TWO FACES OF THE LAW IN NIGERIA, PART 2

Note: First published on July 8, 2020. The “published” date on the tab is the date that it was uploaded on this new site. Though some issues in this piece may still be current (depending on…), this is to avoid your mistaking the piece as current news.

This is “No Bullshiting,” by Harry Agina.

Once upon a blog, I addressed the sad criminal fact that Nigeria’s law has two faces. One face is for the leaders, the rich, and the politically powerful who are above the law. And, the other face is for the rest Nigerians. (You may want to read my previous blog here: https://nobullshiting.com/the-two-faces-of-the-law-in-nigeria-part-1/).        This time, I want to talk about two faces of the law and the lawlessness of Nigerian leaders. I speak of Nigeria’s Covid-19 Presidential Task Force (PTF) who violate their own protocol. The motherfuckers expect Nigerians to obey the protocol that they don’t obey themselves, meeeeeeeeeeen!!!

  A global covid-19 conversation discourages the release of any covid-19 infected dead bodies, for burial and funeral rites, and Nigeria domesticated it into a law. When the PTF recently released the dead body of their demised mortal god, Abba Kyari, for funeral rites, they contravened its own law. Later, and with impunity that was devoid of any regret and remorse, they humored us by briefly confessing that they broke the law, as if they were in a trance when they did it. This portrayed PTF as a lawless body that endangers the Nigerian lives that it was set up to protect. And, ever since, many more above-the-law Nigerians have been released and allowed full funeral rites by the PTF.

Now, I blog this subject again, having read another impunity-ridden confession of the governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, who proudly, virtually announced to us today (June 29, 2020), that he is a lawless governor. He not only broke the covid-19 law in cahoot with the federal PTF by releasing his predecessor’s dead body, in contravention of the national covid-19 law (and global convention), but also a law of his state, according to his confession, and I quote: “We broke the law to allow Ajimobi’s burial in GRA.” The lame excuse is that he was pressured to bend the law. My No Bullshitting hero, Governor Wike, is not likely to give-in to anybody’s pressure to break such federal and state laws, and then go public to confess it, meeeeeen!!!

One can’t rightly accuse anyone of erring, for saying that such leaders (eg, PTF and Makinde) are lawless; no, sir! By their confession, they called themselves lawless, albeit with no matching regret or remorse for their wrong-doing; thanks to impunity. Besides, if we wanno cut off any bullshitting, they should openly be called lawless anyway; they broke established laws, and that makes them lawless, period. The last time that I checked, there was no exemption from covid-19 law on the bases of being PTF boss, or being the governor of a State.

Yet, these lawless leaders expect the rest of us to obey their self-fucked-up laws, meeeeeeeen!!! Mind you, I am heading somewhere with this line of commentary. Uh hu…I am heading to the scary fact that far too many Nigerians would look you in the eye, and tell you that “there is nothing like covid-19 in nigeria.” In the next breath, many of those doubting Thomases would justify their belief by citing the lawlessness of the leaders. I constantly hear argument such as:

“Forget that matter abeg…na wettin those PTF people dey take chop money be that. If the thing dey for Naija, why the PTF people still dey disobey all the laws themselves…and then, they want make we dey obey their wayo-wayo laws…abegiii, leave that matter!!!” Translated: “Forget that matter, please…that’s what PTF people are using to make money for themselves. If covid was in Nigeria, why are the PTF people themselves disobeying all the  protocol…and they want us to obey their scamming law…please, leave that matter!!!”

What a dangerous perception!!! And, it is caused by the lawlessness of our leaders!!! And then, so many Nigerians also have a modified version of this perception. They believe that covid-19 probably exists, but it is “God’s punishment to evil Nigerian leaders.” This is obviously the height of ignorance; but you’d be amazed at the huge number of Nigerians with this ignorance. Now, how do you even start blaming such people, considering that all the REAL deaths that many know for sure, are “big people” like the Abba Kyaris and Ajumobis of Nigeria. The rest of the “thousands and thousands” of infections and deaths that they hear cannot be real to them, because they see them as concoctions by PTF, “to chop our money.” The scary question is: How the hell does one go about convincing all these disillusioned people to take covid-19 safety protocol seriously…huh, huh, huh???

Once upon an argument, I asked one of those Nigerians that torment my mind with their disbelief: How do you explain the fact that millions have died of covid-19 around the world? Do you believe that Americans and Europeans are playing wayo, too? And he responded: “Oyibo people fit get covid-19 na; na their disease…and them dey tell their people true word, too…but the thing never reach Naija…PTF just take am dey make money…shikena!” Translated, he said that “White people may actually have covid-19, after all, it is their disease…and they are sincere to tell their people the truth…but the covid-19 has not reached Nigeria…PTF is only scamming people to make money, with lies that it has reached Nigeria.”

