As the events on our national landscape continue to charge at us fast and furious, it sometimes requires one to pause and catch a breather, in order to be able to think deep and hard. If it’s not the outrageous University of Abuja kidnapping, then it must be the ridiculous checkpoint-induced traffic of hellish proportions that paralyzed the Nyanya axis, where a good chunk of people who work Abuja reside. It could also be the not-so-shocking report that thugs blocked Senator Danjuma Goje from entering Gombe city, or the simple fact that it’s a strong case of chickens coming home to roost. It could be President Muhammadu Buhari’s bemusing superstar outing at COP 26 discussing climate change and making grand promises, or it could be something as basic and pedestrian as the latest tantrum thrown by Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State. I could go on and on, after all, Nigeria is indeed a columnist’s buffet of outrageous anomalies to dissect, analyze, or satirize. While we both ponder these, I present to you below, some emails from readers, some which I’ve had to edit for clarity or length. In spite of what’s going on in the country, do have a peaceful weekend. – Abdulkareem
Re: Let’s leave the slumping to the criminals
If you permit me the space, I will also join you in wondering how young, strong, vibrant professional like Mr. Bawa, the EFCC boss, collapsed while at a function at Aso Rock Villa. While you cast a broad net in a search for possibilities to make sense of it, I will prefer to stick to the darkest, most insidious of conspiracy theories. However, I won’t mention any of them here, as that would automatically make my letter unfit for publication. But let me say something that is at least printable: Powerful people are not happy with Bawa. They’ve never been happy with any EFCC boss, come to think of it. I mean, there’s a former acting chairman with a pall cast over his reputation, and that remains unresolved, but the anti-corruption agency heads tend to be upright people. I think the Presidency needs to step up and intensify its support to the EFCC, so they can not only rein in corruption, but so intending perpetrators can be discouraged. In the meantime, Oga EFCC Boss, please no more slumping, OK?
Matthew Gaius Hassan, Branawa, Kaduna.
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Re: Putting the actual Pandora’s Box to shame
Your piece on the Pandora Papers, the documents that came about as a result of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) painstakingly poring over massive hitherto-secret data, was quite funny. Not funny in the way that makes one laugh, but rather in the sense that it mirrored my thoughts almost exactly. Of course if any research results in the revelation of financial secrets of many current and former world leaders in more than 91 countries, Nigeria would have to be included. What Nigeria chooses to with all that info – a veritable arsenal, really – is however an entirely different matter. We, or our government, have always shown a serious lack of interest in protecting the interests of the poor and powerless. We are at the mercy of those in positions of power, and the revelations within the Pandora Papers underscore it all. Like you, keeping up with the sums involved is giving me a headache, or actually, a migraine. So I’ll just proceed to ask President Buhari, as the Pharmacist-in-Chief: Where’s my Panadol?
Ibeabuchi Franklin Nwaeke, Abuja.
Re: Dear elected official, let’s throw everything at the wall
I had to re-read that you referred to Plateau State’s governor, Simon Bako Lalong, as ‘basic’. But maybe I should remind you that so many elected officials are so ‘basic’, that it seems to me being lackluster is a key requirement for the office. You rightfully pointed out the following: ‘Just Plateau’s security issues are enough to prompt intensive action from the Federal Government, but so far it seems most of what is being done is just more of the same that has been done in the past: nothing new, and definitely nothing out-of-the-box, either. In fact, the only heartwarming things that have come from those quarters are mainly stories of the triumph of the human spirit, when a person belonging to one ethnic group or the adherent of a religion, guards the life of another of different origins.’ But unfortunately, we will continue to only try the most ludicrous ideas as solutions, leaving even the most incisive look at crucial issues in Nigeria remaining as pointless as a wink in the dark, or tears in the rain. But being the Nigerian I am, I’m going to keep calm, soldier on, and pray to God for solutions to our collective problems, as man-made as they all are. I wish us all the best!
Shehu Modibbo, Kaduna.
