Perceptor
“By doubting we come to question, and by questioning, we perceive the truth.”
(Peter Abelard, 1079-1142)
Four Questions on ... Punishing the Victim
Perceptor is concerned at the apparent extension of the “punish the victim” principle that has found such a happy home in the Yar’Adua/Aondoakaa administration. At first, Perceptor thought that it only applied to people who whose complaints were about elections: we had the chaps who went to Oshogbo to complain about clear judicial bias and apparent judicial corruption in the Osun State gubernatorial election petition. Their peaceful protest landed them in the slammer with even the bail granted them revoked. Then we had the harmless election observers in Ekiti State, who were set upon and mercilessly beaten by PDP thugs right under the eyes of the Nigeria Police Force, who only thought that they’d better stir their stumps when it looked as if there was going to be a ‘necklacing’ – the burning tyre type. But not to arrest the PDP thugs! No, it was the victims who were arrested and carted off to Abuja. (Why Abuja, by the way?). Anyway, Perceptor had naturally assumed that the reason why those victims were up for punishment was because President Umaru Yar’Adua didn’t want them to derail his grandiose all-conquering plans to reform the electoral system. Which is unfortunate for them, but understandable ... just. However, the practice seems to have spread beyond people complaining about elections, and this is disturbing enough to warrant a few questions...
1. If the category of victims who ought to be punished is supposed to be limited to people whinging about elections, where do the Nigerian soldiers recently sentenced to life imprisonment fit in?
We have the soldiers who went abroad to serve their country (and incidentally contribute to the good reputation that Nigerian soldiers and policemen have when serving overseas), who came back and found that their salary had been trousered somewhere between the United Nations and their own pay packets. For daring to complain about it, they got sentenced to a life in jail.
OK, Perceptor gets that – you serve, you get cheated, YOU get the life sentence, ...
2. ... but what about the perpetrators?
Perceptor doesn’t seem to have heard anything about the people who trousered the life convicts’ pay and allowances. Who may well have been their superior officers. Perceptor hopes that isn’t because anyone is afraid of exercising civilian authority over the armed forces ...?
3. How will these life sentences affect Nigeria’s reputation for providing excellent uniformed personnel for international missions?
As the rebranding project tells us, we Naijas don’t have a terribly good reputation – even inside our own country and amongst ourselves. But one thing we have always prided ourselves on is the quality of service given by our soldiers and policemen who go overseas on international peacekeeping missions. So Perceptor is extremely worried that the lesson that these our uniformed representatives who are sent overseas may learn from this punishment of the victim, might be that they’d better make their money ‘off the land’ so to speak, rather than disciplining themselves in the hope of reward at the end of the day. Perceptor is worried that they might feel that if the Pakistanis and the Ukrainians can get away with it, they might as well join the bandwagon. Because whatever other countries might be involved in such activities, once Nigerians get in on the act, it will be Nigeria that will be mentioned every time, and this isn’t going to do the rebranding project a whole lot of good ...
4. And by the way ... was it FAIR?
When Chelsea Football Club players protest about unfair refereeing (as they see it), they might get a fine, or a suspension. Apparently this approach doesn’t commend itself to the people in charge at the Ministry of Defence.
Well, Perceptor is not a soldier and never hopes to be one, so no matter how much they go on about military discipline and so on and so forth, it’s never going to stop Perceptor from wondering how any of the people connected with any of the decisions to CHEAT, PROSECUTE and then SENTENCE these soldiers to LIFE imprisonment can possibly SLEEP at night.
It Ain’t Over ...
Oh dear! There everybody was, thinking that if they talked and hoped and prayed as hard as they could, if they appealed to Christian conscience, female solidarity, showered her with praise and hope, Resident Electoral Grandmamassioner Ayoka Adebayo would do the right thing, reject the rejectables, uphold the ‘zero tolerance for violence’ policy and declare Kayode Fayemi the winner of the election that he actually won two years ago. But they should have known better. It ain’t over ...
... till the Fat Lady Sings
The ‘election’ had been held, results were being declared, when Mrs. Adebayo called a halt. Her first song was encouraging to the Action Congress: My Christian conscience! How much money is worth my integrity? I resign! Etc. etc. etc.
