A THREAT TO OUR DEMOCRACY.

On Monday 24th Oct, 2016, 'National Judicial Commission (NJC) "Bar media from reporting petitions against judges "(page 10,THE PUNCH). This newsline should have jerked the entire nation to its feet.
 
This is a draconian decision taken by the NJC, it is called gagging the press from performing their legitimate duties, and the press is constitutionally recognised all over the world as the Fourth Estate of The Realm.

In other words, in a democracy, the press is the fourth arm of government after the Executive, Legislative and the Judiciary. What irks us is that in 1984, when Nigeria's military Head of State Major General Muhammadu Buhari promulgated Decree 4, which gagged the press from reporting slanderous stories against public officials, many Nigerians and civil society groups rose against that decree in total condemnation.

They said the decree was anti-democratic as well as uncivil and barbaric- their  favorite word for the decree was 'obnoxious'. Infact, Nigeria's corrupt elite and their pedestrian followers have always used the promulgation of that decree to campaign against PMB in the 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 presidential elections! What do we have now?

If the Judiciary, that very arm of government that should be perceived and seen as very transparent and above board in all aspects is now (in a democracy) attempting to gag the press from doing their lawful duties regarding the men and women of the judiciary, then we can sadly say that the judiciary has become a threat to the democracy.

They should have been at the forefront of protection. And this surely means they really have rotten skeletons they want  to hide from the public. scrutiny!.

The press and Nigerians should refuse and resist this (backyard) Decree 4, All Nigerians with enough decency and sense of propriety should stand against, refuse and resist it. If Decree 4 was wrong in 1984 it cannot be right in 2016 under and guise!

We are RENAISSANCE PROGRESSIVE INITIATIVE (RPI), and we just wanna make a common sense!


 RPI....................Mission Rekindled.