Nigeria: A very welcome reprieve

Ambassadors at work

I am pleased to write this blog today as news reaches me that 29 condemned Nigerians [1] in Thailand and Afghanistan have been reprieved.

In this vein, I must congratulate the Nigerian official representations in those countries for the laudable activity in compassionate diplomacy that is beginning to give value, concern and dignity to the lives of Nigerians with a burden of criminality.

This development is heartening because it begins to show the world that we would not allow Nigerians to be sacrificed as severe punishment fodder and consequently the scapegoats for deterrence to other nationalities.

Every Nigerian must have a right to life regardless of where they are and what offence they might have committed - every attempt must be made to ensure that Nigerian rights are protected, defended and respected in both a judicial sense and to some extent in a show of humanitarian compassion where legal process has been exhausted.

Commuted to serve at home

Just over a month ago, 2 Nigerians were executed for trafficking heroin and it appeared not enough had been done to ensure that they were not poster advertisements to commemorate [2] the UN anti-Drugs Day 2008.

In having had these sentences commuted, they would all be deported to Nigeria where they are supposed to serve out their sentences.

I cannot say that the conditions in Nigerian prisons would be better than those of the countries in which they committed their crimes, but being alive and not under the sentence of a possibly gruesome death is probably the beginning of rehabilitation.

There is however much more to do in this matter, countries like Indonesia [3], Singapore [4] and Saudi Arabia [5] butcher our countrymen like cattle within their at times questionable judicial systems, there must be an end to this.

The dangers of irregular migration

I am quite interested in the root cause analysis that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in embarking on which is to highlight the dangers of irregular migration [6] which leads to avoidable deaths [7] in the treacherous waters that separate Africa from Europe.

Obviously, people who embark on such escapades have the compelling impression that there is a better life and a world of opportunities in the lands they seek to reach.

The causes of irregular migration

This means that the work of the government, business leaders and political representation must be geared to make Nigeria a viable place to keep its human resources and talent such that those dreamy faraway places where money appears to fall off trees becomes less attractive to adventurous sojourns.

The other issue is the hedonistic tendency to the ostentatious display of wealth as a confirmation of status in society; there is no doubt that this practice is primitive and uncouth – it sets the worst examples of aspiration amongst the youth in conditions and communities that desperately eke out an existence in dire situations.

Curtailing the inducements

Whilst one cannot legislate against hedonism, we need to work towards ensuring that anyone who intends to put up a show of wealth must also have clearly audited and legal sources of the same; failing which, all that wealth should be confiscated and put to use within the communities they intend to show off to.

In any case, the reprieve is the greater news of this blog, but the fact is, if we are to persuade more countries not to shoot up more Nigerians for whatever crimes; taking capital punishment off our law books would be a good start for negotiations.

Sources

[1] The Punch: 29 condemned Nigerians in Thailand, Afghanistan get reprieve

[2] BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Nigerians executed in Indonesia

[3] allAfrica.com: Sourced from Daily Champion - Nigeria: 70 Citizens Await Execution in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia

[4] BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Singapore executes drug smugglers

[5] Five Pakistanis, Nigerian executed in Saudi - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

[6] allAfrica.com: Sourced from ThisDayOnline.com - Nigeria: 29 Condemned in Thailand, Afghanistan Get Reprieve

[7] theage.com.au: Illegal immigrants targeting Italy - Breaking News - World - Breaking News

Gubernator in Terminator IV

CNN – Breaking News!

As I packed my bags yesterday to exploit an advancement of civilization I had one eye on the television observing a very interesting debasement of civilization.

This issue had been bothering me for a while, but it represents an interesting aspect of what is called closure when a very dramatic and bad event in some people’s lives dominates every waking moment in the quest for “closure”, though I am doubtful that the completion mercifully brings release to their troubled souls.

The United States with its warped democracy stands at the vanguard of the death penalty where a man in the position of governor has the right to exercise mercy or resolve in completing to act of withdrawing life from someone convicted of a crime that exacts capital punishment.

Not three weeks ago, there was a clamour about the death penalty in Singapore, where a 23-year-old took to drug smuggling to pay off the debts of his Australian twin brother, got caught and then hung 2 years after.

One can contend that calling Singapore a democracy is a misnomer, but that is another debate which can also question the real efficacy of the American version.

At just the same time in , another was being given a lethal invention having failed to get political sway to have the sentence commuted by the governor.

This is because the death penalty just as abortion and gay marriage pull at the heart strings of what makes the American society comfortable within its own skin.

Actors in Terminator X

As I once commented, some men in leadership have not consummated their leadership without having exercised the ability to send men to their deaths. Presidents achieve that through wars both necessary and unnecessary; governors do that in at the behest of crime and punishment.

So, having spent almost 35 minutes trying and eventually successfully putting a man to death, where the activity could have just been filmed and relayed on some pay-per-view channel, we were offered a number of witnesses to the judicious murder to relay what happened.

Only 12 in a Jury

A cavalcade of 6 journalists were brought on stage to tell of what they had witnessed, each introduced themselves by name and spelling each name out their representation and gave a view of what happened.

Then another 6, until 24 journalists had given their views – I doubt if there were up to 24 witnesses that sent the man to the gallows, and a jury only comprises of 12 people.

The man was walked to the gurney and strapped down to be killed and some maintained that he was trying to intimidate the audience.

Intimidate? The guy was being lead helplessly to his death and he was intimidating – sometimes journalists should just stick to news giving than analysis.

Probably the man being killed had the grace to face his punishment, for the journalists who observed the intimidation; they might as well be filling their pants at the thought a visit to the dentist.

More blacks as CEO?

Suffice it to say that almost equal percentages of black and white people are on death row, the discrepancy is in the fact that 12% and 69% are the respective population distributions in the USA.

When the man was first sentenced it was 11% and 79% respectively. Go figure! However, more whites have had the sentence carried out than blacks though.

It is impossible not to see a race issue here, but then if any social scientist can explain this demography and suggest how to bring the numbers to proportional representation then speak up.

The great unwashed looking

One can commend for not setting up their activities as some fanfare reminiscent of the Bastille and guillotine days, where the mobs witnessed executions baying for blood and the Taliban did by filling stadiums with witnesses that saw people being shot in the head.

Feeding Christians to lions was a pastime in ancient Rome; in modern the family of the victim are accorded front-row seats with journalists as the unwashed onlookers.

We have come a long way from barbarism only to become decent barbarians – civilisation can only do so much for converting basic human instinct, fascination and curiosity still reign especially when witnessing the putting to death of another man even though man would cringe at the killing of a cow.

Getting back to civilisation, I have a plane to catch.