Has the laureate been bought?

By Eze Eluchie

Globally, there are best practices and acceptable standards of conduct in all spheres of human endeavor, be it wars/conflicts, medical procedures, impartation of knowledge, for whatsoever. Even for social critics.

In the area of social criticism, one acceptable no-go area, globally, is to refrain from attacks on the family of public office holders. This is for the obvious reason that the issue remains the office holder and not his/her family. The presence in the public domain of the spouse and or children of a public office holder is solely on account of the principal office holder. So 'attacks' should always be on point, on the public office holder and not his/her appendages.

This is moreso in an environment, such as ours, where the families of public office holders at all strata of government help themselves to whatsoever they can lay hands on, at will. The spouse and family of Local Council Chairpersons help themselves to the trappings of office in their areas of authority, just as those of State Governors do at the State level and obviously at the Federal level.

In the course of a renegotiation and restructuring of our contraption, which I have persistently advocated for, this national folly of ours will certainly be addressed. Partisan attacks on the spouse of one public office holder certainly do not address the decay.

It is permissible, in keeping with global best practices, to criticize and lampoon public office holders at will, but certainly not their families.

On a personal level, I have at various times, as appropriate (in my reckoning), had cause to use unflattering adjectives to describe various public office holders, inclusive of President Jonathan - a practice that will continue as long as the need for such arises. I have in all, always kept within the 'rules' and spared their home-front.

It is in the light of the foregoing that the recent descent into the abyss of pedestrian abuse by Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, of the spouse of President Jonathan is really, really quite unfortunate.

Having observed the rather unbecoming haste at virulent and vociferous defense of Chibuike Amaechi ever since the "3rd Port Harcourt Festival of Books" (2011) and the campaigns towards the city's bid as the "World Book Capital for 2014" both financed by Amaechi and chaired by Soyinka, one is left wondering if anything untoward has transpired?

NB: The despicable violent attack on the Rivers State House of Assembly which Soyinka sought to condone:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zM9P9nxNMA8 

 http://tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/component/k2/item/16453-rivers-assembly-fracas-how-it-all-started.html

Picture: Embattled Governor Chibuike Amaechi and Professor Wole Soyinka