OUR attention has been drawn to the unfortunate skewed social media interpretation inflicted upon the innocuous speech made by Hon. Justice Mary Odili CFR, retired Justice of the Supreme Court, during the colloquium organized in Abuja on Friday 1st September, 2023 to mark the 25th anniversary of Chief Joe Kyari Gadzama as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. The event was themed: “The Nigeria of our Dreams: A Call to the Patriots”. Since then, some mischievous conflict entrepreneurs have been hosting comments from persons determined to force her speech to fit jaundiced narratives and political nuances. Justice Mary Odili spoke like one “who saw something and said something” without minding whose ox was gored.
In her speech, the learned retired Jurist acknowledged that the 2023 general elections “generated a storm” and advised all those who were not declared victorious in the elections to toe the line of legality and follow the rules of law, in expressing their dissatisfaction through appropriate channels and not “pull down the roof of the nation” because of its far-reaching consequences on every one, including all agitators, regardless of what side of the fence they found themselves. Surely, this is common sense advice.
