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July 21, 2004 It is an irony of life that, oftentimes, an equation we had all agreed was sound, incotrovertible and logical turned, out to be a mirage, illogical and at variance with intellectual rationalisation. Take President Bush's cowboy-like escapade in Hussein's Baghdad.At the inception of the adventure, every nugget of opinion at every cranny of the globe had it that it was a god send intervention. Hussein was captured with a pistol strapped to his holster; and it appeared everything had ended in favour of Mr Bush. But as the world was celebrating the 'downfall' of a 'monster' at the White House,the news came that the invasion was a superflous venture; just as killing a fly with a sledge hammer has been described as an overkill. What has been mouthed as Bush's political bulwark come November 2004,is grdually assuming the garb of his political waterloo. Turn the searchlight back a little bit. The year was 1998? President Bill Clinton was at the center of Monica Lewinsky's storm. Now, America has been described as God's own country. My conception of that epithet is that, since God is a symbol of all that is morally upright, equitable and just, then America must symbolise God's traits. It follows therefore that such debauchery as nauseating as deconsecrating the American's Holy of Holies, (that is what the White House should be) with the odour of semen, should be firmly dealt with. In other words, the world had investigated and pronounced Bill guilty; his impeachment was a matter of time; so my friends and I thought. It ought not be otherwise, since Clinton himself rode to the White Houes on the misfortune of Gary Hart, whose only misdeed was that Dona Rice merely perched on the amiable senator's lap. The investigatory abracadabra that saw Bill surmouting those dark days of his political career is now history. Enough of America; let's come back to West Africa. This is Nigeria, the year was 2001, the month was December and the day was the 23.The chief law officer, apporopriately designated Minister of Justice, Chief Adebola Ige, was clubbed to death in his apartment. The civil society was thrown into agitated frenzy and the police swung into action with the Inspector General of police promising swift prosecution. When 'swift' investigation was actualised, all evidences pointed to a former governor.He was arrested and detained with other accomplices. 'Open and shut case', we concluded at our informal discussion. Everybody followed the tortoured investigation. And as more evidences poured in, it became a palpable certainty that the accused persons would be covicted. Judgement day came. I had my first premonition of danger when the judge, in the course of the usual admonition that characterise judgement delivery, insinuated that the prosecution was shoddy. He went further to imlpy that the prosecution acted like the defence counsel. 'Judge Sirica' my mind screamed. We still remember that American judge who took the judiciary climate by storm, when he realised that certain elements were hiding vital information from him. Information that would have allowed him to arrive at equity. What did he do? He appealled to the American senate to appoint an independent investigator. We are all witnesses to the result of the independent investigation into the Watergate scandal. In West Africa, the former Deputy Governor was 'discharged and acquitted' for want of evidence, a reason the judge had insinuated arose from shoddy prosecution. Well, it can not be conclusive until it is concluded; but what manner of conclusions? ------------ About the author Segun Akinyode: I teach in the English unit of General Studies Dept. of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic in Nigeria. I have three published creative works--Dark Moon, Blow (NOVELS), SCARS (Collection of short stories). Email: marshalspark@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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