THE tragedy of Nigeria is that many of those who pollute the nation’s environment with their writings do not have the tools of their trade.

One of the most important tools is logic.  Louis Odion, in his article, “Death and the Old Witch’s Cry”, (published in ThisDay of May 17th, 2012, page 21) shows clearly that, in spite of his editorial experience and current position as an Information Commissioner, he still needs to go back to school.

If Odion were to be well-schooled in logic, he would have known that it is poor logic, even though part of folklore, to assume that the death of a child in the morning is necessarily caused by the cry of the witch the previous night.  Odion, obviously, does not know the difference between necessity and contingency.

The distinction between necessity and contingency is the foundation of the criminal justice system and the practice of medicine everywhere in the world.  Were it not so, millions of people would have been in jail for crimes they did not commit, and millions would have died because of wrong diagnoses. A witch’s cry may not necessarily be the cause of the death of a child.  It might just be a contingent relationship, that is, a mere coincidence. Fortunately, for all of us, the police would not indict anyone on a murder charge for crying out in the night. Nor, would a sane doctor attribute the death of any person to a strange cry in the night.

The frivolity of Odion’s article derives, substantial

Anenih threatened him in the courtyard of the Oba of Benin palace and that, subsequently, (1) he was trailed by a black jeep (2) armed men visited his residence in the middle of the night, ostensibly to kill him. It is amazing that a man holding the position of Commissioner in a state government could be so flippant in making such grievous allegations of criminal intent against an elderly and eminent statesman.

Odion wants to seduce all of us into believing that he was threatened by Chief Anenih and following that threat, the Chief had sent people to kill him. The point, likely to stare all reasonable people in the face, is the enormous gap in age, status and accomplishment between Chief Anenih and Odion. Whereas Odion is a small fry, a little Commissioner in a provincial Government, Chief To ny Anenih has attained some of the greatest heights possible in Nigeria’s socio-political life.

What seems to be happening is that Odion is attempting to use the odious strategy of stamping on the name and reputation of a great person to attract attention to himself.  Many had used this strategy before against great men like the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. Significantly, history has shown that those who used this strategy in the past, almost invariably, ended up in perfidy.

It is this perfidious approach which has allowed Odion the freedom to bare-facedly link Chief Tony Anenih’s name to the incident in which a lorry ran into the convoy of Oshiomhole and the killing of the Principal Private Secretary to Oshiomhole. None of these claims derives from any investigation to which Odion is privy.  Interestingly, the evidence coming out of the convoy accident is that the lorry which rammed into the Governor’s convoy is owned by an ACN man and was driven by a card-carrying member of the ACN.

Odion’s desperation to be noticed explains the vulgarity, indecency and lack of decorum in his depiction of Chief Anenih, who, until he (Odion) joined Oshiomhole, was his benefactor. Is it possible for anyone with basic home training and decent education to say the things that Odion said in his article?  Is it possible for such a person to describe Chief Tony Anenih as “a pitiable bully at his wit’s end”, “the godfather with long teeth” and “the evil doer”?  And all this, because of a threat concocted in his fertile imagination!  More importantly, it is hard to imagine how the killing of Odion would affect the political equation in Edo State.  Beyond Odion’s inflated perception of himself, he is massively insignificant.

If people like Odion are the advisers to the Governor of Edo State, it is not surprising that the State is, currently, in a moral and intellectual turmoil.  One can only pray that, sooner than later, the people of Edo State will be rescued from the grip of people whose power of imagination has alienated them from the realities and responsibilities of governance.

Prof. GODWIN SOGOLO wrote from Abuja.