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| Former IMF president, Dominik Strauss-Kahn |
Sexual scandals of the kind described above do not occur in Nigeria because the men of this country have unanimously chosen to pretend that they do not occur. A few days ago, we completed Goodluck Jonathan's fairytale political story by ushering him in as the next president. Millions of Nigerians sat in front of their televisions watching the inauguration proceedings with mixed feelings. Some sat quizzically, wondering why every single president elected since the resurgence of democracy, always had to wear a hat at such proceedings. Surely, as a sign of respect, it would have been nice to have a president who respected the power of the office long enough to doff his heart for the nation? Other people sat stunned as they marvelled at the fact that their house was actually being powered by PHCN for the first time since the last inauguration four years ago.
Most people however were of the general view that the current president would do something assertive about moving this country further out of the Third World club. Chief among such expectations were the stabilization of the country's power situation, the improvement of the country's economy and a solution to the crater fields that most of our highways have now become. Granted, these are all important issues, but so also is the country's stance on the question of morality.
The morality of our leaders extends a lot further than the boundaries of their offices. If affects their lives as well. It has become worryingly normal for senators and governors to get involved in sexual affairs with no worries about what it would mean to their office or their weeping or fuming wives. If the IMF president can end up losing his office and being detained in prison because he defied his age and begging heart to chase a woman around a hotel room, then surely similar standards can be held in this country.
Every year, the country is gripped with stories that galvanize the citizens but do nothing to alter the general trend within the political office or the visitors to court rooms. It is why, despite the public outcry that follows stories of senators marrying underage foreigners or governors having affairs outside their marriages, nothing ever really happens. Name one political leader who has lost his job because of sexual indiscretions. We are either being governed by the best collection of saints or we are saintly in our patience for their excesses. The truth is: most of our leaders in office have chosen to ignore the issue of sexual morality because doing so would open most of them to possible attacks on that most important of legal pivots - ‘their abuse of the people's trust and the power of their office'.
The idea that sexual morality is not something that the average Nigerian is concerned about is an absurd one. Consider what would happen if a senator discovered that his wife had chosen to have an affair with one of the many willing men around the country. I doubt that he would smile, pat his pot belly with amusement and chalk it up to one of those things like his dozen other sexual exploits. The argument that Nigerians are chauvinistic and sexist has long since been established. It is only the national acknowledgment that is still wanting.
Last week, the coalition of Edo women protested against an Edo lawmaker who is alleged to have impregnated his sister-in-law, a little girl who is still in junior secondary school. If the allegation is true, there are probably a handful of laws that he has clearly broken. Anywhere else in the western world, if such an allegation had been made, both parties would have long since been visited by law enforcers of the country to get the story of both parties.
Unfortunately, here in Nigeria, stories of sexual scandals never get the attention of the police unless the victim has had some body part removed. As such, the nation can look forward to another four years during which most of our leaders will spend the better part of their evenings running around the country looking for the best looking girls to chase around the room. Sadly, unlike the IMF president who went about the task naked, thanks to the illegal protection provided by their offices, the size of their purse and the help of their security detail, nine times out of 10, they usually end up catching their victims.
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