I have read comments on the virulent encounter between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) His Excellency Nyeson Wike and one Yerima, a soldier.
Many observers tainted their pen with the ink of politics and even ethnicity. Let us face it.
On the Question of Authority
We should get to a philosophical overview of the whole episode, and then draw meaningful and useful logical conclusions.
Please, follow me. In that encounter, Wike was representing the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a legal entity that is the prime keeper of law and order, that we should all stand in love, respect and in awe.
Wike is also the custodian of law in Abuja, to some extent, including over the territory being occupied by the soldiers.
The soldier was on illegal duty, representing an individual, ex-Chief of Navy, who at that time had no power of command. He was not a legal entity.
An individual cannot be above the state. We are in a democracy. Soldiers must learn to subject themselves to civilian authority.
The culture of Nigerian military developed during the colonial era, is to see the ordinary man as ‘the enemy’ that must be humiliated and subdued. Denial of civilian authority and subversion of democratic process is in itself, treason. The soldier has no role in protecting private property.
That is not the constitutional rule of soldiers. I am sure he earns extra-unofficial allowances from an individual that sent him there, apart from the salary be obtains constitutionally from the Federal Government.
This means his loyalty is divided between the state and a private authority. When this conflict comes, loyalty to the state should ordinarily subdue loyalty to an individual.
The Conduct of the Minister
The Minister, Wike Nyeson has the right to question the soldier’s presence. Earlier state officials were threatened by these same soldiers. Wike’s decision to visit the site is a mark of courage, yet a reflection of a failed system that lacks courage and respect for its own laws. In normal circumstances, police should have been sent to arrest the soldiers and detain them. The owner of the land should also have been arrested and detained. But this is Nigeria, where logic walks on its head.
Yet, Wike went beyond his boundaries to call Yerime a fool, not because he was talking to a soldier, but because he was talking to a fellow human being who deserves some respect. The English describe a fool as a ‘person who acts unwisely or imprudently; a silly person.’ Twin words are idiot,halfwit,nincompoop, blockhead, buffoon, ignoramus
Cretin or imbecile.
None of this in my opinion should apply to Yerima, the soldier.
Yerima as victim of a defective system
The soldier is also a victim of an inefficient, defective administrative structure of Nigeria.
He was not there out of his free, prior and informed consent. He may not have been able to act otherwise. He faced the delicate dilemma of being disloyal to an individual who probably was his godfather from day one in the army and being loyal to the Nigerian state. He chose to be loyal to an individual. That is the trend in the country. Loyalty to individuals is more important than loyalty to the state.
We have strong individuals and a very weak and vulnerable state. Officially, Nigeria promotes Strong Individuals and Weak institutions. This is dangerous.
The National Assembly members collect millions of funds for constituency allowances. With far less than what they got, they build roads, boreholes, built healthcare, which should be state functions. They even buy vehicles for the police with their names tagged.
Beneficiaries see those individuals as the State itself. The state sublets or contracts its roles to powerful individuals. People seeking admission to read competitive courses in Universities, or seeking to join Customs, police, civil service, are mostly picked by influential individuals.Children of the poor and unseeded parents suffer. The beneficiaries remain loyal to individuals that helped them and are ready to subvert the state to please their godfathers. When individuals are more powerful than the state, the law becomes an ass; the rule of law exists only a mirage. Individuals can do anything, kill, main, arm insurgents, exterminate people and nothing will happen to them.
Those who murder the state are not just in government, they also occupy corporate groups.
DISCOs impose tariff, destroy your metres blame you and impose deadly bills, cause power surges that have killed thousands, you buy your meter, which they would never repair, when there is a fault, they take the meters away and impose deadly fines on you, you live in a 3-bedroom, but you get a bill of 300 thousand naira, twice your salary; people are kidnapped and raped, some have never and will never be found, police ask you for money to be able to investigate a crime, they ask you for money to be able to investigate the murder a close friend, doctors cause avoidable deaths, even some places of worship curse you if you fail to pay your tithe; teachers ask our children to bring crates of eggs and cash for teachers’ birthdays, street bullies threaten you and your wives, you have no one to report to. Our laws are meant to be trampled upon by the rich.
Last month, former President of France, Nocolas Sarkozy was jailed. Former South African President, Jacob Zuma was also jailed. The message is that in those countries, the law has no respect for your age, your wealth or status. Corpotate institutions are also punished for their wicked exploitation.Not in Nigeria.
The current suffocation drives the masses to a mindset of vengeance against their own country. They want to do everything to kill the country. The law is seen as empty.
Both Wike and Yerima indicated they had no respect for the state. Wike felt he was a Minister and could look down on anyone and probably see everyone with lower status as a FOOL. Yerima valued his loyalty to an individual more than his loyalty to the state.
These common indicators lead to the erosion of state authority. It is the quickest route to the collapse of the state itself and the lubricant for Nigerians’ disloyalty, disdain and contempt for the state which is responsible for today’s disorder, violence, corruption, favoritism and infact the root cause of elements that have taken up arms not just to confront the state but also to subvert and destroy it.When state authority collapses,law and order become the whim and instinct of private individuals who ensure the constitution of the country either goes to sleep or give way to their own self-centred leadership.
In all, it is unfortunate that the ruling class in Nigeria does not know how to defend itself, but constantly work towards its own self-destruction. They are so blind to see the whirlwind they sow daily which will inevitably breed turbulence.
The Wike-Yerima altercation was another symptom of a system at wits end, another indicator of the deep internal contradictions of law and order in Africa’s largest so called democracy. The country needs men and women of wisdom that can reclaim the floundering fortunes and give power back to the people.
