Dayo Sobowale

The raging news like the raging killing pandemic in Nigeria is the presidential probe of   Ibrahim  Magu, Nigeria’s anti-corruption boss of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),  our  very  powerful anti- corruption   flagship.

In  journalism, there  is a common saying that ‘when a dog bites a man it is no news,  but when a man  bites a dog ‘then  that is news. That really is the plight of the man at the helm of affairs of   the EFCC  in the  present  FGN committed anti-corruption war. To  me,  his trial is evidence  that the  Buhari  government has not gone to sleep on its self-set goal  to  fight corruption  to a standstill,   as it has certainly  done on the issue of security and supply  of electricity to Nigerians.

Today,   my focus  is  on the anti- corruption war  in Nigeria  and I say  again  that the trial  of the EFCC  boss  in  the presidency with  the media  locked  out but with  news and allegations  of   corruption  filtering out in a media trial  of  sorts,  shows  quite clearly that  there is no sacred cow in the Buhari  government  anti – corruption   war. As usual, I expect  the opposition  PDP  to attack  the government more on corruption.  But now  that  the EFCC boss  himself  is being probed  and a  governorship  aspirant of the ruling APC in Edo State,  Mr   Ize  Iyamu is  in  court on allegations of fraud  of  700m naira,  so soon after the ruling   party guber primaries,  I  do  not see how the PDP can still  insist that  the government  is only hounding opposition figures in its  anti- corruption war.

Certainly war, any war, is a messy  bloody  business on any  front and on any issue and some wise guy has cracked wisely   that  ‘war  is politics continued  by other means ‘. That is the approach I take  on  today’s analysis  of  events and issues  in the last week. Of  course we will  discuss this Magu Probe. I will  also  discuss the praises showered  on the outgoing Chinese  Ambassador in Nigeria by the Nigerian  government praising China  for its huge infrastructural support  for  Nigeria  during the tenure of the Chinese diplomat in  Nigeria. We shall also look at the American President Donald Trump’s July  4 Independence Day speech  in which he literally declared war on those he called anarchists destroying statues of great Americans and in which  he condemned  those  he said are using the’ Cancel Culture ‘ to denigrate and desecrate  American heroes and stifle free speech in the US. This really is not only  Trump’s own anti-corruption war,  it is the basis  of his campaign to be reelected in the November 2020  presidential elections just  four months away. These then are the issues we will decipher today.

Indeed the trial   of the EFCC  boss   has shown  that  corruption can really fight back powerfully not only from  outside  of  government  but even  within it,   as the  probe has shown.  Certainly, the prosecutor in this Magu Probe is the Attorney General of the Federation Mr.  Abubakar  Malami SAN,  who is the Chief  Legal  officer of the land. It  is noteworthy that  part of the allegations against  the EFCC boss was the   reported  leaking of details of the EFCC cases  to the media   as well  as insubordination.

Now, the EFCC  boss   is having a dose of his medicine even  though   the media  so far  has been  barred  from his trial.  Of  course some   senators who have cases  with the EFCC   will  be happy with the predicament  of the anti -corruption boss,  but that surely   is  fake  news,   because with or without him in charge,  the government through its  Chief Legal  Officer, has shown  that there is no sacred  cow in the war  against  corruption,  and the legislature is not  a  legal  sanctuary  against  corruption in this government. That indeed was why the Senate never approved Magu’s appointment as required by law as he has been acting ever since he was appointed before his rumored suspension and present predicament. His trial and the shocking revelations have shown that he has not heard of the Shakespearian injunction that ‘Caesar’s wife must  be above reproach‘. All  the same,  he should be given  a fair trial according to the rule of  law  and presumed  innocent  until  proven otherwise. That  is the only  way  that  government  can  show that in the fight  against  corruption,  which  is a major goal  of  this  government; ’those  who  live in glass  houses  should  not  throw stones‘. That certainly  is the moral of this evolving  EFCC  probe saga.

We go now to the commendation of the Chinese Ambassador by Nigeria officials    praising China for infrastructural support in Nigeria. Nothing  wrong with that except  that  he should   have been  reminded that Nigerians are shocked  by the messy treatment given Nigerian students  in China at the outbreak  of his  global   pandemic  which US   President  Donald  Trump  has called  a Chinese  virus. Nigerian students in China   were racially discriminated against and some ejected from campuses.  That  is a sore  and    ugly  story  on  China.

Secondly  on,   China’s  support  is no free  lunch   and government  should  be wary  because  the  Chinese   always    make sure their  loans are  paid  as at when due  and do not give free  loans. They  have seized airports  and  sea ports  from   some nations  in  Asia   which   could not redeem their  loans  when  due. Even in Nigeria they have been hostile in treating Nigerian workers and many Nigerians are not happy with  that. The   Ambassador  should  have been  told that on his way  out that Nigerians deserve respect  both here  at home and more so  in  China as  citizens  of a sovereign nation with  equal  rights  with  any  Chinese in any part  of the world.  That  really  is the  essence  of diplomacy  and the  duty  of  diplomats  all  over  the world.

We  go on to  the US  where in   a rather interesting manner US President Donald Trump  deliberately   forgot  the pandemic  and declared war on those he called the radical  left   on July  4.  In  his widely published speech  he said  ‘We  are now in the process  of defeating the radical left, the anarchist, the agitators, the looters‘  and people he said had no clue on what they  are  doing. Of   course  the American  people by now know that their president is an unusual  one  and a perennial  verbal  war  monger  on many issues including the pandemic and his weapon of choice,  peculiar  to him is Tweeter, a technology that  appeared at the beginning of his tenure   and   which he has used  massively  and effectively  to fight  the opposition against  him  till  the raging pandemic broke his  stride  in the run up to this November presidential  election.

Trump  is trying his best  to deride the achievements and protests of Black Lives Matter by diverting attention to history  and the preservation of statues of former American presidents, generals and politicians whose statues and legacies are being pulled  down because they had slaves in their time. It  is a fast  political  diversion and it is his own way of salvaging  his reelection plans, especially,   as his opponents are using  his handling and defiance  of the severity of the  pandemic to campaign furiously  against   him.  This  has  made  the election four  months away  a do or die matter  for both  parties  in this   November presidential  election. If  Trump  gets to win  and be reelected this  year, he certainly will  be  regarded  as the Houdini  of US  Politics and  his  statue  will  surely  be in the Garden  of  Heroes he promised on July 4   2020  to create in 2021.  That means he is confident of reelection in  November 2020.

Once again, From the fury of this raging pandemic, Good Lord  deliver  Nigeria.

 

Dayo Sobowale

 

I take a ride today at the expense of the concept of separation of powers which is the underlying principle of the presidential system of government being practised in both the US and  Nigeria.

Indeed,  these  are trying times for the practice of separation of powers given the nature and personalities of the two  presidents of both nations.

