The Dame’s ultimatum

Tales abound of her legendary beauty and unrivalled strength of character, all of which contributed to make her a cult figure even in those times. But Cleopatra was also known for her other more prominent virtues. As William Shakespeare and Barnard Shaw have richly illustrated, she also excelled as a scheming and unapologetic manipulator of […]

Tales abound of her legendary beauty and unrivalled strength of character, all of which contributed to make her a cult figure even in those times. But Cleopatra was also known for her other more prominent virtues. As William Shakespeare and Barnard Shaw have richly illustrated, she also excelled as a scheming and unapologetic manipulator of men, matched only by her endless shenanigans in the political realm in an age defined by the legendary exploits of Julius Gaius Caesar, Marcus Anthony and Pompey.  Cleopatra it was, who, for political profit, seduced two of the most powerful men of her age in Caesar and Anthony. The story of Cleopatra and her escapades has been told too often to warrant a full recount here. But it so happened that in the Pagan-centric and incestuous times in which Cleopatra lived, she found herself  sharing the throne vacated by her father with her 12 year old brother and husband Ptolemy XIII in 51 BC, at the tender age of 17. History also records that the first three years of their reign were tough. They were marked by economic difficulties, famine, and the deficient floods of the Nile. And, to worsen matters, there were also the inevitable political conflicts.
Thus towards the end of the same year, conflict between Cleopatra and her brother saw Cleopatra removed from power in 48 BC. Her brother remained as the sole monarch. When her subsequent wrangling to reclaim the throne came to naught, she fled into exile with a price literarily on her head. But providence, if not uncommon political scheming and daring, restored Cleopatra to power.
Ancient Egypt was a power in its own right, and the great pyramids may have been 2,500 years old at the time, but it was nothing compared to Rome to which it was indebted. With Rome in Civil War, it so happened that her rival Ptolemy XIII, in the crude attempt to ender himself to Caesar, had the Roman General’s principal adversary Pompey beheaded in front of his wife and children as they alighted from a ship in Alexandria. Ptolemy subsequently presented Pompey’s severed head to Caesar in the mistaken belief that the Roman General will be pleased with the gesture. It proved to be a catastrophic error of judgment.
Caesar was beside himself with raged. Pompey was not only a Consul of Rome, but also a widower of Caesar’s only legitimate daughter, Julia who died in childbirth with their son. Ptolemy XIII’s fate was sealed even before Cleopatra, in a stroke of genius, contrived to have her sensuous self smuggled into his Caesar’s presence rolled in a Persian carpet! The act only served to add a sense of drama to what was already a fait-accompli. Cleopatra was firmly installed by Caesar as the new monarch, with another brother-husband, Ptolemy XIV as new co-ruler as demanded by custom.
And she outlived Caesar and the tragedy that became his lot when Brutus and his gang of assassins used his pampered, albeit battle-hardened bowels, for target practice. She also lived long enough bear three children for Marc Anthony, another of Caesar’s allies who fled the treachery of Rome.
Today, the lesson for all would- be Cleopatra’s, is that in spite of the untold tales of murder, political scheming and the serial seduction and manipulation of men accredited to her, she also had some higher beliefs and principles which endeared her to the people of ancient Egypt. First, because she lived in the days before Islam and Christianity, she was resolute in her faith in the Goddess called Isis to whom she was beholden to the tragic end!
We can also be sure that Cleopatra would never be caught weeping on television to prove any point if she were alive today. She in fact promptly committed suicide to spite Caesar’s anointed heir Octavian after the final defeat of Marc Anthony, to protect whatever remained of her honour and dignity.  
Third, it is well documented that Cleopatra consummated her famous liaisons with Caesar and Anthony out of the love she had for Egypt, and the need to protect its territorial integrity and heritage. Indeed, as the battle between Caesar’s forces and her brother’s army raged and Alexander’s famous library was consumed by fire, she was said to have been overcome by grief and subsequently lapsed into bouts of depression. Similarly, although of Greek blood lineage, Cleopatra is thought to be the only Egyptian Pharaoh – she was the last one – to have learnt to speak the local language. She was a patriotic leader of her people!     
But I have not gone though the trouble of recounting Cleopatra’s tale for nothing. It was to drive home a few points. Our nation is presently drifting and desperately short of heroes as well. A few weeks ago over two hundred teenaged female students were stolen from their school dormitory in Chibok, Borno State. They have spent close to a month in captivity today. It took our President all of three weeks to address the nation on their disappearance!
If we can forgive that, what no one expected was the callous politicization of their ordeal. Irresponsible text messages are circulated to mock the victims by doubting their claim. Vile attempts are being made to exonerate those with constitutional responsibilities to protect or free them from captivity. But what many Nigerians never anticipated, even if the signs were clearly evident, was that the first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, would also add a comical touch to our collective injury.
Addressing a hastily convened meeting of wives of state governors which also had in attendance the Director-General of WAEC, Mrs Jonathan effectively laid the blame for the kidnapping of the girls at the doorsteps of the Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima. She also gave him an ultimatum to produce the girls by last Sunday or she would lead a procession of protesters to Chibok were they were kidnapped.
While constitutional lawyers and ordinary Nigerians agonize about where the first lady derived the powers to issue ultimatums to elected governors or even summon public servants from in the 1999 constitution, the act certainly demonstrates beyond all reasonable doubts that she has become quite easily, the most powerful first lady in the history of the nation. And like Cleopatra did to Caesar, it has also become obvious that the Dame has also completely overwhelmed her husband in her propensity to frequently interfere in the official affairs of state.
But unlike Cleopatra who was a Head of State in her own right, the Dame has no constitutional backing for her actions. Nigerians never elected her. She was also clearly motivated by the reactions from a wide spectrum of Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora to the perceived insensitivity of her husband and his ruling party.
We cannot forget too easily that for a first lady who claimed to champion the causes of the women-folk, it has taken her more than three weeks to exhibit her newly discovered resolve to free our precious girls from Chibok. And when their parents ventured into Abuja to vent their grief, she never demanded that they be brought before her.
And yet, like Cleopatra showed, it is possible for women to be grandmasters of the political game and still exhibit higher values when decency, and a sense of history, demand for it. The First Lady possesses neither Cleopatra’s famed beauty nor intellect, it must be admitted. But she has proved just as effective in the political realm. She continues to contest the political turf with Rotimi Amaechi – the elected governor of Rivers State for instance, and may well anoint his successor. But like I stated earlier, she is no Cleopatra. Power is often accompanied by uncommon responsibilities.
 When Cleopatra romanced her Roman generals, she did so for a higher ideal. She was determined to protect the sanctity of ancient Egypt. She loathed the prospects of her Kingdom being consumed by the behemoth which the Roman Empire was, in truth. If Nigeria seizes to exist today, history will record Dame Patience Jonathan as the obtrusive pillar of the most divisive president the nation has ever had.
Author’s note: This piece is an adaptation from the original one published in October, 2007 on the former Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives Patricia Etteh titled ‘Cleopatra’s Last Stand’.