By Ifeanyichukwu Ibe
A legal luminary, Barrister Ngozi Olehi, SAN, has called on the Nigerian electorate to contribute in changing the narratives of bad governance in the country by insisting on the emergence of credible leaders at the polls. According to him, power in democratic systems, derives from the voters, as that should be exercised wisely for the good of all.
Barrister Olehi, was addressing newsmen on Saturday, 23rd March at the Rockview Hotels Owerri, during the thanksgiving service and reception celebrating his elevation to the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN); an event that attracted serving and retired Judges, traditional rulers, the clergy, the academic as well as the political and business class.
The Ngor Okpala-born former governorship contestant, also used the opportunity and absolved the judiciary of major blame in the electoral misfortunes in the country, and instead averred that citizens who tread their votes for money or refused to ensure proper documentations during voting and collation processes should be held responsible. He noted that judicial officials are though humans with shortcomings, but insisted that their hands in most cases are tied because of what is presented before them.
Barrister Olehi, regretted that despite undergoing hardships, voters would easily sell their consciences for money only for them to fall back into deeper pains, as he made case for civilized electorate in Nigeria to always do the right thing. According to him, when the right thing is done and followed up, then the judiciary and others in power will have no choice but to respect the will of the people, as he decried preference for bribery over integrity and passion for service unlike in other climes.
“I thank God for this elevation. I also thank the Privileges Committee for finding me worthy to be conferred with such a prestigious rank. It brings me joy to be chosen for this honour. The implication of this is that I will continue to toe the path of diligence, hard work, integrity, honour, commitment and advocacy towards a better society.”
On alleged complicity of the judiciary in the nation’s electoral woes, Barrister Olehi posited: ” Let me tell you, the most important thing in the political system is not the judiciary. It is we the people. If we misbehave at the booths, it ties the hands of the judiciary to further adopt the misbehaviours of the people at the booths. It is a critical situation when people feel disappointed about the performance of the judiciary, while the do not feel disappointed about the performance of INEC.
“I am saying this because the judiciary cannot move from one polling boots to another to find out what is taking place. They have to depend on documentations from the polling boots and the collation centres. If we the people allow wrong documentations to be done, we have simply succeeded in tying the hands of the judiciary. I must confess that there could be mistakes along the line, but it is insignificant compared to the misconduct of we the people at the booths.
“There is this saying that in democracy, the government fears the people, but in autocracy, the people fear the government. So, if we misbehave and refused to take up our responsibilities as ought to be, then the judiciary would be left with wrong documentations. Though as human beings, they have their shortcomings despite their intellectual prowess, but I insist that their shortcomings are not compared with our misbehaviours at the booths, at the collation centres and the overall collation that produces candidates that we groan about.
“I feel sad to see people suffering without knowing that the reversal of their sufferings under a democratic process lies in behaving well and voting rightly. If you vote the wrong person who will go there and steal public funds, then what do you want the judiciary to do?” He used the medium and appreciated those who came to felicitate with him.