The  Nigerian President is withdrawn, aloof but  quite  calculating and has maintained a modicum of political  stability even though in terms of insecurity, the killings in many parts of the nation especially the North where he comes from, make the country    look  like an entity  threatening   to collapse  like a pack  of cards.

In  fact  the ruling party that  he heads and leads is battling with a Trojan  horse that  has infiltrated it  roundly  such that  I tremble  at  its survival and   unity of purpose  at this point in time.

The American President  on the other  hand has taxed the workability and efficiency of the separation  of powers  system  in   the US   so   much with legal  issues and has been  so  absorbed  in his reelection in November 2020 that  great  doubts are   being raised that  he may not abide or accept the results of the 2020 US  presidential  elections,  if he loses.

Which  is  a very  cataclysmic prospect  for a United States that  is the nation that really gave  the world the gift of the presidential  system to  ensure and enshrine that  power is not abused,  or   misused, such  that    a dictatorship will  arise in any democracy  worthy of  that  name.

But  benign neglect  and capriciousness  are  clear invitations to political confusion and instability anywhere  they  are seen in a presidential system and it is in that context that  I  examine  the practice of separation of powers  in both nations today.

It  is necessary  to dilate first on the motive  of those who  originated  the concept of the separation  of powers,  who were called ‘the founding fathers of the US ‘  who included the likes of George Washington, the first  president and  Thomas Jefferson the prolific writer   and also    president on equality, freedom and  human rights.

Unfortunately   today,  most of the US  founding fathers are being denounced as past  slave owners  and their  statues  are being attacked, threatened or destroyed since the killing of George Floyd, the Black  American    murdered  by a   white  police officer who knelt on his neck till  he died of asphyxiation subsequently on May  25.

The  nationwide protests in the US ballooned into a global  one that has questioned the role of colonialism in slave trade and is seeking recompense and historical reappraisal  of the role  of hitherto  revered historical  and political  figures like even Winston Churchill.

Unfortunately for US President Donald Trump ,  he remains the major  pillar of support not to denigrate historical figures and statues     on   racism and  has issued legal  penalties and fines as punishment,   but  he, as usual,   is moving in opposing direction to popular will  for  now in his  nation.

We  go back  to our mission  again,  which  is to show  the essence of  separation  of powers which  simply   is to ensure that  the three arms of government namely the executive , the judiciary and the legislature are  equal and independent such  that one  does not dictate or encroach  on the authority of the other.

It  is  purely   a system   of checks  and  balances   on the use   of power   legitimately. But the three    arms    of government  are  constitutionally intertwined and interwoven   to work  harmoniously  for the advancement of good  governance, peace  and political  stability.

In  Nigeria there is amity between the executive and the legislature because  the ruling party has a majority in both the House of Representatives   and    the  Senate that  plays ball  with the motives and policies of the government.

It is with regard  to the management of the ruling party that  the government has problems with  judicial   litigations on the structure and administration of the ruling APC.

It  is not as if the judiciary is an activist one but  most party administrative   issues have become matters for judicial interventions  when  they are indeed very  clear  political    matters  for the executive in government and the party leadership  and hierarchy  to resolve.

Two  examples on the   recent   defection of the APC governor   Godwin   Obaseki, to PDP  are    enough  to  illustrate  this viewpoint

Barely 24 hours to the PDP primaries  of   June 25 ,  there  was a case in Port Harcourt , which is now the judicial  capital of Nigerian politics, asking the court to debar  the former APC  governor from contesting on the platform of the PDP  to which  he has defected,  brought by a PDP litigant .

The  PDP  reportedly asked for an adjournment to resolve the issue out of court and the judge reportedly gave a three hour adjournment after which the court convened and dismissed the case with  commendation to all parties concerned for doing well in settling out of court .

That  is a judicial   settlement of a case that should  have been resolved politically  by the parties ‘management and administration  which  lost  control one way or the other.

 

Read Also: Not about Floyd (III)

 

Certainly,  that is a successful  judicial   resolution of a political  matter without judicial adjudication, which is a rarity in Nigeria’s  politics of separation of powers.

The  second case is the issue of  Victor  Giadom ,  the Acting Chairman of the APC reportedly  backed on account of legality by the President according to the Presidential  spokesman.

I  doubt  if legality could   be the reason for the president’s backing   because   there  are  many   conflicting   court   injunctions    for and  against  this  Acting  Chairman  both  in his   acting and  substantive  capacities  in the Party’s hierarchy.

What  I suspect is that in announcing the revocation of the disqualification of the   former   APC  governor of Edo   State   from the  APC  at the  last  APC  Primaries, the Acting Chairman read the President’s mind  correctly  and the president gave his support, albeit  belatedly, after the Edo State  governor had defected .

Such    correct  reading of the mind of one’s boss  is called  telepathy. Which   can   be hazardous   if one   gets   the boss’s    mind wrong.

How  the President will  rally  his troops in the APC around this Acting Chairman  which  the NWC of  the party said  is not even their member  officially,  is the president’s problem  because ultimately the buck stops  on his table.

So  far,   procrastination has been  the thief of time of the APC leadership on election issues and there is need  for the   party   to  wake up  from its Rip Van Winkle  sleep  of 20 years in   the present  four year term of office in ruling Nigeria.

On  the contrary, while there is collaboration between the Executive and Legislature in  the   Nigerian separation of powers , there  is  no  love lost  between both in the American presidential, separation of powers.

A  good recent example  was  the failed impeachment of the US president by the House  of Representatives,   which was overturned  by the Senate   where the president’s party  has  the  majority.

Another  good example emerged  this week  when the Senate Majority  leader of the president’s Republican  Party announced that the  Party or the senate  has filled all the 200 judicial  vacancies in the US Courts of Appeal.

Such    judicial   appointment   is a legislative function of the US  Senate     where  the President’s   party  is in a small   but powerful   majority.

Which means the Republicans have put in place judges that value Republican issues and  are anti- gay rights , transgender , and abortion . .

Indeed all values that the Obama Administration valued and put in place in its two terms are being dismantled judicially   by the executive arm of government with the placement     of   compliant judges in the judiciary .

That  is carrying separation of powers to its logical  conclusion  or  too  far   culturally  and for  a long time after Trump would have left office whether ,   he  is reelected or not in November .

Another interesting example of   testy   separation of powers in the US was  the recent case of Trump’s  first NSA  retired General Mike Flynn who  was to be sentenced by a US Court for lying on Russian involvement in US Politics on the eve of Trump’s election  and   assumption   of office . .

The US Department of Justice  [  DOJ ]  later in court said it had changed its mind on   prosecuting  the case and   because of  new   evidence ,  there was no need for the case or the prosecution to continue . The trial  judge cried foul and  alluded to political  interference on behalf of the US president .

