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What manner of Joshua is Dariye?
By Dianam Dakolo
Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel,
and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Aj-a-lon.
And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies.
�And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the
Lord fought for Israel. (Joshua 10:12-14)
It was one of the many extraordinary deeds of Joshua, the beloved of the Lord. The armies of Adonizedec, king of
Jerusalem, Hoham, king of Hebron, Pi-ram, king of Jarmuth, Ja-phi-a, king of La-chish, and Debir, king of Eglon,
routed in one fell swoop! In the heat of battle, even the celestial bodies bowed in full obedience to the commands
of Joshua. Jericho had fallen to him, and so had Ai. Because the Lord was with him, and His promises to the children
of Israel had to be fulfilled. That fact of supernal mediation had been discerned by the rulers of the neighbouring
kingdom, Gibeon, and they had opted for a peace treaty with Joshua. But the afore-mentioned kings would not let
it be. Fired by vengeance and adventure, they had their combined forces deployed to destroy what they termed a
traitor-nation. Joshua was to act swiftly to defend his ally.
Not only did the invading forces meet complete destruction on the battlefield, with hailstones from the heavens
decimating their numbers, their kings suffered grievous humiliation. In place of the fortified palaces they had
been used to, they had a cave at Mak-ke-dah for refuge. �Smoked out� (apologies to the Americans), they were subjected
to public displays that denuded them of every shred of dignity. The spectacle was captured in Joshua 10:24: �And
it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and
said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these
kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.�
That victory, one of the most striking in the military-cum-leadership career of Joshua, furthered the programme
for the consolidation of his authority and grip on the territories he gained. Israel had become established and
secured in lands promised generations of chosen ones, beginning with Abraham. And Joshua, righteous, submissive
and ever loyal to God, was the blessed instrument for effectuation of much that had been preordained. He was a
vessel of honour. God loved him because he was pure at heart and dedicated in service. Distinguished right from
youth, he and Caleb were the only ones of the adult generations that received clearance from on high to enter the
Promised Land. His legend has lived through the ages.
The mention of that name � Joshua - any day conjures up images of resplendence and valour, and excites expectations,
based on the profile outlined sketchily above. The noblest values reside in it. And it is common knowledge that,
save for the rare cases where names were stumbled upon (as with one of Toni Morrison�s characters in Song of Solomon
who named his daughter Pilate), parents express their worldviews, aspirations, emotional attachments and experiences
through the names they give to their babies. It definitely could not have been different in the case of Dariye.
That he was named Joshua is sufficient suggestion of the attachment of his parents to the image of the Biblical
personage. When the Plateau-born Joshua became State Governor, his people could very well have seen in him the
potential of enacting some positively transformational wonders in the course of his leadership. How mistaken!
Dariye, Nigeria�s version of Biblical Joshua, had challenges to contend with, every one of them an opportunity
for the affirmation of definitive principles. Plateau State, like every other section of present-day Nigeria, is
under-developed, plagued with hunger, ignorance and disease. Religious and ethnic diversity constitutes another
sub-set of challenges. But then, resources exist, and with judicious management, the quality of life as well as
harmonious co-existence could be attained. Nigeria�s Joshua, like the other variants of his political self in the
other State capitals, failed - and woefully so - and gave the principalities of Aso Rock (the most satanic of elements
to ever ascend the presidency of this country) an opportunity to malign and nail him. It was a challenge from the
world of darkness, but this Joshua, weighed down by sin, was totally bereft of the capacity for wonders.
The Principal of Aso Rock, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, saw in circumstances precipitated by his (Obasanjo�s) five
years of misrule an excuse to declare a state of emergency in Plateau State. Citing non-existent legislation, he
suspended the Governor (Dariye) and the House of Assembly for six months. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and
the country�s most distinguished legal practitioners, including Chief F.R.A. Williams, Professor Itse Sagay, Professor
Ben Nwabueze, all expressed outrage at the action of the Principal of principalities. �There is no provision in
any part of our Constitution which confers such a power (to suspend a Governor and a State Assembly) on the President,�
Timi, the Law, emphasised.
In typical fashion, the Principal ignored the protestations and proceeded, through the security agencies and the
moribund Code of Conduct Bureau, to rake up fraudulent practices of the hapless Governor for the purpose of impeachment.
The same Obasanjo that overlooked the N320 billion budgetary allocation to the Works Ministry that Tony Anenih
is unable to account for; the same Principal who overlooked the over $700 million (for rehabilitation of refineries)
that was misappropriated; the same one that overlooked the COJA multi-billion scandals, and has shielded Mallam
Nasir el-Rufai from prosecution for financial improprieties uncovered and documented in the audited accounts of
the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE). It is Dariye that the senile Principal wants to use as example of his anti-corruption
hogwash.
Inspired by legend, the world had expected a re-enactment of the spectacles of Mak-ke-dah � antagonistic kings
with their necks under the jackboots of Joshua�s army. None of that is for the world today because, as Professor
Sagay surmised recently, Nigeria�s Joshua has �dipped his hands into some very very dirty things which he is afraid
would be exposed by the Federal Government if he challenges them.� So, we have a case of a degenerate fellow shamelessly
parading himself in borrowed robes. Let Dariye know that for as long as the chasm between his character and the
worth of the name he bears exists, the world cannot but see him as a phoney. He should drop that name � and possibly
take up another, something like Alamieyeseigha (meaning �what the king does cannot be wrong�), so that the world
would have little difficulty reconciling his mindless plunder of State resources with the logic of his name.
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