By Kres Wyse
Evidently, the Yoruba nation and its people are largely responsible for the troubles in this country, and the news of an amicable settlement of the Dele Farotimi and Are Afe Babalola brouhaha is another pointer to this conclusion. Now, before you jump into a fighting mold or self defence, first hear me out; let the argument speak for itself and if there is any malicious conjecture and ethnic profiling, then let the battle begin. Otherwise, hold your peace before you eat your word.
Nigerians, as a people, generally live in self-denial and abhor telling themselves the brutal truth. Every issue takes ethnic and personal colorations such that reason, objectivity, and substance are subsumed in the cacophony of parochial voices, which in the process conveniently abandon the message in preference for the messenger. In such bigoted atmosphere, little candid and intelligent discussion takes place, and everyone is the worse for it.
What could possibly explain the sudden reconciliation between the two bitter antagonists over the Farotimi's "satanic" whistle blowing on the perfidy of the high-heaven reputation of the renowned Are Afe Babalola, and the putrefied judicial system that turns justice completely on its head, leaving the generality of the people bewildered and helpless? The judiciary is often hailed as the last hope of the common man; well, may be elsewhere, but certainly no longer in Nigeria, especially since the return of democracy in 1999, as the confusion, and corruption within it have collectively destroyed Nigerians' confidence in the system.
Farotimi's book, Nigeria And Its Criminal Justice System, is simply an insider's proof of the rottenness and decay Nigerians have borne these two and half decades. Even before his book, many lawyers and journalists were aware of several senior lawyers, who won cases not on the strength of their legal brilliance, but their access to the bench - some of them Farotimi didn't mention. In fact, there was a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, who was reputed as the conduit to the Supreme Court for bribe taking.
Although, well-meaning people condemned the night raid of some Justices by security agents, during former president Buhari regime, the truth is that there is no smoke without fire. Buhari could never have authorized the action without concrete evidence of judicial malfeasance. But like the Farotimi's case, in the end nothing came out of it, because of the connivance and complicity of the National Judicial Commission, NJC, headed by the CJN, and some of those senior lawyers involved in the corruption, as members.
I knew the Farotimi's case was a mere storm in a tea cup, when an Oba from Ekiti state, who is also a senior lawyer, came on air in early January to declare that the matter would soon be settled. And true to his word, it has, with the withdrawal of the case. People approach the court to prove a point: either an injury done to them and their innocence, or the guilt of and wrong done by the other party. What then is the outcome of this case?
Meanwhile, the nagging questions Farotimi raised have been swept under the carpet. Did Are Afe Babalola perpetrate such judicial infamy as alleged? What happens to the other people mentioned in the book, who are still drawing pensions from government? Are there now two different laws for bribery and corruption in Nigeria? Who is the greatest loser in all this?
Nigeria has lost another golden opportunity, as usually the case, to reset and purge its judiciary of the hydra-headed monster that produced the most atrociously questionable judgments that defy every legal logic, morality, and common sense, where a "perpetual injunction" was granted to a defendant in a corruption case; where a candidate forbidden by law from contesting for two positions won an election, and where a fourth placed candidate in an election became the winner, to mention only a few. Only in Naija.
With the highest traditional rulers in Yorubaland involved in the lobby to settle the case, the Yoruba have denied us of the truth about ourselves, and the nature and secrets of our successful people. The social value of the case far supercedes the personal damage it would have caused. But again, who cares about greater good of Nigeria.
Yoruba leaders took this outrageous step to save one of their best from disgrace to the detriment of national health and progress.
What would it have cost them to allow the law take its cause other than the reputation of one individual? Would this have been the case were another tribe the accuser? They Yoruba have shown us that, ultimately, they are the trouble with Nigeria by not only promoting but also justifying such heinous evil.
For instance, how could a people accept and defend the person of President Bola Tinubu to become senator, governor, and now president with all the known baggages he carries, from certificate forgery to drug, and corruption? The same is true of Chief of Staff and former Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, and Gov. Abiodun of Ogun State, who have survived every attempt to call them out, because of cultural solidarity - parapo.
There are two structures Yoruba have created that make their parapo or solidarity stronger than any other group in Nigeria. The north uses principally religion and language for solidarity, but these elements lack formal structures and institutional framework.
The first structure is the Ogboni Confraternity, which is a cultural organisation to which belong the older generations of most professionals. This society is so pervasive in their life that you hardly progress professionally without being a member.
One of their sons, who once owned a bank, told a story of how, as a rising banker in the 70s, he wanted to join the Metropolitan Club without success, because it was exclusively for Ogboni members, and he wasn't. The Club was founded by the first Nigerian CJN, Sir Adetokunbo Ademola, who was also the leader of the Confraternity.
Mind you, the constitution of Nigeria since independence prohibits any member of a secret society from the public service. So, what happened to the law? There's also the Rosicrucian Order, which late sage, Chief Awolowo led. Both share common goals.
Their mantra is that no member suffers in the hand of another. For instance, if a member is standing trial before a member-judge, the case would be frustrated and dismissed. Also a member seeking favour, such as contract, where another member is involved in the award, he is sure to get it. So, membership assures upward mobility and undermines moral integrity. You see where our problems started!
But wait for the second institution, which follows the same trajectory - the Pyrates Confraternity, founded by Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, and five others at the University of Ibadan, but has spread across the country. This is mainly for the younger generation of elite. Apart from the violence that later dominated and distorted its identity and image, it has good causes, which is, helping themselves, as injury to one is injury to all.
With these two bodies of secret networks, justice and fair play as national ethos were sacrificed on the alter of parapo. Evidently, with the Yoruba dominance of the professions, such as law, accounting, banking, medicine, and the public service, the culture of favoritism and nepotism in pursuit of narrow interests as ingrained in such malevolent bodies, have inexorably transformed into our national identity. This is the devious emblem of the settlement of the Farotimi's case. Here then is the root of our moral crisis and social degeneration, and the Yoruba obviously bear greater responsibility for it, making the fight against corruption a lost battle.
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