The  trial  judge refused to dismiss the case and the DOJ  appealed to a higher court which ruled that  the trial  court was trying to circumvent  the prosecutorial powers of the DOJ which  is an executive and not judicial  function .

Which   was  a fine way to  define  the extent and limits of separation of powers   between   the judiciary    and the executive .

Of  course Trump’s   opponents have been busy bashing the head of the DOJ and  US  Attorney  General  William   Barr  ever  since .

But then that is that nature  of politics and the essence of the principle  of separation  of powers . Once again, From the fury of this raging pandemic, Good Lord Deliver Nigeria Amen.

 

Dayo Sobowale

I go today  to  the basics of  politics and good  manners  to illustrate the topic of the day. This is because the issues at stake are about leadership, management and perception and they are issues not taught or learnt   totally    in any laboratory of science or academia of  human thought . They  are issues learnt in the faculty of human experience  and baked in the red hot oven of good background  and   thorough  moral   upbringing .Today,  we talk  about leaders and I start on the first  premise that the ‘hood does not make the monk ‘  and hedge  that on with the second observation that’ not all that glitters is gold’ .

Let  me first acknowledge that the   global  epidemic  has upset the known and unknown capabilities of politicians  as practitioners in  political  systems all  over the world    to  govern   successfully   and effectively .  It  has tasked both their innate and intellectual  capacities to govern  politically   which is their  core  duty ,  since  politics ,  their  domain ,  pursuit , or  undertaking is defined succinctly as   deciding on’ who gets , what  when  and how’  . So politics by its nature places enormous  responsibility  and   pressure on  politicians . But   the pandemic is no respecter of all or anybody, including politicians. So  we can  safely assume that the  pandemic  has put  more  pressure on politicians  in terms of the hazards of the job  they are doing as leaders of their governments and political systems  than  the rest  of  us .  Politicians  , therefore , as  leaders   of us , the   people , face the double   hazard  of   avoiding   the pandemic,  both  personally     first  ,  and    secondly   on  our behalf as   followers    so   as  not  to create  panic  and  to    avert  a power  vacuum  from nagging ,  disrespectful   and blind  pandemic .   The    politician  or leader  in our time    is  a  full   time intellectual   and   political   juggler   aiming     to keep ahead of the rest  of us    as leader  of the pack ,  while   keeping an eye  on an un relenting   pandemic in pursuit of both  the  leaders  as well as the followers   .

It   follows logically therefore   that  leadership  or  politics  ,   indeed ,   the leadership   of society     places enormous   burden and    more  exposure  to hazards   of the  job   to     politicians daily undertakings   or     way     of life  , than  most other  professions . Just  as  a dedicated  psychiatrist  can  be excused on  displaying   some  crazy  tendencies to be explained away as hazards of the job or a criminologist  can  sometime  be   overlooked for   incredible   or   near      criminal disposition    on the   grounds    of    say    his  job  environment or   pollution .Similarly  ,  a  politician is often taken   for granted  as someone who speaks from both sides of his mouth to get  his way    or will     which invariably  ,  is  power at  campaigns and elections .   Which   again    is to say that mendacity is part  of the  easy   apparel of credibility  , sustenance   or survival    of the street wise or accomplished  politician   in   political  systems   nowadays .  I will illustrate these seemingly contentious   observations with  good  examples  today . The  aim is not to glorify  such tactics but to show they  are endemic in politics ,   and more  so in this era  of  a killing  pandemic    with   the attendant  hydra headed   and taxing  hazards of the job  for  global  politicians .

I    will use   two ,  examples .  The  first  is the obvious one  and ‘ primus inter pares. ‘Which  is  the  story   of the  45th President of the USA , Donald  Trump  whose reputation for  lies is such that even  Colin Powell former US Secretary  of State  recently  condemned  him    for ‘lying too much. ‘I really  do not  agree  totally  with Colin  Powell  or the  CNN which  has on line catalogue  of Trump  lies  , but  I will  come to that later . The  second  is the bitter rancor  in the leadership of the APC in  Edo  State that has led to  the disqualification of the Governor Godwin  Obaseki  to seek  re- election on the party’s platform  and the   confirmation   of the suspension of the APC Chairman  veteran  trade   unionist and  politician   Adams   Oshiomhole  by the ruling of a Court of Appeal  decision subsequently  . The  interesting thing here is that  both issues  are  mutually  exclusive in consequence  even  though  like   some  court judgements   they  run  concurrently in terms  of outcome  and finality .

I  go  back to  Donald  Trump  who   I believe   for good or bad ,  is the most  vilified president in American  history . He  was branded a liar by CNN  because  he called CNN ‘ fake news ‘ and that  was sufficient to send him to the gallows of eternal  doubt    and  mendacity . Fortunately for him his supporters don’t  see him as a liar and disbelieve CNN instead as fake news .  But  Trump  too has been too egoistic and overbearing in running the government as a subsidiary of  Trump Incorporated .  That  is a dictatorial    corporate   , hire and fire   style,    totally    incompatible with  a democracy in which he must  renew power in an  election due in November this year .  The  pandemic has been  an unforeseen foe that has crippled his plans and has consequently stretched his wafer thin credibility on the entrance, size  and impact of the pandemic   which     he   desperately   wants   to wish away . Just   as  his  opponents see that as the Achilles heel  of  his  hitherto   bright   reelection   chances  before the pandemic  , now compounded with his heartless  handling of the George Floyd racial  killing and blind support  for  the police in the name of  being  ‘ a president  of law and order’  .  Trump  is in a quandary  of credibility  with  his endless tweets which  have belittled   and  beclouded    his credibility.   In   the same way    they  have created immense obstacles   and befuddlement  on his path to  reelection, which looked rosy  before a pandemic that has no respect for leaders ,  their elections,  political life or future ,  took  the stage globally .

In  Nigeria, the  Edo  State APC  primaries  issue is  case of poor   sensitivity   and     judgement  on the part of the APC Chairman  . Indeed ,   the Court  of Appeal  upholding of his suspension is  a real  sword  of Damocles that dropped   on his neck    at the right time to make his punishment  a  real  deterrent on making malice a political  instrument to destroy  political   opponents . Fortunately or not,   his victim had  resigned himself  to his fate ,  and   resigned  from the APC   before  the  judgement  . He    was blaming lack of education for his displacement before the Appeal  Court ouster of his tormentor  came in from the blues . Like ‘ a  Daniel  Come  to Judgement  ‘  in that   famous Shakespeare play ‘ Merchant  of  Venice’ on  justice   and ‘the pound of flesh ‘ saga . There is a lesson  here on credibility and mendacity in the way that  a  governor installed by a godfather on his educational  credentials  can be equally  removed  from  office by the same  hand that put him  on the throne with  the disgrace and dissolution of the same educational  credentials .  That  is  vintage  political abradacabra  which makes one    wonder at the sort of profession ,  background    or  skills  that  could  have  imposed  such  a   propensity    or  hard    hazard  of the  job  on  any  politician   ,  at this  age and time .  The  moral    here  is that  justice is blind and the saying is apt  that ‘ the mills  of justice may grind  slowly , but they  grind  exceedingly fine . ‘   No matter the hazards of the job in politics or any other human endeavor . Again  ; From the fury  of this raging  pandemic ,   Good Lord Deliver Nigeria Amen .

