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Truth is
a commodity and can have a variety of
meanings, from the state of being the
case, being in accord with a particular fact or
reality, being in accord with the body
of real things,
events, actuality, or fidelity to
an original or to a standard. In archaic
usage it could be fidelity, constancy or sincerity in
action, character, and utterance. The
term has no single definition about
which a majority of professional
philosophers and scholars agree, and
various theories and
views of truth continue to be debated.
There are differing claims on such
questions as what constitutes truth;
what things are truthbearers capable
of being true or false; how to define
and identify truth; the roles that
revealed and acquired knowledge play;
and whether truth is subjective, relative, objective,
or absolute.
(Wikipedia, Online Encyclopaedia)
Truth, I believe, is very relative and
subjective. It depends on who is
claiming to be saying the truth and who
is hearing it. For example, there are
times I tell my wife the truth, and she
takes it as a lie. I am convinced I was
telling the truth, while she is
convinced I was lying. That makes truth,
or for that matter, falsehood, relative
and subjective issues of life.
Therefore there is nothing like absolute
truth, or rather, truth cannot be
absolute.
Truth ...“Is the opposite of lies.”,
“What is truth but what we believe to be
truth?”, “I don't believe that there's
one truth. There are so many different
people, and there are so many different
ways you can look at things. I don't see
how there could be just one truth.”
These quotes, giving vague descriptions
of truth, point toward relativism – a
doctrine instructing that truth and
morality are relative and not absolute.
Relativism asserts that what is accepted
as truth is relative to a person’s
situation or standpoint, and denies that
any standpoint is uniquely privileged
over all others.
If truth is relative, then absolute
right and absolute wrong become doubtful
and obscure. And if truth is relative,
then only subjective and indefinite
answers exist for the purpose and
meaning of life. So is
there any
absolute or real truth in this complex
and uncertain world?
And it is because of this that I have
actually stood back and watch the saga
of President Yar ‘Adua’s health and the
implications of this on the running of
the country play themselves out.
This is because each of the 140 million
or so Nigerians have different views on
the issue; with so many different hidden
or open agenda, interests and opinions.
And you know what? All of them are
either true or false or both. We do not
know the truth or the lies. Permit me to
outline this strange conclusion of mine
below:
News:
“We
also call on those whose duty it is to
ascertain the situation of things to act
constitutionally without any further
delay. …However, if (Yar’Adua) is found
to be incapable of discharging the
functions of the office, it is a
constitutional duty and as patriotic a
duty as any to resign.
- The Nigerian Bar Association
This is true. Especially the last
sentence, as stipulated in the
Constitution.
News:
56 prominent Nigerians demanded that Mr
Yar’Adua hand over power to his deputy.
The statement’s signatories included
activists and opposition figures and
heavyweights from the ruling party, PDP,
including Ken Nnamani, a former Senate
President, and Aminu Bello Masari, a
former Speaker of the House of
Representatives. “He is not able to run
the country the way it should be run,”
said Annkio
Briggs, an activist from the
oil-producing
Niger
Delta region. “He doesn’t want to admit
how precarious his condition is,” said
Nasir el-Rufai, a former minister who
has clashed with the Yar’Adua
administration and also signed the
statement. “This kind of power vacuum is
very dangerous in a young democracy.” Mr
el-Rufai faces corruption allegations
which he says are politically motivated.
True! But who are these “prominent
Nigerians” and how prominent are they in
the state of the Nigerian nation today?
What have earned them their
“prominence”? And just because they are
“prominent”, should we take their words
for it just like that? Haven’t most of
them been, whether in the past or now,
helped run the country to ground, or
just sat back and made no difference?
News: There is no time limit for
Yar’Adua to return to the country to
continue his job. There are concerns
over his health, even in the
United States,
but that is not enough for him to
resign. “The
Constitution does not make provision for
how long the President can stay out of
the country after which he would lose
his job. So, if he spends one year
abroad, of course you have a Vice
President who will be acting in his
place. But I don’t think there is
anything for any person to worry about.
That is why it is good to always create
a system. Nobody is bigger than a
system. So, if we have a system that is
running, even if the President is not
there, hopefully, I am sure that things
will move normally.”-
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu
(That is the same view expressed by
former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, and
former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar)
They are right and constitutionally
saying the truth, backed by experience
and knowledge. The problem is “Will the
Vice President be allowed to take over
officially?” or “When will the VP take
over officially – 2 months, 6 months, 1
year?”
News:
The office of the President is not for
sick people. “We cannot have any
progress if Yar’Adua continues to remain
in office as President of this country.
The man, we all know, is
seriously ill and a sick man does not
have time to preside over serious matter
concerning development of the country,
as he will be busy searching for medical
attention; and this we see in Yar’Adua.
Since he became president in 2007, he
has been frequenting hospitals for
medical attention.
…..It’s obvious now that the
President can no longer cope with the
responsibilities of the office of the
President, particularly which of the
Executive President as provided for by
the 1999 constitution. The constitution
should be followed to the letter in
resolving the present crisis facing the
country and Vice President Goodluck
Jonathan should take over the mantle of
leadership, if the president resigns or
dies” -
Alhaji Balarabe Musa, former governor of
Kaduna State.
