– by Sullivan Odumegwu –
It’s well that Saharareporters has become a fertile ground for airing pent up anger and frustrations, and fanning the embers of national disunity. It’s also a place to go for the dirty juice on unpopular public officials in Nigeria; plus anybody that needs any reason not to travel and invest in Nigeria only needs to visit that site. Its many readers go there for the same reasons people read Wikileaks – not for approval but for its voyeuristic appeal. Who does not enjoy dirt on his government, whether spiced up, made up, exaggerated, no matter. Saharareporters’ funding is also, without saying, tied to the bizarre and counterintelligence directed against its victims by the purveyors of such dirt. And they are legion. So, its business goes on, even though it will someday soon wallow in infamy.
There are many blogs like Saharareporters flourishing in America, albeit mostly underground and not taken seriously, including those that spew such rubbish like Obama forged his birth certificate – He’s not a US citizen, Kennedy got killed by the Soviets, Elvis Presley is still alive, there’s UFO in Michigan and Snowman in Alaska. My worry is that some Nigerians, increasingly frustrated by rampant corruption in the society, may be taking Saharareporters too seriously and believing all that it dishes out as gospel truth, thus emboldening Mr Sowore to the delusion that he is larger than life. I also worry that disaffected Nigerian public officials are using him against one another, hence the easy access Sowore appears to have to Nigerian government classified documents. It’s a pity.
That said, I still wonder why Mr Sowore attacked Nduka Obaigbena, a private citizen and a fellow publisher. And why he also attacked Elombah Daniel, another private citizen and also a publisher. And many more private citizens that have had their reputations destroyed by him simply because they are plying their legitimate trade in ways that Sowore doesn’t like. I might add that Elombah has the right not to mimick Sowore’s sensational and libelous style, Elombah has the right to publish positive news about unpopular or accused persons, including Ibori, whose corruption case was proving too hard and costly for London prosecutors to prove, as Elombah and other foreign press truthfully reported, but which Saharareporters did not, even though Sowore was aware of it.
And recall Emeka Ugwuonye, whose reputation as Nigeria’s finest lawyer in the US was destroyed by Sowore, just because of a private real estate transaction between him and the Nigerian embassy – but which Sowore turned into an assault on Ugwuonye’s law license; then add Emeagwali, and you see a despicable pattern dedicated to taking mostly high-achieving Igbos and minorities down. It’s as serial as it extends to public officials of the same stock – Dora, Okonjo-Iweala, Allison-Madueke, George Obiozor, Prof Onwuliri, and President Jonathan and his wife. Their crimes? I don’t know. Ask Mr Sowore.
Let me add also that Sowore’s dedication to defaming Andy Uba is legendary even though Andy has never been arrested, charged or convicted of any crime.
So, is it also envy or what?
And now this, Mr Sowore has just published a private email conversation between him and a private citizen – Mr James Ibori, and he did so from American soil. While I wonder how many US laws have been broken here, I also wonder how many more private emails and conversations with others this guy will air here. He already gave a hint by making veiled and ominous references to another email exchange he had with Nduka Obaigbena. Its indefensible for a publisher or journalist to suddenly turn a pursuer of other publishers and journalists, tracking them, investigating them, defaming them. For what purpose? Do they all have to be mean and emotional like Mr Sowore.
Before I am misunderstood on Ibori, let me quickly explain that despite his guilty plea, the man is human, and he still deserves his rights to privacy; and so do many others Mr. Sowore has done the same thing to, including one of Obasanjo’s sons (I’ve forgotten his name – the one that said OBJ doesn’t know his age, Sowore taped on a bus ride from Seme border, unbeknownst to the poor guy who thought he was bantering with an old acquaintance).
Finally, I wonder why he moderates comments on Saharareporters he claims exists for fighting corruption; and I wonder how many comments to his postings he writes himself or gets his friends to write, especially with the similar emotions expressed in those comments, the timelines, the uncanny timings, their bizarre consistencies, etc., while Sowore still presents them as spontaneous and well-meaning comments by others. Perhaps, lawyer Ugwuonye will establish this in due course by expanding the scope of his discovery and interrogatories.
Mr John Iteshi,
You got it all wrong. A work of journalist is to pass “objective” information and not to sway opinion or worse doctor tapes to suit his hatred of some people. He has been presenting self as social critic/journalist but act as a hired gun to take down Igbo people of high repute and with that he has lost his position as an objective observer that his work demands. Mr Sorowe Omoyele and his Saharareporters has to be taken down and be exposed for who he really is, a tribal loyalist whose views has become opaque. Lots of people has been withdrawing from his email circulation as he is exposed.
Trash trash trash and absolute bunkum. Sullivan am sorry but your article is Trash and full of $€*#+t
NIGERIANS: ENDURING OR ENJOYING?
