A Nation of Impunity

By Christopher C. Eke

Let’s talk about a land where many
actions are not necessarily as a
result of seasoned arguments,
superior debates, the rule of law,
and deliberate use of common
sense for outcomes right for the
wellbeing of the masses who may
be unsophisticated, not privileged
and well-connected with those in
power to discern their collective
welfare, but by mass reckless and
pervasive impunity.
In this land, the average citizen has
impunity and is not afraid to wield it
indiscriminately. This land is full of
sacred cows!
The organized government though,
constituted to appear to the public
as normally in-charge is overtly a
huge joke. Successive
governments of Nigeria have
allowed impunity to reign
unchecked because impunity is the
most effective means used to
siphon public funds for personal
benefit, and subvert the rule of
law. How else can a country blessed
with diversity, abundant natural
resources, a teaming population,
brave and resourceful citizenry
remain engaged in a national
culture spun by cardinal evils of
impunity, corruption, lawlessness
and lack of accountability?
The buck stops with the federal
government of Nigeria. With the
advent of the Internet and its aid
to easy dissemination of
information, there now exist a
growing army of intelligent
Nigerians both within and outside
the country who have begun to ask
the right questions; demand right
actions and accountability; and
whose views are mostly channeled
to seeing the country emerge out of
the dumpster into a progressive and
respectable country that it deserves
to become. Most of us saw early
January of this year, from a YouTube
video of
OccupyNigeria, when intrepid protester
in New York embarrassed Nigeria’s
foreign Minister with shutdown of
her Town Hall meeting.
In this same land of impunity, “as
usual,” most citizens live in abject
poverty with income less than $1
per day, comes the news out of
Abuja last week that 109 national
senators are soon tobegin receiving
their over $100,000 luxury sport
utility vehicle, Toyota Land Cruiser
with bells and whistles, fully paid for
by the government of Nigerian at a
time when the average fuel price is
about to go up for most hard
pressed and poor citizens. If this
story is confirmed true, then yes,
you guessed right, the culture of
impunity allows the government to
spend lavishly for those in
government while ordinary citizens
are trampled upon as doormats.
Perhaps, these same senators
will now drive their new luxury SUVs
over a ratcheted network of roads
that they have had no committed
philosophy in fixing or have new
ones constructed. I suspect
that probably the government also
will pay for the upkeep of each SUV
with monthly car allowance to
senators.
Here, my fellow citizens, is the main
reason why more and more of these
brainless politicians want to go
into politics because when they get
there, they will not have to spend
their outrageous monthly salary on
living expenses since they will
receive “everything” for free while
ordinary citizens continue to suffer
and suffer.
Only in a country like Nigeria will a
small bandit gorilla sect like Boko
Haram hold the entire nation
hostage, with impunity,for absurd
demands. The entire country knows
that these miscreants are sponsored
by a few coward citizens, with
impunity, for their
selfish political ambition and yet,
the government is incapable
of ridding the country of their
collective nuisance. Where else can
a commissioner of Police,with
impunity, blatantly allow a
murderous Kabiru Sokoto of famed
Boko Haram escape from custody
without prosecution for his
crimes? He has since been re-
arrested to face charges, I suppose!
By the absolute power of holy
impunity, Nigerian style, now, the
central Bank of Nigeria is engaged
in disaster relief. Will someone
explain to Nigerians why on earth
the Kano victims of Boko Haram
should receive N100 million disaster
gifts before all other prior victims of
Boko Haram mayhem, including the
Christmas day church bomb
victims? Why the double
standard? Where does the
legislative branch of government
stand on this issue?
In this land governed by impunity
there exist numerous examples of
wanton disregard for the rule of law
to be cited in a limited space such
as this. This same impunity reared
its ugly head once more when last
week in Onitsha Corporal Samuel
Ajana of the Nigerian Police shot
and killed, execution style, an
unarmed commuter bus driver,
Edwin Eze over N50 bribe after the
driver failed to give bribe and stop
at one of police numerous bribe-
collecting-check-points. This
policeman’s senseless action nearly
set off a tribal war between the
Igbos and the Hausas when the
Igbos in Onitsha thought the
policeman was of Hausa descent
and wenton witch-hunts of any and
all Hausas living in the area. The
Hausas in the area on hearing what
had happened went across the
Onitsha Bridge into neighboring
Asaba and some went to Police
stations for safety.
Let me conclude this with one of my
favorite experiences of our nation’s
impunity during one of
my previous visits to this hallowed
land of ours. After my visit and
when it was time for me to depart
the country through Muritala
Mohammed Airport in Lagos, I put
my baggage through Custom
inspection. AsCustom officers
rummaged through my
baggage, they saw that I was
leaving the country with
some Nigerian food stuffs,crawfish,
dried fish, stockfish, egwusi, dried
bitter leaf, etc.,which I purchased
with my foreign earned income, a
positive for Nigerian economy.
They said to me, after sensing my
reluctance to bribe them, “go
to the sixth floor of the Airport and
get a clearance letter
from our boss in order to leave
the country with the food stuffs.”
Keep in mind, these things are not
prohibited from leaving the country
except that these government
officials always are determined to
flash their impunity badge with
ease to collect bribe by any method
necessary or the poor citizen’s time
is unnecessarily wasted. In order to
catch my flight on time, I gave
these shameless
individuals, also paid by
taxpayers, $5, which
was the only money left in my wallet
before they let me go with my food
stuffs.
So, when you hear the president of
Nigeria or any to government official
state to foreign observers that
Nigeria is serious about the rule of
law, do like I do, CRINGE, and shout-
out at the top of your voice, “what
about SACRED COWS?”