Elder Saidu Dogo, Secretary of the Northern Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), recently advocated death sentence for corrupt leaders. The man of God opined that such drastic action is the only way to checkmate corruption in the country. He said further that the family member of such leaders found to have benefited from the act should get 15-year-jail term and property confiscated. Good talk but Dogo forgot to include fake and corrupt men of God. Ah...ah...ah

Anyway, there are two kinds of behaviour that could accelerate the death of a nation. One is considered illegal and often face stiff penalty including lynching when caught in this obsessive mood. Although the other is also prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules, unlike the other kind, the perpetrator is protected by the same law that should lynch him. Notice that my choice of word is strong for the two behavourial attributes: lynch or lynching.

I consider lynch or lynching to be strong word because it is a kill often without legal sanction. Whilst most lynching is seen as a cry for justice, others are carried out often by the blood-thirsty mob. Lynching is primitive in customs and culture; a barbarous crime. And no government - authoritarian or democrat - would be willing to adopt such technique as a way of punishment or correction.

But it seems this is what has been happening to Nigerians for quite a long time. How they have managed to survive the lynching should be a subject of intense research. We are being lynched by the very entity whose first responsibility is to protect you and I. You may dismiss my premise as poetry hyperbolic of a frustrated Nigerian if you like. I am not going to lure you into temptation - of buying my argument, but I shall clarify the meaning of things.

Armed robbery is perhaps the most dreaded encounter every Nigerian prays not to experience. An armed robber is merciless; resembling a tiger in fierceness and lack of mercy. He is capable of an act of ruthless ferocity, bowelless readiness to take advantage and in the process inflicts fatal and permanent injury - mental or physical or even both. He is without compunction or human feeling; something dark and inhuman in form. Although his way is usually obstructive and destructive; death and devastating, he does not pretend otherwise. He is an armed robber and Nigerians have learnt to take him for who he is.  

Pen robbery! This is another terror causing alarm or fear in Nigeria. A pen robber is the twin brother of an armed robber (you don't have to believe this). He is equally ruthless; a monster of remorseless cruelty. He likes exerting force or influence, will do nothing unless he gets something out of it for himself. Like his brother he can impose something unpleasant; kills his victims softly with rhetoric. Although his way is also obstructive and destructive; death and devastating, but unlike his brother, he pretends otherwise. He cajoles Nigerians into believing he is their friend. 

Agreed, they are both daring in their chosen endeavours. Whilst the armed robber often pays for his daredevil act, his twin brother often go scot-free. Although the end result of their acts is the same, armed robber is often rebuked while his pen robber brother glorified. Nigerians admire, even love the pilfering fingers of a pen robber but detest and are quick to cut the fingers of an armed robber. He has been lynched, faced the firing squad many times while his twin brother – equally inimical to progress – has been elevated to lead his nation.

This unfairness has angered Mr. Armed Robber who could not fathom why he is being treated unfairly by the people who should know better. As a result of this unequal treatment, he has devised a master plan. He would quit armed for pen. After all, it is much safer in his society to rob with pen than gun. What a smart move! Perhaps that is why there is so much stealing going on at the corridor of power. The ex-armed robber is now a policy maker, managing the country's finance system. Perhaps this is the reason why it's so difficult to combat or even curb official stealing. The ex-armed robber has now invaded the Polity House where the so-called Ghana-must-go aplenty.

Numerous times he had shown the stuff he's made of but each time he succeeded in outsmarting the institution established to probe or investigate him. He doesn't believe in such institution for he surely knows it's a case of thief probing thief. He may not know anything about law but he has lawyers on his pay roll. He may know nothing about speech making but he has journalists and writers ready to improve his knowledge as long as the envelope is brown (or is it now yellow?). The EFCC boss, Farida Waziri, may be referring to this ex-armed robber turned pen robber when the hapless woman cried that immunity must be removed from the nation's constitution.

No Smoke without Fire

Analogy apart, it simply doesn't augur well for any Nigerian representative to indulge in buying expensive cars or houses at this point in time when they should concentrate on managing public funds as well as provision of adequate security to protect citizens' lives that have become meaningless due to insecurity in the land. Whether the Speaker and his deputy are legally entitled to eight cars in their convoy does not matter. Spending N1.9bn on the purchase of state-of-the-art cars and N1.5bn on the purchase of office equipment for the Speaker and his deputy is ludicrously immoderate. It is extravagance in every sense.

This shameless act of profligacy on the part of Nigerian public officials is perhaps the matrix that continues to influence Nigerian youths in their quest for materialism and cheating. Some would argue that the cars bought are for security purpose. But what kind of security are they talking about when foreigners now rob freely on Nigerian highways? There's no smoke without fire, so even if the allegation by Festus Keyamo, a Lagos lawyer, is being described as "orchestra of deception" against the leadership of the House, the fact that the House gives room for such petition speaks volume. The alleged confession by Comrade Umar Farouk that he was offered N1million to discredit the leadership of the House over the purchase not withstanding!