 

 

Dayo Sobowale

 

I have deliberately avoided the word Racism in this write up even though the tragedy of George Floyd in Minnesota, USA is the moving spirit driving this discussion. But  first, I dedicate  this piece today, to my personal tragedy  of the loss of my mother Grace  Olufemi  Sobowale – nee Soyege, who died 45 years ago on June 8  and my  lovely  boy Richard Ayotunde Sobowale  who  was cut down  in an  accident  on June  6  nine years  ago.  May their souls continue to rest in perfect peace Amen.

Let  us now go back  to  the murder of George Floyd  by the white  policeman in Minneapolis, in  the US, the    impact   of   which  is now reverberating globally  and making us ask  questions  on how we live with each  other  legally  and  politically. The world   too   is  asking  how we  got to a situation that  white  men kill black men with impunity in the largest and so far the most powerful democracy in the world at  least,  in terms of free speech  and political  participation   for  now.

As I said earlier, I will not use the word racism anymore because it is over flogged. It  not only  begs the issue of discrimination,  it callously denotes the black man as inferior and makes  a mockery of atonement  because it is an issue  originally borne out  clearly  of   exploitation of man by man. Right  from Hitler’s Aryan  race,   white   superiority   claim   which  was cut down  to size    by   the Allies  victory  in the World War 2. This  was   then    replaced by   more   exploitative   colonialism, the Cold War and the Civil  Rights Movement of the sixties with no meaningful,  positive  progress  or  results. Till   the  knee  on George Floyds neck and murder  in   2020  made us  realize   that  we  are still  where  we were when  William  Wilberforce, the  British  Slave Trade   Abolitionist   made  the    British  Parliament   to ban the slave trade in  1807 but    it was  not until   1833  that it was  abolished in the British  Empire,  an   act   which  reached  Lagos     when  a British   expedition dethroned  Kosoko, then Oba of  Lagos  in 1851, enthroned Akintoye  and stopped the  slave trade in Lagos in 1853.  The rest is history   as Dosumu ceded Lagos to the British  in  1861. The  British   made   Lagos  an illegal  slave trade port     and  the cession of   Lagos   by Dosumu   enabled  the  British  to consolidate the colonial strangle  hold  and knee on the neck of  colonial  Nigeria  way back    from  1914 with   the Amalgamation   of Nigeria,  till  independence in 1960.  Just like  that  wicked  white  policeman  did to George Floyd in Minneapolis this year in  May 2020.

Even  though I  wrote in despair last  week  that nothing good will come out of this George Floyd protests in terms of meaningful  change, let  me  show you  how the nemesis  of unfolding events have given  me some consolation that  God is not a sleeping God. In  Great  Britain, in London the protesters put a label  of  ‘Racist’ on the statue of the great  Winston Churchill   and  Boris  Johnson  the PM as well as a Minister  were  squirming in defending that the UK  is  not a racist society. There  was even an article in the BBC  with the title  ‘Winston Churchill, Hero or Villain’.  Can  you  just  imagine that.  Of  course in  the  colonies of the  former British Empire,  Churchill  was a real  racist  who once referred  to  Mahatma Ghandi   the   Indian anti – imperialist   leader    as that‘ half naked native‘    during the Indian Independence Crisis.  But  the same Churchill  was Britain’s   hero of WW2  and  the  inspiration  of  PM  Tony Blair who launched the  Iraq War of 2003  on   false  excuse   with US  President George Bush. Churchill was  also   the inspiration   of the ambition  to be a  war PM  for Boris Johnson, who  instead   faced an  unexpected  epidemic war  that almost claimed his life   recently.

Again   today   I want  to dwell  on Nigeria and  the UK, both colonial  and  present,  to illustrate  the topic of the day. This  is not because  the US  is  no longer important  but to show that the whole world is bigger than the US on today’s  topic given  the global protests on the tragedy in Minnesota that got George Floyd slaughtered in broad daylight . The event  has led to a redefinition or reminder on the meaning of democracy by even  Britain our former colonial masters. A Minister in Britain complaining on the attendant  street  protests around 10 Downing Street , the PM residence  had to state that in Britain they have a way  for changing  governments  which is through  elections and not through street  protests and that   the UK  is  a  democracy. But the protests  are questioning such  democracy as unjust exploitative  and  discriminatory. How  far can that last in a UK  where more of the cabinet  members are off springs of  parents of colonial  and  migrant  origin   and  heritage?  Surely there  is need  for some realistic political juggling on voting rights and human rights   to ensure  democracy   and   political  stability in the UK. To    base    the  essence of political  stability in Britain  on the existence of the British Constitutional  monarchy  as is normally done,  is becoming an anachronism  given the new dynamics of politics in Britain right now. It used to be said that – ‘With the Queen in Buckingham Palace, every Briton  sleeps well in his bed.’ The   George Floyd protests in London and their  violent fury have shown  that this   hitherto  comforting   maxim  and political rationalization   has suddenly  become questionable and controversial.

Going   forward,  it is apparent   that the poor nations of the world today are victims of colonialism and exploitation and they are made to borrow money to develop from rich nations who got wealthy from the exploitation of such colonial nations during colonialism. That  is the crux of the matter and that is what  is resurrecting  as  nemesis  in protests in Europe and the US over the death of a black man  by the white   police  in the  US,  as is  usually  the case,  for  no reason other than the colour  of  the  victim. But has  the fate  of the blackman  improved  under  democracy? Let  us look  briefly  at some issues in Nigeria. Especially  in terms of  security,  leadership  and  democracy  which the West  is battling with in   the  ongoing racial protests.

In Nigeria the presidential system was  forced on us when the US  was  the romantic prospect  for power  and rapid development. But  we  had  a colonial  past that forged strange tribes or bedfellows into  a nation.We  fought a civil  war  like the Americans to keep  our  unity.  Like  the Americans however  as George  Floyd   has   shown, we have not learnt our  lessons. Funny  enough,  the Nigerian  Senate  has no stomach  to discuss the ongoing protests in the US  and Europe. A Senator  this week rose to mention it but noted that we have no moral  right to discuss this because Nigerians are being killed with impunity especially in the North and nothing  has happened. Another senator  called  him to order not to discuss a controversial  issue  and the issue died there. Meanwhile, there  was news on VON that 69  Nigerians were killed by Boko  Haram in a Nigerian village  in the North East a few   days ago. The village is called Faduma Koloram. It was even reported on our   media generally   and the  CNN.  The state  governor   Babagana Zulum Umara   has already  visited the place  and  said the death  toll has risen to 81. If our legislators cannot discuss George Floyd  because it is controversial  they   can  at  least  discuss Boko  Haram  again and tell  us why  it has not  been  stopped from killing Nigerians.  Insecurity  is fast  becoming  the bane of our democracy  and the sooner it is tackled  and defeated the better for all  of us. It  should not be made intractable  or  un discussable  like  the issue  of George  Floyd which  our senators say  sadly  that we do not have the moral  right to discuss  in our  legislature . Once again; From the fury of this raging pandemic, which  we   have ignored   today,  Good Lord Deliver Nigeria. Amen.

