Ariwoola's Raw Baptism

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, was recently brutally baptized by politicians. In a statement attributed to him that has gone viral and even sparked excoriation from the People's Democratic Party (PDP) faction of presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, the CJN has been credited with stating that he was happy that Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State was among the five party governors loyal to Wike. For those scouring the rubble for dynamites with which to destroy their political opponents, the alleged CJN statement was a perfect nuclear bomb in need of detonation.

However, the Supreme Court (SC) suppressed the explosion of this masterfully prepared nuclear bomb by situating what really happened. For those who had hoped to fan the embers and achieve a conflagration, it was a deflating shock. According to the SC in its rebuttal, the CJN and other senior justice officers from different parts of the country had traveled to Port Harcourt for the commissioning of two buildings of the South-South Liaison Office of the Federal Judicial Service Commission and the Hon. Justice Mary Peter-Odili Judicial Institute, which were built by the Rivers State Government.

In his brief address at a state banquet hosted by the Rivers State government, the CJN, who hails from Oyo State and sees his Governor present, said "he was very surprised to see the "G5 Governors" (Integrity Group Governors), just as he also expressed the same surprise when he saw them in Ibadan, Oyo State, at the reception held in his honor by his state government in October 2022. Part of his surprise came from the fact that he saw his own state governor, Engr Seyi Makinde (who by the way is a member of the G5 governors) on the occasion of Port Harcourt . He also jokingly stated that being this Engr. Makinde married from Rivers State and is also very close to Nyesome Wike, he would be able to replicate the latter's development progress in Oyo State for the benefit of the citizens. »

Now, were it not for the desire to mess with him and smear him for whatever ulterior motives, what sort of journalism would engender the inflection that this statement was given by the agents provocateurs who negatively elasticized it in the audience?

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Judges do not jump from Uranus and therefore also have feelings. It is almost inhuman for anyone not to appreciate development, especially the growth of physical infrastructure. I remember being part of the entourage of an ex-governor of Rotimi Amaechi's Rivers a few years ago. After the visit, I told anyone who would listen that if a southwestern governor completed ten percent of Amaechi's infrastructure work, he would be a hero to his people. So I was not surprised that Ariwoola suffered the same pleasant shock as me. That he wanted the "development progress" made by Wike to be replicated in his home country was simply human.

Those who harangue the CJN for attending political events are only crying wolf. By the nature of his appointment and position, Ariwoola cannot distance himself from politicians. He sits at the top of the judiciary but occupies a position which is not an island in itself. He will constantly rub shoulders with politicians until his last day in office. He can only be informed that the pampering are ill-intentioned individuals who demand blood. Whenever invited to such an event thereafter, only a CJN's social and non-judicial accounts at such event will be forfeited. He will approach such events with a self-imposed taciturnity. Since what the politicians and their mercenaries want is a straight and human-looking CJN, so much the better, right?