The ‘Evans’ in Nigeria’s life

At birth he was given a great name. His parents had thought that he would walk in the steps of his creator, hence, threat named him Chukwudubem which is by interpretation “God lead me”. But like every other man- a free moral agent- Chukwudubem chose the way he would go and the kind of lifestyle to live. He decided to allow “Ekwensu” to lead him instead. He began to desire good life and everything above his means. He desired to build palatial homes, marry beautiful wives, drive state-of-the-art automobiles, and tour beautiful cities across the globe. He wanted to be worshipped by fellow men; dine and wine with the high and mighty in society even though he didn’t possess the necessary competences beyond the possession of a heart of steel, of avarice and capacity to dispense wickedness with reckless abandon.

For him, it is all about wealth and he cared less the route to satisfy his worldly urge. He strongly believed that the end justifies the means. So, within his short life, he has been able to get himself some measure of satisfaction but at a huge cost to innocent citizens. These victims of his nefarious kidnap business delivered foreign currencies to him in large amount. Some of his victims may have even been killed by his ruthless self because his patience got exhausted while waiting for the victims’ families to deliver the ransom money. He was a blood-thirsty rogue and an enemy of the society who delighted in reaping hugely where he had sown nothing. True to his dream, he has been able to build good residential houses in Nigeria and offshore. He had everything his heart desired. Wine and women were never in short supply while his exploits lasted. He enjoyed anything and everything that money could buy. His target and victims while his nefarious activities lasted were his own brothers who struggle day and night to eke out a good living for themselves. Since his arrest on that fateful Saturday, June 3, he has been singing like a canary.

The story of Chukwudubem Onwuamadike alias Evans is one that has exposed the thriving business of kidnapping. While he continues to sing endlessly, at least for now, the important thing is that he should not be allowed to go back into the society as a free man. The fall of Evans has been greeted with a gush of emotions from Nigerians from all walks of life. Many have been thrown into a frenzy of sorts. But sadly, even those worse than Evans are casting aspersions on him.

There are multitudes of other Evans on the prowl in society. Although they do not kidnap and ask for ransom, they kidnap monies earmarked for projects, pension and salaries. As a result, they have caused untimely deaths of many citizens. These Evans are in government ministries, agencies and parastatals. They are in the nation’s school system enriching themselves by aiding and abetting examination fraud, they kidnap bright students/candidates’ admission and give same to less brilliant ones for money; they frustrate female students and turn them into sex slaves for mere marks; they disvirgin the virgins entrusted to their care in exchange for pass mark; the Evans are in some shady businesses; they import and manufacture killer products that inflict mortal injuries and kill Nigerians by installment just for the sake of money.

There are many Evans at the Federal and state-owned hospitals who steal away all the drugs and other equipment that should be used to treat the sick. Unfortunately also, these Evans are in the religious centres. They flood the churches and are not in short supply in the mosque. They engage in all manner of rituals and are into the worship of mammon, while hiding under religion.
Today, Nigeria is at a standstill in terms of development as a result of the presence of too many Evans. So, in light of this, casting the first stone at Chukwudubem, the authentic Evan, may be very difficult. Nevertheless, “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”

Is Sagay’s committee Buhari’s attack dog?

It has become very difficult to say exactly what the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, headed by Professor Itse Sagay (SAN), is out to achieve. Since inauguration, Sagay has attracted opprobrium to his good self. The holier-than-thou posturing of the erudite lawyer has consistently irritated many Nigerians to no end. The Sagay committee tries to arrogate sainthood to President Muhammadu Buhari and thinks the Katsina-born president runs a saintly-regime even though Nigerians daily hear and question the constant “bleating of goats” both at the Presidency and the backyard of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Sagay, who embodies the committee, has consistently baffled Nigerians with his utterances that demean his high profile. He casts aspersions on anybody who raises a voice against the way and manner the corruption war is being prosecuted by the administration. On a number of times, he has employed caustic language and derogatory words against the institution of the National Assembly. When he was summoned by the Federal lawmakers over his vituperations, he gave them cold shoulders and considered the invitation infantile. Professor Sagay sees himself as above the law and does not bring panache to that high office. The senior advocate of Nigeria carries on as an attack dog of the president which is very demeaning and flies in the face of his high standing in society. Before his appointment, he was every reporter’s darling as he was always available to comment on national issues, and very dispassionately too. One wonders what is responsible for the man’s new toga of toughness, as it were. Could it be that he is by any means under the influence of the demons in Aso Rock, according to Reuben Abati? What is really happening, Sir.