Wait a minute ... Resign? Why? What was all that talk about people trying to force her to declare results? (Against the aforesaid Christian conscience?) And then she resigns without NAMING those people? Not Good Enough Mrs. Adebayo! But the AC, getting rather too much ahead of her, ignored that and had already practically canonised the woman! The Peoples Democratic Party of course, said they had lost confidence in her.
While Professor Maurice Iwu tried to explain the halt in results declaration by claiming that. Adebayo was ‘ill’ (but who believes anything that man says anyway?) Adebayo herself went into hiding and sent President Yar’Adua her mealy-mouthed resignation letter. The Nigeria Police Force declared her ‘wanted’ and the President rejected her resignation.
Meanwhile, questions began to arise about what exactly her relationship with ex-President Obasanjo was. Of course, she was bound to be a PDP supporter – in a moment of candour, President Yar’Adua had admitted that Resident Electoral Commissioners are always party members or supporters recommended by the State Governor (if he’s a PDP man) or the State PDP Chairman if the opposition are in control. But what was this about one of Obasanjo’s wives picking a quarrel with Adebayo for sitting next to the great man?
Did the AC’s confidence depend on Adebayo either forgetting her PDP antecedents or ... IF there was any understanding amongst ex-President Obasanjo, ex-Governor Ayo Fayose and the Action Congress ... everybody keeping up their end of the bargain. Well, there may be honour among thieves, but when Senate President David Mark himself suddenly began to sing a different tune to the ‘We the PDP have no confidence in the REC’ song, and instead to say that all parties should accept the decision of the REC ... well, Perceptor knew for sure that that wasn’t the only tune that was going to change. As the saying goes: It ain’t over ...
... till the Fat Lady Sings
Perceptor need only add that when she emerged from her resignation and seclusion in the bosom of the PDP family – sorry – Perceptor’s mistake! ... the bosom of the INEC family, Mrs. Adebayo was indeed singing a new song.
Committee Watch
Nobody can deny that there is one growth industry under the Yar’Adua administration, and that’s the committee industry. Latest exhibit: Committee on Halliburton. But isn’t Attorney-General Michael Aondoakaa being a bit selfish in chairing this committee as well? After all, he hasn’t finished work on the FEC Committee on the White Paper Committee on the Electoral Reform Committee has he?
Actually, maybe he has. After all, seven bills were rushed to the National Assembly last week. Perceptor does not wish to be unduly cynical. But if those bills are supposed to convince us that President Yar’Adua really IS committed to electoral reform and make us forget that he put his leg right inside the Ekiti mess, well, it is going to take just a leetle bit more than a few bits of dodgy legislation.
Next exhibit: Committee on Amnesty for the Niger Delta militants ...
Shake... down!
Last blog, Perceptor made mention of a journey on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, to which the best musical accompaniment would be Bill Haley’s “Shake, Rattle and Roll!”. But with the news that the whole road is to be handed over to Mr. Wale Babalakin’s Bi-Courtney Consortium who are to repair and upgrade the road on a ‘build, operate and transfer’ basis, i.e. they spend their money to repair the road and then charge people for using it, Perceptor is now shaking with worry that the Expressway may become a big shake DOWN.
In other countries, toll roads have a viable free alternative. But what does the Yar’Adua administration have by way of alternative route? It is best not to ask. ... but since you do ... Umaru Yar’Adua, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, actually believes that the road that leads from Lagos to Abeokuta and on to Ibadan, is a serious alternative! That’s how bad it is. (His complete insulation from actual facts on the actual ground, that is.) Tell you what, Mr. President: Why not pay a surprise visit to your predecessor? Why not fly to Lagos and then DRIVE BY ROAD to Ota and the Obasanjo Farms Nigeria Ltd?
If you have any teeth left in your head after that bone-shaking ride, use them to smile next time you’re on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, even before Bi-Courtney get their hands on it. Because compared to the experience you will enjoy driving to OFN, that will be like driving on a SKATING RINK!
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