I published this bit.ly/2DN8QPk some hours before Magu was sent home to rest, but the spirit remains the same.
#Nigeria is a country where irony comes to die.
As @elnathan_john says, “You can’t write satire for Nigeria, the country will always top your creativity.”
#Nigeria is a country where irony comes to die.
As @elnathan_john says, “You can’t write satire for Nigeria, the country will always top your creativity.”
I feel a bit of deliciously hilarious irony when I see headlines about the man who illegally warmed the seat at @officialEFCC for a long time, Ibrahim Magu.
For Magu, I feel zero sympathies, and to some extent, even enjoyed the drama.
For Magu, I feel zero sympathies, and to some extent, even enjoyed the drama.
The Magu drama is a solid example of the abuse of power to settle scores, so there is a need to speak out against what is happening to Magu because if anything, the principle of enlightened self-interest means that even a bad actor like Magu should have his rights protected.
Let me retell a story that I’ve told before…
Sir Thomas More was an English lawyer, philosopher, and statesman. He was also a councillor to King Henry VIII, and Lord High Chancellor of #England for three years from 1529 to 1532.
Sir Thomas More was an English lawyer, philosopher, and statesman. He was also a councillor to King Henry VIII, and Lord High Chancellor of #England for three years from 1529 to 1532.
Sir Thomas opposed the Protestant Reformation and was particularly unhappy about the teachings of Martin Luther, which led him to write the book Utopia.
The influence of that book was such that the word entered the English language.
The influence of that book was such that the word entered the English language.
His King, Henry VIII, was so proud of him, but eventually, even Henry began to have problems with the Catholic Church and sought to take #England out of it.
Sir Thomas opposed his King and refused to acknowledge Henry as Supreme Head of the Church of England.
Sir Thomas opposed his King and refused to acknowledge Henry as Supreme Head of the Church of England.
Sometime in 1530, a young man, Richard Rich began to frequent Sir Thomas’s house in search of a job. Sir Thomas’s wife, Alice, his daughter, Margaret, and Margaret’s future husband, William Roper, were almost immediately suspicious of Rich.
There is a dialogue from Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons, describing a scene that involved Sir Thomas, Alice, Margaret and William Roper. Richard Rich had just left the house, and the three others asked Sir Thomas to use his powers as Lord Chancellor to arrest Rich.
Sir Thomas refused, pointing out that Richard Rich had not broken any law, yet.
An exasperated Alice More burst out, “While you talk, he’s gone!”
Sir Thomas replied, “And go he should if he was the Devil himself until he broke the law!”
An exasperated Alice More burst out, “While you talk, he’s gone!”
Sir Thomas replied, “And go he should if he was the Devil himself until he broke the law!”
Then William Roper intervened, “So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!”
To which Sir Thomas responded, “Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?”
William Roper said, “Yes, I’d cut down every law in #England to do that!”
To which Sir Thomas responded, “Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?”
William Roper said, “Yes, I’d cut down every law in #England to do that!”
Sir Thomas More’s response, was classic, “Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned ‘round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat?"
"This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man’s laws, not God’s!
If you cut them down do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake!”
If you cut them down do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake!”
This story can be applied to Ibrahim Magu, and to Muhammadu Buhari’s #Nigeria, almost 500 years after Sir Thomas More was beheaded in part due to the machinations of Richard Rich, the very man whom his family warned him about.
We stand at a crossroads where our government, and its agents, have set new precedents for us in the art of lawbreaking.
The very Ibrahim Magu who is bleating about his rights being abused, perfected the art of media trials.
However, all of that does not matter.
The very Ibrahim Magu who is bleating about his rights being abused, perfected the art of media trials.
However, all of that does not matter.
What matters is that even the worst of the worst have rights.
The lesson is that due process, while it may be annoying, is vital if we want to build a country that will endure.
We cannot build a country based on the whims of people in power at the moment.
The lesson is that due process, while it may be annoying, is vital if we want to build a country that will endure.
We cannot build a country based on the whims of people in power at the moment.
Magu himself was a beneficiary of the abuse of due process.
He illegally remained in his position in an acting capacity for four years after @NGRSenate refused to confirm him due to corruption allegations.
He illegally remained in his position in an acting capacity for four years after @NGRSenate refused to confirm him due to corruption allegations.
Magu's current tribulations should serve a lesson for those in power — in #Nigeria, and indeed everywhere else, power is fleeting and it is best to remember this as you wield it.
It is important for us to note that tomorrow, if there is a change in government, any one of us, cheering mob action, could be at the receiving end of such mob action.
We must learn to give, even the worst of us, their due process, no matter how hard it is.
We must learn to give, even the worst of us, their due process, no matter how hard it is.
