Senator Abbo& Abbogate: Will It End Like Plebgate?

Senator Abbogate & Abbogate: Will It End Like Plebgate?

“Watergate Scandal” which happened in the ’70s US politics and led to resignation of President Richard Nixon bequeathed contemporary journalism with the appendage “gate”, especially in crime and scandal. Nixon had sponsored wiretapping of Democratic National Committee office headquartered in Watergate, Washington D.C as further reports showed and this led to his resignation in what became known as “Watergate scandal”.

After Nixon’s resignation in 1974, the suffix “gate” had been muchly used by media muckrakers in exposing and reporting political scandals. In such manner did many “gates” capture Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern. “Monicagate”, “Sexgate”, “Zippergate” all became metonymic ways of referring to the sexual escapade! That incident nearly led to Clinton’s own impeachment had the Senate not ruled that such sexual activity did not obstruct the president from his constitutional duties to Americans though the House of Representatives had voted for impeachment! Even when Clinton did not resign nor did he get impeached, he apologized to Hillary, Chelsea and entire Americans in his speech when he said, “I have sinned… The sorrow I feel is genuine…” during a White House prayer session. He was forgiven, though he denied earlier saying: “I did not have sexual relation with that woman”. The lesson drawn here is that whenever floodgate opens with any suffixal “gate” within foreign media, politicos are brought to their knees, if not humbled. http://www.bellsnews.com/sports/lampard-confirmed-as-chelseas-new-coach/

Sometime in 2012 in the United Kingdom, a parliamentarian had altercation with the police that were on guard. Riding on his bicyicle (not convoy or security retinue), Andrew Mitchell, Tories Chief Whip, was accused of having used the word “pleb” (a derogatory word for a low birth person or commoner) on the police contingent. Though from investigations that involved communication experts, CCTV play and replay, it was discovered that Mitchell may not have used such word, the MP had “honourably” resigned before his guilt was otherwise proven!

With Nigeria, no amount of scandalous activities ever make our politicians resign. Many within governorship association have pending EFCC sundry charges of misappropriation of public funds but are sitting in the “hallowed chambers” making laws for the masses, taxpayers and owners of the commonwealth and looted treasury. They are cooling their feet at the National Assembly rather than having a day in court. This in a sense is “Tragedy of the Commons”.

A video of savagery of one of our “distinguished” senators is trending online and ever since then, nothing had been heard from the said senator if not he is “preparing his team”. The claim that the said event happened in March holds no water to me should we say “statute of limitations” by law implies the case is no longer actionable, our collective conscience has a summons to answer to and therein lies the greatest justice.

We know that were it to be in a civilized clime that such barbarity should have opened a floodgate of “Abbogate”; would have instigated a recall move had the senator insisted to have his way by ways other than moral. Michael Fallon of United Kingdom some two or three years ago was in the news for a sexual relationship alleged to be “rape” and had to resign. The Defense Secretary, Fallon resigned saying his activities in the past “fall short” of the office he represents even after over a decade! What is there to learn as for Nigeria?

Once I accompanied someone to a politician’s during the last campaign and he was on phone, apparently with someone in his constituency. I heard him say:

“Tell all of them, both the traditional ruler that I will unleash ‘my boys’ on them if ever my posters are again torn….”

Nigerian politicians and political parties are larger than life. Leviathan they are. Our host is evidence enough need we search more? So it goes that the elected misappropriate not our collective wealth alone but also our public space, disrupting daily traffic with ostentatious, often long retinue of combined security aparathuses, blaring siren while racing against daily flow of such traffic and public protocol, reveling in titles of “honourable” and “excellencies”. Their sense of entitlement is out of this world too. So when Senator Elisha Abbo parades himself as legislator of the Federal Republic, he stands to bully his way through, even victimising those trough whose votes he caught a whiff of the Red Chamber.

Our distinguished senator deserves no right to represent us further. He should step down honourably, his faux pas being even worse, in a human sense, than “Sexgate”, “Watergate”, “Plebgate” or any other gate-appended scandal I can recall. Then politics being what it is here, of dog eat dog kind, and brute force holding the way to power and its sustenance, could such Hobbesian attitude warrant a resignation as in Plebgate or Watergate?

Maybe, I advise, let us institute a panel of fair hearing for the distinguished senator and continue with this ghetto politics.

Nnamdi Elekwachi
Aficionado
2019
Aba