2017: Diary of a columnist (I)
No sympathy, no antipathy
“Nonetheless it is both a moral and legal requirement that in the fight against corruption a political leader must proceed with the utmost detachment and un-affection. He must approach the fight as much without fear or favour as without bias or malice aforethought. He is obligated both by law and by morality to be true to ‘friends’ and to ‘foes’ alike. Only thereafter will he be justified -by law and by morality- to ride the chariot of fire and to wield the Sword of Damocles without sympathy and without antipathy.” –from ‘Integrity and war on corruption’ -27/01/17
A stitch in time…
“Corruption has a tendency within the shortest possible time to fester from reversible benignity to incurable malignance. The same way a spoilt child grows from remediable delinquency to incorrigible deviance. Left untreated, more and more people become attracted to -or get consumed by- corruption. Either because it is so widespread that the opportunity to benefit from corruption abounds, or because it is so pervasive that the capacity even for otherwise morally-restrainable citizens to resist its influence progressively wanes.” –from ‘On Diezani’s ‘Bad Loot’ -2/01/17
A troika of evil
“We have allowed ourselves to be hijacked by this troika of mischief makers (namely mischievous lawyers, crooked politicians and compromised journalists) who over time have come to the realization of the efficacy of their combined influence over society; and together they now constitute a gangling pack of ravenous hyenas; patient and persevering; nibbling and nagging; squealing and squeaking, they are determined always to go the distance to bring their prey down. What they ignore remains rested; what they want as agenda is set! They will strain at a gnat but they will ignore a whole camel. They will magnify trivia to the height of national debate, but they will look the other way when murder and arson are committed on a scale”. – from ‘On Justice Onnoghen’ -02/09/17
Comedy of fellows
“Nigeria has become one huge Elizabethan theatre where clowns, harlequins and pantomimes now prowl the stage in an unending melodrama that is sometimes more comic than Shakespeare’s ‘Comedy of Errors‘. And in this unfortunate milieu it seems we are no longer divided over issues. We are rather titillated by personalities. We are so extreme in the way we canvass opinion nowadays that there is hardly any middle ground left –neither one as giddy height for the fence sitter, nor any as sanctuary for the non-aligned. We are either protagonistic about personalities or we are antagonistic about them. And either way, we are just simply unapologetic”. –from ‘Metaphors for a troubled nation’ – 02/16/17
God and man
“Whether we like it or not, man will, sooner or later, ‘multiply’ to fill the earth’ if not by the legitimate conjugal union of polygamists and monogamists alike, then by the illegitimate philandering of fornicators and adulterers. The earth will have to be filled –someday; whether we grow its population by geometric or arithmetic progression. It is the failure of selfish political man and not the absence of divine provision that has put the world in the condition of perpetual lack! Political man has learnt to shackle and unsettle the world through the waging of wars and rumours of war, to keep it from attaining the bliss that God has intended for it. It is neither the problem of religion nor the inadequacy of the earth to provide. It is the wickedness of man who politicizes everything including the economics of food –in a world where the have-nots starve to death and those who have in excess of what they need, often have to dump at sea. Those who continue to rob the economies of most nations are in fact not the most ardent ‘polygamists’. Many of them are monogamists with a cat or a puppy, for child. Sanusi should leave Muslim polygamists alone.” –from ‘Sanusi’s wedlock of of the rich’ -02/23/17
Alive and kicking
“Life”, said “Stephen Vincent Benet is not lost by dying; it is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand small uncaring ways” And maybe it is the reason the Spanish-born U.S. philosopher and poet George Santayana once said: “The diseases which destroy a man are no less natural than the instincts which preserve him.” Many will die of the most trifling of diseases if they have not the spirit to resist, even as many will survive the most malignant of diseases even without medicament. Or as Edward Bach would say “Disease is in essence the result of conflict between soul and mind” –from ‘On Buhari’s ‘hale and heartiness’ 03/01/17
BROKEN RECORD
“Pro-Jonathans still insist that although his government was filthy-corrupt, Jonathan himself was unsullied by the torrents of sordid feces which had bathed it head and trunk, torso to limbs. They admit that although everyone else in the Jonathan Government could be guilty of one form of corruption or maladministration, Jonathan himself was not. And the man is so naively emboldened by the brazen, unscrupulous defense of this army of blind supporters, he has become himself a broken record of Shaggy’s lyric of intransigent self-defense: so that to every allegation of corruption, Jonathan now sings ‘It wasn’t me’.” –from ‘NOW THAT JONATHAN IS ON THE MENU -03/09/17’
GANGSTERISM AND THE LAW
“They say that when he headed the Federal Roads Safety Commission FRSC, Major General Haladu Hannaniya wore the Commission’s uniform. But they did not say whether Hannaniya did so in compliance with the Act establishing the Commission or that he did so merely in deference to a non-mandatory tradition. If the law is silent on whether or not non-career political appointees heading paramilitary bodies should wear uniform, why should any who chooses to wear uniform be deemed in compliance with that law or that any who chooses not to, is adjudged in breach of it? By the way if the precedent of Hannaniya wearing FRSC uniform in deference to operational tradition, is the compelling yardstick for judging Ali’s obduracy in not wearing one, why should the precedent of Wole Soyinka, who pioneered the same FRSC but did not wear its uniform, not be even more compelling?” –from ‘MUCH ADO ABOUT UNIFORM -03/16/17’
