While reading the article written by Dr Reuben Abati, I couldn’t but notice two things: Desperation to hold on to his job and desire to match the firepower of Dr Okupe. Normally, his article is not one that needs reply, it is an article that one should read and hiss, but when you let some things slide, he’ll just think Nigerians believed him or his words have succeeded in cowering us. But far from it, Nigerians are not fools, your words don’t mean a thing, your lying tongue can’t fool us neither can your traitorious ways. How are the mighty fallen?
When you say “‘they’ in this piece 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”, I wonder who those people are. Gee! Weren’t you one of the ‘they’ before you joined the government? Have you forgotten that you once advised Nigerians to prepare to ‘stone the economists in official corridors’? In which category will you classify yourself then? Have you forgotten that it was these ‘cynics, pestle-wielding critics, unrelenting, self-appointed activists, the idle and idling, twittering, collective children of anger, the distracted crowd of Facebook addicts” who came together to make sure your boss was sworn-in as President when Yar’adua died? Or maybe you have forgotten that these same “unintelligent people repeating stupid clichés” are the ones who demanded that the rule of law must take its course, thereby paving way for the emergence of your boss?
You said the President is “grossly misunderstood” and that Nigerians “criticize him out of ignorance.” Tell me, what is it that we misunderstood? Did we misunderstand the fact that in a nation where more than 70 % of its citizens are below poverty level, a leader can budget 1 billion naira for feeding? Did we misunderstand the fact that the President said that he had Boko haram sympathisers in his government, and yet nothing is happening? Are we ignorant of the fact that the Dr Okupe that is enmeshed in allegations of corruption remains hired despite protest from Nigerians? Please, stop making a fool of yourself, Nigerians can’t be fooled.
Asides that, I don’t understand what you mean by “When he spoke about not wearing shoes as a child, he meant that as a metaphor for the disparities in the Nigerian system, and the urgent need to redress inequalities.” Is it that the shoeless story he told Nigerians was a scam? Wow! That’s great. So, the story that won Nigerians over wasn’t ‘that’ true? You campaigned to uneducated people and you claim you used metaphor, that’s first-class deceit!
I don’t understand what you mean by “I have even heard that the President spends billions on feeding. Well, I have enjoyed the privilege of eating at the President’s table. What does he eat? Fish pepper soup. Cassava Bread. Slices of yam. Rice. Boiled plantain. Fruits and vegetables.” You know we are “unintelligent people”. Is it that the 1 billion your boss budgeted for feeding isn’t just meant for feeding? How much is Cassava bread? How much is Pepper soup? How much do they sell vegetables? Please, don’t play on our intelligence. You expect Nigerians to believe that?
Finally, to compare Jonathan to Gandhi and Martin Luther is like comparing Olumo rock to Everest; incomparable.
It will be better to stop your vain attempts at rebranding a totally damaged product. Stop this dance of shame because Nigerians are neither blind nor foolish. We can see and we know. We can see that the debts that have been paid off have started accumulating again. We can see that our brothers and sisters are been slaughtered and bombed everyday. We can see that more and more of our youths are being churned out by the universities yearly with no work for them. We can see our money being stolen daily, yet the thieves are still free. We can see our nation on the brink of secession, yet you don’t know what to do.
Instead of trying to save face, start working because no amount of words can make Nigerians forgive a government that puts its welfare before the welfare of its citizens. No amount of words can make Nigerians forgive a man who used ‘metaphor’ to deceive Nigerians into voting for him. No amount of words can cleanse a government that kills unarmed protesters. No amount of words can cleanse a government that aids and abbets criminals. No amount of words can cleanse a government that uses blackmail freely. And no amount of words can cleanse a President who has made it clear that he doesn’t give a damn. So, quit trying to deceive Nigerians further and start working because that is the only solution.
God bless Nigeria!
Ogunjimi James Taiwo
E-mail: hullerj@yahoo.com
08134319591