True to this scary mass belief, compliance to covid-19 safety protocol is alarmingly minimal in Nigeria. Take a look at any crowd photo or video of any event, or public transport vehicles in Nigeria, and you will see everybody bunched together like parked sardines. And, less than ten percent of such crowds wear masks. Also, and very laughably, several of the few that have masks, wear them to cover just the mouth, and the most vulnerable entrance, the nose, is left bare.

Let’s go beyond the public-discouraging lawlessness of some leaders for a moment, and talk about the Godly/religious matter of morality and leading by example. Through immoral leadership without personal example, the PTF and other leaders have destroyed the psyche of many Nigerians on this matter of covid-19. Really, what gives any leader the moral right to ask, or force other people to obey laws, which the leader himself, or herself, refuses to obey, huh? Is this leader a slave driver, or a leader of citizens who have equal rights with the leader, under the law?

How does such lawless leader hope to convince impressionable members of the society that covid-19 truly exists, when they see the same leader behaving contrary to the protocol-sermon that he or she preaches, huh? Mind you, some of such lawless leaders are the first to arrive in churches and mosques on Sundays and Fridays, respectively, for their hypocritical worship of God, which is completely devoid of sincerity and morality.

I have very pertinent questions for my fellow ordinary Nigerians who have been subjugated to the despicable status of slaves by our rulers: If you commit murder, or attempted murder, and you confess it; what happens to you? You get whisked away in handcuffs, and, most likely, beaten to a pulp by your arresting police officers; that’s what!!! So, why is it that Covid-19 PTF boss confessed to the fact that he and his team put so many Nigerians in danger of death when they released Abba Kyari’s body for funeral rites, and nobody seriously challenged them, not to speak of arresting them?

Oh, how I miss my No Bullshitting hero, Gani Fawehinmi!!! He would likely have challenged the PTF in court for its discriminatory lawlessness, if only he was still living. If for nothing else, Gani would do it to ensure that such criminal impunity does not continue. And, sure enough, for the fact that nobody challenges the PTF, it is still allowing elaborate funeral rites of the untouchables of Nigeria. No wonder, too many Nigerians believe that covid-19 does not really exist in Nigeria…that “the PTF is just scamming us to chop money”…not my words, mind you!!!

The PTF certainly endangers Nigerian lives with its selective application of the law. Some of the thousands of persons that crowded at Abba Kyari’s funeral rites venues, for instance, have probably died by now, due to infection from Kyari’s body, or infection from some of the thousands of participants, to others. So, how come our “opinion leaders” and Civil Societies have not spoken out pointedly and strongly against such leadership rascality and/or lawlessness, huh? Two faces of the law in action…that’s how come!!! Our opinion leaders have been subjugated to virtually accept the anomaly as a norm. Several leaders and untouchable beneficiaries of power who have no legal immunity do things that other Nigerians get arrested for; why don’t they get arrested, huh? Two faces of the law…that’s why!!!

And, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, and other recalcitrant governors lawlessly discriminate and bend the law for some members of the society. And,  they have not been seriously and resoundingly condemned by the public (civil societies, “opinion-leaders” and all)…why, huh, huh, huh??? Two faces of the Nigerian law, that’s why! Yes, indeed, in Nigeria, there are certainly two faces of the law; one for the leaders, the rich & politically powerful, and the other for their slaves, the masses. And, sadly the oppressed have been subjugated and cowed to accept this anomaly as the norm.

Now, to all the people out there who believe that covid-19 is not real, please hear this No Bullshitting verdict: Covid-19 is real: Whether PTF or anybody else is scamming us, or not scamming us, I implore you to understand and believe that covid-19 exists in nigeria. So, follow the given protocol to stay alive, and keep me alive, too. I want to ‘see’ you on the other side of the pandemic; y’hear me so?…and, you know, as usual, that I ain’t bullshitting you, meeeeeeeeen!!!!!

Here’s Governor Makinde’s confession of lawlessness: http://chrysora.com.ng/2020/06/29/seyi-makinde-we-broke-the-law-to-allow-ajimobis-burial-in-gra/

And the following is the link to “Two Faces Of The Law,”  part 3. The link to part 4 is waiting at the end of part 3:

TWO FACES OF THE LAW IN NIGERIA, PART 3

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