DARIYE'S PARDON, METAPHOR FOR EASTER CELEBRATION

 DARIYE'S PARDON, METAPHOR FOR EASTER CELEBRATION

(Modest Thoughts with Ayuba Yilgak'ha, April 15, 2022; SMS: 08116181263)*

During the last Council of State meeting, which took place at the Aso Rock Villa on April 14, 2022, former governor of Plateau State, Senator Joshua Chibi Dariye (Kawun Mushere), Ex-governor Taraba State, Rev. Jolly Nyame, and many others were granted State Pardon. In 2018, the duo of Dariye and Nyame were separately convicted and their convictions were upheld by the Supreme Court in February 2020 and March 2021 respectively. This consequently led to them being confined behind bars to serve jail terms of 10 and 12 years respectively.

A jail term is a period a convicted person is made to serve in prison confinement (a correctional center) as a penalty for crime (s) committed and established by a court of competent jurisdiction. The sentence could be a life one depending on the gravity of the offense and partly the discretion of the presiding or a final deciding judge. Once the case has been decided and conviction secured, only the National Council of State could reverse it through the royal prerogative of power.

The National Council of State in Nigeria is made up of the President who is the Chairman; Vice President (Vice-Chairman);

Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria; all former Presidents of the Federation and all former Heads of the Government of the Federation; all former Chief Justices of Nigeria; President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives; all the Governors of the 36 states of the Federation and the Attorney-General of the Federation (Nigeria Galleria, 2021).

The responsibilities of the Council of State as reported in online Wikipedia are broadly twofold. The first is to advise the President in the exercise of his powers to the: National population census and compilation, publication, and keeping of records and other information concerning the same; Prerogative of mercy; Award of national honors; The Independent National Electoral Commission (including the appointment of members of that Commission); the National Judicial Council (including the appointment of the members, other than ex-officio members of that Council); The National Population Commission (including the appointment of members of that Commission). The second is to advise the President whenever requested to do so on the maintenance of public order within the Federation or any part thereof and such other matters as the President may direct.

Following entreaties and appeals from various quarters, the council of state activated its prerogative powers in granting State pardon to 159 persons out of 162 requests laid before it at its last seating on April 14, 2022, at the statehouse Abuja.

State Pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction (Wikipedia). It could be a partial or total (absolute) pardons. Absolute Pardon is described as "the total extinction of the criminal liability of the individual to whom it is granted without any condition whatsoever resulting in the full restoration of his civil rights."

Amongst the prime beneficiaries of the total pardon were these two termed former governors of the Plateau and Taraba States who were first convicted by a high court in 2018 and their separate convictions upheld by the Supreme Court around March 2021. It was cheering news for men of goodwill, friends, and well-wishes of these freedmen.

Some of the early reactions posted on social media in respect of Sen. Dariye's pardon reads: "Victory at last", "To God be the glory", "In endless jubilation!", "...my explosive excitement of the cheering news of State Pardon granted His Excellency, Chief. Sen. Dariye", just to sample a few of those cheering commentaries. Across party, ethnic and religious lines, all lovers of freedom and grace of God, especially, in Plateau State are visibly happy!

The release of Sen. Dariye and Ex-Governor Nyame corresponds with the commemoration of the Easter celebration. Easter is a Christian memorial ritual that reflects on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who in Christendom is believed was divinely designed to redeem mankind from the bondage of sin for which man stands condemned after violating God's instruction in the Garden of Eden.

The report of this deviation from the law of God, which amounts to an act of gross offense punishable by death is fully reported in the scriptures. In Genesis 2:15-17, God had placed Adam and Eve in the Premier Garden of Eden with prompt instructions to work it; eat from it, but not from "the tree of the knowledge of God and evil" for doing so will attract the death penalty. This clear instruction was stubbornly violated and so God passed the verdict against the eating of the "forbidden fruit", the summary of which is that man shall suffer and die (Gen 3:13 -20). In this place, God was playing the role of a judge.

