Osun 2022 guber: Truth and justice

By Hon. Rotimi Makinde

Truth most time is very thought provoking and with it, some can even elicit just commentaries or attract positive reactions, especially when it is not viewed within the prism of bias or sentiment. Sadly, social media lately has made things worse through opinions laced with unreasonable prejudices.

In fact, if the Creator stood before a million men with the light of a million lamps, only a few would truly see Him because the truth is already alive in their hearts. Truth can only be seen by those with truth in them. He or She who does not have truth at heart will always be blind to everything that comes his or her way.

The election between Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and Sen. Ademola Adeleke has come and gone, and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has subsequently declared Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate as the winner, today the result is being challenged with attendant controversies at both camps.

The big question however is that, should the person who lost his precious diamond not look for it? Or the man whose precious diamond was stolen not cry for justice? The case is now before the Tribunal and justice must be seen to be accordingly served.

In the eyes of the petitioner, everything is true and nothing but the truth, to the defendant, in this case, the PDP, the truth is always stronger in the end, and so to them as people who felt cheated, they must stand up and fight for it.

Now, as much as we cannot examine or determine all the basic truths of the matter as laid down before the Tribunal of competent jurisdiction, one thing is however sacrosanct, and that is justice, which must be seen to be accordingly served and its our expectation that there would be no victim of miscarriage of justice in this instance.

Without sentiment, I want to believe what the public so wishes for, is justice. To seek justice is to seek the truth of the matter. Meanwhile, have they both played the game of the election as stipulated by the rule of the game? If the answer is No, then who among them circumspect the situation to its advantage and for the Tribunal to dispense justice without fear or favor? This is the most ideal thing I believe in. We should seek truth over a lie; we all should seek justice over injustice; we should jettison sentiment and seek righteousness over the rewards of evildoers, and we should respect our conscience and love our Creator more than we love power.

If Governor Oyetola, a gentleman who has all the power as a sitting Governor and a member of the ruling class which controls the Army, the Police, Navy, and Airforce within his jurisdiction went into the election without maximizing the instruments of the state at his disposal is today crying for justice and he and his party so approached the Tribunal to seek justice, can we then say he does not deserve justice if he has his fact? The answer is No. On the order hand, the burden to prove otherwise or contrary must be well disposed off by the opposition. The PDP must simply tell the whole world that we are as clean as the snow both in whom they presented as candidates and in their conduct before, during and after the election.

Caroline Kennedy submitted that, “The bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law and that means we have to have an independent judiciary, judges who can make decisions independent of the political winds that are blowing.”

Whichever way the pendulum eventually swings what really matters most is the fact that truth must never be murdered, while society must learn to live above sentiments and to equally accept reality when it comes, especially at a time like this.

However, the public must not be hostile to the truth of the matter and must as well be ready to embrace justice and hold unto the fact, no matter whose ox is gored. This without contradiction is a justifiable attempt to prepare the minds of the puplic ahead of justice in Osun State so that posterity will be kind to us all and the temple of justice will also not be desecrated.

Hon. Rotimi Makinde wrote from Ile-Ife, he once represented Ife Federal Constituency at the Federal House of Representatives from 2011 – 2015.