The other Sunday, I heard a preacher tell a story which succinctly reflects the problems of this nation. According to the preacher, once upon a time, a big-time roving preacher had an evangelical mission to a certain town. When he got there, he had preached to convert souls as well as performed miracles. But while there, even eh preached the words of God, his eyes set on a daughter of Eve, a sister nurse. He was conquered by her dazzling beauty. She too, was conquered by this preacher.
At the end of the preaching session, the faithful gathered, collected money and took the preacher to the motor park. They paid his fare and waited till the taxi took off. They then dispersed.
On the way out of the town, the preacher had stopped the taxi, alighted and found his way back to the town. He searched and found the house of the female nurse “ who camped him for several days. There, inside the house, they must have been doing what men and women do in secret. As the story went, it came to be that the lady was converted “ or rather, became born again, while she was still camping our preacher who had healed and helped to convert other souls to Christ.
She went back to the fellowship of Christian faithful to confess. Astonished faithful followed her to her house to find our preacher-man who was, in the Christian parlance, living in sin. Poor him, his fault was that he was caught. Many more could be doing worse and still be receiving the best of accolades from well-meaning people. Their secret being that they were not caught.
There are, in post primary schools, student groups and gangs. These are often led by bullies who never get caught, not because people or the authorities do not know what they do, but because whoever dared to bring their cases up might have himself to blame. Anyone who dared to lift up his fingers against such people is taught lessons eh hardly forgets.
By this crude terror, they impose the Sicilian law of silence on people. Seeing is extremely dangerous. Saying it out makes the situation even uglier. Over the years, through this means, people have effectively been prevented from saying what has come to be an open secret. Known by all, but no one is prepared to say it, even to those who know. Whatever is the case, the truth is that they are not caught. The thief is he who is caught. The one who is not exposed can therefore not be caught.
And this theory seems to have been adopted by those in government positions. Those that are caught are exposed to be stealing public property, depending on their strength, are vilified. Like the bully school boys, however, the bigger ones never get caught because they are armed. Remember the dictum of our elder statesman, Nnamdi Azikiwe. That it is only the foolish man who argues with the gun? Largely, because the populace has yet to get to know its rights and power as well as fight for them, the soldier thinks that with the gun, he do and undo. Of course, the gun is indeed very powerful. But its power is limited to the areas the people allow it. It is armed, flothed, fed and sheltered by the people “ and the people can, if they are sufficiently aware, withdraw these privileges.
The bully cannot last forever. But when he lasts, it should not be mistaken for righteousness, for if soldiers were as neat and immaculate as their uniform, Nigeria would not have been in the mess it is today. The long years of service of the military, much much more longer than the few years of the civilians, combined with the enormous resources the military governments have had under their control, show that all has not been well.
And so, this is why the sacking of a local government chairman in Kano State along with his councilors, over allegations of impropriety is, indeed, troublesome. More disturbing because a Kano High Court reaffirmed the decision. The argument which the honourable judge marshalled when dismissing the suit brought before him by the dismissed elected local government chieftains was that the government had a right to dismiss those who have had allegations of impropriety leveled against them.
This is, indeed, a very important development. Important, because, really, the government, as our history has shown, still have people who have had serious allegations of impropriety leveled against them. Had this dictum of the Kano High Court been followed, a new season of saints would have opened for the nation. Those in government would have been only those who are thought by all to be clean. There would have been more confidence in public officers.
Sadly though, this had not been the case. Only the weak who have allegations leveled against them, like our Kano local government chieftains, are thrown out. But there is a beginning to everything. This is hoping that other courts will follow “ and hopefully for the nation, only clean hands will be in government. Hands, which no one has complaints against. This, indeed, could be the era of the saints.
By Rima Shawulu
The Standard, Friday, September 8, 1989, page 9