When God's law, natural laws, or human laws are violated, there are consequences ranging from serious to less serious ones. The effect of the Adamic sin against God is extending through our generation today. When men are fated to take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide, but stubbornly take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen, natural law is violated and the penalty is instant death. A citizen who violated state laws and is found guilty will be made to face the full wrath of the law or appropriate sanctions.

Judges are men before God and gods before men. Their verdict is final except otherwise reversed by a higher judge. A judgment can only be set aside or invalidated when a higher court so declares. This is possible because the court system is structured in such a way that we have courts of the first instance, then courts of appeal, and the Supreme Court which is the final in a country. Therefore, a matter can be pursued by the supreme, and once the court decided whether rightly or wrongly, the fate of those for whom the verdict is passed is sealed.

The only escape route or window of hope and freedom for a person whose crime has been established and convicted in a country like Nigeria is a state Pardon which Dariye and Nyame enjoyed yesterday. Remember, Ex-governor Deprieye Alaimeisigiya of Bayelsa of blessed memory enjoyed such pardon under President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan's regime in 2013 before he later died in 2015.

State Pardon is freedom from the penalty of crime. It is a metaphor for grace and freedom from the penalty of sin which is total condemnation. The benefit of Easter is the divine pardon that sinful men enjoy through the shameful death and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ.

When a state grants pardons for any criminal, the criminal stands free no matter how guilty or implicated the criminal is. That is how powerful a state Pardon can be. So also, when God grants man pardons from sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Easter), a man stands free, and free indeed, provided the guilty confessed and profess that Jesus is Lord and savior of the world.

The reason Christ came is explicitly stated in Isaiah 61:1 which says (concerning the coming of Jesus Christ), "The spirit of the Lord God has anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those that are bound." That is just it!

The message of Easter is just one: Jesus Christ paid the supreme price for the redemption of mankind through his death and resurrection. We are, therefore, charged to appropriate the benefits of this generous act of benevolence of God by living to please God and service the greatest good of humanity through love. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves; give someone, and if possible everyone, a genuine and godly reason to smile today and always.

Ex-governor Dariye has gone through a lot. His life story as governor was featured with demeaning experiences of needless and illegal impeachment as well as a state of emergency. After serving as governor, he was convicted and imprisoned; his father was abducted twice while in prison and was subsequently killed by his abductors, some of whom were his kinsmen. His life has been knitted with a tangle of roses and thorns.

Chief Dariye has his dose of shortcomings but is certainly not the worst sinner to have gone through these traumatizing experiences as some pundits have insinuated. He has passed through fates this author cannot wish his worst enemies (if there are, actually, any such enemies). Anyway, sometimes life opens pages like that to test the strength of the mind of the victim of circumstances of life but nobody wishes to go through such a furnace. The good news though, is that Dariye went through scourging travails of this life and came out still himself: A strong mind and a generous Plateau son with high tempered steel to be a leader for all!

The State pardon of Dariye, the "Head boy of Plateau Politic" and others got and are enjoying today is a metaphor for hope to those who are incarcerated. It is hoped that when things get so bad; they can still come so good. It is a sign of hope that one can be behind bars today and be a free man tomorrow. It is also a sign of hope that being convicted and jailed is not the only story; one can be convicted jailed and then granted a State pardon. It is possible, it may be possible, as long as there is life, hope is not lost!

Dariye is free, free at last. I do not believe that he is the worst criminal before God and the Nigerian/Plateau State. We are all guilty, if not against man and the state, against God who created us all. We all need a pardon from man, state, and/or God the Ultimate Judge of the universe. Those, whom the state has pardoned, have no case to answer; those whom God has freed are free indeed!

I wish Plateau legend and former military administrator, JD Gomwalk of blessed memory had made the state pardon bonanza list, but he did not after about five decades of crying for posthumous justice. Anyway, congratulations to Sen. Joshua Dariye, Ex-governor Jolly Nyame, and all those affected on their State Pardon. Also, happy Easter celebration for mankind, the prime beneficiary of the grace of God through Jesus Christ. I love you all!

References

Nigeria Galleria (2021). Council of State of Nigeria. https://www.nigeriagalleria.com/Nigeria/Council-of-State.html. Retrieved April 15, 2021.