Call a Thief a Thief: The Hypocrisy of Fancy Grammar in Our Political Tragedy
By David Alani Ige, (The Scribe) In our society today, the speed at which justice is served depends entirely on the size of the criminal's bank account. We have created two distinct universes of morality: one for the poor, and one for the political elite. And the bridge between these two universes is built entirely on the hypocrisy of fancy grammar. Let us be brutally honest. If a hungry man steals a tuber of yam in Bodija Market, or snatches a mobile phone out of desperation, the society instantly labels him a 'thief'. He is stripped naked, beaten blue-black by a mob, and if he survives, he is thrown into a congested prison cell to rot for years. We do not look for polite words to describe his crime. But when a man in an agbada or a customized suit sits in an air-conditioned office and steals five billion naira meant for primary healthcare, rural roads, or security, we suddenly lose our ability to speak plain English. The Dictionary of Deceit When the pol...