Monumental national scandal Cast your mind back to the armed robbery that involved Oyenusi, Babatunde Folorunso, et al. The news of their dastardly act swept the nation off its feet. The novelty of the first public execution at the Bar Beach, (Bar Beach Show), at which Folorunso wore his treasured lace, the reigning fabric and symbol of the ostentation of the time, riveted the nation. That a Police commissioner, a Navy lieutenant and even a traditional ruler were linked with armed robbery in those years was a monumental national scandal! When Anini and Monday Osunbo, the Robin Hoods of Benin, shot their way into our national consciousness like folk heroes, armed robbery became part of us. Armed robbers began to walk in and out of our homes rather leisurely, raping, killing and maiming. As the nation observed the public holiday last week Monday, armed robbers reportedly marched into a Super Market in Surulere, Lagos and robbed. What was remarkable, I was told, was how people walked past unperturbed while the robbery went on! The attitude was that of we-have-seen-it-all-before! You would think they were shooting a Nollywood movie! Not even a saloon next door bothered to close its doors! It seems that today armed robbery has become old fashioned and no longer commands national attention. Let us go back to the sixties. The present National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos is actually the second structure on that spot. The first structure was a contraption of iron pipes and wood knocked together to host the Independence Anniversary. Years later, the structure was dismantled for the stadium standing there today. But the story is that the then Minister of Labour and Sports, Chief Johnson Modupe Johnson, JMJ, one of the most colourful politicians of the time was accused of making half a million pounds from the construction of the makeshift stadium. That was a national scandal that ended JMJ’s illustrious political career! Recall also the infamous if-you-Daboh-me-I-Tarka-you saga of the seventies. Godwin Gregory Daboh, a retired Able Seaman in the Nigerian Navy shot into national notoriety for swearing to an affidavit accusing Joseph S. Tarkar, a Commissioner for Communication under Gen. Yakubu Gowon, of bribery and corruption. It was a national bombshell for which Tarkar fought gallantly to clear his name. When his action in court failed, he was forced to quit Gowon’s cabinet. Then Aper Aku, a former teacher, swore to affidavit accusing then Benue Plateau Governor, Joseph Gomwalk of corruption. Thereafter the use of affidavits lost its novelty. Days of innocence: It is a long way from JMJ, Tarkar and Gomwalk. You may say those were the days of innocence when those accused of corruption as well as the nation were eternally embarrassed. Those were the days when people cared about their family names; when people said: “This is beneath me”. Today, such accusations are no longer big deal. If anything, a section of the media has reduced a serious national problem to a huge joke by propagating politically-motivated false accusations that induce fatigue in the readers. The arraignment of those accused today is a carnival with supporters attired in colourful uniforms, with drums and banners, and a retinue of Senior Advocates of Nigeria bringing up the rear! In the years Dele Giwa wrote about, a dead body in the street attracted a show of national revulsion led by Tai Solarin. Today who cares about dead bodies in the streets? A few years ago, I was passing through Clifford Road, a major highway in Aba. One particular area of the street was suffused with a gut-wrenching stench. A bloated, almost dismembered dead body was lying nearby. What did the traders in nearby stores do? They simply tied handkerchiefs over the mouth and nose and carried on as if nothing was amiss! Are you then surprised that human life, and the dignity of it, means nothing to us? Are you surprised at the ease with which we set on one another and kill? As I was writing this (Thursday 10, November), Sky News television showed a clip of a man caught on CCTV camera, holding a cat by its tail and twirling it like a rope as he ran across the street. This footage was repeated several times for a shocked and outraged nation to help identify the man. Of course, the authorities began to search for him for the heinous crime of cruelty to a cat! Almost on cue, the CNN showed a dog with its foot trapped in a plumbing hole in a house. Somebody called 911 and the fire department arrived with dispatch as if a human was trapped in a burning building!
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 05:56:26 +0000
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