A vote for the Shari’a step

Trust our country men to find the humorous side in every kind of situation. I simply love the Naija spirit.’ Asabe enthused, soon after she put the cup of ginger drink I served her back on the side stool.

‘What are you talking about?’ I asked, surprised by her enthusiasm.

‘Just listen to this Facebook comments regarding the governor in the alleged bribery scandal. One said His Excellency is now ‘kadimul dalalatu’ that is ‘custodian of dollars’ when what he actually  named himself was ‘”kaadimul islam”. Another said the governor is now “saahibul fulus” a parody of the Arab royal title of “saahibus sumuh”. I mean, even in the most serious situations, some people find a way to make light of things.’ She answered.

‘That’s true Asabe, out there are people who are talented enough to rise to any situation by making jokes out of it. This means, of course that the two commentators are both pro-the-journalist/ whistleblower. I wonder what his chances are, given that it’s the state Assembly that’s doing the investigation, instead of a high powered federal government panel.’ I observed.

‘Yes, I was worried about that too. I mean with the governor insisting that the videos were fake, because the images were doctored to make them look the way they looked. And with the state assembly normally deferring to the governor in such cases, the journalist’s chances didn’t look so good. But just before I left home to come here, I got wind of the latest on the situation through social media. Apparently the hearing on the issue had started and the young journalist had appeared amidst tight security. In fact according to an interview he granted one airport correspondent, after his appearance at the state legislature, he was given more security than any ordinary citizen could hope to have from the Nigerian police. He also reiterated his stand that the bribe vidoes were genuine and that he had more to release if people are till doubting.’ Asabe disclosed.

‘Really? This is amazing because just before you came, I also saw another post on the issue. This time it’s groups of different school children coming together to stage a demonstration in solidarity with the governor. They carried placards with negative comments against the journalist.’ I disclosed.

‘Can you believe it? They are even dragging young children into this instead of trying hard to prove that indeed the videos were cloned, and showing how that was done? You know Bint, even from this sponsored students parade, I know that the governor is guilty. His handlers have managed to expose everything.’ Asabe alleged.

‘No, I don’t think the children’s demonstration proves anything. I believe some overzealous aide organised it in the hope that his principal will be happy to hear that ordinary people are with him. As for the allegation, it’s my belief that due diligence, in the form of expert based investigation will prove whether the footages were cloned or genuine.’ I declared.

‘And do you honestly expect such due diligence and expert based probe, whatever that means, from these lawmakers? Remember most of them see the governor as their boss, they do not appreciate the full extent of their autonomy, granted to them through the principle of the separation of powers. And there is the issue of party loyalty. Majority of them belong to the governor’s ruling party. Do you think they’ll stick their necks out to prove that the journalist was right?’ She queried.

‘You may be right, but by expert based probe, I mean qualified film and camera experts should be engaged to forensically analyse the videos and see if indeed they were fake or real. Then without disclosing the identity of the contractor, since that is unethical in journalism, he must show proof of the record of the contract that elicited the deal. That way it can be proved either way who was lying between the governor and the reporter.’ I suggested.

‘Frankly Bint I don’t think this will work. I do not expect that young man to get a fair treatment from those lawmakers. And how can he provide contract details and still be able to hide the contractor’s identity? That won’t be possible. To me, the safest thing is to go for the Sharia option. Already the journalist seems to vote for it when he arrived at the hearing, with a copy of the holy Qur’an in it’s traditional bag, hanging on his shoulder.

The thing to do is to invite the Grand khadi of the state and other qualified jurists to the hearing. They must then invite the governor himself. These judges should use a copy of the Holy Quran to make sure His Excellency and the young journalist both swear on the truthfulness of their position, as stipulated by the Sharia.

After that they should close the case and let Divine Will take care of things. We all know the implication of swearing to a lie in Islam. It won’t be long before the liar between the two will be exposed.’ Asabe concluded.

‘I suppose you are right. It will really take the Shari’a option to solve the dollar bribe riddle. Either way it will be to the betterment of our society. We will either discover a lying journalist or an utterly corrupt leader who could stoop that law due to his greedy and selfish soul.’ I concurred.