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Frank Nweke: Playing The Ostrich By Dozie Ikem Ezeife, Esq.
The hallmark of the Obasanjo administration is its perfection of the ostrich mentality. Rather than confront its abject lack of performance and its mounting Constitutional abuses, the Presidency would rather obfuscate in a bid to divert attention from the real issues. The aim, of course, is to pool wool over the eyes of Nigerians. The arrowhead of the ostrich defense is the loquacious scion of the Fani-Kayode dynasty, Femi. Occasionally Remi Oyo and “political Journeyman” Ojo Maduekwe will lend a helping hand.
There is a growing unhealthy tendency on the part of this administration to treat any criticism, no matter the nature and substance, as an act of treason. This paranoia is often followed by attempts to club the critic over the head with personal attacks and in many cases by baseless criminal arrests and investigations. This attitude negates the fact that the hallmark of the democratic system of government, which the administration professes to practice, is the ability, nay right, of the people to freely criticize their government without fear of retribution. Senators John Kerry, Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy, to name a few, routinely criticize the Bush administration but to date, none of them have been invited by the Secrete Service or the Federal Bureau of Investigation for questioning. That is democracy in its full glory. That is hardly the case in Nigeria. Criticize the Nigerian government at your own peril have become the mantra.
Lately, the inept Minister for Information Frank Nweke decided to join the bandwagon. Mr. Nweke in a recent outing in Abuja took a jab at Professor Wole Soyinka for calling the President to order for incessant abuse of his office and breaches of the Constitution. Professor Soyinka had catalogued a myriad of constitutional breaches by the President and called on the National Assembly to impeach the President. Many a distinguished Nigerians have echoed this call. Rather than disprove Soyinka’s facts, Mr. Nweke choose to make personal attacks on the Nobel Price laureate. The “Honourable” Minister questioned Professor Soyinka’s legacy.
I would rather not dignify Mr. Nweke’s ignorance by attempting to chronicle Professor Soyinka’s immense contribution to learning and his selfless struggle for advancement of democracy and civil rights in Nigeria. But for the risks taken by Soyinka and other activists during the Abacha days, the Nwekes of this world would still be walking the streets of Enugu in search of employment. Suffice it to say that it speaks volumes of the degeneracy of this presidency that a non-performing, immensely unqualified minion like Frank Nweke would have the temerity to question Professor Soyinka’s bona fides. Mr. Nweke will do well to heed the immortal words of the Great Zik that those who make a habit of denigrating their elders will never have the opportunity of attaining that coveted status. They will ultimately confront the sure judgment of posterity.
As a parting gift, Mr. Nweke should be advised to concentrate on his responsibility of laundering the battered image of Nigeria and leave the self-deprecating noise to noise bags like Femi Fani-Kayode and his coterie of Presidential attack dogs. The United States Department of State has for years now openly branded Nigeria a lawless state. Warnings to Americans intending to travel to Nigeria are conspicuously displayed at all International Airports in the United States. These warnings cast ominous clouds over the administration’s much-vaunted search for foreign investors. One wonders what efforts Mr. Nweke, the chief image-maker for Nigeria, have made to address the irreversible damage those travel advisories are doing to the image of Nigeria.
While we applaud the President’s efforts to provide jobs to the youths of Nigeria in his administration, the fact still remains that a candidate for a Ministerial position ought to have some real world experience. The only pre-ministerial experience that Mr. Nweke had was a brief stint in Governor Nnamani’s first term administration. How that qualifies Nweke for a Ministerial position in the Obasanjo administration is a mystery to this writer given the depth of well-educated and immensely experienced pool of potential candidates in Enugu State
In conclusion, platitudinous mouthing of empty clichés such as “dividends of democracy” by this administration cannot take the place of allowing Nigerians a bite at true democracy. It is time for the Presidency to pull its head out of the sand and see the damage it is doing to Nigeria and Nigerians.
Dozie Ikem Ezeife, Esq. Oakland, California |