Duke of Shomolu writes…
My new mission is to get Nigerians, especially public commentators, to move away from emotional diatribes on issues and take rational, fact-based approaches.
Senator Natasha’s issue has once again shown the very worst in passionately following an issue with emotions without looking at the facts.
Someone sent me Senator Ned Nwoko’s position, which I recommend, and you will see the facts.
In response, Nigerians would shout, “He has many wives,” as if that would change the facts on the ground.
So when this NYSC lady’s drama started, I pulled back.
For those who don’t know, the lady called our President terrible after ranting about the price of things.
As usual, the mumu officials allegedly came after her, threatening her and asking her to pull down the offending post.
She, in response, returned to social media in tears to report the threat and to also ask if she didn’t have a right to shout when her neck was being pressed by the terrible economic policies of the terrible President.
As expected, international bodies have jumped in, asking for her rights to free speech to be protected, and Grandfather Atiku has joined in his usual agbaya manner, comparing her to Margaret Ekpo, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, and other such titans.
In all of this, nobody has taken the time to go through the bylaws of the NYSC, of which she is a bona fide member.
The bylaws that I have seen, as they concern this issue, forbid any member of the NYSC from criticizing or basically doing exactly what she just did.
I know for a fact that during orientation, corps members are given a handbook containing all the bylaws.
But like Senator Natasha, her elder sister in this matter, she either didn’t read it or didn’t understand it and, as such, flouted it—then ran to us with emotional dribble so we could jump again.
Now, we are not a nation of law-abiding people. Nobody will ask whether the bylaws are reasonable or test them in court.
Instead, we will all be shouting, Ohh Tinubu, what kind of country is this? The country is finished, and all the usual rubbish.
Someone should seize this opportunity and test the bylaw in court to see if it can stand the rigors.
Does this now mean that a corps member cannot shout under these bylaws if economic policies are biting?
I think that as long as those laws stand, they cannot—the same way a soldier would face treason if he shouts.
What needs to be done is to wait out the compulsory service, join Sowore in the streets to shout, and then fall back on your terrible experience. Or surreptitiously ask Femi Falana to go to court to repeal the law.
I support the law, though. The NYSC is a quasi-paramilitary outfit designed, among other things, to promote unity and discipline among our youth.
This is why you have military instructors who drill you, push you to your limits, and then unveil you to the community to serve the nation.
So what options does a youth who can’t stand the terrible policies of a terrible President have while serving the nation?
Civil rebellion is one. You refuse to serve or withdraw to strongly state your position on the price of eggs or the way the country is being managed.
This is your fundamental right, but as you do that, prepare yourself for the consequences—which could be anything from a fine, a jail term, lack of employment, or self-exile. Muhammad Ali did it in America and faced the consequences like a man.
The fact is, as a Youth Corper, you cannot lose your cool because you can’t buy a crate of eggs to fry and then go on social media to rant.
What this means is that maybe you didn’t go through the 30-day orientation and definitely didn’t do the endurance trek—because you have not shown endurance.
For the official who called her and allegedly threatened her, that is what we call Afamaco in Shomolu.
As in, who sent you? This is how officials give the government a bad name.
Are there no laid-down procedures to handle such things? So why the bullying?
The right thing to do is to summon her through the commandant or employer if she is already in the PPE and debrief her.
After the debriefing, the system can decide to either forgive her or proceed with the stated punishment.
So that call was meaningless buffoonery.
This too shall pass, like every other ripple in the pool, but the lessons to learn here are many.
To the government: The level of tolerance is wearing thin. It is not for the first son to be parading around with a face cap, shouting, My papa is the best!
It is for concrete and immediate impact on the people with effective policies.
To Nigerians: Channel your grievances strategically without leaving loopholes that the government can exploit to puncture the movement.
To Atiku: Not everything requires you to jump in and start doing agbaya things. Instead of schooling the child, you want to politicize the issue in a shameful attempt to use a suffering child for personal benefit.
For me, Atiku is the biggest loser in this matter—and a terrible person.
He may now send someone to beat me.
Duke of Shomolu