Again, this statement is right, and is
the truth that many will agree with.
News: The Nigerian Governors Forum,
observes as follows: We commend the
sense of leadership demonstrated by the
Federal Executive Council (FEC) under
the leadership of the Vice-President.
This demonstrates that government, at
the Federal level is alive to its
responsibilities and it is being
complemented by the 36 governors.
Constitutionally, in the absence of any
incapacitation on the part of the
President, it is precipitate and
diversionary to call for Mr President’s
resignation. It is on this basis that
the Nigerian Governors Forum considers
the calls for Mr President’s resignation
as a betrayal or a lack of respect for
the Constitution and the system of
government for this country. On the
basis of this foregoing, therefore, the
Nigerian Governors Forum hereby restates
our firm commitment to the peace,
progress and stability of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria. We wish Mr
President, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua,
quick recovery as he continues to lead
our country."
– Nigerian Governors Forum
The Governors are right and are
presenting the truth the way they see it
or want to see it. They must not be seen
as undermining the democratic and
political process. Remember
that any one of them could find himself
in that same situation. But if the
President is not “incapacitated” by
being in a foreign hospital for almost 2
weeks now, then let the Governors tell
me what “incapacitated” means.
Also,
some former state governors who have
seen corruption probes quashed on his (Yar
‘Adua’s) watch, have much to lose if he
resigns.
News: The Action Congress (AC) has
described as unprincipled, self-serving
and predictable the stand taken by the
Federal Executive Council (FEC) on the
issue of President Umaru Yar’Adua’s
health. “FEC’s contention that the
government is running properly in the
absence of the President and with no one
in charge is the biggest joke of the
year, and shows that the members do not
have the interest of Nigerians at
heart”, it said. AC noted, however, that
it would have been surprised if the FEC,
the only body Constitutionally mandated
to initiate a probe of the President’s
health, had acted otherwise.
The AC, as an opposition political
party, assumes righteous indignance and
may be speaking the truth, to call for
the President’s resignation. If they do
not, they cannot be considered a
credible opposition.
News:
"Oppose Umar Musa Yar'Adua and die!"
Plot to
assassinate
some
Katsina
State
indigenes who signed the petition
calling on Yar'Adua to resign from
office,
as ministers start propaganda war. –
Saharareporters
Getting nasty now, are we? Another
truth, perhaps, but deniable. I will not
put it past our politicians, well known
for their murderous inclinations to stay
in power.
So the truth? Everybody is saying the
right thing and making the right noises,
but I can’t find the real truth in what
they are saying.
Politicians across the world raise
questions about their opponents’ health
to undermine them. Former British Prime
Minister Tony Blair’s heart problems and
French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s
post-jogging collapse were exposed to
the full glare of media publicity.
In
India,
there was public disclosure of
78-year-old Premier Manmohan Singh’s
diabetes and heart bypass surgery.
Although China has brought in a younger
generation of leaders, the official
obsession with secrecy on health
continues.
Africa’s
politicians struggle to stop the fiery
local media discussing their health.
North African leaders look particularly
shaky: Algerian President Abdelaziz
Bouteflika, 72, suffers from chronic
stomach ailments; Tunisia’s President
Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, 76, was
recently prescribed bed rest; there have
been several scares for Egypt’s
81-year-old President Hosni Mubarak; and
at 67, Libyan leader Moammar el Gadaffi
is a comparative stripling but his
rambling oratorical style prompts claims
of drug abuse. A picture of health at
85,
Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe confounds his
opponents’ hopes for his retirement, and
along with the equally robust Abdoulaye
Wade of Senegal, flies the flag for
octogenarian leaders in
Africa.
(AFRICA
CONFIDENTIAL 4 December 2009 Vol. 50,
No. 24)
But let us now consider the phrase
“Being economical with the truth”: The
meaning is “Conveying
an untrue version of events by leaving
out the important facts. It is a
euphemism for lying, in short.
More
literally, it describes a careful use of
facts so as not to reveal too much
information. This is a trademark of
politicians all over the world and is
not unique to Nigerians; the only
problem being that in
Nigeria,
it assumes very dangerous, disastrous
and lethal proportions and consequences.
Although it had its origin from the 18th
century, and rarely used, the phrase was
brought into the contemporary language
by the UK Cabinet Secretary, Sir Robert
Armstrong, who used the phrase during
the Australian 'Spycatcher' trial in
1986:
Lawyer: What is the difference between a
misleading impression and a lie?
Armstrong: A lie is a straight untruth.
Lawyer: What is a misleading impression
- a sort of bent untruth?
Armstrong: As one person said, it is
perhaps being "economical with the
truth".
What Armstrong left out (perhaps he knew
but was being economical) was that the
'one person' was Edmund Burke. In 1796
Burke wrote: "Falsehood and delusion are
allowed in no case whatsoever: But, as
in the exercise of all the virtues,
there is an economy of truth."
In 1992, Alan Clark MP, was
cross-examined during the Matrix
Churchill case and embroidered the
phrase a little:
Clark: Well it's our old friend "being
economical", isn't it?
Lawyer: With the truth?
Clark:
With the actualité
Will somebody or some bodies, tell us
the truth for a change?
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