Rule of law is sacred in a civilized society

If there is one important factor that draws a line between civilization and barbarism, it is the rule of law. This article draws heavily on the editorial published in the BusinessDay newspaper on August 28, 2018, with the headline “Dear PMB, the rule of law is sacrosanct in democracy.” Affirmative, the rule of law is sacred in a democracy. This is so because democracy is complex and it is the supremacy of the rule of law that allows citizens to enjoy the dividends of democracy. It is the failure of successive governments to give pre-eminence to the rule of law that is responsible for pathetic national security challenges we face today. This writer does not think that Mr President is unaware that the rule of law is sacred in a democracy.
Unfortunately, when important national issues are brought to the “altar of politics”, anything goes. As usual, Nigerians and the entire international community got the shock they never expected after Mr President’s declaration that the rule of law is subject to national security and national interest. The ricocheting effect of the declaration has stimulated debates among civil right activists, media, academia and prospective investors interested in the good of the Nigerian society. Without the rule of law, which investor will come and buy into the remaining 95 percent of the total cost of the planned national carrier- Nigeria Air? Your guess is as good as that of this writer.
If Aristotle and Plato were present on Sunday August 26, 2018, at the Nigerian Bar Association Annual General Conference, Abuja, where Mr President delivered his homily, these Greek philosophers would have been disappointed. Why, you may ask? These Greeks would have been saddened that the helmsman of the most populous black nation in the world has not come to terms with the fact that in a democracy, the rule of law is supreme to the rule of men.
In fact, Plato was so passionate about the rule of law that he theorized in his book titled “Laws” that “Where the law is subject to some authority and has none of its own, the collapse of the state in my view, is not far off; but if law is the master of the government and the government is its slave, then the situation is full of promise and men enjoy all the blessings that the gods shower on a state.” On the part of Aristotle, he professed in his book “The Politics” that: “He who asks law to rule is asking God and intelligence and others to rule; while he who asks for the rule of a human being is bringing in a wild beast, for human passions are like a wild beast and strong feelings lead astray rulers and the very best of men.” So, can any nation choose to live outside the rule of law? Negative, except those nations under authoritarian rule. Without the rule of law, the judiciary would not be independent, there will be no judicial control over the police, while those related to individuals opposed to the government are likely to be guilty of association.
The major cause of insecurity in the country is the inability of those that have been in governments for several years to rule by the law. The wisdom required to rule is contained in all relevant statutes of the country. So, when Festus Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who doubles as official spokesperson of Mr President’s 2019 re-election bid drew the attention of the public in his Twitter account to one judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria as the authority for the homily delivered by Mr President vis-à-vis national security, this writer laughed. Why? The official spokesperson’s justification is akin to using one verse in the Holy Bible (Book of the Law) out of 31,102 verses to persuade an unbeliever to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. May heavens deliver Nigeria from the vices of men in the corridor of power at this critical moment of nationhood.
So who determines national security and national interest? In any civilized society, both are products of the rule of law. National interests are the country’s goals and ambitions whether economic, military, and cultural amongst others, which the country will use available resources to secure and fulfill. National interest deals with the welfare of the nation and preservation of its national lifestyle. Such interests will include but not limited to defence of our territorial integrity, the preservation of independence and sovereignty, utilizing resources of the country in the most efficient manner and welfare of citizens. All these are covered in relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria. That is why it is often said that the rule of law determines national interests, not vice versa. And without Nigerians there is no Nigeria. What then constitute national security? National security is the protection of the interest and values of a nation against threats.
With profound respect, this writer feels that our political leaders should be pitied because most of them are products of illegitimate military regimes of the past. As products of authoritarian regimes, most of our political leaders always monopolize the definitions of national security and national interest along with their political and bureaucratic supporters. It is for this reason that those in authority identify what factors constitute threat to them according to their conception of security. And thereafter, perceive national security as being conterminous with “regime security.” Instead of looking at national security largely to cover security of the nation and its citizens as a whole, it is narrowed down to the interests and survival of that particular regime.
A time traveller visiting Nigeria after forty years of his or her first visit would have seen today that the disregard for the rule of law has brought the country on her knees to the level of insecurity, economic adversity, executive lawlessness, gross human right abuse, and rampant corruption. If the war against all these internal security challenges were to be won, it would require strict adherence to the rule of law, not the rule of rulers.
MA Johnson