There are just too many scandals involving Nigerian public officials. Financial scandals are so rampant among our public officials that such news is becoming obsolete. Judging from the past allegations in the land, no public official have been able to prove their innocence. It is a shame that House Speaker Dimeji Bankole, a young blood, is involved in this kind of allegations which if proved to be true, may have everlasting implication on the young and upcoming politicians. In this time of austerity measures or is it SAP (Structural Adjustment Programme), it is disappointing to hear that certain public officials are dying to buy state-of-the-art cars. Will heaven fall, for instance, if the red carpet is replaced with red mat?

Now, the cars they are spending fortune on, where are they made? Is it in Nigeria or in Italy or in Germany or in America? Instead of spending heavily on technology and research in order to boost homemade goods, our egregious representatives prefer a display that is vulgar or tawdry. How silly are these men of "honours"? When are they going to realise that he who murders sleep shall sleep no more? When are they going to know that vanity upon vanity is vanity? When? Indeed the recent looting of Edo State 's lodge various expensive household items by several staff is as wicked as it is unbelievable. Immediately after the annulment of Oserhiemen Osunbor as the governor, his men started stealing government's properties. How low can these people go?

The indictment of House speaker and his deputy by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) is instructive enough. According to the Nigeria Tribune, the final report sent to the presidency indicted the embattled Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, largely for failing to provide leadership in the execution of the controversial contract which was alleged to have gulped N2.3 billion in car purchase. Although Bankole reportedly rejected his own share of the booty, his alleged failure to raise the alarm over the reported deal when he knew about it put him on the wrong side of due process and probity.

It might surprise you but I support Dogo's call for death penalty. I endorse it because it could be the only way to scare these official robbers away from authority stealing. Although we may argue that death penalty will not deter armed robbers, but it will certainly discourage pen ones. A pen robber you should know has become soft since he graduated to pen robbery. He is now an opportunist who does not want to die (not after all the wealth he had stolen). My theory is that the mere mention of a firing squad or death penalty would definitely make him piss in his pant. Hum, who is going to enact such law?

Copyright 2008 mysmallvoice@yahoo.com

Robot  # 1 | 18.12.2008 07:08

Elder Saidu Dogo, Secretary of the Northern Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN),recently advocated death sentence for corrupt leaders. The man of God opined that such drastic action is the only way to checkmate corruption in the country. He said further that the family member of such leaders found to have benefited from the act should get 15-year-jail term and property confiscated. Good talk but Dogo forgot to include fake and corrupt men of God. Ah...ah...ah Anyway, there are twokinds ofbehaviour that could accelerate the death of a nation. One is considered illegal and often face stiff penalty includinglynching when caught inthis obsessive mood.Althoughthe other is also prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules, unlike the other kind,the perpetratoris protected by the same law that should lynch him. Notice that my choice of word is strong for the two behavourial attributes: lynch or lynching. I con...Read the full article.

uzosike  # 2 | 18.12.2008 17:34

It is not surprising that Bankole and his mob are invole in this mess. All of them are dishonorable. The Good thing is that they all read saharareporters and Nigerianvillage square, so me must continue to tell them what we thing about them. The pastor who call for firing squad must better watch his back. If they listen to him, 99.9% of his collegues will be wiped out in two months. You just have to go one of this money doubling Churches to see what they do in the name of the Lord. Change will come to Nigeria when Ribadu becomes our president. mandave UK

emenanjo  # 3 | 18.12.2008 20:35

The fact that Bankole once lived in UK before he ventured into Nigerian politics is enough to make the man help to transform that country. The point is that when they come in with intention of changing the system, the Nigerian system ends up changing them. Look at the track record of Chimarouke Nnamani, as governor of Enugu state. This is a man who left his medical practice in the US and was sponsored by Chief Jim Nwobodo, what did he do? He looted the state blind! I think I am beginning to buy Areoye Oyebola's submission in his book titled THE BLACKMAN'S DILEMA, that there is something intrinsically wrong with the black race.

Dapxin  # 4 | 18.12.2008 21:26

=emenanjo;301807>The fact that Bankole once lived in UK before he ventured into Nigerian politics is enough to make the man help to transform that country. The point is that when they come in with intention of changing the system, the Nigerian system ends up changing them. Look at the track record of Chimarouke Nnamani, as governor of Enugu state. This is a man who left his medical practice in the US and was sponsored by Chief Jim Nwobodo, what did he do? He looted the state blind! I think I am beginning to buy Areoye Oyebola's submission in his book titled THE BLACKMAN'S DILEMA, that there is something intrinsically wrong with the black race. I was once sitting down with an uncle - A federal Rep at the time in Abuja, and he used words to the effect . I para-quote we shall go there with our guns ready to shoot anyobody.... He had stayed 19years in America. And that was concerining the 2003 elections. Truth be told, Nigeria is a mirage Terribly unreal.