Osinbajo’s sin against conscience

Recently, our own Acting President Yemi Osinbajo missed the mark. He committed a sin against his own conscience. The Professor of Law and senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) knows the yearning of the masses of the country and how they desired a transparent and workable budget, but what was signed into law a few days ago does not pass off as a good and reliable document. The Acting President went ahead and signed the acrimonious budget into law even after he had queried some “alterations” in the document by the National Assembly. From what Nigerians are seeing, the N7trillion budget may not lift the poor masses of this country from the ashes of poverty. For several years, Nigeria has had no investments in key sectors of the economy. All the bridges, the roads, the housing estates for the lower class of citizens, the airports, the railways, everything were built many, many years ago; most of them in the military era. Since 1999, the so-called democratic governments and administrations have concerned themselves with plundering. Every year, the greater percent of the budget goes into private pockets, hence we see individuals that are richer than the country. All over the place there are decayed and decaying infrastructure; today’s leaders have no regard for maintenance culture. It is indeed in bad taste that the Presidency went ahead to append its signature on the budget documents with the “manipulations” therein. The scripture says, “And that servant, who knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.”
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Ortom’s burden

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State is a sad man and rightly so. Since his inauguration in 2015 as the governor, Ortom has not known peace. His major headache has come from the activities of the Fulani herdsmen who have turned Benue communities into a killing field. First, it was Agatu where the murderous herdsmen systematically massacred the indigenes and burnt down their houses. Since that attack, Ortom has lost count of the number of such unprovoked onslaught against his people by the cattle rearers. Governor Ortom has cried and wailed; he has petitioned the Federal Government to no avail. At a point, he took his complaint to God when he went into a Church and laid flat on the altar in supplication to the Supreme Being for divine intervention. The Nigerian government has maintained a deaf ear to his plight. In a desperate move to end the orgy of violence being meted out to the indigenes of Benue by herdsmen, Ortom recently signed a bill into law. The law prohibits open grazing and seeks to encourage ranching of livestock in the state. But critics have expressed fears that the state may run into a hitch when it comes to successfully prosecuting offenders and making them pay the hard price of their wicked action.
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Two Presidents at a time?

Nigeria is a very interesting country particularly on more negative fronts than positive. Trust among the federating units has since died and the people are just managing to stay in that broken union. This disunity is also made manifest at the highest level of government where those elected on the same platform or even those who stood and won election as twin contestants work at cross purposes.

The shenanigan that attended the signing of the 2017 Budget penultimate Monday by the Acting President was a clear manifestation of infantilism at the seat of power. The rift began after the National Assembly passed the document; President Muhammadu Buhari’s aides insisted that only their principal would append his signature to the budget and not the Acting President. After much fuss, they tried to soft pedal. But on the day the budget was passed, Buhari’s men quickly released a press statement saying that “Buhari backs Osinbajo to sign the budget”. That was as ridiculous as it was infantile!

Up till now, certain elements in Aso Rock have yet to appreciate the fact that there cannot be two presidents at the same time. Nigeria only has one president in Osinbajo, until Buhari returns to pick up his job then shall no one be reasonable enough to think that an acting president should be taking orders from another president somewhere. It is rather irritating how some over-ego aides try to drop the name of Buhari in everything even where they know it is not necessary. That Osinbajo is holding forth for the elected president is not in contention, but the level of schism in the corridors of power in Abuja is not salutary.

If Osinbajo were just a vice president and his boss travelled, his activities could be dictated by his principal from anywhere on the globe, but the constitutional situation on our hand recognises only one president or acting president. Those who delight in creating confusion in the system must realise that there’s actually no need for all the wheeling and dealing that currently go on in Abuja.
The point really is that Buhari was elected president. But he has transferred power and everything appertaining to it to Osinbajo, until he, Buhari, returns and transmits a fresh letter to reclaim his position, he cannot simply be issuing orders from anywhere. Enough of the needless distractions!

 

 Zebulon Agomuo