Terror Journalism Or Terror Governance?

By

Babayola Toungo

babayolatoungo@yahoo.co.uk

 

 

I woke up this Monday morning feeling good; in fact too good to be true (apologies to Roy C).  While I was contemplating taking a very, very lazy bath before breakfast, somebody literally threw a bomb in my ear by telling me that Chief Alamantsiya (Alamieyeseigha), the Bayelsa State governor, who has been an unwilling guest of the London Metropolitan Police is back in the country through stealthy means.  While I was in the process of digesting this bad news (yes, bad news for those who believe in a Nigeria not governed by crooks and convicts), another missile landed, this time poking my eyes as I perused my copy of the Leadership newspaper for the week of November 27th, 2005, in the form of an advertorial on page 18 of the paper with the title – Leadership Newspaper and Terror Journalism by on Alhaji Ibrahim Atukpa Akwe, Mukungujin Daddare.  It was a continuation of the attack on the paper by Obasanjo’s third term proponents as represented by the likes of the Nassarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Adamu at an earlier occasion.  At the moment am caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.  On one hand I may be forced to join hands with the likes of Alamieyeseigha to fight Obasanjo and his bunch of no-gooders; on the other hand though I find the tendencies that Alamieyeseigha represented reprehensible to me.  But then, I have to go to the trenches with them.  This made me very livid.

 

I am very angry and ashamed to be a Nigerian this morning.  Angry and ashamed in equal measures.  Am angry that a whole bunch of elderly misfits are trying to take us for a joy ride in an ill-fated train that is headed for a head-on collision with Nigerians.  My anger stems from the fact that this bunch of elderly criminals don’t care a bit as to whether their actions bring the destruction of Nigeria, so long as their “god” Obasanjo could have a third term or even a life-term in office.  Am equally ashamed because on waking this morning I learnt of the improbable escape from England of Bayelsa State Governor Chief Alamieyeseigha.  Alamieyeseigha’s action, coupled with Dariye’s jumping bail from the same England was back, has further reduced Nigeria to nothing more than a haven of criminals.  By virtue of a certain section in our constitution (section 308) any armed robber will be free once he steps into the country while pick-pockets are clamped in jail.  Dariye did it and went scot-free.  Now Alamieyeseigha is ensconced in Government House, Yenagoa, where Nuhu Ribadu can only rave and rant but can do no more.  Surprisingly, the Nigerian government has the guts to take exception to the country being classified as a corrupt nation.

 

Then this joker from Daddare in Nassarawa State came up with his terror-journalism theory.  I extend my heartfelt condolences to the people and community of Daddare on the death of their traditional ruler.  But his death does not detract from the fact that he was one of those that was working hard to ensure that Obasanjo is foisted on us whether we like it or not, no matter what Alhaji Ibrahim Atukpa Akwe and his ilk may say.  While the man was alive, it was no secret that he was one of the brigade commanders of the Obasanjo battalion.  He was one of those feeding coal to the locomotive of the derailed train.  So for Alhaji Akwe to think he can re-write history so soon after the death of the traditional ruler at the centre of it all, is to say the least stretching truth to its elastic limit.

 

The Nassarawa State governor has been prancing the political circuit making inflammatory statements but nobody bothered to answer him simply because he wasn’t making sense to anyone.  When General Muhammadu Buhari reacted to the judicial rape that occurred at the hallowed Chambers of the Supreme Court, Abdullahi Adamu was the one that called for his sanction by the Nigerian authorities.  I thought the governor will have the decency to keep mute and enjoy the fruits of his and Obasanjo’s illegally-gotten mandate and spare Nigerians his loud and foul mouth.

 

I am also angry because I happen to find myself in the same ditch with Atiku Abubakar and Boni Haruna trying to stop Obasanjo’s madness about his third term bid.  I had all along thought I would rather share a hole with serpents rather than be in the same boat with these two but the exigencies of Nigerian politics and Obasanjo’s stupidity have thrown us in the same ditch.  Well, may be when we are finished with Obasanjo, we would continue our brawl.  Alamieyeseigha, Dariye and all the rest of the criminals this time will be in the same corner with us whether we like it or not.  That is part of the vagaries of the Nigerian politics for you.  In the recent past, there have been various alignments and re-alignments as to political tendencies all geared towards ensuring that Obasanjo is kicked out of Aso Villa in 2007.  After going through the list of dissenters, one is left with the impression that one should not dine on the same table with them even while holding a 60-foot spoon.  Every decent nerve in me tells me to keep running when I see these people but the political animal in me restrains me from running, and rather pushes me towards them just to ensure that the likes of Abdullahi Adamu never have their way again.

 

This time around we are ready to join Atiku Abubakar, Joshua Dariye and Alamieyeseigha to fight Obasanjo, Abdullahi Adamu and the rest of their ilk to water democracy and slay dictatorship.  In 2004 Ukrainians had their Orange Revolution; Obasanjo and his Abdullahi Adamus should pray that when the chips are down, Nigerians will go for something like that.  My fear is that, the populace may opt for the Bolshevik type. 

 

Sadly, it appears Obasanjo and his cult have gone too far into their fiendish agenda and convincing themselves of their invincibility, are most unlikely to take heed against the boiling anger of Nigerians and the obvious blood-stained writing on the wall that we can all read so well.  So in the end, terror governance may breed terror reaction and the entire nation loses out.  In praying “God forbid”, I cannot help but wonder if that is not the ultimate objective of Obasanjo, or it is just that some of our so-called leaders have indeed lost their heads without knowing.