1. Every action brings an effect. There is no escaping of it.
2. Nigeria politicians particularly those less concerned about good governance focus on getting majority votes from the poor and the uninformed of the society who they can easily deceive and buy over with a few Naira. This is the reason some politicians say that most of their supporters are not social media. I do not mean that that all who are not on social media are uninformed and/or poor, but that most informed, and people of means in Nigeria are on social media.
3. It is the informed that lead the building of societies and drive the course of development. So, it is a certitude that any candidate in a political contest that receives majority votes from the informed of the society is a better option in terms of qualification, competence, and capacity to deliver. It is the informed of the society has the capacity to identify these qualities, the uninformed don’t.
4. Ordinarily, the winner of an elections is decided by ballot, not the gavel. However, the purpose of the election petition tribunal is not to invalidate the verdict of the ballot, but to extricate using the power of the gavel, evidenced manipulations and rigging that led to the declaration of a wrong candidate as the winner. This is unarguably the reason the CJN advised the tribunal judges to avoid deciding any petition based on technicalities but on their substance.
5. Logically, basing tribunal judgement on technicalities would amount to trashing the intentions expressed in the ballots, thwarting of the will of the people, and making a complete waste of the national resources expended in conducting the elections.
6. As Nigerians await the judgement of the PEPT, the court of public opinion seem noticeably clear about what the face of justice will look like.
7. Whether the judgement of the PEPT declares an outright winner, or orders a re-run, the ultimate outcome will take the form of a double-edge-reward; one blunt, the other sharp. The blunt edge represents an outcome in line with the will of the people. The impact is easily very predictable. The sharp edge stands for an outcome that is against the will of the people. Being sharp, it will be difficult to predict how deep its cut will run into Nigeria’s flesh and bones.
8. Nigerians are eagerly expecting the honourable justices to exercise the authority of the gavel in validating the will of the people, as expressed on February 25, 2023, barring evidenced manipulations and rigging.
9. It is this eagerness for justice that invigorates Nigerians to be so interested in the proceedings at the Tribunal, hence the
#AllEyesOnTheJudiciary campaign.
