In the year 2020, while battling a plague that buffeted the world, Nigeria, under the superintendence of Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), decreed a set of regulations that, among others, barred interstate movement of people and vehicles as well as stopped local and international flights for travellers.
For a people who relish revelling and loud expressions of faith, banning religious and social gatherings especially in the most endemic areas affected by the pandemic like Lagos, Ogun and Abuja was decreed and accepted as another necessary measure needed to push back the devastating virus that exposed the country’s weak health system and decayed infrastructure.
The reign of a new normal of wearing of face masks, social distancing and handwashing thus ensued, the enforcement of which turned dramatic in some places. The plague is called coronavirus.
Not very long ago, I read of a girls secondary school in Lagos, where teenage girls who are part of a group loyal to Naira Marley, and referred to as Marlians were detected as always coming to school pantless.
Even when they wore any from home, may be because of the close supervision from their parents, they always took them off and put same in their school bags before entering the school compound as it is the rule in their cult.
The male folks also have their own group of Marlians and apparently they have their own rules. If you are a Marlian, strange things are not strange, and supposed bad acts are not bad. For example, doing hard drug is no qualms for Marlians.
Masturbation is openly supported too. One youngster even told me that group sex, is also encouraged by Marlians and referred to as groupy.
I feel for the youths of today. They have very few role models to emulate. This is made even worse by the reverence we attach to material things these days.
But the Nigeria we have today is one where state institutions mainly lack the regulatory capacity to enforce rules and regulations or bring defaulters to book without fear and favour.
It is also one where those who even make the rules mostly see themselves as above the law and find ways of circumventing them with impunity.
Where security agents are disinterested in enforcing the rules, except there are pecuniary benefits derivable therefrom, but only dash out like rats smoked out of holes when exposed.
Till date, I can’t pick out any of his songs on any radio playlist other than his recognisable look signposted by his short dreadlocks. Interestingly, Naira Marley has a maddening following among the youth.
During the YouTube Music and YouTube Premium launch at the Google Incubator Hub in Lagos in March, he expressed his ambition of “creating more ‘Marlians’ globally and taking the movement international.”
Truth be told, Naira Marley did not operate in a vacuum. He knew, and still knows, Nigeria is a country defined by gross disregard to rules and a pernicious grip of impunity even at the highest levels.
In fact, he sure knows the Nigeria we live in, like the rested Charly Boy Show, is one where “anything can happen”! He did not need to look far for inspiration.
In March, it took a strongly worded reprimand, personally signed by the late Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, to force members of the National Assembly who were rushing home from overseas trips on the heels of the rampaging COVID-19 pandemic, before the closure of the airspace, to submit themselves to the prescribed checks on arrival at the Abuja and Lagos airports, as required by the protocols.
Before then, they would walk into the various arrival halls with swagger refusing checks. Unfortunately, as it turned out, even the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, would, himself, violate the regulations on social distancing, he was tasked to oversee, when he led a strong delegation to the burial of Abba Kyari who succumbed to coronavirus-related ailments weeks later, with more people than the prescribed number (50) in attendance.
Mustapha only offered a tame apology when confronted with national outrage, which was later denied by his aides.
Azeez Fashola, real name of the Nigerian music star, most popularly known as Naira Marley has been declared officially by the federal government as being above the law.
Despite interstate travel ban in the country as part of the ways to beat COVID-19 pandemic, the soapy cronner last weekend, jetted out of Lagos to Abuja to entertain fun seekers in a concert at the Jabi Lake Mall.
Marley and nine of his crew members flew a private jet owned by Executive Jets Services to attend the concert. Shortly after the concert, Nigerians rose in condemnation of the musician for beating the interstate travel ban. Nigerians reacting on social media called out the musician, with some raising questions as to why the Federal government turned a blind eye to this.
Then, government reacted. How did they react? First, the Aviation ministry suspended the services of the ExecuJets, not minding that they got authorisation to fly the musician from them.
Second, FCT authorities swooped on the Jabi Lake Mall and closed it indefinitely because the concert was held in the premises.
Then, what happened to Naira Marley for playing at the concert? Nothing. Yes, I mean nothing. And that is because he is above the law.
Marley is back in Lagos, and flew same jet home, and enjoying proceeds from the concert, but the venue of the concert has been closed, and the aircraft that conveyed him there, banned. How else do you name a man an outlaw?
Executive Jets in a press release apologised to FG for conveying the musician and his crew, saying they saw Babatunde Fashola on the manifest and concluded that it was the former Lagos State governor, “not knowing that it was a bunch of useless people.”
Despite the apology, I have not heard that the FG has rescinded its decision on the company, nor have I heard that an investigation has been opened on the matter.
No one is even talking about Azeez Fashola (Naira Marley), who may have in a bit to beat the interstate travel ban, entered his younger brother’s name, Babatunde Fashola as first on the manifest, to deceive the company into believing it was same as the minister.
In a country where we claim to to place emphasis on the growth of the youths, one is tempted to ask how we hope to achieve this when the people who enjoy power, fame and attention are the bad influence amongst us?
There have recently been uproar over the rate of rape in the country, which even president Buhari expressing concern, but here we have a character that has been in and out of trouble, but always courts more trouble after he is free from another.
As his own apology or reaction if you like, Naira Marley has twitted and said that for referring to him and his crew as a bunch of useless people, he will never fly Executive Jets again, while also reminding that over 200,000 of his members (Marlians) use the company’s services, but will stop forthwith.
Like Dr Joe Abah tweeted, and rightly too, days ago, “somebody approved the Naira Marley concert… somebody approved a bottle of hard liquor per ticket (at the concert); somebody didn’t stop the concert when it lost control; somebody should be sacked this morning…if somebody is serious.”
Sadly, as I write this piece on Wednesday, nobody has had the awareness to do any of the above tasks. That is, if somebody is aware any of such even happened or bothered to think it’s worth the while to contemplate such actions.
In better run and accountable countries, somebody would have voluntarily resigned or booted out by now. Not here.
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