Looking through Nigerian newspapers over the past few days, it is apparent that the National Security Adviser, General Andrew Azazi stirred an infinite spectrum of reactions with a single observation he made during the Second South-South Economic Summit in Asaba, Delta State, on Friday, April 27, 2012. According to him, elements within the People's Democratic Party (PDP) helped create the precipitating environment that has facilitated the bloodletting activities of the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram.Various newspapers quoted Azazi as saying: 'The issue of violence did not increase in Nigeria until when there was a declaration by the current President that he was going to contest. PDP got it wrong from the beginning. The party started by saying Mr. A can rule, and Mr. B cannot rule, according to PDP conventions, rules and regulations and not according to the Constitution. That created the climate for what is happening. Is it possible that somebody was thinking that only Mr. A could win, and if he did not win, he could cause a problem in the society''The ensuing reaction is more of logical confusion, displayed with a complex portrayal of varying degrees of perception, bias and even, deliberate distortion of facts. Indeed, those in government as well as the opposition: those in support and those who are anti-Azazi have all found something to lay hands on in projecting disparate views, at times to equally incongruent audiences. Aristotle (384 BC ' 322 BC), a towering figure in ancient Greek philosophy, student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great bequeathed the study of logic to human civilisation. Essentially, logic is the philosophical study of valid reasoning; it examines general forms which arguments may take - which forms are valid, and which are fallacies. In the litany of reactions that greeted General Azazi's statement on the culpability of PDP elements in the on-going campaign of violence, efforts have been made to bend logic. In some cases, the bitter nature of truth has led to its firm rejection even by the people who need to appreciate it the most. These developments notwithstanding, some have counselled about the need to look critically at the import of the message, even without giving much credit to the messenger whose penetrating perceptions has caused unease in certain quarters. For instance, the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) asserts that Nigerians must look beyond politics in tackling the allegations of Azazi, against the (PDP). While addressing reporters in Lagos, AYCF President, Alhaji Yerima Shettima said that rather than raising eyebrows over the comments, security agencies should try and look at the fundamental issues raised by Azazi. 'Azazi's office is not political. He owes a duty to Nigeria. The security issue makes the survival of the nation more important than a political party. Nigerians are all aware of comments made during elections by some politicians who felt that because they lost their chances for the presidency, they would make the nation ungovernable.'We cannot continue to run the nation like a banana republic. In other climes, people who make such inflammatory political comments would be first to be picked for investigations and questioning,' Shettima argued. Commenting on the issue, Christian Association of Nigeria's Assistant Secretary-General in the 19 Northern States and Abuja, Rev. Cornelius Fawenu, urged President Goodluck Jonathan to dismiss calls for the removal of the Gen. Azazi, over his comments. According to Fawenu, Azazi should rather be commended for being forthright and sincere in his opinion. 'The cure to any ailment starts with proper diagnosis and doctors need not to be afraid of telling their patients the causes of their problems. Azazi should therefore be commended and not condemned for his forthrightness. It is the lack of Azazi's kind of forthrightness, to call a spade a spade, that continues to allow impunity to thrive in the nation. All honest Nigerians should appeal to Jonathan to resist any attempt to remove Azazi on the account of his courage to speak the truth,' he said,At the other end of the spectrum is the uninhibited and decidedly antagonistic position of those calling for General Azazi's head. Those in this group include a former governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the Campaign for Democracy (CD). They even want the NSA to resign because of his criticisms against PDP, Nigeria's ruling party. Expectedly, no body appears to be more livid than the PDP, given the statement ascribed to its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh.Former chairman of the Ijaw National Congress, Mr. Denzil Kentebe, on Sunday said that those calling for the resignation of the National Security Adviser, were pursuing selfish and ethnic agenda. According to Kentebe, the former Chief of Defence Staff's statement was a confirmation of President Goodluck Jonathan's observation that members of Boko Haram were in his government.'What then has the general said that has made the demand for his resignation a common talk' The President himself said early in the year that there are members of Boko Haram in his government. Are members of his government not also PDP members''In spite of all the ugly incidents across the country, there is still cause for hope that the strong, resilient spirit of Nigeria will overcome its current challenges. Azazi has only tried to open up where others in such a comfort zone would rather keep quiet. Demonising him would not solve the problem and that is why those concerned should ignore the messenger and examone the veracity or otherwise of his message. That may just be the first step to the path of sanity!Iyiola writes from Lagos.
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