By Rotimi Fasan
IN the last two weeks or thereabout I have been compelled to address a matter that I’m sure columnists and others who frequently write have to face: the question of what subject to write on. In the early hours of Wednesday 25th of January, I had woken up to see the live broadcast of President Barack Obama’s third State of the Union address.

The speech which was seen by many as the informal kick-off of Obama’s presidential campaign was  strongly focused on the gains that have been made by the American economy under the Democrats. It also stressed American military achievement in Iraq and Afghanistan, especially the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

It was a masterly delivery in both  its  introduction and conclusion and there was no doubt that the Republicans, currently worn by the exhausting and hostile race for the presidential ticket of their party, know they’ll have it rough with Obama. Not even the clear-eyed official Republican response by Governor Daniels of Indiana could stall what Obama has set rolling.

Obama’s address was my clear choice for the following week’s column. But the Boko Haram offensive was still on and President Goodluck Jonathan was yet casting around for an appropriate response. Before I got down to writing my piece on Obama he announced M.D. Abubakar as the new Inspector General of Police to replace Hafiz Ringim whose tenure was cut short by a few weeks for his failure to provide any meaningful answer to the security questions raised by Boko Haram insurgency.

In a  manner that we have not seen happen in the past and which shows increasing awareness on the part of the people, Nigerians responded quickly to this appointment, sharing information on social media on the background of Mr. Abubakar. The avalanche of exchanges and the nature of what was coming up on the acting IGP were such that no responsible commentator should ignore even if government chose to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to it all.

Naturally, it displaced my earlier choice as subject for the column which I hope to come back to in no distant time. So far nothing official has come from Abuja on the bit dug up on the IGP and it does not look like either the Police Service Commission or the Presidency has any response to the issues raised by Mr. Abubakar’s appointment. Last Wednesday, a caller mentioned to me that Mr. Abubakar was indeed senior to the Deputy Inspectors General that were retired with Ringim.

He had been skipped in promotion when the others were appointed DIGP for reasons connected to unsatisfactory performance, the caller said. I have not been able to confirm this disclosure in any way. On the IGP issue, Nigerians have had their say. We hope those who had their way won’t have cause to regret their decision soon.

Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and his accomplice in the murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, Alhaji Lateef Sofolahan, were finally sentenced last week. After thirteen years of what has now turned out to be the longest criminal trial in Nigeria, these two men were finally told they would have to die by hanging by Justice Morenike Dada.

The sentencing has elicited diverse responses from Nigerians. While some of those who have responded thought the decision of the court was a little harsh given the years in which the accused have been in jail, some made some confused and confusing statements that failed to show their real stand.

A handful of persons, notably Asari Dokubo, whose militancy has been seriously diluted by much supping from his self-carved corner where he quietly munches  his share of the oil cake- Asari, trying to be more Muslim than the Imam of Mecca and crying louder than the bereaved, cursed the judgment and proclaimed  victory for Al-Mustapha.

This must be sobering moment  for Al-Mustapha the former major that wielded powers befitting a general if not a head of state. When they controlled Abuja, Al-Mustapha adopted a heavy-handed approach to matters.

The man infamously known as Lion Heart was arrogant and full of theatrics, character traits he put on full display during the period of his trial. But for this  tendency for careless demonstrations and dramatic conduct the trial would have ended years ago.

Al-Mustapha was, however, the ultimate actor who ascribed all sorts of motives to the trial judges who had to withdraw, at least twice, from the case and made statements which he thought would shake Nigeria to its very foundation not knowing his long time in prison has cut him off from present reality.

Only in the last couple of months of 2011 he pulled yet another stunt, claiming Chiefs Abraham Adesanya and Bola Ige had traded off, for personal gains, Chief Moshood Abiola’s victory at the polls. At this time both persons accused by Al-Mustapha had been dead for years. But the Loud Mouth of Kirikiri went on promising more earthshaking revelations. As it is, Al-Mustapha has come to the end of the road even when we know he can appeal against the judgment.

He is not the only one on trial but his ways have created the impression that his co-accuser, Sofolahan, is only, in fact, a mere Judas character who did what he did for money while Al-Mustapha played the great master mind and executor of the deadly schemes of the Abacha years. One cannot but pity Al-Mustapha now the scales must have fallen from his eyes.

The nature of the death penalty is one I find rather complicated and uncomfortable. Just as I cannot support any person taking another’s life, I increasingly find it difficult to accept that the state could. Yet, there are certain crimes, heinous and totally incomprehensible, like the ones being perpetrated by Boko Haram now, that make one believe that nothing but the death penalty would compensate.

Years have blunted the seriousness of some crimes committed by Abacha’s goons and one would hope that many who suffered then would have been sufficiently healed to forgive those who offended them. Yet, some of these crimes  were so personal and deep for many- like those against the Abiolas.

Al-Mustapha has been part of our history for so long that I think hanging him would not serve even the dead right. He should live to view the consequences of his own despicable deeds.

Perhaps, someday he would see the need for some form of restitution and ask forgiveness of Nigeria and the individuals and families he and his  tribe  ruined. With the hope that some lessons have been learnt by us all, Nigerians truly unhappy with Al-Mustapha should see his  story as part of the larger story and process of the Nigerian nation coming-into-being.