By Abubakar D. Sani, Esq
Mr. CCT Chair, what were you thinking? That public display of insanity; Has earned you unwanted attention; And unprecedented public censure But, it might yet get worse; As your professional colleagues Have invoked the disciplinary remit Of your umbrella association With potentially devastating consequences On your public and professional career This is one fight you just have to win As, otherwise, it will be all over Once again, Chair, what were you thinking? Didn’t you realise that your status Demanded that you be seen to be above board? How could you have blown it so catastrophically? A supposed exemplar of best behaviour Descending so low as to resort to fisticuffs Against a lowly parking attendant A mere security guard It simply went beyond the pale What we call, in law, infra dignitatem As a result, the hunter has now become the prey With potentially huge - unquantifiable - collateral damage In terms of public perception Of both his office And professional calling Something he (and we) can ill-afford Against that backdrop I bet Mr. Umar wishes he could recall His meltdown in that car lot That might, however, be too much to ask for Short, that is Of mollifying his victim Apologize to him By whatever means For the physical And emotional Trauma and distress A truly fine mess Not least of which Was calling him a ‘Biafran’ Whilst he is, reportedly, a Northerner - From, precisely, the Plateau hills But, will that be enough To call off the hounds Who are baying for his blood? It is surely out of his hands now Or is it? Don’t bet on it . . . Afterall, he can still pull off a trick - A rabbit out of his judicial hat Or something close to that So, don’t write him off After all, this is Nigeria - Anything is famously possible in these parts Notwithstanding the odds A place where pigs sometimes fly And, justice is seldom blind - Even though it is meant to be And everyone seems to live on the lunatic fringe Therefore, while it may be fashionable To demonize Mr. Code of Conduct In truth, he is but the latest example Of the best – and worst – of us Who, typically, has no qualms about using His or her position of status or power Against the less-privileged and the down-trodden Is justice really the last hope of the common man - In a place where the strong routinely Harass and oppress the weak And get away with it – An entrenched culture of impunity It was the CCT Chair a week or so ago A year before that, it was Senator Abbo (Curiously, in the same venue – A shopping plaza in Wuse 2) Who will be next Is any one’s guess You can bet, however, that This will be a recurring decimal Abubakar D. Sani, Esq. 10th April, 2021
