PRESS RELEASE:
I am minded to respond to Christiana Anyanwu’s recent diatribe against His Excellency, Dr Ikedi Ohakim for calling her out on the many falsehoods and distortions in her poorly-written book which she launched recently, with many notables avoiding the occasion like a plague.
I must admit that engaging in a public spat with Madam Christiana Anyanwu is not something anybody should relish, given her perennial scorpionic character which she always manifest. However, when provoked by such a character, one must respond in like manner, deploying the same scorpionic instinctive defense mechanism.
I am not unmindful of the fact that joining issues with Madam Anyanwu in the Nigerian media is like challenging a fish to a swimming competition, more so now that she has released her media Rottweilers to come after Dr. Ohakim and those that would defend him.
Her response to Dr Ohakim’s initial critique of a section of her book regarding the false narrative and concealment of a critical fact that she wrote a letter of apology to the late head of state, General Sani Abacha, was, quite frankly, underwhelming.
She conveniently cherry-picked one of the four issues Dr Ohakim raised – the apology letter to Abacha – while ignoring the other three: her lies and misrepresentation of facts regarding the 2011 Imo governorship election, securing the approval of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan GCFR in procuring the military to disrupt the 2011 election, and deploying her radio station to spread the falsehood that Dr Ohakim had slapped a Rev. Father.
Madam Anyanwu’s attempt to discredit Dr Ohakim’s youth was equally laughable and unimpressive. Had she done her due diligence, she would have discovered His Excellency’s illustrious career trajectory, which includes rising from a management trainee to becoming a marketing director at a top Nigerian quoted company in his early 30s; serving as a director in Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Co. Ltd; listed in 1988 in Vanguard’s 30 Notable Young Corporate Leaders; listed in Thisday’s 50 Leaders Nigeria Needs in 1998 and earning a fellowship at the Nigerian Institute of Marketing at the age 30. The list goes on.
It is astonishing that Madam Christiana Anyanwu would write a 612-page book while conveniently concealing and cleverly omitting her apology letter to Abacha. No one needs to stumble on the document, it is there in government archives. Nigerians are not naïve; they can spot a hypocrite from a mile away.
Now, several decades after leveraging on the military to achieve her goals, she now seeks to disparage them in her book. It is telling that when she was challenged to deny writing the apology letter, her response fell flat when the only thing she could muster was to ask Dr Ohakim to publish it to verify its authenticity. To reasonable and discerning minds, this alone is a tacit admission of guilt.
Madam Anyanwu’s track record speaks for itself – a history of strained relationships with family, colleagues, workers, and even political associates. What is the relationship today between Madam Anyanwu and the governor on whose back she rode in 2011 to secure her seat at the Senate, using the military? Evidently, her career has been marked by controversy, not achievement.
Since she used her book to malign Dr Ohakim’s character, she should be rest assured that it is now an open season for Dr Ohakim to use his forth coming book to defend his hard earned reputation and character. Dr Ohakim has now resolved to publish, in his forthcoming book, Madam Christiana Anyanwu’s letter of apology to Abacha to prove that she cannot be a role model to our young daughters. The reading public will then be able to discern who is truthful and who has a history of duplicity.
Signed:
Mazi Amanze Ajoku
Media Aide to HE, Dr Ikedi Ohakim.
