That pictures don’t lie is almost an age-old maxim. And in this age of speed, instantaneity, ubiquity and compulsive exposure, you never could tell which eyes are watching you and whose cameras are snapping you. For this reason, Hardball would admonish improved guardedness if not sobriety for earthlings of this age.
Why, it does not hurt to be on your guards anyway if you know how dangerous the world has become. And sobriety, (you may quote Hardball on this) is all you’ve got left. They can never make sober machines!
But Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State does not seem like a man who has a capacity to be guarded; not the least being sober. A photograph in the media (see Vanguard, 25/8 page 8) lends credence. Of course there are other matters with his state’s legislature but as we say in the village, let’s allow that whatever bites during the night is mosquito.
The picture speaks volumes. It was the day after the heinous killing of eight persons in his state by some murderous scoundrels. Yari was not alone in the picture: there was also President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State. The photo, which would have been a wonderful presidential public relations gimmick on a sunny day, shows the president apparently poking a little fun at Governor Shettima, which leaves Governor Yari cracking up in laughter.
Good photograph but exposure at that moment was in very bad taste. The story of the day was the dastardly killing in Zamfara. This photo actually illustrates that sad, sad story in some newspapers. Why is the story gruesome and the photo celebratory?
Recall that it was the same inappropriate photo show when Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi visited the president in Aso Rock Villa shortly after Fulani herdsmen massacred some villagers in his state. Ugwuanyi had dressed in flowing agbada and pictures showed him with the president in a joyous mood. How could he forget so soon that there was mourning back home? The insensitivity inherent in these types of photographs is almost blood-chilling.
And as if to buttress this point, or what we have termed Governor Yari’s photo-finish, the governor, who ought to be sober and mourning, said the damnedest thing after the meeting with the president. Speaking to the press and seeking to debunk some supposed irregularities in the story, the governor said two students of Abdu Gusau Polytechnic, Talata Mafara were fighting and one of them began to shout that the other abused Prophet Muhammad. Pronto, other students gathered and beat the boy to a coma. Security personnel came around, requested help from a nearby shop owner to ferry the victim to the hospital.
The mob got wind of the rescue effort and traced the victim to the hospital. When they could not gain access to him, they returned to burn down the shop of the Good Samaritan. Not content, they located his house in town, cordoned and razed it with eight people in it.
And here is Yari’s final word of admonition to the world: “… everybody killed in the house were (sic) Muslims and not like the rumours going around in the social media that Christians are being killed in Zamfara.”
He also noted that the killers, who are students of the polytechnic, were at large….hmmmm.
