Alams’ Pardon: The Privilege Of Indignation By Anthony A. Kila

President Goodluck Jonathan’s
pardon for Chief Diepreye
Alamieyeseigha is expectedly eliciting
quite a lot of surprise, indignation
and condemnation. Public
commentators and individual citizens
have used the media to express their
disappointment and anger; there is a
palpable sense of rage and frustration
on the Internet. On the surface and
maybe to an outsider, such anger and
indignation are understandable and
logical because, let’s not forget, the
beneficiary of this controversial
pardon was a former air force officer
turned politician, convicted of stealing
public funds in Nigeria, gained
international fame for money
laundering and jumping bail, thanks
to his ability to cross-dress and
disguise.
I say this general indignation is
understandable only on the surface
because it is based on the
assumption that Nigerians were not
expecting such a move from this
administration. Everybody is acting
like a good innocent and hard work-
driven population that has just
accidentally fallen victim of some sort
of unpredictable injustice. Is that
really so? Can we all truly in our
heart of hearts say that we knew Dr.
Goodluck Jonathan well enough to
vouch for and count on his being in
tune with the general feeling that
corruption is at the root of all the
evils befalling our country? If so
where is the proof? What exactly has
he done to fight corruption in the
past? These same questions can be
asked of all those in power, but it is
the President that issued this pardon,
so let us stick to him.
We do not spend enough time and
resources to explore and embed the
rights and duties each of us has as a
citizen. As a country, we spend too
little time on civic education, and in
that little time we do not take time to
explain and understand that in
democracy, indignation is a privilege
not a right. For one to be able to
complain about the way things are
going, one needs to have done
everything possible to avoid such
state of things. For our indignation to
be legitimate we need to have done
or at least be ready to do our own
bit.
None of those ruling us come from
Mars. Before becoming President, Dr.
Jonathan went through a series of
electoral processes, including a
period of electioneering. We all knew
that he was deputy to
Alamieyeseigha. How many of those
that are so surprised and angry today
took time to find out what his
position was on the deeds and
misdeeds of his former boss?
During the 2011 electioneering period,
how many people deemed it
necessary to find out if this man that
was to be our party’s presidential flag
bearer was complacent with or
ignorant of the operations of his
former boss? Did we ever wonder
why he did not blow the whistle on
him? I am sure any employer would
ask this kind of questions if they
knew their prospective driver or
manager had close links to a fellow
suspected of stealing (never mind if
convicted).
A lot of time we complain about the
behaviour and misconducts of those
in office, but what have we done as a
people to stop them from behaving in
such ways? If on any every issue we
attack or defend a public figure not
on the merit of the question, but with
reference to his ethnic group or
declared religion, why should we
expect such a person to act on merit?
We cannot continue to pay deference
to and celebrate those that become
rich by looting our commonwealth or
by abusing their offices and expect
them to stop their plundering and
mismanagement or just hope that
others will not do the same once in
power.
Miracles might happen but it is not
the norm; if we want those in charge
of our affairs to be decent and
respectful of our being and wishes
then we have to compel them to do
so. We have to realise that citizenship
and the right to exercise it come with
duties and even sacrifices. Just as we
spend time and use our intelligence
to find the best barbers and
hairdressers for our hair and best
schools for our children or discover
and purchase the best electronic
gadgets, we need to invest time and
courage for our country to prosper,
gain and give dignity. Most Nigerians
are not stupid, when we see people
giving out money in order to get into
office we cannot seriously believe
that they are doing so for the interest
of Nigeria. Nobody pays to serve.
Politicians will not by their own
freewill or out of pure generosity or
patriotism encourage citizens to be
rational and independent; it is not in
their interest. Where possible they
will rather have their citizens blindly
divided along ethno-religious
cleavages so they can go to the
centre to negotiate crumbles for you
whilst they share the pie amongst
themselves and cohorts.
Don’t believe the hype, democracy is
not an easy stroll; to make it work we
all have to be vigilant and ready to
do our bit. Though it was the
president that granted this pardon, we
as citizens must also not lose sight of
those that approved it. Some
opposition representatives were in
that Council, some ex this, ex that
were also present, let us find out
what they did to stop or expose this
pardon.