The ‘Conference’, The Delegates And The Pontius Pilate’s Principle! By Gbenro Olajuyigbe Posted: Mar, 27 2014, 12:03PM By Gbenro Olajuyigbe ‘There is a courageous wisdom; there is also a false, reptile prudence, the result not of caution but of fear’-Edmund Burke Revolutionaries who seek change through the ‘change game’ whose rules are drafted by the same oppressors they seek to replace have placed their thoughts and action under dictatorship of ignorance of history and poverty of reflection and intuition. They are like delusional ‘victors’ who see riding on the back of Tiger as sign of apparent victory. From history, such people often end up in the belly of Tiger! Even when they escape with their lives, they always lose the privilege of retaining dignity. The first casualty of such indiscretion is their belief, the next, their will! Doubts replace their initial conviction while reluctance and rationalization fill the vacuum of will and courage. Then, the game of justification and rationalization begin! Defense that is rooted in a credibility crisis takes over logic and reasoning. Then, like ‘practical politicians’ they begin to ignore facts! First, a retreat; and then, a surrender! When Pastor Bakare said that he ‘would not take the 9 million stipends to be paid to the delegate to the conference so that people will not say that he was going to the conference because of the money.’ Two things came out of such thought. One, he demonstrated his service of selflessness. Two, he passively admitted that it was not the people that sent him. I guess he was either sent by the Governor or ‘Afenifere’. When Olisa Agbakoba wrote to the Federal Government declining his share of the ‘jumbo’ pay. He affirmed that he was comfortable enough to pick his bill. Another sacrifice! Femi Falana said he would collect the money but give it to the Charity those that selected him prefer. He spoke from experience he had when he once rejected a gift of Goat from the Government whereas the Goat was ‘looted’ by those who brought it without returning same to the ‘generous government’ that gave it. Ok, a lover of charity! Mike Ozekhome said he will collect his own because if he does not, the money will return to government and will be re-looted. As plausible as all these reasons may be, these good Nigerians have allowed wonderful opportunity to slip from their hands. Rather than rejecting or accepting, either of which will not change the status quo, they should have stood up on the floor of the conference and condemn and seek for reduction of ‘the Jumbo pay’ with the same patriotic zeal they have condemned the jumbo pay of the Nigeria Legislators and that of the executives in the past. This would have been a better and smarter way of demonstrating how possible it is to reduce cost of governance in Nigeria. The is the same sentiment that the Law makers are expressing; and the same justification they express in collecting all the ridiculously outrageous amount that has made the cost of governance unbearable in Nigeria, and by extrapolation, one of the reasons, if any, for the convocation of the conference. The inability of these good Nigerians to transcend the prevailing vices and enthrone best practice in governance cost reduction by demonstrating collective rejection of or even vigorously advocating against the unfair stipends have made them unfit to talk about the cost of governance in Nigeria. Self righteousness is not what makes a reformer. It is the courageous ability to ignite the fire of change in others and trigger in them the expression of virtues necessary for social change and national reformation. Washing your hands of the unfair allowance without causing others to see and understand its vitality to the puzzling social change and the justice our society need amount to re-invigoration of ‘Pontius Pilate’s Principle’. It is like saying I will not steal but will allow others to steal even though I am in position to prevent it. That was what Pontius Pilate did; yet he remained as guilty as others. When we are in position to make some people ashamed of exploiting others and the nation they claim they are serving and we use that position to co hence them into decency, we sin against liberty! If the conference could debate its guide lines and re-adjust the same, what prevented it from debating the offensive allowance and re-adjust same too? After all, it is the same government that gave you the guidelines being reviewed that offered you the allowance? If the government’s guideline is unfair to you, the allowance you are receiving is also unfair to the people, some of who died recently in pursuant of jobs in a country where majority are under excruciating poverty. As far back as 1985, when Nigeria was even better than she is today, Late Justice Akinola Aguda had prepared the context in which you must reject the unfair allowance for you, while hitting on the state of unemployment in Nigeria. He declared; ‘can we imagine a greater torture for an able bodied man or woman than to wake up in the morning and not have the smallest clue as to how or where he is going to find a meal to eat the whole day, not to talk of the day after?’ This is the context in which the rejection of your unfair pay of 9 Million Naira becomes a greater service to the majority of poor and unemployed Nigerians who may not earn what you are now been erratically and unjustifiably being paid in their life time even if they secure employment today. And more necessary, that you called what you are doing a service to your country. Self sacrifice is one of the attributes of National Service; even the newest among the Youth Corps Members under the N.Y.S.C Scheme knows this. Although I know that it was not the love for the country that led to the conception of the idea for this conference, at least, the delegates should create room to make the intention of the cads to agree with those of decent people. In conception, in guidelines and in modalities, this conference carries the seed of its confusion and eventual destruction. I had earlier argued in previous publication that consensus or three-quarter majority is like giving veto power to the minority opinions through the back door. I am however not surprised that within two weeks, the sitting has been adjorned three times. I hope the Chairman, a Retired Chief Justice of Nigeria realises that he is not seating as a judge in court? That to pay 9 Million Naira for three months job is bad enough, not to talk of paying 1.5 million Naira in two weeks for a job not done? In any event, the chicken is gradually coming home to roost. When some of the members were pushing that they would not defer to the National Assembly by submitting the output of the conference to it. Grand standing that they will directly submit it to the people for referendum, the former Senate President, a delegate to the conference brought out the impotence and the powerlessness of the delegates. He declared on the referendum issue, that “If we listened to President Jonathan on March 17, I heard him trying to persuade the chairman and the national assembly to incorporate the need to have a referendum. We are trying to overreach ourselves trying to impose referendum. We don’t have any legal backing on that. Nigeria is a rule of law state. We are guided by the constitution. This is not a constituent assembly. We are not here to draft a new constitution. Let us be guided accordingly. We should do those things that we are capable of doing. We are not here to draft laws. Someone said we are here to make laws. Who elected you? Who empowered you? So, let us be properly guided.” Now, the reality should have dawn on the conferees that they are pursuing the nightmare of a man who has put the cart before the horse! This is the same suspected nightmare that made me to reject my appointment into the Technical Committees on Vision 20-20-20 set up by the Yar’adua/Goodluck’s government in 2009. In my rejection letter, I asked the government to tell me just one country it planned to replace out of the 27 countries in Europe, not to talk of Asia or North & South America. Even in Africa the government was and is still not showing any sign of leadership. I did not get a response and did not follow others to chase shadow. Like the fury of an angry storm, the ill preparation for the conference, its unclear motives, its choice of prioritizing political expediency over and above legality, substituting people’s legitimate agitation with this fake and guided version of the original, its doom end is almost certain from the beginning. Some of the delegates are my personal friends whom I can vouch for their patriotism and commitment to the cause of the emancipation of our people and nation. I have high regards for them and other delegates who innocently believe that you can use ‘demons to cast out demons’. I am convinced that they would soon realize that there is no worse cruelty a people can suffer than gathering people who in time past afflicted them with grievous plague to come and be the guiding compass for their recovery. Those who destroyed our present in the past should not be allowed to define our future. Most of the delegates who are on the conference table should be in the prison rooms. If we are too weak to fight them, we should not be weak to tell good Nigerians who now have the misery of sharing platform with them to stop acting like Pontius Pilate. It is freedom or nothing! And not the impulse of our oppressors! Gbenro Olajuyigbe is an Abuja based Human Security Expert and Rights Activist Add new comment Comments 3 comment(s) Post a comment WATCH THIS SPACE, I WARNED Submitted by PATRICK AGBOBU (not verified) on Mar, 27 2014, 2:03PM. WATCH THIS SPACE, I WARNED THAT THE SO CALLED NATIONAL CONFERENCE IS OJORO, MAGOMAGO, WURUWURU AND WAYO. THE MORE YOU LOOK THE LESS YOU SEE. NOW IT IS THE ISSUE OF MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS. PLEASE LET US DISCUSS IF WE SHOULD GO BACK TO PRE AMALGAMATION BY LORD LUGARD IN 1914. THERE CAN BE NO UNIFORMITY WITHOUT CONFORMITY END OF STORY. reply WATCH THIS SPACE, I WARNED Submitted by PATRICK AGBOBU (not verified) on Mar, 27 2014, 2:03PM. WATCH THIS SPACE, I WARNED THAT THE SO CALLED NATIONAL CONFERENCE IS OJORO, MAGOMAGO, WURUWURU AND WAYO. THE MORE YOU LOOK THE LESS YOU SEE. NOW IT IS THE ISSUE OF MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS. PLEASE LET US DISCUSS IF WE SHOULD GO BACK TO PRE AMALGAMATION BY LORD LUGARD IN 1914. THERE CAN BE NO UNIFORMITY WITHOUT CONFORMITY END OF STORY. reply May the Lord Bless you for this treatise Submitted by El Farigo (not verified) on Mar, 27 2014, 1:03PM. It could not have been better said! Let us wait and see if something can be built
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 12:04:24 +0000
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