 

 

 

Dayo Sobowale

Today  I look at  the three concepts of  power, history, and  democracy in    the   light  of the killing of the black  American  George  Floyd  by  a white  policeman  in Minnesota in the US  which  has engendered so  much grief  and  consternation  around the world this week. I  intend to examine  the good , the bad and ugly  side of  this ugly incident  just  like the title of Clint Eastwood’s famous violence and action film,’ The  good, the bad  and  the ugly. ‘I feel sad  to write  on the killing of George Floyd because of the way  he was slaughtered and suffocated by a white  Police  man whose  wife immediately  sued for divorce after seeing what her husband  had  done ;  while  the Police  authorities tried to  down play the murder in plain sight  by calling it  manslaughter even  as the victim begged  for life by moaning repeatedly – ‘I  can’t   breathe ‘. That  death moan has become the rallying cry  for justice and democracy in most  American and European  capitals in recent days and the protests  have as usual  degenerated into looting, stealing and  hooliganism which  I  will  ignore   for   now  as I look  at what caused  all these  protests which    of course  will   soon  peter   out,  to what  Shakespeare  called‘ a tale  told  by an idiot,  full  of sound  and fury  signifying nothing.‘

Please  remember  that this gruesome event of a murder  happened during the pandemic  and nobody  mentioned social  distance or lockdown  as the protesters flocked the streets in their thousands  to  use democracy  to vent their anger. So  in a  way this almighty  pestilence took a hiding that diminished its glorification  as a an epidemic  by scientists and medical  statisticians who  have closed  society at  large because  of its threat. In  the same way  the US President Donald  Trump  tried to steal    religious    thunder   and   authority by using the bible as a political  weapon against the protesters,  but failed mightily   and   woefully. Nevertheless   he   unwittingly    reminded watching Nigerians of Fela  Anikulapo’s  immortal  song – ‘Authority Stealing ‘. Indeed,  Trump  tried so  disgracefully  to  subvert  and    misuse   religion on this   George Floyd  matter, but fell  flat  on his face politically as he deserved . Inadvertently,   he   became  fake news himself on his actions in this matter. Surely  he deserves  no pity on  his   gamble    on religion,   on   which he has shown clearly  that as far as he is concerned  the Police  can do no wrong as far as they kill only  people  of color in the US. Which   to me is a tragedy that makes Trump a   most   racist  politician so much  like  the proverbial  ostrich with its head buried in the sand. How  he can win this November 2020  US  Presidential   election  with this attitude and posture will  be the real  wonder  of this world before‘ our very  eyes‘.

Unfortunately   too,  religion  took a hiding, because Trump showed its attraction and  fragility to provoke or conceal  democratic malfeasance and  political rascality and insensitivity. Again,  how  the American  president will  climb  out of the political gutter and trench   he has dug for  himself on this George Floyd  murder, will  remain  his  own   political   funeral   to sort  out,  as he  seeks a  very  ambitious   reelection which  this tragedy  has  given  feet  of clay with  his bible  holding  charade of a stunt.

We  go back  now to the basics of today’s contention. Power,  in any  democracy like  the US  or  Nigeria is derived  from the concept  of government  of  the people,   by the people  and for the   people . But  that is not always  the case because governments ignore the rights and security of their citizens  most times as the George Floyd  murder  has shown  in the US  this  week.

In  Nigeria, the equivalent  of this   was  the killing of Nigerians in Kaduna, Zamfara, the North East and  Sokoto  State   from  where Senator  Ibrahim   Gobir  representing Sokoto  East   in the Nigerian    senate  lamented   recently, to no effect,  that Nigerians in his    part  of the nation rely  more on soldiers  from  neighboring Niger  Republic for their safety  and lives, because when they called   Nigerian soldiers they   never    showed  up   to  protect them.  The   Sultan   of Sokoto, a former   military   officer    also   lamented on insecurity   and   killings   in  Sokoto  and called   on the army to  modernize its armoury   to  defend  these  Nigerians. These  are  our George Floyds and they  are  Nigerians  and it is the duty of  government  to use  the legitimate  violence  and authority    it has,  to overcome bandits and terrorists  who  kill  Nigerians with impunity   in Sokoto  and other   such   places. That  is the essence  and meaning  of government   and that was what  these  Nigerians voted  for even in the President’s  home state of Katsina  which suffered a similar fate  such that  a military  expedition has  just   been sent  to   quell   the insurgency and marauding.

Unfortunately,  it is such state  monopoly  of violence to effect  authority  that  the Police  has usurped in the  US to  kill  black Americans incessantly and  with impunity,  till  we got  to George Floyd this week . Even   after   that  more  blacks  have been killed in these protests including a  restaurant  owner reputed to be  giving free meals to  police officers on shift  duties. The  history of the US and the  American  Civil  War which   was won  by  Republican  President  Abraham Lincoln   [1861–1865] to free slaves  is the root  cause of the unstoppable  killing of blacks in the US leading to that of George Floyd. The  president who  succeeded  Lincoln, Andrew  Johnson [1865-  1869] his former  Vice  President,  did  not believe in giving blacks equal  rights with whites that Lincoln fought and died for. That  successor   Andrew  Johnson  was impeached like  Donald  Trump  but was cleared in the Senate like Trump,  but with a paltry  vote  of  one. Successive  US  governments  have always ran the US   like  a Police state because they  fear for  their security  and lives in  checking police power . This is because Police members ‘unions   contribute      to   the   campaign  elections  of state  Attorney  Generals, local  Sheriffs    or even  elected judges  as is the case in some states   in  the  US.

Sthe maintenance of law  and order is  the enhancement  of  police power by political  leaders to prevent anarchy and assure their own  security  at the expense of blacks who  have been  historically  profiled as crime prone and unworthy of equal  rights with  whites . Thus supplanting the motive  for which the American Civil   was fought  and won by President  Abraham  Lincoln . Even  the Obama Administration   – 2009 – 2016 –  could  only  survive in  this context  . Even  out  of office Obama  this   week   has called the rioters  and looters to order as he did  repeatedly  for the eight  years he   was  in power  while  blacks were killed by Police in his tenure . Even  if  Michelle ,  Obama’s wife  becomes the Vice  Presidential candidate of the Democratic Party   in this 2020   presidential   elections  the killing of blacks by  American    Police will  still  continue and the looting will follow and be condemned and the Police  invariably   pacified for the killing of blacks .

