And Four Other Things…
Justice Alfa Belgore, the former chief justice of Nigeria, caused some controversy on Wednesday when he said it was “illegal” for President Muhammadu Buhari to give national honour to a dead person. Belgore, who chaired the 2016 awards committee, was commenting on the GCFR awarded posthumously to Chief MKO Abiola. It is significant to note that Belgore did not quote a single provision of the law which expressly forbids giving national honours posthumously. The law is silent on it. If anything, the law gives the president discretionary powers. I think the ex-CJN is out of order to strongly condemn Buhari’s gesture without a concrete legal basis. Overruled.
Muslim Rights Concern ( MURIC) has asked Falz to withdraw his ‘This is Nigeria’ video — or face legal action. The video, a parody of Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America’, is viewed by MURIC as “thoughtless, insensitive and highly provocative”. MURIC said the “hate video” manifests “ethnic bias against Fulanis while it ignored the criminal activities of ethnic militia of the Middle Belt who have also massacred Fulanis and rustled their cattle in their thousands”. Fair point, just that the tone of MURIC’s protest already reveals its deep political bias which it barely disguises in any case. I just hope Falz will not be intimidated to be singing only about Ferrari and Gucci. Aluta.
Senate President Bukola Saraki was poised to dominate the airwaves for the whole of last week until President Muhammadu Buhari interrupted the news cycle with the June 12 declaration. It was a needed breather for Saraki, having been circumstantially linked to the Offa bank robbery heist that claimed 33 lives, including pregnant women and policemen. He has a lot of sympathisers who believe he is being witch-hunted because of the politics of 2019 elections. Police also appear desperate to nail him. However, since many of the suspects are allegedly associated with him one way or the other, I think he has to clear his name in a court of law, politics or no politics. Essential.
I wish Fela were alive to hear President Olusegun Obasanjo raise the alarm that President Buhari is after him. For the avoidance of doubt, Fela never liked Obasanjo, Maj. Gen Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and Chief MKO Abiola. He sang vigorously against them in the late 1970s. Even though he didn’t like Gen. Sani Abacha either, he was all too pleased when Abacha put these men in jail. “You mean say Obasanjo, Abiola and Yar’Adau fit go jail for this country?” Fela said, triumphantly. Though he never liked Buhari, who also controversially jailed him in 1984, I would have loved to hear his reaction to a “whole” Obasanjo panicking that the Buhari is coming for him! Ironic.