Ogunjimi James Taiwo
“We only become what we are by the radical and deep-seated refusal of that which others have made of us” -Jean-Paul Sartre
Nigerians have a long history of adaptability to evil policies. We tend to adapt well to anti-masses policies being implemented by this anti-masses government. We have been told that Nigerians are one of the happiest group of people on earth and I wonder, how did anyone ever come to that conclusion? Is it due to our smiley faces? Or our loud laughter? Those are camouflages.
The truth is that we may not be experiencing natural disasters, but the man-made disasters that this government has continued to unleash on us has taken away our happiness and robbed us of our joy. We then need to ask, why aren’t we revolting? Why have we allowed ourselves to be subdued and subdued? Why are we soaking in all the wrongs without uttering a word of protest? Could it be that we are happy with the situation of things? Could it be due to contentment?
I trace the answers to those questions to two reasons:
*Religion
*Fear
RELIGION
“A religion that takes no account of practical affairs and does not help to solve them is no religion” – Mahatma Gandhi
It has become quite clear that the reason why so many people refuse to lend their voices to protest against evil policies is because of the influence of their religious leaders over them. So many people grumble on a daily basis in the corners of their rooms, but they prefer to grumble than take to the streets. We have so many religious leaders today who are regularly visited by people in positions of authority, and when that happens, they get large chunks of money as donation to the church or mosque. In exchange, the religious leaders find it difficult to speak against government’s evil actions and even go as far as telling their members or followers to accept government’s actions as ‘God’s will’, that God put the leaders there. Yet the same religious leaders live in the most comfortable houses, drive the latest vehicles in town, wear the latest designer in town, have visas of over 70 countries and even have their personal jets. Yet the same people will tell us that our reward is in heaven, the same people will tell us that we have 70 virgins awaitin us in Alujanah, and we gullibly obey man-made instructions. The truth is that if we allow anyone to continue to play games with our brains, we are doomed. Today, our very survival depends on our ability to think for ourselves, to take our own decisions, to be our own person, to take our destiny in our hands regardless of what anyone thinks.
FEAR
“The greatest rewards in life only come from taking the greatest risks.”
So many people are sad and disgruntled about the way Nigeria is being run by these bad leaders. But the number of people who actually come out to express their disapproval publicly is little compared to the number of people who grumble daily in their houses. The government must be laughing at us now because of our cowardice. Their aim is to so threaten us that to publicly declare our grieviances would be thought twice. We are gradually being led back to the military era where speaking against government policies mean arrest, brutality or death.
True, they may have the means to silence us, but we should never relent in our attempt to reject their evil policies.
This is our country, we should never allow ourselves to be made slaves. We should refuse to adapt to evil policies. We are in a democratic setting, we should never allow ourselves to be treated as if we are being ruled by the military.
Mr Sullievan Odumegwu:
It is hard to understand your point, or your argument… While not completely backing Sahara Reporters, I still find your attack to be totally awkward with your attempt at defending the so-called ‘rights’ of the evil gangs you listed there.
Are you honestly in your right sense of reasoning expecting to only condemn those evil people like Andy Uba, only when they are ‘arrested’ or convicted in your Nigeria’? The man under whose order, his mad brother ‘Chris’ went and set Anambra on fire??
Or are you trying to defend a sick crock that so-called Nigeria could not find any guilt on his evil, yet UK, was able to convict him on many accounts?
Where is your sense of justice and reality? Please, don’t bring in that attack on Igbos into this to cover their evil.
I don’t consider you a true son of Igbo, otherwise you must have known that all those selfish, mindless Igbo sell outs who are never interested in thinking of liberating the Igbo race but instead for their own sick end.. How on earth can you feel sorry for such group???
If you are an Igbo person, and think you can keep with your ‘blind worship of so-called Nigeria’, then you must be ready to die for it on your own, with no true Igbo person shedding a drop of tear for you.
Nigeria is Dead and attempt to cry for it is only your problem. Igbos have nothing good to expect from it, maybe fools who think they can feed on crumbs may wish to use Igbo name for their selfish goals.
‘Before I am misunderstood on Ibori, let me quickly explain that despite his guilty plea, the man is human, and he still deserves his rights to privacy’ – Sullivan
The above really depicts a hallow minded fellow!
How on earth can you justify a man that openly looted the lives of millions, yet you will be the first to call for the head of a rice, or biscuit thief. What is different from people who loot public funds meant to build/maintain/protect health care and save lives, build/repair roads to guarantee save travel, provide clean water, school system etc. and the terrorists who blow hundreds of innocent people up??
Actually if to be compared, though they are the same, but the one who loot, and destroy thousands of lives slowly and suddenly, is worse than terrorists who equally kill innocent victims