I remember how many times it was drilled into our ears from elementary to high school, about the supremacy of the law, its functions and the roles of every individual plays in upholding the law. We never truly understood the purpose of the law while growing up but we were aware of its existence. The society is such a large place filled with individuals with different kinds of personality and perspective. Despite our differences, somehow we find ways to live in harmony together, you think it is an act of love or nationality, it is not.
In one of the arguments of Thomas Hobbes social contract theory, he made emphasis on the chaotic nature of humans, which is the reason why we sort out a more stable solution, to subject ourselves to a centralised authority and make laws that bids us in order to keep our chaotic nature in check. Does it not sound sad that we gave up our individual freedom for safety of our lives and property and yet we still end up like this.
The central authority we acknowledge to be in charge of maintaining law and order is known as the government. We are quite of aware of the fact that the government is also made of humans, so we made sure the law is above the government. Though it depends on the structure of government of a country operates by but the law is still meant to rule supreme above all but it is not what we have now, is it?
I have always mentioned the fact that there will never be anything called a perfect system of government, every system of government is subjected to human obedience and the moment we choose not to follow the rules and regulations offered by a system of government, it is just a matter of time before such system crumbles.
In a country like mine, we operate a democratic government, which consists of three different arms of government, the executive, legislature and judiciary - each having its own unique functions, to ensure there is a balance in the use of authority and application of the law. But what happens when one of this arms goes rogue?
In my own country, the most notable figure is the president, the highest form of authority in the executive and in the country at large but then, even with such authority, whoever is occupying the seat must understand and obey the law that bids the division of power among the arms of government but in a case where the president reigns supreme above all other arms of government, the concept of division of power sounds like a joke.
In such a case, the judiciary becomes a play thing for the president, since they also play a large role in the appointment of the chief judge. It becomes a story of "he who plays the pipe dictates the tone". There has been numerous times when supreme court gives a verdict but instead of it to be obeyed, our so called leaders, the government chose to disregard it, like is nothing but then, when a regular civilian choose to disobey the law they will surely make an issue out of it.
As a result of this constant disregard of the law by the government, individuals have more faith in knowing a person that holds power in the state than have faith in the law. It is just the reality of things because the law can't save anyone, there is no one to enforce it, it is just a tool for the elite politicians to oppress and manipulate the masses. This is no longer something the government do in hiding, it has become obvious to everyone in the country.
Recently, there is a case about our president editing the provisions of the new tax policy after it has been approved by the national assembly. It is the most embarrassing thing a president could ever do and yet he did it so publicly without caring about the law or public back slash. If this is not an atrocity backed, sponsored and promoted by the government, I don't know what else is.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled Government sponsored in hive learners community.
Cover image - 𝖣𝖾𝗌𝗂𝗀𝗇𝖾𝖽 𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖼𝖺𝗇𝗏𝖺
Image 1
Image 2
