We do not have the space here to go through a great cause celebre, known as The Dreyfus Case. It will however be recalled that in cause and effect, it shook the foundations of French society and highlighted the social pervasions and structural weaknesses of the country's Third Republic.

The Dreyfus affair interwined Judicial errors with obstructions of justice and highlighted the deep-seated anti-semitism and racial prejudice in French society of that time. It was celebrated writer Emile Zola who, in a letter, often described as 'incendiary', to the French President Felix Faure that really brought the affair to the notice of the general public. Published on the front page of L'Aurore - a leading newspaper - on the 13th of January, 1898, the letter graphically denounced the miscarriage of justice. Emile Zola had hoped that his incendiary letter would provoke a writ of libel in return. Unfortunately, the guilty and their collaborators were simply too scared to take the risky route of issuing a libel writ. Fortunately, Zola's letter kicked up a storm, kick-starting a chain of events through which process, justice was eventually done and the miscarriage of justice done to a fine young promising officer reversed.

Crucially, France's Third Republic as well as the upper echelons of French society and its political class had to own up to their own structural, emotional and personal defects. If any good should come out of the recent sordid events in Osun State, it will be that we might eventually see it as our own 'Dreyfus case' which will require society to take a fundamental look at itself and ensure a fundamental correction. From this perspective we cannot but accuse all those who through their acts of omission and commission have put in play the process through which the social fabric has started to disintegrate. What is happening in Osun strikes at the very heart of whatever conception of society we have or thought we had.

A graphic example of the continuing devaluation of the national ethos can be seen in the flippant manner in which Justice Thomas Naron dismissed the expose in The News magazine as not being sufficient to stop the tribunal from delivering judgment. In a stable, sensible 'democracy' the expose in the magazine would have been truly earth shaking. The judge would have gone to extraordinary lengths by making a point-by-point rebuttal of the story. It didn't happen of course, because this is the republic of anything-goes. In other more sensible societies, the judge would have excused himself. During the case of human rights abuses involving the former Chilean dictator, Auguste Pinochet, the British judge reclused himself after it was made known that his wife once worked for the civil liberties organization - Amnesty International. The undermining of the judiciary is not by accident, it is part of a script to reverse whatever gains have been obtained in Nigeria's semi-democracy. With the debasement of standards, Justice Naron obviously need not be bothered. However, everyone else ought to be. With new elections due in 2011, what happens if, (God forbid) people decide to take the Kenyan route? In Kenya, the belief that justice could not be obtained through the courts led to the mantra, "we won't use (President) Kibaki's courts." The end result is well known - 2,000 people dead, 300,000 dislocated and the national economy's biggest foreign exchange earner - tourism - buffeted. We should not embark on a process whereby it could become a possibility here.

The current continuing ascendancy of the forces of retrogression must be arrested. The anti-democratic forces have been on the ascent since the 'years of dangerous living,' which ought to have terminated with the death of the goggle-eyed dictator Sani Abacha. Unfortunately, Abacha's sudden demise and crucially the contrived death in captivity of the symbol of the democratic struggle - Chief M.K.O. Abiola - stumped the entrenchment of the pro-democratic forces. Exhausted, the forces in alignment with democratic aspirations simply took their eyes off the ball. The rest is now history. In a series of maneuvers, those who actually opposed the march to democracy seized the moment, in a contrived and anti-people so-called transition process. It was as if those who collaborated with the apartheid state took over power after the dismantling of apartheid, instead of Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress. We have had cause to warn that the anti-democratic empire is fighting back. Recent events in Osun and elsewhere provide confirmation that we were not being alarmist. It is now obvious that unless those who want a federal, democratic state regroup and fight back, the longevity of even the current 'semi-democracy' we are practicing cannot be assured. The American iconic idol, Andy Warhol, once famously observed that every human being in a lifetime deserved to have seven or so minutes in the spotlight. Justice Naron has had his seven minutes of fame in the spotlight but the consequences of his judgment will haunt this nation for a long time to come.

What needs to be done now is for those in authority to carry out a full investigation of what really happened. Allegations bordering on attempts to subvert the cause of justice cannot and must not be swept under the carpet. If they are not in connivance, those who have been boring us with constant repetitions of their belief in the rule of law must speak out now. Clearing the fog must include obtaining the logs of the MTN telecommunications company in the public interest. If The News magazine has slandered and defamed innocent men and women, it must be made to face the consequences and make restitution. In this case, we can be sure that after a libel trial, punitive damages of such magnitude as to drive the magazine off the streets will be awarded. On the other hand, if indeed there has been an attempt to subvert the course of justice, the Director of Public Prosecutions has his work well cut-out.

Finally J'accusse...! I accuse all those senior members of the bar and of Nigerian society who have so far failed to speak out, of moral cowardice and criminal conspiracy. These things have a way of going round as we have seen in the Rashidi Ladoja case. We must always remember the warning of the valiant pastor Peter Niemollar "when they came for the baker, I did not talk..." It is not just Rauf Aregbesola for whom the bell is tolling in Osun State; all of us could yet pay an unpleasant price.

You never know, perhaps the case of the elections petitions tribunal in Osun State could inadvertently lead to a rebirth. A process of investigation could help to rekindle hope in the democratic process. The aftermath of the Dreyfus case strengthened the judiciary and the legal system in France. It also allowed society to confront its own demons. For all our sakes we can only hope that out of the comic-tragedy in Osun State, perhaps a process that would lead to national purification and a rebirth could just happen.

The contempt which China and Russia have for Africa was expressed in their criminal misuse and abuse of their veto power at the United Nations in defence of the deranged Zimbabwean dictator, Robert Mugabe. As far as these two racist entities are concerned, the Africans can do whatever they like to each other as long as they have access to mineral and other resources. Nothing has actually changed since the conference in Berlin carved up the African continent. Imperialists of all types, in different guises, just keep coming and going.