Date Published: 01/31/10

GOLDEN MILESTONE: THE PATH OF HONOUR AND THE PATH OF MORALITY. By Raymond Otu Ekuerhare. 

I was reading the Vanguard newspaper the other night and something got me thinking . What jumped out of the newspaper was: “ Etsako re-run : I,600 policemen  , AIG  deployed to Edo state” . The policemen according to the report were drafted  as a result of complains by the Edo state PDP that both the Edo state police command and the former Resident electoral Commission were not to be trusted . As a result of PDP’s grumbles , 1600 policemen and a new Resident Electoral Officer that met Edo  state PDP’s  prima facie honesty test  were sent to provide security as well as conduct the election .

Some people might view this as an irony of fate that the ruling party in Nigeria that has been accused of electoral fraud(s) of epic proportions is crying wolf . Other might argue that PDP’s Tony Anenih is throwing his weight around ,pulling out all the stops by using what is obviously federal might to try to influence a local election in order to preserve the relics of feudalism . Yet others may view it as politics: The x,y.z coordinates of temporary friends, available means and permanent interest. The interpretations of what can be drawn from the aforementioned   are numerous.

This is what I know, various political party in Nigeria would have done the same thing PDP did if they had the same resources .Politicians generally are like stinking and smelling: They smell alike but stink differently according to ideology . However, I don’t subscribe to parochial school(s) of thought. I am particularly struck by the statement: “1600 policemen, AIG deploy to Edo state” and what it portends: A countenance more in sorrow than in anger”

I don’t know the number of state house of Assembly seats in Edo state because it is not exactly relevant to a non Edo resident .However, if at 49 years old(Ghana is 50yrs)  , Nigeria requires 1600 policemen and an AIG cum new Resident electoral Officer  to conduct a local bye- election , how many state house of assembly seats are up for grabs nationally in 2011? How many local chairmanship seats, house of representative, senate , and gubernatorial  seats are in play in 2011? Most importantly, how many policemen does the Nigeria Police force have? Taking into consideration the standard ratio of 1600 policemen and AIG to an elective office. The last time I checked, local and state governments don’t have police forces. If the Inspector General of police does not have confidence in the entire Edo state police command to prevent/handle anticipated security snafus in a re-run assembly election, then, why is he entrusting the security of lives and properties in Edo state to the same police command?

The scenario in Etsako, Edo state speaks to larger issues .It represents one of the clearest evidence of a polity’s progression in error occasioned by fragrant abuse of processes, misappropriation of human capital and the pursuit of narrow cum shallow objectives by a tiny cabal .This fiendish inclination of extreme greed propel multi-millionaires to borrow life savings of their drivers , domestic-helps, security guards etc from banks without the intentions of paying back despite their enormous means. It is this mindset that lead to the present constitutional sinkhole created by President Yar’Adua’s absence. The same disposition   of individual self interest that lead the Attorney General  to insult the collective intelligence of 150 million people when he  expressly said as well as insinuated that a President  can rule from outside his country, as long as he likes irrespective of his mental  or physical state. The same parochial interest that has blind sighted President Yar’adua from relinquishing power temporally even in his precarious state of health .The absence that was responsible for Nigeria’s uncoordinated and amateurish damage control to the attempted terrorist act by Abdul Mutallab, leading to the unfair labeling of Nigeria in a world where stealth diplomacy, garnished with public relations fraught with histrionics pays dividends . The absence of a President that is threatening the very democracy that his office encapsulates.

It is in light of the foregoing that former President Obasanjo broke with President Yar’Adua when he declared that “there is a path of honor and a path of morality” (insinuating that Yar’Adua ought to step down temporary ). While Obasanjo’s message was right on point, the messenger was piled on . People were appalled by Obansanjo’s audacity, and rightly should. It is ironic and nauseating that the former President had to use paths of honor and morality to describe what a President should do when the survival of Nigeria’s nascent democracy is hanging on the balance. This is against the backdrop of his kleptocratic and schizophrenic craving for power through the clamoring for third term via constitutional change, with total disregards for the nation’s sensitivity. One can’t help but wonder: Where was morality and honor when he used federal might to brutalize oppositions and cleared the table for Yar’Adua’s emergence, presumably to cover his behind. Just a few years ago, Obasanjo lowered the bar of morality/honor to the sands. His motive(s) is suspicious and plays further into the narrative of self over country.