Dialogue with a Critic
By
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi
[LAGOS, NIGERIA]
January
31 2001
Mr.
Critic: "
Mallam Sanusi, why are you so controversial?"
Me:
"Not
knowing what you mean, I am unable to answer."
Mr.
Critic: "Of
course you know what I mean. Sometime
ago, you wrote a Fulani article in
Me:
"I
said no such thing. I said the
political structures in Igboland at the time of arrival of
the colonialist were udimentary in comparison with the Sokoto Caliphate
and Yoruba Kingdoms."
Mr.
Critic: "You
see what I mean! How could you say
such a thing? For six weeks Igbos were up in arms in the Newspapers.
You almost started a second Biafran war.
But that is not even the issue now."
Me:
"Really!
What is the matter on hand?"
Mr.
Critic: "Look,
it is one thing to attack Igbos, another to attack your own people."
Me:"Who
did I attack now?"
Mr.
Critic: "Stop
pretending. Your article on Faseun
was an insult to the north. Uncle W
has already said you support genocide."
Me:
"Uncle
W did not mention my name. He was
referring to somebody else."
Mr.
Critic: "Tell
that to the birds. Everyone knows
he was talking back to you and you deserved it.
He was even soft on you. How
could you say the killing of northerners in Lagos was identical to the
retaliatory killings of Yorubas in Kano."
Me:
"I
did not say they were identical. I
said they were similar?"
Mr.
Critic: "You
talk too much English. Identical,
similar, same difference."
Me:
"The
presence of certain common features is one thing. The absence of all difference is another."
Mr.
Critic: "Oyingbo!
So tell me, in what sense are they similar?"
Me:
"In
the sense that many innocent Nigerian lives were taken, that the State could not
protect those lives and that no one was brought to Justice at the end of the
day."
Mr.
Critic: "I
see. Do you believe that the
killing of northerners by OPC vandals is an attempt at ethnic cleansing?"
Me:
"I
do."
Mr.
Critic: "Do
you agree that the murder of the Hausa woman in Shagamu for seeing Oro was
barbaric?"
Me:
"I
do."
Mr.
Critic: "Do
you believe the killing of Yorubas in Kano was retaliatory?"
Me:
"I
do."
Mr.
Critic: "Stop
being sarcastic."
Me:
"I
am not. I sincerely believe these
things and have written that in my articles.
Read my Afonja article, or my Restructuring
paper and you will see. However…."
Mr.
Critic: "Now
what?"
Me:
"I
am honest enough to admit that my views are subjective, and reflect my identity
as a Muslim, Fulani Northerner."
Mr.
Critic: "How
is that?"
Me:
"Take
the woman in Shagamu. A Yoruba man
is likely to believe she deserved to be killed for seeing Oro.
The cult would have killed her even if she was Yoruba."
Mr.
Critic: "But
is that not barbaric?"
Me:
"Let
me ask you a question. If a
Christian in Maiduguri defecated on the Qur'an what would the indegenes
do?"
Mr.
Critic: "Probably
sever his head, deservingly so!"
Me:
"Christians
would think that
barbaric. While you see the
murder of Yorubas in Kano as an excusable retaliation for the murder of Hausas
in Shagamu, the Yorubas see it as a callous and unjustifiable attack on innocent
citizens because the people of Shagamu defended the integrity of their culture.
It is a matter of opinion."
Mr.
Critic: "I
see your point. But does that mean
motives do not matter?"
Me:
"They
do but in these cases they can not be established because we can not be
objective. Even if we could, the
nobility of the motive does not confer legitimacy on mass murder."
Mr.
Critic: "Okay.
Let us move on. Uncle W. made a very sound point. While Yoruba leaders defended OPC, the JNI and CAN in Kaduna
were calling for trial of culprits. What
do you say to that?"
Me:
"Did
you read the reports of religious groups to the Board of inquiry?
Muslim groups claimed Christians were responsible for the carnage.
Christians blamed Muslims"
Mr.
Critic: "Where
are you heading?"
Me:
"JNI
was calling for conviction of Christians. CAN was calling for conviction of
Muslims. Each party had already pronounced the other guilty. That is not what
uncle W claimed they were doing."
Mr.
Critic: "Let
us go to the substance of your article, the continued detention of our
brothers…."
Me:
"Which
uncle W deliberately side-stepped…"
Mr.
Critic: "Shut
up and listen. All Yorubas
supported Faseun and called for his release. When Bola Tinubu lied to a court
they refused to prosecute him and the police refused to investigate. Are you not naïve, asking us alone to give up our own for
trial?"
Me:
"I
am happy you mentioned Bola Tinubu. Tell
me, what role did Gani Fawehinmi play in Tinubu's case?"
Mr.
Critic: "He
went to court as a private citizen asking the court to compel the police to
investigate the charges."
Me:
"Exactly.
How many lawyers do we have in the north?"
Mr.
Critic: "Don't
be stupid how can I know? Very
many."
Me:
"Did
they study the same law as Gani?"
Mr.
Critic: "Of
course they did, get to your point!"
Me:
"How
many of them have gone to court in the name of the north they love, and the
northerners who were murdered, asking the court to compel police to investigate
or the A.G of Lagos to prosecute Faseun?"
Mr.
Critic: "I
never thought of that…."
