These are indeed precarious times for Reuben Abati. And like any
sinking man, desperate to hold on to a fast dwindling job, Dr Abati has
resorted to desperate measures. The flurry of articles from him in
recent times speaks volumes about his desperation. For a man who hid
under the “umblellah” (sorry, umbrella) of social activism for many
years, the opportunity to partake in the sweetness of power has been a
mesmerizing experience which he is in no hurry to willingly relinquish.
Dr Abati desperation is such that he has even resorted to abusing and
insulting Nigerians. His latest article titled “The Jonathan they don’t
know” is just another wasteful enterprise aimed at refurbishing a bad
product. It is rather too late in the day to attempt to turn an imbecile
into a genius.
Reuben, in his desperate article created a strategic
divide based on perceived loyalty or otherwise. A very unfortunate
division was created based on activism or passivism. His battle line
consists of the “They” and the loyalists. Loyalists, by his definition,
being those benefitting from the potpourri. Those in the privileged
league of the manipulators and beneficiaries of our commonwealth. Those
who persistently deny the nation of deserved economic and material
development. The thieves who roam the corridor of power and keeps the
lock to same in their bulging pockets. These, to Reuben Abati, are the
good Nigerians, those who have left Goodluck Jonathan in peace. The
“They” according to Abati “refers to all the cynics, the pestle-wielding
critics, the unrelenting, self-appointed activists, the idle and
idling, twittering, collective children of anger, the distracted crowd
of Facebook addicts, the BBM-pinging soap opera gossips of Nigeria, who
seem to be in competition among themselves to pull down President
Goodluck Jonathan”
Obviously, to this exalted company belongs the likes
of Sonala Olumhense, Pius Adesanmi, Okey Ndibe and a host of others. I
must confess that my humble self also has company in this prestigious
group. Reuben, however, belongs to that other group of “good Nigerians”
those who sleep and wake up with scandals, those who keep corruption as
comfortable bed fellows. We heard of the rumbles of the Abuja plots of
land, even when Abati was pretending to be a social critic. This rumble
had hardly abated when the opportunity to explore his true identity came
by the way of the presidential appointment.
To Reuben, the group of
“They” are a “bunch of unintelligent people repeating stupid clichés
and too many intelligent persons wasting their talents lending relevance
to thoughtless conclusions”. So, our exalted group of “They” consists
of either plainly stupid people or naively intelligent people. It is
worth restating that Reuben Abati once belonged to this maligned group.
Reuben’s insult to the intelligentsia and those Nigerians who have
sacrificed so much to ensure that the Nigerian state assumes its true
position in the comity of nations is unpardonable. It is bad enough for a
hypocrite to denounce his initial constituency, it is criminal to turn
around and lambast same for failing to see the sense in your sudden
turncoat and imminent disintegration. It is so easy to castigate the
same group of “They” who fought to ensure that the Jonathan Presidency
becomes a reality. Has Reuben pondered on the causes of the massive
evaporation of the uninhibited flow of affection and national support
for candidate Jonathan? What turned the almost hysterical Jonathan-mania
into rabid Jonathan-phobia? Conscience, they say, is an open wound….
Only truth can heal it.
Reuben’s effort to blow the trumpet of
achievement for Goodluck Jonathan sounded very hollow, even on the pages
on which they were written. For a previously “shoeless” President
(Reuben can never stop us from making reference to this appropriate
description) who promised heaven and earth on his campaign trips, the
boast of 4,400 MW of electricity in a nation that is still in perpetual
darkness went beyond the bounds of pardonable mischief. Reuben’s
lukewarm reference to presidential concerns on corruption is nothing but
laughable – “That is why he has directed the relevant agencies to get
corrupt persons to answer for their misdeeds” Reuben, when the current
charade on corruption is over, we hope that genuine convictions would
indeed be possible. Farouk Lawan is still a free man, walking and
enjoying free sunshine with millions of bribe money yet to be accounted
for. Otedola’s cheeks are growing rosier every day while the nation’s
Attorney-General is probably the richest Nigerian today courtesy of a
lax regime that encourages graft.
Furthermore, Reuben’s attempt to speak
about his master’s inordinate love for the women folk smirks of nothing
but jest. True, Jonathan has loads of females in his government
compared to his predecessors. However, the concern of majority of
Nigerians is with the innate penchant of this man to surround himself
with the most corrupt and despicable Nigerians ever created, whether
males or females.
