State of The Nation: The Reuben Abati Award

By

Hillary Okoronkwo

matters_arising_05@sbcglobal.net

 

Dear Reuben Abati,

 

A few months ago in your regular Sunday column in the Guardian newspapers, you superciliously and recklessly declared that the average Nigerian, out of concern for how the world viewed us decided to not to question the fraudulent 'selection' process that brought Emperor Obasanjo undeservedly back to power. You failed to disclose who sponsored and organized the averaged Nigerian meeting where this affirmation was reached and why an invitation was not extended to some of us! If you truly hosted this meeting as we suspect, in a pepper soup bar, you ought to be embarrassed for yourself.

 

Growing up, we were told that half bread is better than none. I am not sure that this is always true today and even those who came up with the saying that half bread is better with groundnut completely got it wrong. Nothing could be further from the truth.  Compromises, half truths, no truths, outright lies, tribalism, sheer incompetence and corruption remains the bane of Nigerian journalist. When we compromise to make this axiom true in a literary sense, even in the most private and littlest detail, it always comes back to hound us. When we chose to cut corners to any destination for any rationale, circumstances or incentive, it has a way of not always being the right decision in the end. In the last twelve months, you have written and opined selectively as though you are a compromised journalist? This is also true when we buy and drive Mercedes Benz cars that we cannot take to work for fear of our employers curiously an d rightly so wondering how we acquired them. It is also simply true when we live above our means and income. In the last five weeks, it appears that the flame of equanimity and nationalism have once again been reignited in you based on your pointed criticisms of Emperor Obasanjo.

 

The recent one thousand women march in Lagos protesting the recurring air mishaps in Nigeria would have been in order if the mothers also marched two and half years ago when the peoples denigration party (PDP) extraordinarily rigged the elections across the country.  ;State of The Nation is not sure whose attention the protesters were looking for, but if it was the Emperor's, we are not sure what they wanted him to do. In a predictable and typical manner the Emperor's police ignored the protesters' (Nigerian citizens mostly mothers) fundamental rights to a peaceful assembly and forcefully dispersed them for two primary reasons;

            1. He simply can.

2. He knows deep in his wicked heart that the protesters and 

those waiting for -celestial intercession like yourself may not  

have voted for him and yet he became President.

 

The State of The Nation’s submission is that by default we all 'contracted' for where we are today when the elections were rigged and we said or did nothing! The airline operators like the rest of us may have decided to cut corners by not properly maintaining their 'air bolekajas'. If we or the government subjects them to standards obtainable where real elections are held, they will all be driven out business operating in a ‘foreign’ environment.

 

Reuben, until you are able to organize a broader and inclusive 'average Nigerian' meeting, where we can all agree to speak up collectively against injustices instead of compromise for fear of how the rest of the world sees us, our counsel will remain unchanged. Emperor Obasanjo rigged the elections and was aware that we did not vote for him. He most likely was elated when we chose to wait for divine intervention over immediate and uncompromising agitation for our God given rights. Any surprises why he is scheming for a 3rd term? The Emperor must be wondering why the women who did not even vote for him and whose votes he did not need to win convincingly a second time had the effrontery to protest. As Chairman of both the Guardian editorial board and the average Nigerians, you have chosen to attack the policies of an Emperor after the fact? You knew he rigged the elections and for the sake of world opinion, the average Nigerian meeting under your chairmanship decided it will be best to keep quiet? If your resolve and perhaps expectations have changed, could you please reconvene another meeting to tell us what changed?  Please remember to extend an invitation to the silent majority that was left out the last time.

 

Emperor Obasanjo should be meeting all of our expectations except we crave to reap where we did not sow.  About six plus years ago we were hoped for divine intervention. The Emperor’s prison life experience as a framed coup plotter we thought would serve us well but we all knew too well his character and previous performance as commander in chief. It was after all his army that threw our beloved Fela’s mother out of the window of a storey building. He had a record of being vicious with students. Billions of naira (then much stronger than the dollar) was expended on Operation Feed the Nation and yet food remained elusive and subsistence farming our only hope. How can we not know now that he has either a direct or indirect knowledge of the assassination of Chief Bola Ige?  We are not disappointed, but we should be if his son or daughter, w as killed and with all the apparatus of the federal government at his disposal, the killers remained at large today.

 

This has to be what we all asked for.  It is after all a proven fact of life that nothing ever changes without agitation. You may be an unappreciative being but State of The Nation appreciates rare and solid developments when we see them. Consider the 'encouraging' revelation by the Emperor in his recent party convention speech that we are living in the world's greatest cassava producing and exporting nation in the world! We did not vote for him and yet he delivered us from obscurity to this great and enviable height. We are still complaining and daring to protest on the streets of Lagos. We cannot be disappointed with an Emperor we never appointed to office when we should have but chose divine intervention to assist us.

 

The State of The Nation hereby confers on you, this initial award of the '200 5 most annoying journalist' in the world's leading cassava producing nation. We considered every journalistic saunter you made in 2005 along with many of your peers and in the final analysis, you made our decision easy. On the contrary, it was just as easy for us to recognize the outstanding and pioneering efforts of Jonathan Elendu and Sowore Omoyele both of elendureports.com. The old axiom 'to whom much is given, much is expected’ weighed heavily in our final choice'. We reviewed all of your careless, random and sometimes thoughtless analysis of the Nigerian political economy. The Guardian newspaper was established for all the right reasons and it has come a long way enduring a lot. We concluded from the outside looking in, that you are not necessarily adding any more value but barely maintaining the status quo at best or possibly diminishing the hard work of those before you who labored in much more complicated circumstances.

 

We did not comprehend your inclination of respect for the dead against the living. We did not see anything wrong with the open letter from Gani Fawehinmi to the Emperor shortly after the passing of Stella Obasanjo. Your inability to connect the extent of damages from both the actions and inactions of the Obasanjos which have led to the deaths of numerous 'lesser' Nigerians as a solid reason to warrant the letter, we concluded was reprehensible. We can only wish that you will see the light and dedicate this award to those ‘lesser’ beings by turning a brand new leaf. We did not see any real reason for the poor analytical content and sometimes unnecessary discourse in the recent happenings in Oyo State. We did not seek too deep from 15,000 miles away to uncover the fact that the man who assisted in no small measure to rig the elections simply feels left out when it was time to share the loot. Smartly enough, the good people of Oyo who again like the rest did nothing after the PDP manipulations are not complaining. For your information, it is too late to convene an average Oyo State citizens meeting for this reason alone.

 

We recognize that we did not appoint you and therefore cannot, for the records be disappointed in or with you. We only found you to be the most annoying journalist in 2005. We will be disappointed if you published this writing in your regular weekly column.

 

Happy New Year! 

 

 

 

Hillary Okoronkwo