Time and again, Rev. Chris Okotie’s articles have drawn scathing criticisms from those who either misunderstand his engagements in topical discourses or those who are just disagreeable, holding polarised views which always seem to be at variance with his faith. This is obvious from various reactions to his media commentaries which appear in both mainstream and social media platforms.
So it was with his well thought out interjection, and recent, widely published article, Why Peace Committee Must Disband Now, which questioned the logic behind the ‘Peace Committee’s’ visit to the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. It drew mixed reactions from readers on the internet, several of which were typically scathing, though, characteristically, it was devoid of any untoward inferences. Neither did its content depart from the general mood of the nation on the topic, yet, it was another opportunity for them to derogate him.
Some, for no cogent rhyme or reason, prefer to disagree with his opinion; irrespective of what it is. Others think he relinquished his right to speak as a Nigerian simply because he is a professing minister of the gospel. For some, they conclude that because of his antecedents in the entertainment industry, he does not qualify to be deemed a minister of the gospel.
The list, though lacking any ideological standpoint, is endless, but one common denominator is obvious from them all: they never address the issues his articles draw attention to; rather they dance in the periphery with accusative verbosities.
The article argues that the relevance of a Peace Committee for good electoral conduct has expired, seeing the elections have come and gone and normalcy has returned to the polity. Today, aside of the Boko Haram threat, there’s nothing on the political front for them to meet with Mr. President about, and as such pre-empting the President under the guise of advising him smirks of surreptitious intents.
In the pastor-politician’s words, the discordant tunes coming from some members of the National Peace Committee are “lisping accents of jejune political naivety”. He said; “One is, therefore, disappointed by the discordant tunes coming from some members of the National Peace Committee, … Bishop Kukah… appealed to President Buhari “to be fair” in his handling of the probe… To my sanctified mind, this is not only imaginary but approaches the periphery of phantasmagoria… A mitigation plea by this Committee is not only premature, but uncalled for.”
When men rise to a place of visibility and prominence, it is expected that they use their influence and access to the corridors of power to present the yearnings of the people to the ears of leadership. But, unfortunately, that is not always the case, as personal agenda oftentimes clouds the thinking of such men. A cleaning-out of the Augean stables of our economic and political muddle, which have hobbled our nation for decades on end, is the clarion call by most Nigerians who have been at the receiving end of the negative fallouts of bad governance.
Justice first, not leniency, should be the counsel to government now, otherwise, corruption, which has become an endemic pandemia in our nation will only get a new lease of life. Leniency or pardon can only become considerations when the claims of justice have been met, and the wrongs meted out by those who should be custodians of the national legislative writ and patrimony have been righted.
The tales of salaries and pensions being owed, lives that have been lost, families and wrecked businesses, and shattered dreams that have become the morning song of these human receptacles of the wrong end of leadership continues to call for a just rectification of the systemic failures which makes their protections under the constitution a vanishing dream. So to ask for leniency without first defining guilty is to seek to vitiate the laws that should protect society. That is the problem with the Committees counsel to Mr. President.
Mr. President’s antecedents do not betray him as one who would overstep his brief as Commander-in-Chief, neither has he shown himself to be a leader who will infringe on or influence the duties of the judiciary and its agencies in their battle against corruption and the pursuit of forensic transparency in the economy. So, does he need to be goaded-on to fairness, because their advice suggests that there may be clandestine plans to witch hunt perceived political enemies and manipulate the law with trumped-up charges and fabricated evidence, all with the intent of finding them guilty even where they are not?
If they want to metamorphose into a judicial or economic advisory group, then the nation needs to know the exact motive of their existence, rather than use a platform and membership choice that was created for electoral pacification as a dais for judicial advisory services. As is obvious, the blurred line of their ambiguous nomenclature is raising dust and an unnecessary reminder of the ills of crony politicking.
If anything, the more urgent need now is for non-partisan advisers from the national spectrum, who can help government along on the path of progress: that of course pre-supposes that government is open to honest advice, without assuming it to be an indictment on their capabilities. But that’s a different matter altogether.
Rev. Okotie and numerous others who hold the view that the Peace Committee should be disbanded is in order because, its name and reputation have been sullied by the renegade, lone wolf comments of Bishop Kukah. Their continued engagement with the government under the Peace Committee garb will only deepen the mistrust of their intents, and create a transparency and fidelity crisis for the incumbent government at the centre, especially with the membership of a key and openly pro-Jonathan apologist on the visiting Committee.
- Adimora wrote in from Lagos
