A MATTER OF EXPEDIENCY

‎Paul Inyang‎ 

December 15 at 12:59pm · Odenton, MD

 

Reports on the recent money matters’ affecting the country has surprised most of us—this writer included. The revelations have come at lightning speed—such that it is hard to verify or even ascertain the sources or its validity. The common denominator in all of this is that a great deal of money has been taken from the treasury and misappropriated, stashed away or simply spent frivolously. I am not sure which one it is but all the same the losers are the citizens—you and I. We have joked about being included or mentioned and made jokes about it but nothing changes the seriousness of the problem. It has maybe served the purpose of denying the incredulity of the situation and kept us collectively from losing our minds. If you are like me—you are left stunned by it all. This after all is the great wealth of a Nation that has been frittered away. This is communal wealth that we will never get back in our life time.

There seems no end to these practices. Many of the people who are on top today are beneficiaries of these same practices that they now profess to want to bring to an end. This writer would have mocked the thought of it but the question is—are there people whose hands have not been dirtied by these sordid practices? Please look at the list of the ministers and name one that has not had a leadership role in our nation and participated actively or tacitly in creating this debacle? Maybe we should presume they are all clean. Now tell me how you prosecute someone if your hands are just as dirty. There are a few quotes that this writer is reminded of— “those who seek equity must do equity”, “those who come to equity must come with clean hands” and "equity follows the law". The enormity of the fraudulent practices is mind boggling. Most of us want to just retreat to our world and pretend it does not exist—it is easier. That is the extent and quagmire this President has to confront. Many of us would like to see draconian tactics utilized to punish the culprits—this writer included. That is our base instinct. Unfortunately for us we all profess to be civilized so we have to choose the democratic route—it must prevail.

This writer said some time ago that President Buhari’s greatest challenge will be that of resisting the temptation of mistaking civilian rule for military rule. When human beings are under stress they resort to what they know and have experienced. He was a military man for most of his life and this is his comfort zone. Most of us would probably be worse as we have those tendencies in us. If the reports we read and see on videos are right—outlandish military tactic are being seen in display. Some of us enjoy this because it quenches some of our thirst to draw blood from people who have mistreated us so badly and taken our birth rights with ignominy. Democracy however requires that we discipline ourselves and utilize due processes. The president himself has stressed this but it is hard for this writer to believe that he the president is not aware of how some of his underlings are prosecuting this war on corruption and proceeding to treat people. This writer stands firmly behind doing so but in the appropriate way. It is easy for him to look the other way. Must government arrest these people in public and brutalize them as they do? If there is a message being sent out—who is the message for? Africans have a habit of mistreating each other in public and our country is no different. Yes, this tactic was utilized by the previous government but we do not have to make the same mistakes. Where does it end? If this is not put in check, we are headed in the wrong direction towards a police state because of our lack of internal restraint and boundary.

If we are trying to stop corrupt practices—we are required to do so utilizing due process—that must be the example we set from the top down. The entire nation is angered by the depth of this issue and we must deal with it appropriately. It is an opportunity to utilize these problems to build and strengthen our institutions—especially those charged with the duty of prosecuting this “war”. If there is a need to change the leadership of these agencies, then we must do it appropriately. This is a gift not a curse and we are obligated to set the right tone for those who will continue do this work long after we are gone. As someone once said— “this is a marathon not a sprint”.