Nigeria is becoming a big theatre for the absurd. Current events unfolding nationwide are so bizarre and absolutely illogical that you wonder whether the world is fast closing shop.
That’s one reason I do not miss church these days; just in case…
Imagine the unfortunate bloody, avoidable but unimaginable incident in Zaria last week where a certain violent religious group had a showdown with the chief of army staff and almost butchered him in broad daylight.
Could this have happened in the days when we were growing up in the village (I have told my wife repeatedly that I’m still growing; that’s why I’m taller than her though we were the same height when we got married)?
In those days, would an armed bloody civilian group have disobeyed or dared to question the orders of even a military recruit?
I have no proof, but I have been informed that those who rose against the orders of the chief of army staff were heavily armed; ready for battle. In fact, if media reports are anything to rely on (of course, they are), their plan was to have him assassinated.
You mean that some civilian religionists actually planned to kill the nation’s chief of army staff in the presence of his subordinates? Little wonder hell was let loose. It wasn’t necessary.
Merely imagining such an act amounted to a bloody audacity. The face-off has attracted the attention of the international community.
While Islamic countries like Iran and others have condemned the action of the military, the United States of America, Amnesty International, other countries and organisations are demanding a thorough probe.
I think we should be worried. Are we really safe in this country? If religious groups are now so armed to the extent of blocking public highways and taking on the nation’s military, what does that point to? We should be worried.
There is another absurdity in progress: a one-party state is emerging in Nigeria. Take a look at the various judicial pronouncements regarding the just concluded national elections.
All you need do to win back an office you lost at the polls is to challenge a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner. However, make sure you are armed with your All Progressives Congress (APC) membership card.
I am not questioning or trying to ridicule the decisions of the courts handling election cases. I have been reliably informed that court decisions are based on facts presented to the judges.
So, if you don’t win, it could just mean that you didn’t do enough to convince the learned officers of the law.
But I’m just being curious because at present, I am not quite aware of any serious case pending either at the tribunal, Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court whereby a PDP loser at the election is challenging the victory of an APC winner.
Any such matter that came up in the immediate past were dealt with and dismissed with a wave of the judicial hand.
But take a look at all the states where the PDP won any seat – either in the legislature or the governorship, almost all the victories are being challenged in court.
Then one by one, the APC is either ordered to be sworn-in, or fresh elections have been ordered.
From Taraba to Rivers and Akwa Ibom, the story is the same.
In Lagos and Imo, where the PDP challenged the election of Akinwunmi Ambode and Rochas Okorocha, the petitions were dismissed with such ease and orchestration that surprised even the non-politically minded like us.
In Rivers, Governor Nyesom Wike has gone to the Supreme Court in what, to me, may just be a waste of time and financial resources. He is challenging the decisions of both the Election Tribunal and the Court of Appeal that nullified his election as governor.
Wike is, however, lucky because his case is not as bad as those of other states. He still stands a chance of winning.
He has even prepared the grounds for victory by embarking on aggressive infrastructural development since May 29; particularly of roads.
This seems to have endeared him to the people so far. Whether that will translate into votes at the poll, and whether such votes will count, is a completely different issue.
In Akwa Ibom, where the election of Udom Emmanuel (PDP) was partially upheld, the APC candidate, Umana Umana, is at the Appeal Court seeking many things ranging from over-turning of the tribunal’s ruling and being declared winner.
Some of Umana’s spin doctors (brilliant chaps) are daily insulting the incumbent in the media calling him illegal governor.
The case of Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, is far more pathetic than those of Wike and Emmanuel. He has been ordered to leave office; no fresh election whatsoever.
Although Ishaku has gone on appeal, there is little hope in it.
From politics to fuel scarcity: Nigeria is on the move to nowhere. Recall that this lingering fuel scarcity started long before the last presidential election.
At that time, the APC used it as a campaign tool to seriously ridicule President Goodluck Jonathan who was then seeking a re-election.
More than six months after taking power through the polls, the new government is yet to find a solution to it. Instead, we have been told to prepare for harder times ahead.
In Abuja, it is getting worse by the day; absolutely so. I’m worried. You should be. We should all be.