Again  , the reason  is not difficult  to see and  it lies at the feet  of   American liberal  democracy and conservative politics and  their  political beliefs  and  ideology . The  liberals   nowadays  place sex  and feminine  rights far above black   Americans  rights .  Indeed gay  rights were equated with civil  rights  and this was stolen  into state and federal  laws  during the Obama Administration . To  change  that  is the political  motive of the  present   Republicans with  Trump as their  champion  and that is why  his Administration  is putting Conservative judges  in the Supreme Court to reverse the sexual  orientation   laws  of previous  liberal  American governments including the Obama  one just  recently . The  vengeance of this violent cultural but democratic war  was shown  in the  committed   and fatal  violence with which  the white police  officer held George Floyd,    a 6ft  4in    giant   ,   but  a black   man  ,  by the throat  till  he died. It  was  murder  most  foul and most reprehensible . But  its pedigree is  in  American  history  and  democracy  of the police state ,  called  the rule of  law  in which  the black man’s   rights has  always been a disposable  commodity .This  has    been  so ,  since Abe Lincoln fought the American Civil  war  but  did  not live to see through the real   Reconstruction   and  freedom of the black  slaves for which  he fought   and won  that war . Ever  since  ,  history  has been  repeating  itself with  Police killings of blacks in the US and  I am    saddened  in a very   morbid  manner  , to show why it will  not end with the gruesome  killing of  the gentle giant called George Floyd in Minnesota this last week . Once again  , from the fury of this pandemic , Good Lord Deliver Nigeria.

 

 

By Dayo Sobowale

I love a statement in Political Science that illustrates restraint   on observance of human rights with the caution that ‘your freedom ends where my nose begins.’ However, Social  distancing, a  potent  survival strategy against this raging pandemic,  has however,  made even that quite inadequate,  as you  must  move immensely far from my nose or you may end up in court for flouting lockdown and social  distance  rules , which are now the prevailing rule of law globally  to  contain the pandemic. Obviously since Man is a  political  and  social  animal  and politics is ubiquitous,  human  existence under clearly anti – social and political rules such as social  distancing and lockdowns   nowadays,  has   put humanity  and human values  at large  under stress not only socially and politically but culturally  too. I  intend today to acknowledge and identify such stress  and pressure on political systems globally as well as on the citizens  of the  nations of the world who  have been literally  food  for fodder for  a brutal and most unexpected pandemic, that has changed our mode of life and existence at what  I would call  the speed of light.

Actually,  I wonder  how  our legal  luminaries and highly respected Senior Advocates will  adapt  to  lockdown laws and  social  distancing in  defending those accused of violating such laws in high  and low places in recent times. Without preempting the  bar  on its  agility  and   ever  readiness to address the courts on any issue, I  can  imagine how really remarkable  legal practitioners  would look  with their normally  distinguishing black wigs and gowns probably  adorned with a black  mask  of the type sported by US Democratic presidential  candidate Joe  Biden quite  recently. Certainly that would be a spectacle to behold but unfortunately with a smaller audience in court due to social distance laws and rules. But   really this is a digression on procedure, albeit on lockdown laws.

Let me now go to the issue at hand which is the topic of today. I start on the premise that the law is made for man and not man for the law   in examining the issues I will raise. I go on to show how people in various settings have reacted to violation of lockdown rules in different climes and nations. It  is my contention that such or some  reactions have been due  to  the  dire  effects  of the lockdown on people in various  locations and depending on their  type of politics or political  culture. Those  who  have not violated the lockdown  laws  feel  those who have, should be taken to the guillotine as in the 1789 French Revolution, which  to me is high handed,  as not all  such  violations were deliberate and willingly  done. In addition, political bias have come into play in dealing with such lockdown violations.  It  is  also  my opinion that the lockdown  has taken its toll on the psyche of people  generally in most    systems  such  that  it has given them a feeling of paranoia or  mistrust  of any excuse given for any violation.  As such, they want the hammer to fall on any violation, regardless of the context or explanation. In addition, cultural backgrounds,  values  and environment have played a robust part in the way these violations have been treated and regulated across the world  especially  this week. I will explain with examples from Britain, Nigeria, the US, the Netherlands   and   Kenya.

The matter of the UK PM Political Adviser Dominic Cummins shows vividly all  aspects of the violations of the lockdown in this pandemic. Some have asked that he be sacked for travelling during the pandemic to treat himself, his wife and child during the pandemic. According to his attackers, he should resign for giving a bad example on lockdown violation. He has refused and his boss, the PM Boris Johnson,  has backed him that his action was legal  and reasonable as a father and family man. Clearly, there was a violation, but lives, including his own were at stake and the   lockdown rules   provided for such exigencies.  Was that not enough for some forbearance? Then politics came in and the opposition Labour leader condemned double standards and claimed Cummins was above the law. Was he?    Should he have waited, holed up in the lockdown till he perished with his family in the pandemic? What   morbid   joy or elation would that have given anyone including his political opponents in seeing the end of him in that way and manner? Those  who  feel  saddened  or persecuted by the lockdown should not allow their minds to be locked down against the  humanity  of  a desperate  man trying  to save  his life and that of his family , in a do or  die situation. Politics too should not estrange empathy to political opponents when they are down and out like Cummins was on his desperate travels and travails to save his wife, himself and child. Fortunately for him he can defend himself now, because in reality dead men don’t talk.

It is a pity this is happening in the same Britain we all appreciate for its NHS policy of treating people at the point of need, unlike other health systems like ours that demand payment first. But another example will show how human values in Britain have changed with the lockdowns. There was a story on the NHS which is well celebrated in the same UK for its excellent performance in the pandemic. A  chef and  his  children  made  a huge  and delicious lunch for   the NHS staff  but a local  government  official  thereafter wrote the chef  for violating the Industrial Relations law on using  children as employees in   serving  the  food. Of  course his boss in the   same  local  government apologized to the  chef and withdrew the  heartless letter, one  which  nothing but the rigours  and  stress of an over locked and   quarantined mind, could  have ignited in the first   instance .

Let  me now sweep  through  the other  issues as the UK  examples  have largely  served  my  purpose . First, with the US  where you  have a most  unlikely  person in President  Donald Trump  leading the way for US  governors to  break the lockdown and more importantly  for the churches to open . His  opponents in the Democratic Party  are using science to condemn him  but  that is politics .Trump  wants a full house for the November presidential  elections but  his opponents see any obstacles in that regard including especially  the pandemic as a hindrance against  his ambition  for them to exploit . So  US  politics in this Trump  era   and    under    the  lockdown   or  no  lockdown   issue, is one of spite , paranoia and frustration depending on which side of the political divide  you  are  in. Quite interesting I dare say.

