Buhari gets nothing for the release of Omoyele Sowore. Oh, strike that! He gets a hard knock for messing up with the rule of law. For turning the rule of law to the ruse of law. For attempting to rule by force and for disobeying the laws of the land that he promised before Allah and his people to uphold.
Of course, Sowore does not pose a threat to national security. He couldn’t even if he wanted to. His call for #revolutionnow is as treasonable as ex-governor Saminu Turaki’s launching of political sharia. In fact milder – because not a single pin was broken or destroyed as a result of that call. In the political sharia case, lives were lost. Yet, Turaki is a free man, marrying teenagers and divorcees all over the land and even saying his marabout told him Buhari would hand over to him. (We have heard that before from my former pastor Chris Okotie its religious schism).
Buhari would have to do more, if indeed he knows what to do, to earn the respect of people. He would have to tell his police to stop harassing people who ‘insult’ governors on ‘social media’, he would have to tell the world that in a democracy, he would not sign the Social Media Bill and the so-called Hate Speech bill into law. He would have to agree that he is privileged already and should not behave like the man who carries the elephant meat on his head but uses his feet to dig a cricket hole.
He would have to release Sambo Dasuki and El-Zak-zaky. He would have to ask Agba Jalingo to be released too. These people may have committed offences, but their ‘offences’ are bailable. With the exception of Zakzaky whose members’ protests has led to avoidable loss of lives, none of the other detainees pose a threat to a serious country.
There is a creeping facade of respect for the rule of law, in which the APC tends to allow a few good things pass while endorsing a lot of idiocy. Nigerians fought for this democracy at a time when Buhari’s silence was conspiratorially and criminally loud. Most of them carry the scars – emotionally, psychologically and some physically. Some died for these rights.
Fela couldn’t have put it better – human rights na my property, so therefore, you can’t dash me my property. No sir, Mr. Buhari, you have earned no laurels with me. You remain a recalcitrant dictator and a threat to national entente and global respect. But you can change. You can change now and the world would see it clearly. On this one sir, you earned – nothing!
Welcome back to Omoyele Sowore, one free, many still in chains.
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