Leadership (Abuja)
28 February 2008
Abuja — Mixed reactions have continued to trail the judgment of the presidential election tribunal which upheld the election of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and Vice President Goodluck Jonathan.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York, reports that, while some Nigerians expressed satisfaction, others said they were not happy with the judgement.
A U.S.-based Nigerian engineer, Adekunle Martins, said: " Iam happy with the verdict of the tribunal, at least we are testing our democracy, as well as making efforts to strengthen it".
Martins praised the Nigerian judiciary for "re-awakening itself to the dictates of the rule of law and justice for all".
He advised the contending parties to join hands with the president to stabilise democracy and the rule of law in the country.
Another Nigerian lawyer, Kayode Oladele, who spoke with NAN on telephone from Michigan, said: "I think he decision was in conformity with the weight of evidence before the tribunal and I don't forsee the possibility of it being overturned by the Supreme Court".
Oladele described the judgement as a "positive development from a political stability standpoint".
"However, now that all the aggrieved parties have tested their strength at the tribunal, it is about time for them to close the contest of the ballot and join hands together to nurture our nascent democracy.
"Strengthen the rule of law, constitutional separation of powers and independence of the judiciary, while searching for ways to ensure better electoral process for future elections," he noted.
However, in his reaction, a Nigerian lawyer in New York, Placid Aguwa, described the judgement as "outrageous".
Aguwa said in a statement that, "a candidate of a major political party was "not" on the ballot until a couple of days prior to the election and that is not sufficient ground for a new and fair election."
According to him: "This is very a discouraging development which has the potential of dispiriting the lower election tribunals with pending petitions".
He also said: "The judgement would only encourage future riggings. The Court of Appeal has lost a major opportunity to elevate itself. This is a very sad day for me and most Nigerians".
Other Nigerians encountered in the city advised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and General Muhammadu Buhari to forget about going to the Supreme Court and join hands with the present administration to foster growth and development in the country.
NAN reports that in New York, some Nigerians woke up early to watch the live telecast of the judgement via NTA International network in offices, homes and some Nigerian restaurants in the Big Apple.
Also, diplomats and other workers in Nigeria's Mission to the UN and its consulate in New York came to their offices early in the morning, before office hours, to watch the live transmission of the judgement.
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Nigeria have come a long way without encountering any war due to elections of our public officer. While we appreciate the that the politicians going to court are following the correct procedure, we should not forget that none of the these politicians going to court are actually wanted by the Nigerian common man to rule them.
Tell me if these politicians going to court haven't been given the chance to make a difference before. What did they do? Atiku (a disgrace along with Obasanjo) stained himself. Anyway his evils are living after him. For Buhari, a credible man who did not get enough time to act on his ideas though Nigeria now need a more vibrant younger person to launch and implement the reforms we want in the economy.
Atiku, Buhari, ... your times are over - sorry.
Enoghayin