By Nelson Ekujimi
January 23, 2016 – One has tried unsuccessfully to restrain himself from adding his voice to the wolf cries generated over the recent handcuff of Olisa Metuh, the PDP spokesperson to court by the prison authorities following his arraignment for corruption charges. The realization that, one will be doing a great injustice and disservice to himself and the society, if we refuse to analyze and place issues in proper perspective is the propelling motive for this action.
However, while studying the situation for an appropriate response, the prison authorities through its spokesperson, came up with an explanation for the action which is in tandem with its responsibility to secure the person in its custody from causing harm to either himself or to others, which is in consonance with best global practices.
One also notes with concern that with the way, Olisa Metuh attempted to eat paper in EFCC custody for whatever reasons, but was prevented, it becomes imperative and responsible for the authorities to place him under surveillance and take measures that will hinder him from causing bodily harm to himself or others. It is best imagined what would have been the reaction of Mr. Metuh’s party members, supporters, some interest persons and groups, if he had succeeded in eating the paper and developed health complications? Your guess is as good as mine.
However, barely 24 hours after the arraignment of Olisa Metuh in handcuffs and the reactions that followed, he was again handcuffed to court for another arraignment, which means that definitely, there is more to this man called Olisa Metuh, than meets the eye.
For all who care to know and those who have drawn out the daggers against the government on this action, it is important to state clearly that since the inception of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and the prosecution of the war against corruption, some other alledged beneficiaries of the arms funds diversion and sharing by the former National Security Adviser (NSA) Sambo Dasuki have been arraigned and on no occasion has any one been brought to court in handcuff either from the custody of the EFCC, DSS or the prisons. This makes one to wonder and ask why Olisa Metuh has become an exemption and special case?
However, before we hazard a guess, one feels obliged to look at the pedigree and antecedents of the man called, Olisa Metuh.
Olisa Metuh to some of us, was not a very popular political figure, but gained huge public attention due to his position and activities as the spokesperson of the then ruling party, the PDP, prior to the 2015 general elections. With the conduct of the elections, in which his party lost political power at the centre in which it had held for sixteen years since the advent of democratic rule in 1999, Olisa Metuh became more popular with his change of role with Alhaji Lai Mohammed of the APC, in which he now became the spokesperson of the opposition party which was a very unfamiliar terrain due to the change in musical chairs, politically.
In fairness to Olisa Metuh, he has tried very hard, though most times, amusingly to perform his responsibility as the spokesperson of the opposition party which is expected to keep the governing party on its toes by scrutinizing it’s programmes and activities, and pointing out flaws and proposing alternative suggestions on the way forward, patriotically and responsibly. But with the manner he has discharged his duties, one can excuse Olisa Metuh for his seeming flaws, after all, he is just learning the ropes in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable terrain which makes it germane for him to heed the admonitions of patriots that he seeks help and refresher course on how to carry out his new assignment, responsibly.
Before his arrest and arraignment by the anti graft agency as an alledged beneficiary of Dasukigate, Olisa Metuh, like in his character as the new opposition party spokesperson had tried to blackmail the government of the day by alledging that he was being hounded and likely to be arrested for criticizing the government in order to silence him from performing his role, but knowing Metuh for who he was, Nigerians saw through the lie and just laughed it off as vintage Olisa Metuh and his usual infantile tantrums.
Immediately after his arrest for corruption, news started filtering out from EFCC custody of how Olisa Metuh was reported to have confessed to collecting the sum of N400 million from ex President Goodluck Jonathan for in his own words, for a job for the President of which there was no documentation for the purpose of the transaction.
For those who are not in the know and advocates of the “rule of law”, lest they be hoodwinked to join in the blackmail against the present government for the travails of Olisa Metuh, it is imperative to explain that whatever actions ex President Goodluck took while in office, he undertook as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and not as ordinary citizen, Mr. Goodluck Jonathan. So whatever transactions took place between the ex President and Olisa Metuh, must be seen in the light of a transaction between the people of Nigeria as represented by the office of Mr. President and Mr. Olisa Metuh. Thus, such a transaction must be subjected to public scrutiny by the agencies of the state saddled with such responsibility, which is what the EFCC is doing.
Hence the EFCC insisted that he refund his own share of the people’s money of N400 million that was shared to him, but he refused and unlike other alledged beneficiaries of Dasukigate who also admitted receiving money but are trying frantically to justify the purpose of the payment, Olisa Metuh went on hunger strike to maintain his no shifting ground position and whip up public sentiments. Note again, so far, in the prosecution of the corruption cases, it is only Olisa Metuh that has been reported to have gone on hunger strike.
However, while Nigerians were still relishing the drama show of Olisa Metuh in EFCC custody, news filtered in that, in the process of being presented with his statement for authentication prior to his arraignment in court, that he attempted to eat the papers. What a man? This was a very disturbing development in view of the fact that only goats eat paper and because the financial status of Olisa Metuh in the society, makes him very able to afford whatever meal, money can buy, even in custody.
This paper eating action of Olisa Metuh was attempted to be explained away by some people who reasoned that perhaps his mentality might have been affected by the hunger strike embarked upon, hence he cannot differentiate between a paper and food, but that is a matter, strictly for the psychiatrist to analyze and report their findings.
Be as it may, this action of handcuffing Olisa Metuh is a testament to the fact that this citizen who has always amused Nigerians with pedestrian comments as the opposition party spokesperson on issues, must be an Alice in wonderland and deluding himself if he fantasizes that he can attract public sympathy with the theatrics of handcuff, because for all we care, the Nigerian people in realizing the danger posed to the health of the country by the mind boggling corruption that took place under the immediate past administration, are more than ever supportive of the government’s action in retrieving our stolen money and sending every goat who ate our collective yams to an isolated barn where they rightly belong, called the prisons.
NB: Content of this article is purely the view of the author and not that of starconnectmedia.
