Mmesoma: The Premature Call For Forgiveness 

I have read the plea by Comrade Festus Keyamo SAN concerning Miss Mmesoma Ejikeme including his sincere admonition that “the nation should be careful not to destroy her.”

Predictably, some amongst us who impulsively rose in her defence against the facts, choosing instead to blame and malign JAMB and its Registrar have found a convenient hiding place under Barrister Keyamo’s plea.

Indeed, those her supporters should first render their own unreserved apologies to JAMB and the nation. They were actually the ones who encouraged, emboldened and further egged on the young girl on that path after her deed had been exposed.

There is no question that she is a brilliant girl, and surely she needs not only counselling, correction and guidance but also love and compassion. It is equally obvious that she has not yet realised the weight and gravity of what she did. Mainly because so many adults have not given her the space and time to introspect and realize that.

I clearly understand the point Mr. Keyamo SAN is trying to make but forgive, forget and move on. Just like that? Not so fast, in my humble and professional view.

Of course she should be forgiven but authentic and productive forgiveness comes after Confession, Remorse, Repentance and Restitution (C+3Rs). Not before.

We have read her confession via the Anambra state Investigation Committee albeit belated and incomplete. Incomplete because when the committee asked her what her motive was for doing what she did, “… Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma said NOTHING” as submitted in the Committee’s report.

The answer to that question is vital. It would help in ascertaining her psychological make up and disposition to thus be able to design a realistic plan on how to help her.

Furthermore, when that confession is followed by genuine remorse, repentance and restitution, then we can begin to talk about effective closure and moving on.

Otherwise, we should be ready for a bigger escapade by Mmesoma someday and an explosion of manipulation of examination results (not just JAMB) by students across all level of education. Simply put, how this situation is handled would have consequences and implications beyond Mmesoma.

It is good to be compassionate and merciful but those should be married with realism and practicality.

The level of premeditation (after the fact) in the act perpetrated by Mmesoma and her further deliberate and conscious attempts to deceive and mislead not only her parents but the Nigerian public, essentially trying to obstruct the truth point to something deep and cannot be downplayed, ignored or waived away.

At 19 years of age, the character traits of an individual are already formed. Therefore it is no longer simply a case of a young and impressionable child who acted innocently.

If we sincerely want to help the young girl as I believe we should, she must be made to understand the full extent, weight and implications of what she did, then after showing remorse, she must be punished and made to make restitution for her action.

The authorities can show mercy and compassion in deciding what that considerate and compassionate punishment should be even though there are few mitigating circumstances in her favour.

She never willingly handed herself in. Even after she was caught, she did not confess or agree. Rather she made a video of herself and sought to further decieve and mislead the public until she could lie no more. Those are the acts of a smart and intelligent girl alright but surely not those of a naive and innocent girl.

Nonetheless, it is said that ‘when you beat a child with one hand, you embrace the child with the other hand’. We have not ‘beaten’ her yet.

In my humble view, whatever considerate and compassionate punishment is prescribed, even if it is community service must be publicly served and seen to be served especially by her peers.

That way, she will truly know that there are real consequences for actions and very importantly all other students and young ones who are watching what is going on and maybe having sympathy for or even admiring her, would be made to know that of a truth, what she did was very wrong and that there are consequences for such actions.

We can not continue to treat serious issues with levity and emotions especially when it concerns our younger citizens. Doing that would never help their future. It is written: “Spare the rod and spoil the child”.

It is true that we all engaged in one kind of mischief or the other as children, students or youth, even if we were not caught but the characteristics of those individual conducts need to be considered, especially where they had/have implications outside of and beyond our individual self and our immediate families, including institutions, as the Mmesoma case clearly has. In any case, we never got away with such misdemeanours without punishment when caught back then.

I sincerely wish and pray that she, all of us and the nation come out of this better. How this is handled would determine to what extent that would be achieved.

©️ Uche Diala