PDP craves Magu’s scalp

TRACKING____Why does the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria’s leading opposition party, celebrate the odyssey of Ibrahim Magu, with so much gusto?

Why does the party rejoice, like denizens of the red lights district, who wildly glory at the rumour (obviously false) that their zone has been decreed off-limits to the Police?

Does the party have an especial interest in sleaze as economic growth area? Or it’s just playing politics, for the sake of politics, even with such an existential threat to national life?

The party’s initial reaction to the Magu arrest and probe appears fair and legit enough. PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, advised the Federal Government to go for the truth, as the embattled EFCC chief had been “indicted” vide a memo by Abubakar Malami, SAN, the Justice minister and federal Attorney-General.

Still, it was awry that the party’s mind automatically jumped into “destruction of evidence”: “Now that Magu has been pulled in for investigation, the Federal Government should … forestall destruction of evidence as well as unnecessary interferences in the matter.”

Well, what was that jump? Health skepticism or just plain mischief?

But PDP appeared to hit the panic button at Magu’s lawyer’s claim that after all said and done, his client would be found innocent and unimpeachable, and reinstated to his position. It didn’t also find amusing, the reportage that Magu didn’t only get bail, but also got his security details restored.

That very hint got Ologbodiyan exposing the party’s most secret fears, even if rather premature: a possible Senate confirmation; and Magu staging a come-back as substantive EFCC chairman.

“The PDP wonders if Magu’s counsel is now informing Nigerians that the activities of the presidential panel, as well as the indicting memo by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, are all drama to facilitate Magu’s clearance at the Senate.” Dire Freudian slip!

But apart from the Magu-phobia so clear from this statement, where is the PDP sense of fairness? So, it’s okay for Magu to be accused and roasted in the media? But it’s heresy for his lawyer to, in the same media, claim that based on solid facts before the panel, his client would come out clean?

And if that claim came to pass, PDP would declare the anti-corruption war dead — pray, when did it ever acknowledge it lived? — simply because an innocent man wasn’t dragooned into guilt and disgrace? What cant!

This PDP-think is just mind-boggling. Anyway, in government or outside, the former ruling party isn’t known for much introspection. Indeed, it’s this scandalous lack of introspection, that penchant for brute force, rather than deep reasoning, that has led it to political perdition. Sadly, it doesn’t seem to learn from its mistakes!

In any case, why the Magu fixation? With or without Magu, Nigeria must fight and triumph over corruption if it hopes to survive and thrive. So, even if Magu exists, the war must continue.

So, why this infantile whoop over a suspect “victory” in a battle, when the long war must be won — or we are all doomed?