I’m Not Caesar’s Wife

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