Me:
"Of
course you did not. How many
lawyers has the Arewa Forum retained as Advisers on this issue, or mandated to
play the role of Gani?"
Mr.
Critic: "None."
Me:
"Does
that speak of seriousness to get a conviction?
The Lagos State CP recently alleged tampering with Faseun's case file.
Still no lawyers in court!"
Mr.
Critic: "Are
you questioning the sincerity of our leaders?"
Me:
"They
are demagogues."
Mr.
Critic: "Now
you have abused them."
Me:
"I
have not. What is a demagogue, do
you know?"
Mr.
Critic: "All
I know is that it sounds abusive."
Me:
"A
demagogue is one who argues based on sentiment and emotion, rather than
rationality."
Mr.
Critic: "You
see! I knew you abused them.
Our Emirs, past Presidents, Leaders.
You have no respect for your elders."
Me:
"If
you insist. Can you listen to me
for a change?"
Mr.
Critic: "I
will try."
Me:
"Do
you know that not too long ago, Obasanjo really wanted Na'abba removed from his
Speakership post?"
Mr.
Critic: "Who
doesn't know that?
Me:
"Then
suddenly some Ghana-must-go bags appeared in the House…."
Mr.
Critic: "Yes!
Members said they were bribes from the presidency."
Me:
"Good.
What happened after that?"
Mr.
Critic: "Apparently
nothing."
Me:
"Nothing!
No more talk about corruption in the House and self-probe.
No talk about presidential bribery."
Mr.
Critic: "Okay,
I get your drift. So a deal was
struck. What does that have to do
with this matter."
Me:
"It
is the same pattern. Our
politicians are not really after Faseun. They
are after a deal."
Mr.
Critic: "What
deal?"
"They
want to release Bamaiyi, Abacha, Al-Mustapha and co."
Mr.
Critic: "That
is not fair"
Me:
"Why
do they link the two cases? They
can go after Faseun and those who perpetrate genocide but why say: Release my
sons since you released yours? They
want a deal"
Mr.
Critic: "Now
look here…."
Me:
"This
time you shut up and listen! So
many of our politicians were on the Abacha gravy train.
They were Ministers and Advisers, friends of the First Lady and First
Sons and First Daughters, in the forefront of the self-succession program-the
notorious ta zarce.
So many of them turned up in one party it was called Abacha Peoples'
Party by opponents. Is that
true?"
Mr.
Critic: "Yes."
Me:
"They
all backed Obasanjo. At that time
no one said he was Yoruba. Now
Obasanjo picked his Running-Mate, his Ministers, his Ambassadors and Advisers,
and contracts have been flying left right and centre but their number has not
come up. They remember the man who
buttered their bread and try to get our uneducated masses to join their battle .
When some of us screamed against power-shift where were you?"
Mr.
Critic: "You
make sense. But let me ask you a
question. In your heart do you
consider it right to break ranks with your people?"
Me:
"I
believe the detainees have a case to answer and they should answer it.
If they are acquitted or convicted based on evidence so be it."
Mr.
Critic: "But
do you know you hold a minority view in the north today? Should you speak against the current, as it were?"
Me:
"Do
you read philosophy?"
Mr.
Critic: "Philosophers
are pagans, I have no time for them."
Me:
"Good
for you. Let me tell you a story
from one of Plato's Socratic Dialogues. Do
you mind?"
Mr.
Critic: "Go
ahead if you must. Do you really
care if I mind?"
Me:
"Calm
down. This story is from one of the
early Platonic dialogues. Socrates
quizzes a man called Euthryphro on the nature of holiness.
The occasion was Euthryphro's prosecution of his own father for
unintentionally killing a slave who had himself murdered another slave."
Mr.
Critic: "The
man prosecuted his own father?"
Me:
"Yes.
His family thought it impious but Euthryphro said his family were
ignorant of what is holy. He saw
holiness as doing what the gods love, and was willing to do it even if it
offended his own family."
Mr.
Critic: "Interesting.
Go on."
Me:
"Does
this not remind you of a verse in the Qur'an, asking believers to bear true
witness even against themselves or their parents and close relations?"
Mr.
Critic: "Are
you suggesting that the Qur'an was copied from Greeks?"
Me:
"Stop
being silly. This is why in the
north we will never progress. When we fail to confute an argument we libel the
advocate."
Mr.
Critic: "Like
accusing you of supporting genocide?"
Me:
"You
really are smart. You read between the lines. My point is this.
You ask me to bear false witness, or defend fellow-Northerners on trial
for killing Southerners based on one of two reasons: Our adversaries are doing
the same or our compatriots have joined them and abandoned their values. Not
because you believe they have no case to answer.
Is that so?"
Mr.
Critic: "In
a manner of speaking, yes."
Me:
"If
I did that I would be taking my values from the Yoruba or from Northern
politicians rather than Islam and would then be worse than Euthryphro, who in
your books is a pagan, wouldn't I?"
Mr.
Critic: "You
know you are not as horrible as I thought you were.
But before you go, do you know what people say about you?"
Me:
"Does
any one ever know such things?"
Mr.
Critic: "Sorry
to say this. Some people think you
are mad. Why are you
laughing?"
"Because
they may well be correct."
Me: "I can not believe this! You are horrible!"