Before They Take Over -By Sesugh Akume

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo

Nigeria is one big theatre of melodrama. It’s one day, one trouble. Sometimes you’re offline for only a few hours, by the time you’re online so much happens it seems like you returned from another planet after years of sojourn.

Today the trending topic has been Vice President Yemi Osinbajo busted! He’s been accused of nepotism. It’s said that almost all the staff of the VP’s Office are either of his Yoruba ethnic or Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) his church where he was a pastor before becoming VP. Further to that, as head of the administration’s economic management team he has appropriated and cornered all appointments in the trade and investment, finance, and economy sectors for his own. One clear example is the composition of the 7-person technical committee of the Nigeria Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council, 6 of which have Yoruba-sounding names. One extreme example has been appointing Jide Zeitlin to manage Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund. Zeitlin, was formerly nominated as the United States’ point man for financial reform at the United Nations by the Obama administration in the first term. Trust the Americans’ eternal vigilance, by the time he was scrutinised and stories started coming up about his character and other dealings he himself declined the nomination and withdrew for ‘personal reasons’. Nigeria being an all comers affair, that’s the very same individual the VP would rather have manage our sovereign wealth fund. No ‘personal reasons’ to decline this appointment. This is Nigeria.

None of these is news to me. My contacts at the Villa had apprised me of an incidence wherein the VP’s children when abroad decided on a whim to change their itinerary, the State House permanent secretary had to be running helter-skelter in the wee hours to arrange first class tickets for them, from the public purse of course. A few more confirmed insider accounts like that and I gave up.

General Buhari’s presidential ticket was strengthened by this fellow, a senior advocate, professor of law, and above all a pastor. He was seen as urbane, sophisticated, cosmopolitan, forward-looking, and above board, no one would’ve expected this of him. Incidentally those who knew/know him better knew/know otherwise. In the social media fights I saw there weren’t attempts at denying or explaining away the accusations of nepotism, the overriding and overriding arguments (along with plenty insults and cyber bullying) have been ‘Where were you when Buhari was doing his nepotism?’ ‘That’s the way it’s done, since when has Nigeria changed?’ No surprise, no shock, no shame. ‘He’s ours, leave him alone.’ Quite frankly, I was awed by how soon he too has had his own insolent army of supporters and bullies.

In the eyes of the overwhelming majority, nothing is wrong or right, it’s all relative depending on who is involved. Politicians have their willing armies to defend them and their ways and obfuscate the issues, muddle up everything in defence of ‘their own’. Where are the few who will defend society against these marauding armies before they finally take over?