By Asiwaju Deji Fasuan, MON
SIR: The release from custody of Sowore and Dasuki by the president is the big news around Nigeria. It is bigger than the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ or the festivities that go with the end of the year.
Specifically our newsmen, writers, lead lawyers, freedom fighters and all those struggling to make the headlines are having their day, and I suppose, looking for fresh opportunities to peddle their trade.
But can’t some of us in this country purse a bit, go back a bit and rationalise a bit?
First Sowore. The dual nationality ‘activist’, a journalist in the shadow, wanted to be president of Nigeria. Rightly he contested along others, and made a dismal figure of less than 50,000 at the presidential contest. Admittedly he wanted to make a mockery of the whole exercise, and he succeeded
He went further, calling for a revolution. Mercifully (but probably unknown to the authorities) he did not advocate violent revolution.
However he was caught in the web, the security agents seizing him and curtailing his freedom. Here, government went a little overboard.
He could just have been called and advised, not even warned about his excesses and professed nationalism.
Unfortunately government gave him and thousands of his co-pretenders sufficient leeway to demonstrate and present to the public what they do not have.
Government scored low here, hence the undeserved wild, flamboyant and screening headlines with which we have been assaulted for weeks now.
The case of Dasuki is different completely. Here was a security guru sitting atop a mammoth security apparatus of a struggling democracy, being suspected of colluding with dubious politicians, distributing money and other largesse to politicians with the aim, perhaps of mutilating or manipulating election results.
The charges before the suspect are so grave that his friend and collaborator, the former president should have been called to answer questions or to throw light on the dark corners of the charges brought against the National Security Adviser.
Would a former president, a close associate claim not aware of the phantom purchase of military hardware running into billions of dollars? The problem and tragedy of it all is that in this country all past rulers are worshiped and adored.
They are virtually untouchable. Rather they live the rest of their lives in obscene wealth and undeserved opulence. In other climes many would be in gaol.
Our country faces many problems. One of the most obvious is that as one event emerges, we forget past ones. It is easy to overlook the issues confronting the nation in the events that led to the 2015 national and presidential elections.
People who were entrusted with state security traded our safety and future with opportunistic politicians. Huge bags of money were freely exchanged and principles compromised.
The honour of the country was betrayed, traded and making our country stand on precarious pedestal. These events are easily forgotten now.
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The headlines are only awash with freedom and obedience to court order. The result of course is that these misbehaviors are repeated often and often again so long we can catch the wild headlines of newspapers whose writers do not look back sufficiently or do not dig deep enough.
One of the papers announced hysterically that thenceforth Muhammad Buhari shall be called Major-General (Rtd). May I ask: Is that not his official title on retirement from service? They all must have been disappointed in the apparent non-response of the president to the non-issue! Such pettiness!
Presently even the judiciary is under siege as some court pronouncements do not favour persons whose allegiance to tribe, clan, state is of more importance than speaking the truth.
There is so much contradiction in our society. We hardly stand on principles. Our mood and perception change depending not on right or wrong but on who and from where the subject emerges.
This is not new. We have been on this path for long, and probably shall, for longer.
- Asiwaju Deji Fasuan MON, Ado-Ekiti.
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