When William Congreve used the line ‘hell has no fury like a woman scorned’ which has now become a famous quote all over the world, it was to illustrate a theme in his play titled ‘The Mourning Bride’. But the rest of us who use this quote often might be guilty of not considering the context in which it was used; or even other dimensions of life. Time and time again, politicians have been proven to be very lethal in their fury when scorned. Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate for the PDP, has just shown us that the fury of a woman pales in comparison to that of a politician when scorned. He has deployed considerable arsenal in resources and connections in trying, not just to scorch, but to destroy his erstwhile friend and political ally. I use the word erstwhile advisedly. Atiku and Tinubu have come a long way together in politics. They were both founding members of at least two political parties one of which morphed into the current APC. They both schemed at a time, for the highest political posts in the land as President and Vice President. It was rumoured that Atiku saved Tinubu’s skin at the 2003 election when Obasanjo’s political tsunami swept through the entire South-West. It was also rumoured that Tinubu repaid the compliment when Atiku found himself in a political wilderness of sorts during Obasanjo’s second term. Before this, they were both students of the Yar’Adua’s political school. In other words, both have swum in the same political water for so long that they should ‘know’ each other well - it is unlikely that a few secrets would not have ‘leaked’ during these years of a deep political relationship. In any case, both are good at ferreting information irrespective of the price. Unfortunately, what has happened has proved the truism of that Yoruba proverb which translated roughly, says that it is the same water a fish swims in that will boil it. The same water the two swam in so comfortably and so indulgently has now been made boiling hot by one for the other.

In my book, the two politicians are very similar in character. Both are consummate politicians who enjoy the gamesmanship and brinksmanship of politics. Both are strategic and Machiavellian. Both believe everything and everybody have a price and can be ruthless in the pursuit of their strategic goals. Both have a background of unexplained wealth and shady pedigree if not parentage. Both have acquired enough baggage along their personal and political routes to make them vulnerable to erstwhile friends and foes. They are also without doubt, two of the most experienced politicians in the country who understand the concept of no permanent friendship or enmity in politics; only permanent interests. And in spite of the occasional brick-brats, they had kept faith with this concept. The line of communication between the two had always been kept open in a way that had allowed alignment of interests to take place when necessary. Now, with this court case in far-away America, the line of communication has been cut. In its place, a line in the sand; of no return, a Rubicon of sorts, has been crossed. Did Tinubu first cross the line? Did he facilitate or encourage the balkanization of PDP into four factions knowing fully well that he would be the ultimate beneficiary? Did he hurt his friend beyond salvage? Did he handle his victory in a way that forced the hand of his erstwhile friend?

I do not believe that the CSU case in America was about seeking transparency or integrity as some of the foot soldiers are making themselves to believe – neither of the two gladiators is that altruistic. I also do not believe that it was about seeking the truth – I think both know enough ‘truths’ about each other. In my opinion, what is playing out is a deadly game of chess for the highest of stakes by two wily, old Grandmasters. If they succeed in cancelling each other out, what could result would be a mutually assured destruction (M.A.D) and politics as we know it in Nigeria might never be the same. Once again, the Chicago State University controversy has shown how polarized the country is and how easy it is for people to speak from both sides of the mouth. Those who gave excuses and alibis for a certain young lady found to have forged her JAMB result are today the most vociferous against Tinubu despite what has come to light that the President did attend CSU and came out with a clearly above average result. And those who lambasted the young lady earlier on are now camping behind Tinubu despite the fact that certain areas about the president’s early life leading to his university admission in the US are still shrouded in mystery.

The lesson here for most of us is that there are consequences for our actions. Many things we did in the past which we thought were expedient or even innocuous and trivial might come out to haunt us in future. For example, over seventy per cent of workers in Civil Service, Parastatals and Universities have falsified one thing or the other – usually their ages- on their CVs. At a time in Nigeria, before the age of e-passport and fingerprinting, many people went for greener pastures abroad using other people’s names and identities. It was called ‘ori olori’ (another person’s head). It was their survival mode at a time when getting a passport was near impossible. And before we raise our voices in indignation, it is not that much different from those who emigrate today under false pretenses. So if your child or ward entered the UK or the US with a student or visiting visa and has gone underground in a bid to stay permanently, or if you have subtracted a couple of years from your age in order to enjoy a few more years in government, or added a year or two so you can get secondary or tertiary education ahead of your peers, or if you have touched up your CV by turning a week-long course in a prestigious university to a diploma, you need to examine your conscience before you go to the social media to criticize others. Like the Good Book says ‘he who is without sin, let him cast the first stone’. And whoever comes to equity, must come with clean hands.

I really think we should let the gladiators have their fight and not get the rest of us involved. They are fighting for political survival, not seeking any truth because the way to the truth has been shown in the deposition of the university. The rest is political hysteria and a storm in a teacup. We need to think of how to put food on the table. Christmas is just a couple of months away. This thing has gone on for too long.

•Muyiwa Adetiba is a veteran journalist and publisher. He can be reached via titbits2012@yahoo.com

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