Not their finest hour

By Sanya Oni

To the hawks in the Buhari administration, not least its legion of allies, the events of the past week must have revealed its real essence. For an administration often accused of being on the ‘sleep mode’ when things truly important are at play, not only did the administration demonstrate that it could truly bite, there was something perceptively familiar both in its ways and means to suggest that a new but no less familiar chapter may also be in the offing. Now, if the ‘extraordinary rendition’ of the IPOB chieftain, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, with its accompanying wild guesses, was not dramatic enough, the pre-dawn swoop on the Ibadan residence of the Yoruba activist, Sunday Igboho should leave no one in doubt about the fouled mood at the Villa as indeed the crude resort to gung-ho tactics.

Triumphalism. Understandably, that appears to describe the mood at the highest levels of government at the moment. Yes, the government’s spokesman, Lai Mohammed, spoke of “one of the most classic operations of its type in the world” to describe the interception (?) of Nnamdi Kanu.

Said he: “What we can tell you, once again, is that the re-arrest was made possible by the diligent efforts of our security and intelligence agencies, in collaboration with countries with which we have obligations”.

As if to further drive home the point about triumphalism, he said the man “was travelling on chartered private jets, living in luxury apartments and turning out in designing clothes and shoes…” Not of course leaving the tiny bit about his Fendi attire, the luxury Italian fashion brand, which he donned at the point of arrest.

Now, that was the official line. Finest hour? Debatable. Diligent efforts? Here, the devil might yet be in the details which for now are still in the realm of speculation. Where was he picked from? Is it Kenya, Brazil or Ethiopia? No one can affirm with any certainty – which is not surprising given the rather unusual, but highly complicated process claimed by our high officials. Are we dealing with extra-ordinary rendition –otherwise called irregular rendition or better still, forced rendition – a phenomenon of government-sponsored abduction and extrajudicial transfer of a person from one country to another with the purpose of circumventing the former country’s laws on interrogation, detention, extradition and/or torture! Why that seems highly probable, the only thing that could be said with some certainty is that the man, Kanu was brought into the country under extraordinary circumstances.

That leads us to the matter of the other ‘fugitive’, Sunday Igboho, whose residence was savagely violated by security agencies last Thursday. Again, what do we know? Nothing of course, beyond the official version of events. First is that the attack was actually staged by security agencies. This is important because in April, the same Sunday Igboho had sounded the alarm of an imminent siege on his residence only to be promptly denied by the security agencies. No less chilling is that the attack was carried out in the dead of the night – some say around 1:00 a.m. that Thursday, which seems rather odd particularly as Nigerians were not told of an earlier invite that was spurned by the Yoruba activist. Third, that some lives – the number is still disputed – were lost none of which included the security men in what was claimed to be an hour-long shoot-out between Igboho’s men and the security agencies. Talk of a military-style operation – as against simple law enforcement, in which everything from vehicles to other valuable properties including furniture, and windows were fair game. And finally, that some arrests were made, just as a cache of arms were recovered. Suffice to say that every other detail from that point on, not only became a matter of conjecture but subject of claims and counterclaims.

In both accounts, the common narrative is one of a government that has not only run out of patience with agitators but now well prepared to deploy any means necessary – including extra-constitutional measures – to assert its will. The world of course is watching as to where all of these are leading to. Meanwhile, trust Nigerians to offer to offer the counter narrative that had the same government shown the same zeal in dealing with the matter of criminal herders as indeed the number of the countless issues underlying the secessionist angers, perhaps the nation wouldn’t have to be dealing with the likes of Igboho et al.

For now, we can only wonder as to the extent to which the Buhari administration will be willing to go. However, if its antecedents are any indication, Nigerians had better get ready for more of the shock treatments as the administration strives to bend the law for some narrow, self-serving ends. Imagine an administration that had no compunction in getting the SSS to violate the supposedly inviolable quarters of senior judges to have even far less restraints in dealing with the purveyors of activism deemed, in its own specious eyes, as treasonable. In other words, the ordeal of Messrs Kanu and Igboho might well be a dress rehearsal for the shape of things to come.

This is where Nigerians should be alarmed. To be sure, it is not a question of whether one loves or hates Nnamdi Kanu or Sunday Igboho; or even the ideologies they propound. For while such fangled phrases as ‘self-determination’ and ‘secession’ or even its milder variant ‘resource control’ have become something of a fad or even a signature badge among the hordes of activists of every shade and hue, for the majority, the quest which is supposed its ultimate derivative is simply no more than mere concepts of idle curiosity.

Nonetheless, the Buhari government, in approaching the different elements that have dared to challenge the current iniquitous federal arrangement, has oscillated between being selective to being deferential. It explains why a certain ‘Government’ – a one-time ‘fugitive’ will sneeze from his Creek redoubt only for the Buhari administration to catch cold; the other day, it was the uncommon minister, Godswill Akpabio forced to bow to Mr. Government on the matter of NDDC Board – something that the law and the constitution could not get him to do!

We also know of a certain Sheik Gumi who while in dalliance with heavily armed bandits would not resist a photo-op in the presence of security agencies. Yet, he still finds ample time to throw darts at our almighty military. Apparently, some crimes are more criminal than others; otherwise, we would not have the midnight raid on the residence of Igboho while those frolicking with bandits and terrorists are out there sermonizing. So, when Nigerians talk of unequal justice, they mean the differential perception of what is supposed to be crime and punishment in Nigeria’s unequal republic.