In Nigeria, Denmark   and    Kenya, we look at how some leaders   reacted to lockdowns in terms of violation and otherwise. In Ekiti a father locked his son out and asked him to go to quarantine after returning from a cross border journey. The state governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, a security guru, commended the father and gave him a state job as a reward. Honestly  if I was  the son I will  never forgive the father because a father’s  duty is to provide sanctuary  to his family  under all circumstances,  including the pandemic. I trust the Ekitis to debate the issue further. As for the governor he is father of all especially in this pandemic, as   well as the state   lockdown enforcer. In  Kenya,  the President’s  son went  partying in violation of the lockdown, and the father, President  Uhuru  Kenyatta  said  he scolded  him and the matter ended there  without  any punishment   legally for lockdown violation.  Clearly one man’s   food is another   man’s   poison. In   the Netherlands ,  the PM  Mark   Rutte  did  not visit  the mother for six weeks  during the lockdown  till   the mother who was   over 90   passed away this week   although   not from the pandemic . What a beautiful lockdown enforcer this Dutch PM was! I  however  would   not  be in his  shoes and would  have  sought special  permission   to  see her in full  public view  to  pay   my  last  respects to  a mother   as expected  in most   cultures  globally.This   is because   as  man  or woman,   human   beings are  not  robots   and  have feelings and emotions. More   importantly, the law is made for   man and not otherwise. Please   take your pick. Once again, ‘From the fury of this raging pandemic, Good Lord Deliver Nigeria’ Amen.

 

Dayo Sobowale

Undoubtedly world leaders are totally distracted from the business of governance by the ascendancy, morbidity and high fatality rate of the present global pandemic.

For  some of these leaders , presidents and governors, Speakers   and legislators , it has been a cruelly unforeseen tragedy  that has not allowed them to deliver on the lofty dreams and  programmes they envisaged to deliver  politically whenever  they  got  power,   and   the pandemic  has  been  a real  wet  blanket  and  hindrance  that has not allowed them to  leave for  now, a solid  legacy  in terms  of positive performance .

For some however the pandemic is  a welcome distraction since  they never had any serious salutary  objectives on getting to power to improve society, but  to  loot the treasury as it were   and   make enough money to remain ever  relevant in the   power   structure,   even   well  after leaving office.

I   hereby challenge world and local leaders to find their level in this categorization. I  urge   this    in the   words  of that    NTA political  documentary   that focused on the  late  General Sanni  Abacha, Nigeria’s foremost   looter   succeeding himself as civilian  leader titled  ‘ Who  the Cap Fits ‘   before   death  intervened to scuttle  that self succession   bid  and metamorphosis  from a  military leader to a  civilian  president of Nigeria .

I repeat again that    world leaders are distracted from the business of government  and the world is being led by the nose by the statistics from  the prestigious John Hopkins University that even the Chinese admit  is the authentic authority on the mortality and morbidity   rate   of the global  pandemic

My   objective today   however is to call to order the obsession of world leaders with the morbidity of the pandemic. I also   want to caution as well on   the hubris of science and medicine, especially Western Medicine in glorifying the invincibility of the pandemic while snubbing herbal, non herbal and    non Western proposals as panacea to the pandemic.

Indeed the prevailing , global   technical  attitude of scientists and  Health  regulatory institutions and bodies that a vaccine would take ages to invent and the procedures have to be followed   meticulously showed a marked disposition to  unnecessarily   prolong human suffering and deaths,  based on inhuman technicalities which can only be described as callous ,  given the  urgent and  emergency situation of curing the pandemic by all  means available at the moment.

An African proverb says it does not matter who killed the snake as long as it is dead. Have  these medical  and scientific  dons and  giants never heard this before? Has nobody told them that desperate diseases require desperate  cure? Of  course  they  have been  told  but a  pervading malfeasance of fake  news and political  bitterness has deafened the ears  of these scientific professionals   such that they  have turned our world into a vast pandemic laboratory  for their   technicalities.

They    have  easily  forgetting in their hubris ,  that  human  beings cannot be subjected to the same laboratory tests like their  experimental  mice and rodents and time is of essence in giving the bloody pandemic a fatal  kick in the ass into extinction and oblivion,  thus    saving humanity.

I will go on now to show examples of calls, empirical and pragmatic that solutions are   there but ignored   and   lost in plain sight in defeating this pandemic. The first two are from the presidents of the US and Brazil. The other   is from   the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Nigeria.

I  also  will show how governance is suffering unnecessarily because of  this pandemic with the chaotic Lagos go slow and traffic chaos on Lagos  highways that has gotten frantic and violently dangerous,  as   daily  travellers try  to beat the curfew of the  continuing  partial  lockdown .

With  regard  to the belief  of the US  and  Brazilian Presidents on the use of nivaquine and another anti-malaria drug  to treat the pandemic in lieu of a vaccine,  they  have  my  support and I disagree with  people ridiculing their  position .

As an African and like most Africans we have used nivaquine to treat malaria till new drugs like Amala came in. At   UNIFE as an undergraduate we were treated with nivaquine  with piriton for its side effect of itching and we  survived . Now the liberal media and politicians are ridiculing the two leaders because of their leadership style politically.

This    has nothing to  do with the emergency solution they  have hurriedly   but   legally  imposed and legitimately  too because  the welfare , health and safety  of the people who elected them  rest  on  their    shoulders  as  elected leaders   and Democrats.

Both have made sacrifices and are leading by example in not wearing masks as they could die as a result of this. The Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro  is not a stranger to death or mortality as he was shot while campaigning and was operated on but won and survived to lead his nation .

The American President Donald Trump too is taking a great risk in not wearing a mask to show his people that the virus is not in control but him as president. It is a suicidal  risk as he could die as a result of his defiance but  if he survives the pandemic he will be unassailable in terms of acquired political  capital  and  goodwill  on  the way to the 2020 US presidential  election in November this year.

Either way he has made a great almost suicidal sacrifice to dismantle the pandemic at any or all costs. I fear for his courage   but he has my grudging admiration on this account.

In Nigeria this week the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos the Most Rev Adewale Thomas asked the Nigerian Health Authorities to allow herbal remedies for the pandemic. Coming from a church brought in by Colonisation and the slandering of indigenous   health    efforts in the past, this was a bold and enlightened effort by the Catholic Church which took the lead in social distancing and other hygiene standards before religious activities and others were locked down by the authorities.

The government should listen to the Archbishops’ call because it is a life saving, pragmatic and   very reasonable one .

Also in Nigeria, Lagos is a good example of how the pandemic has taken over transportation because of the fear of the 8 pm curfew. In a state whose capital has the largest set of workers in Nigeria the state of the go slow and long hours people spend on the streets in the traffic is pandemic.

