But for a Few Bad Guys

But for a Few Bad Guys…

Crispin Oduobuk

It's bandwagon time again and the 'rule of law' vehicle is threatening to tip over on account of being overloaded with so many Johnnies who've come lately to identify with constitutionality, democratic ideals and all that jazz…

It's amazing when you think of it. Back when your correspondent stridently defended the right of D. S. P. Alamieyeseigha to bake uncomfortably in a hot jail in this country, some of our new-born 'rule of lawyers' (or should that be 'rulers of law?') shouted themselves hoarse demanding that the hapless chap be shipped back like a caged monkey to a cold jail in London from whence he'd pulled off a magical disappearance act.

Not only that, one even wondered whether Alamieyeseigha's trial by an ensemble of public commentators, government 'yes' men and self-styled human rights activists following his dramatic reappearance on these shores had not obviated any need for further court appearance. The man was pronounced guilty, period; and not just by minions of the state. A good number of supposedly intelligent folks joined that bandwagon.

Here we are now with part II of the same script. Ayo Fayose, formerly of Government House, Ado Ekiti, was served the same sour soup which DSP and former Oyo State governor, Rasheed Ladoja, were force-fed and everyone's crying about violation of the 'rule of law.' Well, well, well. Is time not a great revealer?

In any case, let's talk about 'rule of law' for a bit. And let's also talk about that other term we're all so fond of parroting, 'due process.'

Remember when DSP became the poster child of top-level corruption in this country without conviction in any court of law? Remember that your correspondent marvelled in print at the time about "the attitude of both the Nigerian state and people to so-called 'due process,'" and by extension to the rule of law? The point, as one took care to make clear then, was "not to be found in the usual all-of-them-are-thieves rhetoric because even if they (whoever 'they' may be) are all thieves, catching the thieves must begin somewhere." That 'somewhere', as we have since witnessed, may well involve the literal abduction of members of state Houses of Assembly by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The rest of the story writes itself, however absurdly and off script as in the case of Ekiti State.

As your correspondent has never tired of saying in the past, it just would not do to lament over who in which political camp has fallen into disfavour and therefore gets the stick. This is because the Almighty in His infinite wisdom has provided us with a few bad guys to take care of matters as they deem fit since the proverbial 'few good men' have failed to materialise on these shores. But for the few bad guys that twist our law to suit their sanctimonious purposes, the likes of DSP and Fayose would still be in high office looting to high hell (why do they always say high heavens?).

So what then happens to the likes of Ladoja who's not been accused of owning unknowable numbers of property all over the globe or spending billions on chickens that won't lay eggs? Please don't ask me. Pray. Isn't that what we do?

And this is where your correspondent will insert that bit that regularly makes him instant enemies: We Nigerians are for the most part incredibly docile and cowardly. We are cheated in our places of work; our landlords fleece us; our leaders literally milk us dry at every turn. Yet we do nothing. We fold our hands, murmur, grumble, and pray! That is why the few bad guys are on a campaign to right our wrongs even if they perpetrate wrongs of their own in the process.

What to do? Well, break out in songs of lamentation if you think that'll help. Recognise that something's getting done though, which is a far cry from the past when we all murmured and grumbled and prayed and the looters dazzled us with their ill-gotten wealth. The fact that some present day looters seem to enjoy the protection of our present crop of pious bad guys shouldn't faze you. Sooner or later some other bad guys will come along with their own agenda. Isn't that how this earth has always been ruled?

As the 'rule of law' choir prepares to sing a new verse of despair when another bad guy gets the DSP treatment, we should ask ourselves whether our laws are such that they encourage those supposed to uphold them to violate them on every front instead. That may well be the case, though there's a murmur in these quarters that everybody was supposed to play nice according to the law. Now, frankly, isn't it time we admitted that 'nice' has never really cut it here?

In Nigeria, "Nice guys finish last" isn't just a saying; it's a breathing fact of life. Look around you. What do nice guys get? Check the situation carefully. Heck, they typically don't even get the nice girls. The nice girls usually run with the bad guys. Nice guys often can't get much done either. They're too busy being nice, playing within the rules. Now name an outstanding man or woman in history and you can be sure that at some point, on some level, in some way, such a person broke with convention, 'danced' outside the rule to get things done.

To get things done in this country, this voice has consistently advocated that "a radical idealism pursued with ruthless vigour is needed to pull this country up the hill of progress." For all its faults, EFCC is nowhere near Hitler's Gestapo to which some have erroneously and unfairly compared it. What's more, though he is sometimes brash and overly idealistic, Nuhu Ribadu and his team get things done. In comparison, just what has the nice and rule-of-law-abiding Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission accomplished?

Your correspondent is aware that a position such as this will literally cause the 'rule of law' crowd to birth a live cow. They might as well get on with it. Until the proverbial 'few good men' come along (where have they been all this while?), the few bad guys who get things done, albeit often in a supercilious manner like their principal, are what we've got. And better them any day than those bandwagon riders.

Finally, there's really no point getting mad about all this. Get your way next year at the polls. Remember those? They're also called elections. Last time we had them the bad guys did better than the supposedly good guys. Still want to play nice? It's your call.