Once upon a time, news from my family in
Nigeria centered on the dead or dying. Tired of all the negative news, I
sent out a fatwa: give me news of deaths and risk instant death! My
folks knew I didn’t mean literal death. They also knew the sharpness of
my tongue. A family member once said (unfairly, I might add) that if I
were goat meat, he would eat everything except my mouth! I didn’t mind
that ‘yabis’ because the avalanche of negative family news ceased.
I remembered a family member recently
and realised I hadn’t heard about her in ages. When I asked my mother,
she said the woman had since passed away. “Why wasn’t I told?” I asked
with mild indignation. My mother retorted: “I thought you didn’t want to
hear news about death.” Touche! I can’t eat my cake and have it, can I?
Despite that, I continue to discourage
news about deaths because they often extract a high (emotional and
financial) price. Even the happy events such as weddings and births (not
always in that order) have their own price tags. For example, a younger
cousin called one Thursday to inform me that on that Sunday, she would
dedicate her baby (of whose existence I had been blissfully ignorant).
She invited me to the event (holding in three days!). I asked if she
knew the distance between Arizona and Akwa Ibom. Needless to say, she
was only interested in my presents rather than my presence.
On the political arena, I also carefully
filter the information that I consume from Nigeria. I read the major
headlines on Nigerian news sites and studiously ignore photos of naked
young black women that have become regular pop-ups on these sites. I
also avoid the often deceptive headlines about Nollywood stars and their
love interests, unless the stories are about my favorite leading man,
Ramsey Nouah. Thankfully, he’s not one of those crazy ones who run
around with unbridled libido, at least not that I know of. And after the
stuff that I ‘accidentally’ read this week, I would hesitate if asked
to “drink mbiam” (as my Annang folks would say) affirming his morality.
I am still traumatised by the story of
an alleged affair between Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the governor of
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and a woman who may or may not be a CBN
employee. If the story is true, then I need intense therapy to recover
from the shock that my ‘fiscal idol’ has a serious case of
clay-footedness. Okay, I exaggerate … but it would be profoundly
disappointing.
I first ‘encountered’ Sanusi last year
on an Africa Magic broadcast. That same week he made the headlines with
his comment about how the Nigerian civil service needed a trim. I teased
him for desiring to create a civil service that was as austere as his
physical appearance. The research that I did about him for the column
showed a man with utmost personal discipline. He also struck me as
someone who dogmatically pursues excellence. These characteristics are
incongruous with the image that has emerged in the recent stories of the
alleged sex scandal.
No one outside the newspaper that broke
the story can confirm this story. That hasn’t stopped it from generating
discussion on Blogosphere. Many folks who have weighed in on it don’t
see anything wrong if a supervisor has an affair with an employee over
whom he has influence (on hiring or promotion). Specifically, the
general comments can be classified in three categories. The first set
features folks who suggest that the story is a malicious attempt to
smear a man whose policies at the CBN have created discomfort for
economic deviants. In other words, enemies and political detractors are
trying to “shoot down” a good man.
The second group of comments argues that
it shouldn’t matter what a CBN governor does behind closed doors as
long as he’s doing his job. Sanusi’s numerous awards, including the most
recent (Best African CBN governor), confirm that he knows his onions.
Needless to interject that private troubles and acts of indiscipline
often translate to policies!
Then there is the third category: if it
happened, it must have been consensual and therefore no crime was
committed. The sub-text in this group includes comments that reference
the woman’s ‘shame’ and ‘disgrace’. It is framed in a narrative of ‘man
no be wood’ but a woman should be made of steel, and therefore strong
enough to resist the lecherous advances of a boss.
Some of the details of this case (if
true) are certainly different from the typical workplace sexual
harassment. The individuals, as confirmed by Sanusi himself, had prior
knowledge of each other before the woman was hired at a CBN affiliate
agency. In a classic scenario, the harassment would occur on the job.
The victim’s response (to comply, resist or report) is often influenced
by many factors. One of these is the ‘need factor’, as the victim weighs
the promised job or promotion against the outcome of creating waves,
and risking unemployment. The morality factor may be insignificant in
these calculations.
There’s also a ‘fear factor’ that
hinders many victims of workplace sexual harassment from reporting (even
here in the United States with its sophisticated advocacy mechanisms).
The silence is obviously more common in Nigeria because of the fear by
the victim (mostly a woman) that she’ll be blamed, derided, disbelieved
and dismissed (for trying to create problems for an Oga-at-the-top).
In the Sanusi case, commentators are
already arguing that the woman participated actively (such as flying out
to hotel rendezvous) because of what she stood to gain from the
relationship. Thus, they ignore the factors that often create an
unwilling but consensual participant out of a victim of workplace sexual
harassment. Unfortunately, regardless of the truth or falsity of this
alleged ‘sex scandal’, the woman’s reputation has taken a serious hit.
Still, I hope fervently that this
scandal is indeed the work of Sanusi’s ‘enemies’ and ‘political
detractors’. Nevertheless, if it is true, I don’t want to know. Let me
hold on to my austere, ascetic, albeit not sterile, image of Mallam CBN
Governor/. The fatwa on bringers of bad news is still in force,
remember?
by Patience Akpan-Obong Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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My sister,you nearly forced me to agree entirely with your write-up but,I still blame mr loverboy Sanusi for his laziness. Why?,in Nigeria there's a popular saying that;Who dem catch naim be thief"!
ReplyDeleteForget about all the talk about morality our clergies and elders preach,they are worse than king David.
Umoh senen.
I think u don't have something to write.
ReplyDeleteI think u don't have something to write.
ReplyDeleteStory,story,storyyyy,let me say it all with this parable"where there is a smoke there is fire somowhere.that's my word on this,we re watching to see how this plays out.
ReplyDelete