The reported shameful attempt of the government of Nigeria to emotionally harass the wife and children of Mallam El Rufai took Nigeria a notch lower in the comity of decent people. I suppose that tasteless attempt to intimidate the wife and traumatize the children was meant to harass Mallam El Rufai himself. But are we not violating the United Nations Convention on the Protection of women and children? The Declaration on the Protection of women and children in Emergency and Armed Conflict proclaimed in the General Assembly Resolution 3318(XXIX) of 14 December 1974 states that " conscious of its responsibility, for the destiny of the rising generation and for the destiny of mothers, who play an important role in the society, in the family and particularly in the up bringing of children”. Thus guaranteed the rights of women and children from all harm in all circumstances.
Article 3 of this same convention states that " all states shall abide fully by their obligations under the Geneva Protocol of 1925 and the Geneva Convention of 1949 as well as other instruments of international law relative to the respect of human rights ...which offer important guarantees for the protection of women and children".
It went further in Article 5 to state that" all forms of repression and cruel and inhuman treatment of women and children, including imprisonment, torture, shooting...committed by belligerents ...shall be considered criminal.
It is obvious though that the lawless people in the PDP and the Yar'dua government is working assiduously to make Nigeria a pariah nation by this latest development. No one ever thought that children would become instruments in the war against parents as we witnessed in the trauma the children of El Rufai were subjected to. In 1996, when Abacha’s dogs of war assassinated Kudi Abiola, we all went home and said nothing. It was meant to break the spirit of MKO Abiola. When Saro Wiwa was murdered, we all went home and did nothing. It was meant to silence the agitation of the Niger delta people for fairness and accountability of their God given wealth. Now, these people have turned to wives and children, we all witnessed the assassination of Toyin Onagoruwa when the father attempted to quit the Abacha government. We are at it again. Let no feel any sense of schandenfreude about the El Rufais. It is no longer about them. It is about all of us. It is about the fact that inaction becomes eloquent when it involves a deliberate avoidance of duty. It is our duty now, to condemn this latest affront to decency and humanity. It is our duty to sweep the PDP into the garbage can of history. That is where they belong. Enough of this insanity.
Let no one make any mistakes, it is not about El Rufai or his stewardship as a minister in the last administration. Rather, it is about the rest of us who feel immune from the madness that has possessed Nigeria since June 1993. It is about the fact that the shoe could fit on the other leg in future. It could be that any of us will supposedly rub these people on the wrong side and we are toast. Remember the fellow of Elendu reports.com. ? His crime was telling it the way it is. He got slapped with treason or whatever trumped up charges Mr. Aondoakaa could patch together. It is about the fact that in a bizarre way, the El Rufai script reads like something written by the Nigeria police where parents, spouses are detained for the supposed crime of a family member!
It is a shame that an administration that wrapped itself in the cloak of law and order will become so lawless. The harassment of these innocent kids portrays an exceptional lack of judgment. It cannot be excused. This is the same government that is unable to provide the most basic and most simple needs for its people. No water, no power, death traps are better than our roads. Universities are on lock down, our health system has gone belly up, children graduate school and remain jobless, kidnapers are prowling the land with immunity, stocks are being manipulated brazenly, big men and women borrow Joe Blow's money from the banks and plan not to pay back, the economy is in tatters, most serious businesses have relocated outside of Nigeria (read coca cola et all) yet we find time to harass innocent kids because the father is our fathom enemy? Shame on this administration.
There is no mealy mouthed excuse that these clowns will give that will save their miserable faces. If Mallam El Rufai was not their bogeyman, am sure these innocent children will not be traumatized as was done recently. President Yar'dua is clearly in the vice grip of those who imposed him on Nigeria. I wish him luck. This administration is clearly moving from the embattled to the dysfunctional. What is morally wrong can never be right or advantageous even when it makes the powerful gain what they believe it is to their advantage.
If this government has become so insecure to resort to getting at their supposed enemies through the intimidation, harassment of wives and traumatizing of children, then it must truly be having one leg in the grave and the other on a banana peel. Not since the dark days of Abacha did we witness the descent into animal kingdom by our government, so much so that honest criticism is seen as treason. To feel that we cannot criticize the lack luster administration of Yar'dua is morally treasonable to the Nigerian people especially to generations unborn. After all, no government can be seen as successful without a vigorous opposition and vocal population.
If I may risk speaking for Mallam El Rufai, he is not intimidated by this latest irresponsible misadventure of the Yar'dua administration. Tomorrow is another day.
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