King Solomon’s life as parable for Dogara and friends

Even though I always maintained that like every little component of the gun, there is hardly anything noble about politicians, I am totally befuddled by the level of callousness found in members of the House of Representatives, given recent revelations.

The bubble burst penultimate Wednesday when Speaker Yakubu Dogara announced the removal of Hon ‎Abdulmumin Jibrin from his position as Chairman of the House of Representatives Appropriation Committee.

Although Dogara indicated that Jibrin’s replacement owed to the latter’s self-confessed frustration and desire to relinquish, he also hinted that the leadership already planned to take out the Kano born legislator.  But anyhow this is explained, one could tell that a major upheaval was in the offing in the lower legislative chambers

One of the reasons why the storm seemed palpable was the affinity between the dramatis personae, at least in the eye of the public, hitherto. And in a country where political patronage reigns, the sack of an ally from a pedestal as high as the one on which Jubrin stood, told of a rumble in the palace.

You will recall that in the warm up to the convocation of the House of Representatives in 2015, three men namely: Yakubu Dogara representing the Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa-Balewa constituency of Bauchi State; Femi Gbajabiamila representing Surulere I constituency of Lagos State and Abdulmumin Jubin representing the Kiru/Bebeji constituency of Kano State signified interest in the top post.

In the course of what looked like the discriminatory support of the All Progressive Congress (APC) establishment for Gbajabiamila’s candidature, Jubrin aborted his own ambition and declared support for Dogara.

He went on to become the main spokesperson for the Dogara group, literally butting his politically pubescent head against more formidable stalwarts until his candidate, emerged as speaker.

Of course, no one ever goes that length for the career of another without some entrenched self-interest,  so it was no surprise that Jibrin got the handsome reward of the chairmanship of the appropriation committee in line with the rub my back, I rub yours tradition of legislative politics in Nigeria. Dogara’s announcement on the floor was therefore laden with hints of a civil conflict.

And Jubrin did not leave too much room for our imagination to wander. Just hours after his removal, he issued a statement in which he raised accusations bothering on fraud and abuse of office against Dogara and three other principal officers.

He alleged victimisation due to his objection to the speaker’s purported request for the allocation of projects worth N40bn in the 2016 budget. He claimed that the projects would have been shared among four principal officers viz Dogara;  Deputy Speaker, Yussuf Lasun; Chief Whip, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa and Minority Leader, Leo Ogor. He then demanded  the resignation of the “Quartet,” as he refers Dogara and the principal officers who are allegedly in league him.

The former committee chairman in his serial disclosure of alleged sharp practices by leaders of the House also accused Dogara and his cohorts of diverting millions of naira towards paying for guest houses and official residence; soliciting for inappropriate favours from agencies and multinational companies; forcing an agency to grant loans; blackmailing a construction company to do some work at his Asokoro ‘plot’

In inviting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe Dogara, Jubrin speculated about allegations of money laundering Dogora allegedly left behind as Chairman, House services in both the 6th and 7th Assembly.

Unfortunately, Speaker Dogara has not found his voice in response to these weighty allegations. Granted principal officers including Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, Deputy Chief Whip, Pally Iriase and spokesman of the house, Abdulrazak Namadas, have dismissed Jubrin’s allegation, counter-accusing him of being the culprit in the matter, none of these substitutes for explanations from the man who has the mandate of Nigerians to occupy the fourth highest position in the country.

His refusal to speak up and defer his reaction to the resumption of the House from its recess is ample communication of the disrespect that the Speaker has for Nigerians at whose pleasure he holds the office.

But then, none of this is strange. Politics in Nigeria has never been about the people and Nigerians are used to that. The people are conversant with being trampled upon and being treated like dirt and second class citizens by the people for whose election they defied rain and shine. The surprise will be on the day that politicians in this country put the electorate ahead and think about the future of the country instead of immediate gratification. But at the moment, no amount of impertinence ruffles the people.

It is the same self-serving disregard for the people that would make Jubrin, irrespective of whatever credit might be in his allegation; pick up his whistle blowing card after- the -fact of the termination of his exalted office by the person whom he now accuses of corruption. Coming months after the 2016 budget caused endless altercations with the executive, irreparable damage to the economy and a deep hurt to the health of millions of Nigerians; this just seems like an awful afterthought.

Vituperations from Jubrin, which have flown like water from a damaged tap, suggest that he expects the applause of Nigerians even if his behaviour falls short of the basic requirements of patriotism. Were he on the side of the people, the malfeasances which he now gleefully reveals would have been in the public sphere months before the personal loss that precipitated his verbal diarrhoea. This belated outpouring only gives him away as a drowning man, clutching at any and every straw, an utter disappointment.

Curiously, these lads will claim to be Christians and Muslims, who go to church on Sundays and observe their five daily prayers. These are men whose trips on religious pilgrimages have more frequency than journeys back to their constituencies. Yet, none of this religiosity translates to the service of God and men. At best, they are smokescreens covering up their inclinations for mammon-the god of money.

If they were more conversant with the holy books, they would remember the story of King Solomon in the Bible and Prophet Suleiman in the Quran. Confirmed by history to be the wisest and probably wealthiest man of all time, Solomon himself volunteers the futility of all he gained by his wisdom and wealth.

By self- attestation in the Bible, Solomon testifies to having experienced pleasure by any definition possible (including the attention and company of the most elegant women of his time), like no other could claim. He also had wisdom, wealth and the respect of men and women from across the globe, but all of it, he says, “is vanity”

The Israeli King says in the Book of Ecclesiastes: “I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards.  I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.  I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees… I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me… I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure…” but all is vanity!

He admonishes that God “gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth” only to hand it over to the one that pleases him,” when men of power and influence fail to do the bidding of the Almighty with their resources. He concluded that it is all “meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”  Solomon further says that the greatest wisdom is in the fear of God and keeping his commandments.

Now, the service of people as well as fellow-feeling is central to keeping the commandments of God. It is the deficiency in these areas, which has turned these men who are making mincemeats of themselves before the world into such ludicrous specimen of Homo sapiens.

But there is still ample time to show loyalty to God and the people who gave them the privilege of office. Not giving consideration to the people in line with the expectations of God could only lead to the frittering of the riches which have turned the hearts of the men and women in politics to wickedness and made them pawns in the hands of the god of wealth. Karma lucks somewhere around for the day of reckoning.

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