By Miyiwa Adetiba
How do you recognise a gentleman? He is a lover of peace, the one who promotes harmony and reasonableness in his undertakings.

He is a respecter of persons, not an abuser of any sort – physical, verbal or emotional. He seeks to build and contribute, thus, a moral pillar in his community. But more importantly, his word is his bond. He honours his commitments and is therefore, a man of honour. He is who the Yorubas call ‘Omoluabi’.

I grew up with my father drumming these attributes into my ears. He once told me he would be proud of me whatever it was I achieved in life. But he would be prouder still, if it was said of me that he raised a gentleman.

All the major missionary schools in the 50s, 60s, 70s and maybe 80s encouraged these attributes as good social skills. You were taught to respect people, not to cheat,be time conscious, be aware of other people’s sensibilities and discharge your commitments. It was in honouring these values, that you became a man of honour, a gentleman.

These days however, another word is replacing honour in our public discourse. It is called ‘smart’. A ‘smart’ spare part trader in Ladipo offers you three grades of fake spare parts and calls them ‘new’, ‘tokunbo’ and ‘fake’ and advises you to make a choice. A ‘smart’ mechanic manages to make you spend a couple of thousands above what you should pay to repair your car. A ‘smart’ public servant retires from government with houses in different parts of the world and a bulging pocket. A ‘smart’ politician lines his pocket and those of his cronies and we say he is a generous man.

On the business front, a ‘smart’ partner is the one who is more concerned with the wordings of an agreement than the spirit behind it. He is the one who looks for loopholes and is constantly testing every word to see how he can use it to his advantage.

A ‘smart’ employee sets up his own business by the side and diverts your customer to it. A ‘smart’ friend has eyes only on your usefulness to his well being and on how to exploit you. A ‘smart’ wife filters money from her husband and builds a comfortable nest for herself without his knowledge.

We can see from these few examples that ‘honour’ and ‘smart’ should not be on the same page as one is the opposite of the other. A smart man in the Nigerian context, is a dishonourable man. Pure and simple

It is this desire to outsmart the next person that makes us lose our values as individuals and as a nation. Recently, a governor came out boldly to say that President Jonathan signed an agreement that he would only serve a single term as President. The presidency reacted by asking him to produce the document.

You get a feeling of ‘Déjà vu’ as you read these things because in a not too distant past, one President Obasanjo was said to have signed a similar agreement. Nobody was able to produce a copy of the agreement. President Jonathan was said to be part of a meeting where zoning was approved by the PDP. Again, nobody produced any document.

To anyone in whose ears the values of honour and integrity have been drummed as a child, the issue is simple and does not require proof. Was there an agreement  verbal or written — or not?

In other words, did General Obasanjo (an officer and therefore a gentleman?) promise to serve only one term as President and he reneged? Did President Jonathan accede to a zonal arrangement and he reneged? Has he also at any time promised to serve a single term? It really does not matter whether they were coerced into signing any agreement. No man of  honour should have to find himself  in a situation where he has to sign something he does not believe in. Just as no man of honour signs an agreement knowing—even before signing —he is going to breach it.

Sadly, breaching agreements whether written or oral, seems to be the life of politicians in Nigeria today. Which is why they mount the soap box to talk glibly of things they know they will not do; which is why they promise people positions that are not vacant or promise one position to three different people; which is why you take whatever they say with more than a dose of salt. These men have lost the moral right to lead a decent society because you can not give what you don’t have and they have no honour. Are we surprised at the way they are running the country?

I do not want to drag the presidency to the level of a spare part dealer, but honour is a desirable trait in any gentleman be he a Plumber or a President. Your yeah should be your yeah and your nay should be nay. Like they say, any man who cheats at golf will cheat at business.

So, did President Jonathan agree to serve one term or is Governor Aliyu being economical with the truth? One of them is certainly without honour and therefore unfit to lead.