores democratic structure, we will tell them to come and play the video for necessary action if possible, we can go to London to investigate on our own." Wise words from a man who has been and still is on suspension for the past six months! You would expect that a government that employs legal minds would receive the best advice on the correct procedure to adopt in this matter.
Trial by video is the same as trial by the media. It is a one-sided trial. It denies the accused person justice and a level playing field, including fair hearing. Dariye might be guilty. Dariye might be innocent. The jury is still out on this issue. No matter how long it takes, the judicial process should be allowed to play itself out. We are in a democracy, not under military dictatorship. It is a measure of how desperate the government is to remove Dariye that it has resorted to this sleazy and reprehensible style of trial by video. If the video contains irrefutable evidence against Dariye, the evidence should be tendered in court or to the House of Assembly (when it resumes). But the video must not be used in a selective manner to exacerbate the allegations against Dariye or to cast further aspersions on his integrity when he has not been convicted by a court of law.
