In the classic, Quo Vadis, a 1951 American epic film adapted from Henryk Sienkiewicz’s classic 1896 masterpiece, Emperor Nero is said to have played the fiddle while Rome burned.
The most contemporary parallel of that fable is perhaps the tenure of Nigerian president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
The allusion to the ancient Roman leader who according to legend played his fiddle while Rome burned may not be misplaced when juxtaposed with the disconcerting happenings in the polity especially in the security sector and the reaction of the Jonathan led administration.
Former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar described it as ‘mind-boggling’ in a recent interview. The killings at the headquarters of the State Security Service, SSS, a stone throw from the Presidential villa, as a result of an alleged jailbreak clearly shows the huge security challenges the present administration is currently facing.
