There was a mild drama at the Federal High Court, Abuja, in 2018 as Olisa Metuh, former spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, accused of receiving N400 million from the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, ahead of 2015 general election slumped while making his way to the dock for the continuation of his trial. In the same year, the then Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state lost consciousness momentarily after policemen reportedly fired teargas into the government house in Ado-Ekiti, where he was then taken to the statehouse clinic where doctors attended to him.
A year later in 2019, the then-Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Dino Melaye, collapsed at the Nigeria Police Force headquarters In Abuja. And in this month of July 2020, the then Acting Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Daniel Pondei, had collapsed at the House of Representatives committee public hearing on NDDC. Mr Pondei was responding to allegations of N1.5 billion financial misappropriation when he suddenly collapsed and couldn’t respond to questions from the chairman of the probe panel.
Are we really serious in Nigeria? It is a pity that some Nigerians who are at the helm of public affairs have developed this new way of escaping from their wrongdoings during an interrogation. The saddest part of it is that this method is becoming the cheapest alternative for the suspected criminals in Nigeria. I wonder why our leaders faint when it comes to accountability of what is being conducted under their watch. Is natural fainting done that way? Are they praying for a sickness that they don’t have? Who are they fooling? To be frank, this development is totally lugubrious, hilarious and opprobrious, and it signifies nothing but guiltiness of the accused persons.
There is, no doubt, the doers of this ugly character are guilty of the crime under investigation as such they are using this trick to attract sympathy from the public thereby putting our country to shame in the eyes of the world. This will definitely tarnish the image of Nigeria if proper action is not taken. We can’t sit down and be watching these people looting our money, faking their health status and using comedy to escape from being prosecuted. Enough is enough, it’s high time for us to be serious and responsible in this country.
To end this condemnable conduct, the government must adopt new ways of dealing with these comedians. I suggest declaring the suspect guilty, physically unfit to continue with his current office, forcing him to pay a fine, suspension from office and/ or imprisonment.
Bilyaminu Gambo Kong-kol,
Mass Communication Department, Bayero University, Kano[email protected]
