LAW IS AN ASS - THE CASE OF NAFIF’U BALA GOMBE AND ADC, THE PRESIDENT HAS TO BE CAREFUL

Dr. Amali taught me English Literature in the University of Maiduguri in 1981. One day in class, he asked us to read a novel titled Oliver Twist, a 1838 book written by Charles Dickens. Many of my friends rushed and bought the book because of the title. They thought the book was about ass - the humman buttocks.

When I finished reading the book, what was clear in it was that the book was about ass quite alright. However what is also clear is that in the traditional and standard English language usage, the word ‘ass’ means a donkey or a fool.

Over time however, a slang vocabulary had emerged in the use of English and the term ‘ass’ became a reference to both the animal (donkey) or, colloquially, to a human's buttocks; especially woman’s buttocks.

So from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, the phrase “the law is an ass” simply refers to the situations when the law is applied too rigidly or too flexibly that it becomes blind to the realities on the ground and the requirements for justice.

It is based on this that I want to use this opportunity to warn President Tinubu, Nigerian lawyers, INEC chairman Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, a distinguished Prof. of Law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, our 36 governors and the National Assembly that when applied too rigidly the law can be blind to the realities on the ground and the requirements for justice. And that the rigid, stubborn, or illogical application of legal rules that run contrary to common sense, justice, or reality is dangerous; especially considering the realities of what is on ground in Nigeria.

If the Court of Appeal, the President and Nigerian lawyers support what INEC has done, and apply the law too technically or without regard to human context, the law will behave with the "stubbornness of a donkey" since any law can be directed and manipulated by those in power, acting as a "donkey" that goes wherever it is led, rather than following the path of justice. Those around the president should inform him this. The clock is ticking. We love this nation. No election should hold in 2027 without the ADC. This is not negotiable.

Yes the law may be an ass, but lawyers must resist the temptation to be assholes.