At some point we must all learn to detach ourselves from
emotions , sentiments and political pornography and focus on guilt and
innocence, on objective facts and procedures
Everybody wants to be seen to be fighting corruption. Isn’t
this the dispensation of anti –corruption? And since our vain religiousity has
left us with a faithful devotion to make-believe, those who learn the rituals
early and mouth the right incantations may put themselves beyond condemnation.
Nigeria, the land of modern day Pharisees. So Fayose woke
early one morning and shut out latecomers in Ado- Ekiti in an attempt to secure
a sitting position on that moral high ground. Poultry matters notwithstanding.
His obsequious victims, truant civil servants, helpless against a sovereign,
abased themselves, groveled at the feet of the one reveling in a new ‘fame’.
In the spirit of anti corruption or the manipulative
usurpation of that fad, Lagos state took on Fashola. A feud between a son and
his father in Lagos nearly degenerated into a rumble in the mud. Father said he
cannot be afraid of the growing reputation of his son but he didn’t tell us who
dug deep and washed some dirty linens of his son in public under his nose.
In a fit of pique, the son threw the parable of ‘filth and
pigs’ but refused to take on the father, resisted the temptations of those who
egged him on to put the father beyond public redemption. He swallowed his pride
, no one knows if he is still regarded worthy of his seat in the anti
corruption assembly. Time will tell. Because these half- hearted “its ok now”
reconciliations often cannot undo the damage already done to reputations . A
shattered or tattered reputation , ordinarily, has no ‘nmekwatarism’ as the
Igbo would joke.
When the EFCC emerged from slumber and rushed out with their
vuvuzela and charge sheets to join the anti corruption choir many felt that
such sudden, new found, over-zealousness cannot be altruistic. It could be
altruistic if the pervasive cluelessness and permissiveness of the past regime
made everyone including the watchmen somnolent.
If however the earlier slumber was induced or complicated by
sleaze, then perhaps, the otherwise cynical interpretation that practiced
dissemblers are now at work, making a mockery of the rule of law, has merit.
For though they could be, they do not have the contriteness of new converts.
Selfish interests aren’t bad but they must not predominate and adulterate
judgments of public officers because when brutes pursue survivalism, the system
is imperiled.
Private interests have now usurped centre stage and the
suffering masses have been tragically co-opted to cheer and boo . Reality can
be stifled and falsified. The drama that was the invitation of Saraki’s wife by
the EFCC could not have been better timed. No scruples when the gloves are off,
I guess. A warning shot to discourage the Oloye’s son from developing any ideas
of triumphalism.
No one knows how much the rambunctiousness of Dino Melaye may
have frayed nerves further by suggesting remorselessness and defiance.
Treachery, they say, invites all sorts. Intractable defiance calls for the
hammer. Many knew that Saraki’s impudence had earned him an unforgivable
penance. So when Saraki retaliated by encouraging a senate probe of the EFCC
chairman instigated by ‘concerned’ proxies , his presumed impenitence was
perhaps confirmed.
He chose the path of confrontation rather than submission.
Some daggers once drawn cannot be sheathed without consequences. Some say any
consummate politician would have swallowed his pride and tendered an apology ,
sought reconciliation and bid his time. But this isn’t the time to dwell on
paths not taken.
All who want corruption stamped out have warned about a fight
against corruption that would be trivialized by selectivity, vindictiveness and
vendetta. But none can expect a war that would not be used to settle one or two
personal scores. Igbos say that the flutist must have the privilege of clearing
his nose but shouldn’t the criminal justice structures be far too sacred for
such private advantages?
When the Code of conduct tribunal released the charges
against Saraki some days ago, that which many had long feared , came to haunt
the anti corruption war. Saraki wasted no time in declaring that he was
targeted maliciously. He claimed the charges were frivolous. But he didn’t stop
there.
Since all now want to be seen as apostles of the new
religion, he went further to claim that his victimization was in response to
his determination to stamp out corruption. The circus has truly begun. The
predator can quickly become the prey. He may need to ask one or two of his
fellow former governors a thing or two about securing a perpetual injunction
against criminal investigation and prosecution.
