The Nigerian factor

When Senator Nuhu Aliyu stood up on the floor of the hallowed upper chamber of the National Assembly threatening fire and brimstone if he was not allowed to unveil the masks on the faces of some fraudsters camouflaging as distinguished Senators and honourable members of the lower House, not a few people thought that another house cleansing exercise was about to be flagged off at the National Assembly. To be candid, one would presume that the long overdue cleansing exercise was about to commence. But, alas, this was not to be.

One then wonders what could have warranted the dramatic turnaround of event? The reasons may not be far-fetched afterall.
For Senator Aliyu, a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, to have said that he could recognise some fraudsters, who he had personally tried or interrogated while in office as D.I.G., now occupying the hallowed chamber seats together with sincere lawmakers, he must have had his facts and figures.

A person of his calibre could not have been talking just to hear his own voice. To have risen to the post of D.I.G. prior to retirement in the Nigeria Police is not a small feat, although becoming a distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria does not require as much effort. The little effort required is to secure a godfather (a political general) who could sponsor you once there is a documented assurance that a certain percentage of your remuneration must come to him as returns.

Once this is agreed upon, irrespective of your character, the coast is clear for you. The reason for the sudden turnaround in the Senator Aliyu drama cannot be far-fetched. First, he was once a top brass in the police; and is there a retired DPO, let alone DIG, whose tenure would be investigated and at the end of the day receive a clean bill? Search me. It must have been impressed on Senator Aliyu that for him to open the so- called can of worms would be tantamount to shooting himself on the leg.

Second, the reverberating threat of assassination could have dissuaded the distinguished Senator. Who is ready to die for the truth in Nigeria anyway? Notwithstanding the excuse given that his lawyers advised him against the “expo”, his family members too must have drummed it into his ears that being alive to perform his responsibility as a father is far more imperative than exposing any drug baron or fraudster. Not everybody can have the mind of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. In other words, he should remember the son of whom he is “Nuhu Aliyu” and not Nuhu Ribadu.

Third, is it not likely that the top echelon of both the upper and the lower legislative chambers could have been involved? Do the culprits not know themselves? Could they not have made him see reason that it could cause a national ignominy and embarrassment rather than facilitate integrity and prestige for the Yar’Adua administration? Fourth, could Aliyu-—who used to be a policeman and I am cock sure that only very few Nigerian policemen could resist bribe — not have been offered mouth - watering “egunje” by the culprits so as to keep his mouth shut forever? For the sake of posterity, many of the eminent jurists on the Election Petition Tribunals across the country have equally been offered huge sums of money or threatened with assassination with a view to making them pervert the course of justice. But they refused to bulge. The ordinary citizens appreciate your sincerity, please keep the flag of justice flying.

To round off this piece, if none of the aforementioned reasons is responsible for a change of mind of our distinguished Senator, then the last might not have been heard about the fraudster saga in the National Assembly. I just hope that Senator Nuhu Aliyu will join the group of those who have written their names in gold since the inception of the National Assembly.

Adeola Oduola,
Iwo Road,
Ibadan

Electoral lethargy in Nigeria

LethargY, disinterestedness are the appropriate expressions that describe the reaction of Nigerians to the country’s electoral process. Very few people go out to vote during any election because of lack og interest. Gone are the days when people enthusiastically trooped out in large numbers, to vote for the candidates of their choice. At the end of such exercise, ballot boxes were filled with genuine voting cards. Honest counting followed, and the figures announced by the electoral body were accurate and devoid of manipulation. When the results were declared, the voters felt happy that the results were the true reflection of their pattern of voting. They accepted the verdict in good faith. The electorate, whose candidate lost out, raised no dust because the card had been laid bare and they were convinced that their candidate failed probably due to the fact that his opponent was more popular or had worked harder during the campaigns.

The winning candidate went into government house, with a clear conscience that he deserved the ticket. Eventually, such legislator, governor or president was found to be competent . The result was beneficial legislation and governance.

But what we have today is imposition of candidates.The effect is lethargy as exhibited by the electorate. Today, there is nothing like manifesto because the unpopular party or parties want to grab the power by the use of force, election manipulation and fraud. Such parties then amass weapons of destruction.

Who, then, will not first mind the safety of his life? Many more avoid voting because they have rightly concluded that their votes would not count in deciding the result of elections.

Allen Oye Ogundipe,
Adeyemo Layout,
Molete, Ibadan.