Post-Truth

The truth; the anti-corruption project; signature policy of Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, is on its knees. Post-truth; the descent, though not a free fall, could make a pseudo out of a necessity that began brilliantly. Truth is regarded as the absolute state of a matter. But a matter doesn’t always end at the truth point. Whenever truth emerges in its truthful state, there are essentials to consider.

The Ibrahim Magu-led EFCC hardly scares anyone anymore. It used to. The Lawal Daura-led DSS now barks in vain. It wasn’t always so. Alhaji Lai Mohammed led information machine propagands volubly into emptiness. It used to be effective. Every component that had sold the anti-corruption imagery to Nigerians, with the coming of the current administration, is now so ineffectual. The face of the anti-corruption show, GMB, is not only literally dull, his sight and sound, is enough pointer to an imminent anti-climax to a drama with great prologue.

Mr Femi Adesina, a media shining-light, has taken over the mantle of speaking the anti-corruption language for his principal. Despite his high moral reckoning, he isn’t scoring with the latest assignment because the soul of the project is already lost.

AGF Abubakar Malami and Professor Itse Sagay committee are what Yoruba call ese kuku (fringers). I’m deliberately leaving them out here.

One symbolism to show that the anti-corruption war isn’t winning again, is striking. My son was showing his disavowal with Arsenal days back. “Daddy, please take the Arsenal match away. I don’t like watching them. They will play o, but won’t score. Whoever that isn’t scoring will not win.” Then he mentioned his preference for a park-the-bus team which scores and wins, even without playing well. I grudgingly switched channels.

I’m not an Arsenal fan. I also have issues with Buhari’s brand of national rebirth, using the anti-corruption baton. But the synonymy imagery of both brands; Buhari and Arsenal, is just too gripping. Arsenal is loved by millions in Nigeria but they are frustrated the club isn’t winning. The club is a global household name. Now, yesterday’s glory is today’s story. But the club is just on its knees. Gunners can rise again.

Countless Nigerians were enamoured of Buhari’s anti-corruption project at inception. In fact, the mantra effectively landed him a historic victory. But with the way the project is now manifesting, it is debatable if it was not conceived as a mere fantasy, designed for objectives not contiguous to national interest. Or did the nation just buy into the fancy of one man with butterflies in his head, without any concrete plans to deliver enduring results? But even fancies, with clarity of thoughts and focus, could be recreated to become realities. Fantastic ideas are not even products of pedestrian reasoning. Something must be fanciful about them, to be novel and appealing. But a fancy not worked out, will remain a wilful desire.

Nearly everybody agreed the project didn’t take off altruistically. Opposition PDP’s leading lights mainly went under the hammer. At the cacophonous height of witch-hunt cries, a couple of APC stalwarts were carefully choreographed into the opera. Buhari’s long-life friend, Brig. Gen. Lawal Jafaru Isa was the most prominent. While his president-friend must have been disappointed in him for collecting the much-hyped Sambo Dasuki free-giving, Isa was merely issued a go-and-sin-no-more treatment. The N100 million he reportedly refunded was allegedly proceeds of another scam. Well, Isa became a free man after the refund. PDP’s erstwhile spokesperson, Olisa Metuh who thought he could use the Isa’s formula for freedom, got a shocker. His promise to refund the campaign fund from the same Sambo was rebuffed by the same EFCC that collected same refund from the president’s friend.

Even God in His mercy won’t allow such anti-corruption project, skewed so vengefully against a set of people, flourish, when their old associates now on the president’s side, are treated as our new saint-patrons.

But it was the Godsday Orubebe’s trial that showed that the anti-corruption melodrama would likely end a tragicomedy. I warned on this page that Orubebe’s glaring victimisation for protesting the 2015 presidential election, would not bode well for this administration.

In the Niger-Deltan’s week of triumph, Buhari, EFCC, DSS and other fringe anti-corruption posers, were badly worst here and there. Even the public is sneering and leering.

Curiously, the mess of the crusade today was mainly the making of Buhari and his anti-corruption honchos. All the forces that should line behind the president, at least, to keep pounding the opposition to public glee, were not only in disarray, but arrayed against one another, splashing the corruption mud everywhere, including the abode of grass-cutters. But even with Magu and Daura taking away their personal and institutional integrity on daily basis, and APC dealing Sagay’s anti-corruption fluency a fatal gag, it is doubtful if Nigerians have not given up on Buhari to cleanse the other side of the Augean stable (the stench on his side appears not to worry him), despite his lawyer also being unmasked as one of Justice Adeniyi Ademola’s patrons, while the president’s certificate saga case was pending before the “busted” but now “buoyed” judge.

Mr President, this is the post-truth of your signature agenda. Only you can rescue it with a redirection that won’t include the drag, currently dipping it. Your mindset sir, must also change because that is what God judges. It is either you lead this fight to win on all fronts or you don’t fight the menace at all. Or what is the essence of fighting if not to win. You aren’t winning now sir and you are squarely to be blamed for the post-truth mess.