By Leonard Karshima Shilgba
Why should the hurt of Nigerians be lessened?
Why should Nigerians be pitied? We deserve neither sympathy nor empathy. It
will get worse until we determine it is time to change our ways. God-whom we
mention flippantly at the snap of our fingers-will not change our economic
or social estate until we do something about it. We cannot destroy the
little we have and expect to be blessed with much. We cannot encourage,
allow, excuse, rationalize, and defend rapacity and graft with audacity and
still expect miracles from heaven. We cannot hide information that should
expose corrupt people and claim to be unsullied.
I am angry, yes, angry at the events in Anambra
State . Why should some people destroy what is commonwealth and expect their
actions to be cast in gold, and go unpunished? What rationality underpins
such barbarity? How can any rational being explain away the mayhem visited
on the Anambra lives and properties and blame it on the Governor�s inability
to accept �compromise� as a necessary ingredient of politics? I am angry,
yes, angry at the members of the Plateau State house of Assembly who are
using subterfuge to hide their complicity. They would not probe Governor
Dariye-not now, not in the future-because according to them, they would
rather spend their energy on healing the wounds of the people of Plateau
from the violence that engulfed the State in the recent past.
What kind of legislators are these that would
not even investigate allegations of corruption leveled against an executive
over whom they have powers? Dariye has been accused of certain infractions
of our laws and the laws of a foreign government. He might not be guilty;
but is his State Assembly not responsible for unraveling the truth and
bringing closure to the matter one way or the other? Now, they hide under
some technicality-claiming �sub-judice� because the matter is before the
Code of Conduct bureau; don�t our Governors have immunity? That is what our
constitution (how that portion needs quick expunging!) says, and that is
what Dariye argued when he rushed to court to stop the Code of conduct
Bureau from doing their work. Shameless bunch of Plateau law makers!
Now these so-called law makers are calling on
the federal government to show the �way forward� in the light of the bronze
medal won by Nigeria on corruption rating. Is it difficult for these law
makers to see that the way forward is for people like them to clean up their
State by quickly investigating such allegations of corruption against
elected officials like Dariye without any outside prodding or pressure? Now,
these law makers want to cause distraction and plunge Plateau State again
into another round of disaster. The Plateau house of Assembly wants to
influence the re-call of Senator Mantu, who is known not to be so friendly
to the Dariye camp. If this is what their Speaker meant by �healing the
wounds� of Plateau people, then I am bold to say here that the Plateau
people have not seen any blood letting yet. That State is set on the edge of
the precipice; and when it goes tumbling down over it, the blame should be
placed squarely and fittingly on the gaunt shoulders of the Plateau house of
Assembly.
Plateau State will become like Benue State
where the executive�s pastime is making enemies of the sons and daughters of
the State who should have been courted to help develop the State. A State
like Plateau with a huge debt over-hang of over N80 billion should get back
every kobo stolen from her-this should be the pre-occupation of the House of
assembly. But the way I see it, if Plateau indigenes of note and sense do
not organize themselves to make the law makers sit up or ship out, the
little �glory� left today will be an object of nostalgia in a few years.
I am not going to blame peripheral people and
darken the hiding hole of the real criminals. Chris Uba has been a
trouble-maker in Anambra State . My only grouse against Governor Ngige is
that he dined with the devil; but the Governor is doing a great job in that
State, and Nigerians should not keep quiet when our enemies seek to remove
our darling leaders by whatever means. The recent mayhem in Anambra State
which left behind destruction of property valued at about N30 billion is a
shame (I wanted to say �should not go unpunished�). But who can punish these
people? Gov. Ngige can do nothing about this; he is the target, and the
recent destruction is only typical of extra-punitive aggression, as foolish
as it may be. Maybe the federal government can punish these people; but I
doubt if they will as much as I believe they can. This makes the call for
State police more meaningful today.
In Benue State , the people destroyed both
property and life without being punished by those who should, because those
who should enforce the law were perpetrators of the evil. Those who were
hired to commit both crimes-one in Benue State and the other in Anambra- are
ordinary Nigerians. Why should ordinary Nigerians complain? We destroy what
is ours and cry �government, government�. Who put guns in our hands and
forced us to shoot our kinsmen and women? Who told us to slit our throat and
we did? Only fools behave this way. We then organize special events and
HONOR these murderers of our dreams, killers of our dignity, and takers of
our life. We haven�t seen enough of the blood feast yet.
Governor Orji Kalu claimed he has documents to show that some
officials in government have corruptly enriched themselves. What is keeping
him from releasing those? He went on a solidarity visit to his colleague in
Plateau State and advised him to go to court to seek extension of his
mandate by six months, to cover for the lost period during emergency rule in
Plateau State . Governor Kalu then lamented the rating of Nigeria by
Transparency International and blamed the Federal Government for it. First
of all, I suppose Governor Kalu does not understand the principle of
collective responsibility. The rating of Nigeria is due to the actions of
Nigerians as a people-the demands for �gratification� right from our
International airports (by Nigerian officials), the scam letters emanating
from Nigeria; stolen money stashed in foreign accounts by our elected
officials etc. In fact, when the Plateau House of Assembly accused the
Federal government of selective treatment in the Dariye case, I wondered how
many political criminals should be prosecuted simultaneously before they
will agree to investigate their man. Gov. Kalu should help change this
rating by releasing the �evidence�, otherwise, he should please stop playing
to the gallery; he is a PDP Governor, and is responsible for the failures or
successes of the PDP administration in the entire country. I only see this
recalcitrant dance around the pyre bearing Dariye�s political cadaver as a
despicable effort to hide the rot that governance has become in so many
States. This perception is reinforced by the declaration by Dariye in a BBC
Hausa program that those who live in glass houses must not throw stones.
What a statement with telling meaning! The frantic defense of graft in the
name of �solidarity� is what has kept Nigeria back for years.
