thirty six

*

On June 8 barely two weeks after the night gathering of Mr. Zack and Ribadau came a mortal blow. Mr. Zack has died. The death of Mr. Zack was given the widest publicity. He was a man of the republic, an outstanding one at that. The National broadcast had brought news which was surer and speedier and exaggerated the affair widely, to discredit the government which had threatened to silence him from the corridors of power. Some had some doubts, some asked question for clarification, while some others were caged in what next to say. It was better that way. Anything said at that mournful hour was put to record for interview. Many sentiments were attached to the reports and many things go unreported, facts and thoughts, details and issues. Newspapers and men of the press fought desperately, paid heavily to notable visual and photographic celebrities to catch the best of the incidents, but they failed. Some merely to show their professional prowess, others to be relevant. It was only said to be a political sabotage. Any death connected to politicians were said to be sabotage. Here no one wants to be irrelevant in politics as long as he had tasted the seat.

The country was busy observing minute's silence for the departed souls of these dignitaries, making calls, writing and signing condolence messages and sending offline messages to the families of the bereaved, through blogs and facebook. Many did with heart full of sorrow and sympathy while others show affection as they caught the news on the air. The gist of the crash was that after they had taken off, and some moment later they had been attacked on the air. That was the report and the belief and it ended.  An official announcement finally laid speculations to rest, that no one knew the exact cause and in due time more reports would be made available for public consumption. It was made that way to allow these speculations, which might cause uproar to rest.

The news struck the family as anything harmful; and so to tens of other families who lost their member. The radio was gagged and the newspapers were silent as to the fact of the story even after few days. They were not interested in the news for reasons everyone knew. Not that it was not reported often and on, but that they came up with different versions of the report. The news was not reliable as each one wrote to impress the beauty of journalism profession. The site was a sort of remote; even locating the crash site was a nightmare to them. They had to search and dig deeper until they finally located it. Investigators examining the wreckage of the craft have not ruled out political sabotage. They had been employed to show up their strength and provide accurate fact which would be worked on.

         Two days later, more than fifteen thousand civil servants refused to go to work demanding the cause of the incessant plane crash. In less than two years, there were six records of crash and many committees had been set up to investigate the causes of these crashes upon crashes. They put life to their report that the government feared of eventuality. As for these civil servants their agitation was that lack of maintenance of aircraft which was a scandal to most African country had affected them too, though their has never been a time that aircraft that flew in African air had been reported as maintaining the same level with the world standard. The hidden fact in it all was that air crash was the easiest way to eliminate any politician or bad egg that had been found insurmountable. It was always a disaster when it strikes that no matter how fast and intelligence one might claim to be, he must be affected. Its crashes are not predictable. It could strike anytime, especially when it has been programmed to.

There was weeping, mourning and slapping of the chest. Their grief was overwhelmed with many hidden reasons. They were loosing the grip of virtuous comrades, living saints, living links to the government, mouthpiece and …. Good things never last in this part of the world. They die to make stories. They are remembered because they are no more. No one believed in reform or change and when any attempt on that came up, it was always bloody.  The emergence of Mr. Zack would have brought some relief, but the game was up for him and he too was wasted like the many others before him.

They knew and trusted him like God. He was a God sent, small gods who only could be trusted. They went on the swigs, swelled and billowed like a tattered kite in pain wearing placards and protest cards, declared a two days warning strike that paralyzed the whole country like in the previous air attacks and sang along the federal capital territory.  Such display of grievance was a common thing since the history of the country's democratic government. It would soon be laid to rest and the strike and any other threat to the government would end. At least a promise would be made that investigation would proceed and the culprits would be brought to book. Everyone knew that the remonstrance of these ones would produce no effect. And it did not.