UNAVAILING MAJORITY
“Why would an APC-majority-Assembly be poised always to give executive requests from an APC government such hard time? Because APC’s victory at the polls has not been properly managed. This often bi-partisan hostile treatment of presidential requests at the legislature, is an indication not only of the inability of the APC government to manage its legislative majority tactfully, it is also a clear indication that the President’s ‘Executive Initiative’ at the legislature is not handled with the circumspection, tact and diplomacy that it requires.” –from ‘‘BUHARI’S POOR GAME’ -03/23/17
INTER-DEPENDENCE
“In truth, theoretically or even in practice, there is no such thing as ‘independence’ of any of the arms of government. No one arm of government is ‘independent’ of the others. The doctrine of separation of powers did not envisage that; nor has the practice of democracy in whatever garb made such democratic utopia possible. The three arms of government are mutually inter-dependent, with each enjoying a sphere of independence subject to the constitutionally permissible interference of the others.” –from ‘‘WHAT TO DO WITH THE SARAKI NASS’ -03/30/17’
DESPOTISM OF KINGS
“Those who should be angry and tearing down fences, are the ones who are preaching law and the due process of law. Yet those who steal our patrimony have not the littlest scruple subverting the law. In truth ‘singing’ and ‘swinging’ in a democracy, are not the enemies of law or of the due process of law. Said Jean Paul Marat, the 17th century French revolutionary “It is through violence that one must achieve liberty”; and that sometimes “a temporary despotism of liberty” may be necessary “to crush the despotism of kings.” -from ‘BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY’ -04/06/17
RE-‘WHO’S JERUSALEM’
+2347034325535:- “Thank you for a job well done on the issue of ‘Who’s Jerusalem?’ Yes I missed the part one but two and three which I have followed carefully changed my mentality. God bless you. We need more of such.
How can I get part one”. –Pst. Gift Isiekwe Henry.
+2348025565277:- “Sir, I read your article ‘Who’s Jerusalem’ part three. It is highly educative. I would like to read the parts one and two. How do I lay my hands on them? My contact is Mathew.makolo@gmail.com”
Online:- “Feeling like I time-traveled back in time. Enjoyed every bit of it. Very insightful. I feel truly enlightened. I pray the people of this region have peace once and for all. Keep the beautiful work coming Sir. We really appreciate your efforts in enlightening us. May Allah increase you in knowledge”. -Buhari Aliyu.
Online:- “Mallam, always immersed in the ocean of history. This is truly amazing revelation to those who care to know historical antecedents of the only city that is dear to the trio of Abrahamic religions. Your piece as usual is always refreshingly educating. All those that ‘give’ the right to the Israelis almost always try to portray Israelis as the aboriginal inhabitants of the city. This is just incredible response. …But the way things are today, Israel has annexed Jerusalem and the world has betrayed Palestine. Even Palestinians now accept this sad reality. But we pray one day God will miraculously give them back their land. God bless your pen Sir. Thank you very much sir for giving us this unique update from history”. -Aminu Naganye.
Online:- “Well written Sir. It seems this land has been promised to everyone by the cosmic forces, as such the claims. The unfortunate thing is the way some occupiers are doing everything devilishly possible to exterminate the inhabitants of the land simply because they claim it has been promised only them in their scriptures –knowing and disregarding the fact that the same land has been promised the inhabitants in their own scriptures too” -Aso Salisu.
Online:- “Very educative and insightful masterpiece indeed! I am educated. Best regards, Sir”. -Ibrahim Ba’ala.
Online:- “I did not know this before. Very good indeed. Please keep it up” -Abdullahi Dahiru Jauro.
Online:- “Good research!” –Muhammad Ibn Umar.
Online:- “Well composed.” –Ibrahim Haruna Ak.
Online:- “When will the world settle this rift between brothers and sisters?” –Danjuma Abdullahi.
Online:- “Sir, this article is really educating”. -Abubakar Al-Mustapha
Online:- “More power to your elbow sir”. -Abdulrahman Yahaya.
Online:- “I learnt a lot from this article. May Allah reward you Sir”. -Aboubakar Sadeeqds.
Online:- “Thanks for this! Rare education!” -Abubakar Alhaji Ahmed.
Online:- “Well researched and articulated” -Muhammad Danyaro Musa.
Online:- “Spot on as always” –MT Abubakar
Online:- “Thank you for this sir”. –Aliyu Balarabe
Online:- “Nice piece bro”. – Aliyu Abba
QUOTE: “We have allowed ourselves to be hijacked by this troika of mischief makers (namely mischievous lawyers, crooked politicians and compromised journalists) who over time have come to the realization of the efficacy of their combined influence over society; and together they now constitute a gangling pack of ravenous hyenas; patient and persevering; nibbling and nagging; squealing and squeaking, they are determined always to go the distance to bring their prey down. What they ignore remains rested; what they want as agenda is set! They will strain at a gnat but they will ignore a whole camel. They will magnify trivia to the height of national debate, but they will look the other way when murder and arson are committed on a scale”
