“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red”- Shakespeare’s Macebeth

WE need not be adepts in the art of synthetical hermeneutics and titular nomenclature to be able to put in proper perspective the ethical, physical, spiritual and structural builders of man’s god-like idiosyncrasies, mind and character.

Perfection is not an attribute of mortal man; therefore, in our daily activities we make mistakes, step on toes and err in multidimensional ways. But a little apology of “I am sorry” goes a long way in making amends. But how many people can show remorse by apologising which brings out the sublimity and nobility in the homosapien.

An apology is a conscientious, remorseful, contrite and formal acknowledgement of error, wrong, offence and incivility, etc. Within the context of usage, it is regret, pity and being sorry for our wrong doing. Indeed, he who offers an apology admits, at least emotionally and technically,  that he is wrong.

The attitudinal orientation of most people tilts toward arrogance, shame, pride, braggart- like mien, braggadocio and rodomontade conduct-a pot-pourri of the messiah, goliath, inferiority, superiority complex and the solus ipse syndrome. These psychological make-ups determine, to a large extent, why some people tender and or refuse to tender apologies when wrong.

Some tender apologies out of contriteness, because they are broken in spirit precipitated by a sense of sin, penitence, sorry out of a deep and sincere sorrow, for wrong doing. In theological submissions, perfect contrition is a feeling of apology and repentance for sin with an intention to amend, arising from reverence, love of God and consideration of his goodness. But imperfect contrition is apology and regret stimulated by base, mundane and selfish motives.

In all, an apology brings out the bliss, beauty and sublimity inherent in man. The late Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI used apologies as veritable instruments of crises management and schism resolution in their various dealings with sexually abused men and children by pedophile, pederasty and homosexual priests. Recently, NATO apologised for the inadvertent killing of some children in Afghanistan, etc.

In the proverbial “Toronto certificate saga”, the former Speaker and Member of the House of Representatives, Salisu Buhari, in his resignation speech, gave a Homeric and Philippic treatise on the mechanics and dynamics of apologies.

He said: ”I am bound under all circumstances, to live above suspicion. It was wrong, therefore, for my conduct to be open to justifiable suspicion as it has been. I apologise to you. I apologise to the nation, I apologise to my family and friends for all the distress I have caused them”.

Buhari, who understood the power of perfect and imperfect contriteness as a formidable weapon of penance and rabble-rousing said: “Permit me to use this opportunity to express my regrets and offer my unreserved apologies to all Nigerians at home and abroad for the embarrassment this controversy has generated”.

Before all these  profuse apologies, Buhari had said when reacting to The News magazine publication on the floor of the House of Representatives on July 14, 1999 that: “My attention has been drawn to a false publication against my person in The News magazine.

I wish to assure you that there is no truth in the story. My integrity is very much intact as I have already briefed my lawyer Chief Rotimi Williams who is taking it up with Publishers of this magazine”.

Sounding unremorseful, Buhari said in an interview on BBC Hausa Service, July 16, 1999: “It is the handiwork of a few inconsequential enemies of democracy, people who are not happy with the progress being made by the present government.

They are the people fanning this fire and using their money to bribe journalists to publish all these. There is no iota of truth in it… I wish to unequivocally state that as a result of the unwarranted media intimidation I will never step aside or be cajoled into resigning my election as Speaker of the House of Representatives”.

But when push came to shove, Buhari was forced to resign with ignominy and with profuse apologies to all, thereby vindicating The News magazine, Nigerian journalists, the truth and Nigerians in general.

He went on to buttress the assertions of Martin Luther king, jnr that “it is still one of the great tragedies of human history that the ‘children of darkness’ are frequently more determined and zealous than the ‘children of light'” and that “we shall have to repent in this generation, not so much for the evil deeds of the wicked people. But for the appalling silence of the good people”.

The institution and establishment of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions in South Africa, Nigeria and other nations of the world is with a view to ensuring peace and forgiveness after a cataclysmic turmoil through apologies.

At domestic levels, fathers forgive their wives and vice versa through apologies to maintain continuity and stability in matrimony and at various strata of life apologies are being used as bulwark and bastions of solidarity to ensure a peaceful world. But the overwhelming ambition and Luciferous audacity for power by Macbeth and his wife consumed them beyond the apology index.

The Nigerian masses have been subjected to unspeakably horrid spiritual brutality, horrendously wicked leadership corruption and genocidal poverty right from independence in 1960 till date. Our politicians and leaders in the past and present contributed to the sordid theatrics of oppression against the Nigerian people.

But the leadership has not thought it fit and proper to apologise to the Nigerian people through verbal acknowledgement of wrongdoing and the establishment of projects to alleviate scorching poverty amongst the citizenry.

Mr. BOBSON GBINIJE, a social critic, wrote from Warri, Delta State.