Part or most of this is due to road repairs which seem to be at the feet of the three bridges that link the Island to the Mainland. It has gone beyond the control of the LASMA, the traffic wardens and it is the Danfo drivers who own and control the highways and expressways with violent impunity and   defiance   of traffic laws.

Government should climb down from its pandemic high horse and fix Lagos traffic before it gets out of hand. It is as simple and urgent as that. Once again from the fury of the pandemic, Good Lord Deliver Nigeria. Amen.

Dayo Sobowale

 

In  a turbulent,  desperate   world, fear stricken by a murderous and rampaging pandemic,  diplomacy can be a stabilizing factor.

That  is very  much at play in the way China and the US  are still at  each other’s throat over the source of the pandemic,  without abandoning the  all important   diplomacy  and   trade talks which  will aid their post pandemic recovery even though they  do not know when  that will be.

It  explains why in the complex power play of Israeli  politics the incumbent and powerful PM, Boonyamin Netanyahu    has negotiated,  after several   deadlocked  elections,  to be Foreign Minister in 18  months time when  his present rival  power takes over as PM .

Even  in Nigeria the appointment of a former Foreign Affairs Minister  Prof   Ibrahim  Gambari  as   the  new Chief  of Staff to the  Nigerian  President is not only  a tribute and acknowledgement  of the importance of diplomacy.

It provides further proof that at home and abroad,  a nation needs a stabilizing rod  such that it does not descend  into the type  of murky partisan politics which  is best  typified   by the bitter  pandemic and   presidential   election year politics , going on in the US   nowadays.

Today ,  charity begins at  home and I am  happy  as a writer  on Global  Economy and Politics  with  the appointment of a distinguished Nigerian  diplomat as the  Chief of Staff to  the  Nigerian President.

Let  me confess that at  first I thought  that the appointment was beneath the reputation and accomplishments of the new Chief  of  Staff,    who  was almost a UN  Secretary  General  next to   then  UN boss Ban Ki Moon as Under Secretary General .

It  was like  asking  Kofi  Annan to be Chief of Staff  to the Ghanaian President.  That would have been unthinkable  but  here we are in Nigeria and the equivalent is happening and we are thanking our stars  that  it has happened.

Especially  in a pandemic which I have promised never to call by its  name  again  till  it has passed.  This  appointment  is not about ambition and politics alone,  and  you  cannot   say  rightly   that  ‘ambition   should   be made  of   sterner stuff  ‘as in Shakespeare’s   Julius Caesar.

This  is because the appointee brings impeccable  diplomatic skills to  enhance governance in the Nigerian presidency . Of course the confidence for the job matters   especially   to handle  Nigeria’s very  clever, smart and overreaching politicians and leaders and the new  Chief of Staff  has that and he knows it .

On  his arrival  at the Presidency he reportedly  said  the ‘ President   needs  my loyalty, competence and support.  ‘Those  are the words of a time tested administrator  and leader in his own right  who  knows  his onions.

I wish  the new Chief of Staff a successful tenure  as he  tries   first   to   manoeuvre from his   office,    to rein in the fear  and panic with which  we are managing this epidemic. Our  strategy  to contain it   so  far makes   us look and speak like  the doomed gladiators in Ancient  Rome at the  arena who  saluted  Caesar  before facing their certain death with the salutation – ‘ Hail  Caesar, we  who  are about to die,  salute  you ‘.

Definitely Nigerians as a people  and a nation  deserve  a different and hugely better fate against this nasty pandemic and the new Chief of Staff should diplomatically  help  us out to survive and   outlive this viral scourge.

It  is necessary  to dwell on the strategies to  contain this pandemic here at home and abroad  even  on a topic like today’s.  In New  York  the governor said 10000 New Yorkers  would die in50 days time  but at the end of a month when the virus peaked and came down  18000 people had  died.

Similarly a  UNICEF report blared loudly  that 171000 Nigerian  Children  risk death in 6  months. Such alarming and frightening  forecasts  must  have led to why an  African  nation, Burundi just asked the visiting World  Health Organisation   team   visiting his nation to just pack  and leave their  country.

It  may  explain why  even Kogi  State asked the  Federal Pandemic  experts to leave or be quarantined since it seemed they wanted to establish that the state has a case of the pandemic when that state  had insisted it did not  have any.

Really  what is wrong in that ? Must every where be like Italy, UK or  the US   in terms of huge daily  deaths ? Definitely  not.  Our governments  should  focus on strict hygiene standards  and social  distancing , tracking  and testing.

They  should  decide firmly  on wearing  of face masks. The  recent parody of the number  of those without face masks   in  public  noticeably outnumbering those  wearing masks makes a mockery  of  government efforts.

It  is not peculiar  to Nigeria  though   as those in buses and trains in England  did  the same when the lockdown was opened. In  Nigeria the sheer  number of those without face masks made those of us  wearing them look like the really  sick people.

It  is as confusing as it is dangerous. Our  governments should  find a way  to enforce   pandemic    laws  without  making an ass  of   the law  and without the  police  making a meal of it or  the government  losing unnecessarily,   the votes and confidence of the electorate that put it in power before the pandemic.

Let  me now show  that I  understand very  much Prof  Ibrahim Gambari’s  pledge of loyalty,  competence and support  to the Nigerian  president.

First   I  say  that in an  elective democracy that is how  it should be. This terrain is unlike the professor’s main terrain of International Relations and Diplomacy  where there are no permanent  friends but permanent  interests.

The  Chief  of Staff  must  do the president’s bidding and   protect  his interests  and the party  that  put him in power in two    presidential  elections in 2015  and in 2019. Let  me  use an  American  illustration to make  my point.

The  US  Department  of Justice   recently   dropped a case of lying against former US National Security Adviser Michael  Flynn, who  served as a General  under former President Barak  Obama who warned incoming President Donald  Trump  not to have anything to do with Flynn.

When  a reporter asked US Attorney  General William  Barr  how history  will   judge  him on  the drop of the charges against   Flynn  by the Department of Justice under his purview,  AG  Barr   replied that history is written  by the winners.

By  the way  former President Obama’s  grouse with Flynn was that the general  was  too harsh with Islamic Fundamentalism  in his   recommendations.  Indeed,  in one of his write ups that  I read, Flynn  called Islam  ‘a weaponised faith.’ But  Obama’s  aversion of Flynn made him  a good attraction for Trump    who  gave  him the post  of National  Security  Adviser.   Such   is American politics  for  now,  made  more  bitter  by this  biting and  killing pandemic   that  Trump  cannot control  in his reelection bid this year.

That   also   is the nature   desperate   politics  our  consummate diplomat  in the office of Chief of Staff  of the Nigerian President  must contend with,  in a period  of a killing pandemic,  globally  and in Nigeria   especially.  Once  again – From the fury  of this pandemic, Good  Lord Deliver Nigeria. Amen.