When the Rule of Law Breaks, So Does the Nation -By Leonard Karshima Shilgba

I have read Mr. Peter Obi’s account of the demolition of his brother’s company property in Lagos with no clear court order, no named defendant, and no lawful notice. It is a tragic story—not because it is rare, but because it is common. What makes this one particularly piercing is not who it happened to, but how effortlessly it happened. This, in a so-called democracy.

When laws no longer govern land and lives, what remains is a jungle of impunity—a marketplace where power is traded, not earned; where fear tramples fairness; and where property, even life, is subject to the whims of invisible hands and nameless forces.

We are in a country where:

* Courts allegedly issue judgments against “unknown persons” with the same ease bandits displace communities.

* Citizens find their homes reduced to rubble without warning, redress, or due process.

* And when questions are asked, no one knows anything—except that orders came from “above”.

This erosion of legal certainty does not just affect the poor. It crushes investment. It drives away capital. It reinforces cynicism. And it hardens the very conditions that keep our nation underdeveloped.

When a man with a name, a business, and a platform is treated this way, what protection is left for the nameless, voiceless, and powerless?

Peter Obi’s experience is not isolated—it is symptomatic. It is the fruit of a decades-long desecration of the rule of law, and of institutions that no longer serve the people but serve the powerful.

We must ask hard questions:

* Who benefits from this breakdown?

* What culture sustains it?

* How long before the fire consumes us all?

Let us remember: A nation is not truly built with bricks and mortar but with justice and the consistent application of law. Laws regulate society, guarantee predictable and reliable uniform outcomes of conduct, and protection of the weak, innocent, and patriotic. I have often heard or been told something like, “Who cares about the law in Nigeria?” or, “Shilgba always talks of Law, Law, who cares?” If we cannot guarantee the protection of life, liberty, and property, we have not a republic, but a well-dressed ruin.

I remain committed to truth, justice, and the reform of our broken systems. The call for a New Nigeria must not be rhetorical. It must be rooted in the reconstruction of law, character, and courage—from the grassroots to the gates of power. The temptation to “japa” is so strong lately in the midst of overwhelming sense of lawlessness that has become pervasive in Nigeria, with preponderance of cheerleaders among even the oppressed themselves who are often eager to carry out even unlawful orders. Who can say to their impunitous ogas, “I am sorry, sir. I cannot carry out your orders because they are brazenly unlawful and inhumane?” We must eat and so our nation can go to ruins, right? Must Nigeria force even some of us, the enduring ones, to join the “japa” queue? And there are scriptural references on the egregious consequences of societal lawlessness:

Hosea 5:6:

“With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord,
But they will not find Him;
He has withdrawn Himself from them.”

This verse expresses divine abandonment due to insincere worship and moral corruption. The people still offered sacrifices, but God had withdrawn Himself because of their lawlessness.

Isaiah 1:15:

“When you spread out your hands,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Even though you make many prayers,
I will not hear.
Your hands are full of blood.”

God’s people are acting religious, but their society is marked by injustice and bloodshed. Hence, God distances Himself.

Jeremiah 14:10:

“Thus says the Lord to this people:
‘Thus they have loved to wander;
They have not restrained their feet.
Therefore the Lord does not accept them;
He will remember their iniquity now,
And punish their sins.’”

Micah 3:4:

“Then they will cry to the Lord,
But He will not hear them;
He will even hide His face from them at that time,
Because they have been evil in their deeds.”

Ezekiel 8:6:

“Son of man, do you see what they are doing,
the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary?”

God shows Ezekiel the idolatries and wickedness taking place in the temple and declares that these drive Him away from His dwelling among the people.

Romans 1:28 (New Testament)

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
God gave them over to a debased mind,
to do those things which are not fitting.”

In Paul’s indictment of societal decay, he notes that God “gave them up” or “gave them over” because of their lawlessness and rejection of truth.

Nigerians, what can we do as our Creator withdraws for our worsening lawlessness without even our prophets, bishops, or overseers noticing?

Hosea 5:6 (NKJV):

“With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord,
But they will not find Him; He has WITHDRAWN Himself from them.”

In Hosea’s time, Israel maintained the appearance of religion. Flocks were brought for sacrifice. Hands were lifted. Lips moved in prayer. But heaven was silent. God had withdrawn.

Why?

Because the people had replaced righteousness with ritual. Justice was crushed in the streets, and leaders—political and religious—made a mockery of truth. So, though they sought God, He was not available. His absence was judgment.

Today in Nigeria, we are approaching that same precipice.

We pray. We fast. We raise hands in churches and mosques. But what if, like from ancient Israel, God has already withdrawn? What if our rituals have become noise to heaven because the land is soaked in injustice, and the temple of our republic is filled with corruption, bloodshed, and impunity?

* Our courts issue judgments against “unknown persons” to legalize land theft.

* Security forces look away while villages are sacked and citizens slaughtered.

* Structures are demolished without due process, and no one takes responsibility.

* The poor groan; the rich laugh; the government blames the people.

This is not just failure of governance—it is the judgment of withdrawal. When God’s restraining hand lifts, lawlessness becomes the new law, and even the righteous suffer when He that restrains, restrains no more and the spirit of the man of lawlessness dominates a community or society!

But Is There Hope?

Yes. Hosea does not end in withdrawal. Later, he writes:

“Come, and let us return to the Lord;
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bind us up.”
(Hosea 6:1)

Nigeria must return—not to shallow religion, but to righteousness:

* Where the law protects all, not just the powerful.

* Where human life is sacred, not negotiable at the table of compromise and meetings of mutual convenience.

* Where the government is accountable, not arrogant.

Until then, no amount of national prayer breakfasts will reverse the spiritual withdrawal. God is not mocked. A nation that embraces lawlessness cannot host His presence.

Let those who fear God and love truth speak—and act—before the judgment becomes permanent.

A nation God has left is worse than a nation at war.

© Shilgba