Without wasting so many words like Reuben is fond
of doing, the truth about Goodluck Jonathan stares at one in the face.
It is not for nothing that he is viewed as clueless. This is a simple
English expression within the grasp of even the barely literate.
Jonathan has so far demonstrated his lack of understanding of the basic
mechanism of governance, the constitutional and moral obligation of a
government to the people and the fine etiquettes of Presidential
approach. He is an opportunist who jumped at the ship of state without
adequate preparation. His government is belligerent; an example is the
latest crude and rude articles from Reuben Abati and the unpalatable
appointment of Doyin Okupe as a frenzied attack dog. Jonathan is
manifestly corrupt and he has no qualms in attempting to brush this
under the carpet. It is beyond comprehension, that the President of over
150 million people, people who continue to excel in various spheres of
human endeavour, would publicly declare on national television that he
does not give a damn about declaring his assets. Reuben Abati is yet to
address this sore point in his numerous essays.
Abati has my
sympathy in his attempt to refurbish the morally tainted and
structurally deformed presidency of Goodluck Jonathan. True, Jonathan is
“nationalistic” in orientation in terms of federal appointments (to use
the Nigerian phrase, he is a good disciple of national character),
nevertheless, former criminals of the creeks are now handling sensitive
national security apparatus. The old Ijaw Generals of the ill-famed
creek wars are now multi-billionaires, smiling comfortably to the banks
every month, courtesy of a truly national President. The likes of
General Tompolo et al. Who cares whether Jonathan eats cassava or whole
meal bread or even boiled plantain for that matter? The key thing is
that in an austere environ when millions are out of jobs, when crime is
blooming like the old Onitsha market and when terrorism is sweeping the
land like a raging inferno, our belligerent President spends billions
annually on food. This is an undisputable fact that Reuben failed to
address. Abati has gone miles in his unfortunate academic odyssey of
rationalising a bad product. He has thrown terms around, starting with
Corporate Social Responsibility, a la the infamous Otuoke Church
building, to the new “Saul Complex” in his latest tirade. Whether
corporate responsibility or Saul Complex, a decaying product would
always stink, no matter the intensity of the advertisement.
The
Jonathan we know? The Jonathan we know is a President who promised so
much and yet intent on delivering so little. The Jonathan we know is an
opportunist. An over-ambitious man toying with the fate of millions. The
Jonathan we know is a man who assumes a position of authority fully
beyond his capability and comprehension. The Jonathan we know is a
President who is so enwrapped in the loin clothes of his wife such that
the country is actually confused as to who is in power. He thus brought
nothing but baggage into the act of governance. The Jonathan we know is a
president who glorifies corruption and embraces its evil warmth – “if
corruption does not kill Nigeria, Nigeria will kill corruption” The
Jonathan we know is a non-performing President, a colossal failure. This
is the verdict of the people, Reuben.
No Nigerian has any quarrel
with any part of the country producing the leadership. What we care
about is performance. We care less whether the President is an Itsekiri
or Ibibio. We have no qualms with the Ijaws (whether the 4th most
populous or 10th most populous) producing the President. All we desire
is a leader intent on ridding our body polity of its various nuances. A
leader committed to emancipating the fast dwindling lots of poor
Nigerians. A leader committed to faithfully fighting the strangulating
hold of corruption and the endless evils that have truncated our march
to greater glory. We need a leader that can go beyond the pretences of
party politics and truly be a leader indeed. Our complaints against the
lacklustre performance of Jonathan have nothing to do with his ethnic
origin, Reuben and mavericks like him do not need to confuse issues. We
simply do not want the man because he is not performing. Period.
Yes, great minds like Abraham Lincoln, Mahtama Ghandi, Martin Luther
King and Kwame Nkrumah made the world easier. Yet whatever they achieved
was with plainness of approach, honesty and integrity. They were not
achieved with the purchase of hundreds of porch cars for a frivolous and
egomaniac meeting of wives of discredited heads of governments. They
were not achieved on the lavish expenditure of state fortune on state
banquets or meals. They were not attained with dourness and stupidity.
They came out of a vibrant methodology and pragmatic visions. Jonathan
lacks these qualities. Comparing the man Jonathan to these great minds
is illusory and vain.
Reuben’s attempt is that of a sinking man desperately trying to catch a lifeline of straw.
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