“Corruption fights back” he proclaimed. Interesting. When the
EFCC summoned his wife, Saraki dismissed the invitation as persecution. Then
he, the persecuted, a few weeks after , sought to have the EFCC chairman answer
to allegations of embezzlement of monies the agency had recovered dating many
years back. Saraki’s predatory instincts did not allow him to appreciate that
his own actions could be read as retaliatory , vindictive.
Saraki obviously knows his detractors more than we do. So
when the senate that is yet to settle announced the commencement of an
investigation into the power sector looking as far back as the Obasanjo era,
some insinuated that the net was being cast further and wider for reasons
beyond the anti corruption motivations. Since anti corruption has become the
sledgehammer, survival may lie in the mastery of its application. Shouldn’t Nigerians
know how billions of dollars got flushed down the electricity drain pipe?
Sometimes, to defend, you have to attack. Witch-hunting isn’t that bad, you
know.
It is difficult to disregard suggestions that Saraki is a
marked man for obvious reasons. He says he suffers because he is the senate
president. No one doubts that . No member of a ruling party in Africa will be
sought by a multiplicity of anti corruption agencies for any reason other than
perceived treachery .
No one who understands how things work in third world
countries would consider Saraki , a veteran of many complicated commercial
transactions , a difficult take for anyone who controls the criminal justice
process. So many wondered why he chose his particular strategy and stuck to it defiantly.
If it is truly all about 2019, then he showed his hand a bit too early
The CCB has charged Saraki. The die is cast. It is
unfortunate that the EFCC and CCB are being accused of being used to hound any
Nigerian. The sequence of events, a certain choreography, invites that
suspicion. It would be sacrilegious if , when being so used, they have to
engage in frivolous persecutory and vexatious prosecutions wasting tax payers
funds and morally crippling an already weakened criminal justice system.
The tribunal judges however must acquit Saraki except if the
evidence presented before them proves beyond all reasonable doubt that he
committed the offences for which he has been charged. In light of the
circumstances surrounding the Saraki saga, the senate should retain Saraki as
senate president until he is found guilty. A citizen facing a criminal
prosecution must be considered and must remain innocent until a court of
competent jurisdiction finds otherwise.
It would amount to gross abuse of executive powers if a
prosecuting agency can remove the head of the legislature by simply preferring
charges against him. However, in saner climes, a man would in search of honour,
resign from a position of public trust if the moral weight of the allegations
against him would impair the smooth functioning of the organization he heads.
Saraki, however, in alleging bias and malice, deflects sufficiently such moral
considerations and can retain his seat until the courts decide.
But now that Saraki is under the criminal searchlight he must
desist from actions that could suggest that he is intent on obstructing justice
directly or indirectly. Consequently any probes of the EFCC or CCB by the
legislature must wait until he has been acquitted or convicted. A retaliatory
probe of these institutions in response to these investigations can only be
viewed as truly fighting back. The oversight function of the legislature is a
weighty public responsibility and cannot be crafted into a self serving tool
employed at whim to impede the wheels of justice.
While vindictiveness may damage the anti corruption war, the
public must not be distracted by a preoccupation with mawkish sentimentality.
Any past or present public officer charged for any offence bordering on
corruption or stealing must go before the court and render proper accounts.
Politics entails finding the flaws and hidden skeletons in the cupboards of
opponents and exposing them.
If that is witch hunting , then it is perhaps a patriotic
duty. It is good that the CCB went back many years to make a case against
Saraki. The CCB’s watchman’s duty necessarily involves such historical
re-assessments and archeological excavations of past declarations. But wouldn’t
it be better if it was holistic?
Is it perhaps unrealistic to expect independence and absolute
neutrality from these agencies we haven’t managed to transform into proper
institutions? The truth is that these institutions are in their infancy, and
must go through teething and toilet training. They will get better. But they
must, even while learning the ropes, inspire some public confidence. Every case
, like the Saraki case, educates the public and increases awareness and
hopefully accountability.
Criminal trials of high profile political office holders
should only generate concern and worry if they serve to decimate the opposition
and entrench a one party rule. At some point we must all learn to detach
ourselves from emotions , sentiments and political pornography and focus on
guilt and innocence, on objective facts and procedures. The ultimate benefit to
poor Nigerians of these criminal trials must be the enthronement of good
governance founded on the rule of law.
Credit: Vanguard
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