By Edidiong Udobia
My
uncle and one-time special adviser on Political and Legislative Affairs to
former Governor Victor Attah, late Joe Udobia once told me; “Diong boy, after
so many years in politics, one thing I have learnt is that history teaches that
history teaches nothing”. On a cursory glance, I was almost tempted to
disparage his words as mere political jargons, but after he took time to
explain himself with real-life illustrations, I came to the realization that
people do not learn from history, and that's a lesson from history itself.
Nigerian
politics has a demon that seems to suck life out of people while they are in
office that they literally turn to carcass once they leave office. Precedents
have showed that our politics has only one exit door; that which leads to an
unsuccessful life. That probably explains why Nigerian politicians cannot
sustain the wealth they amass in office, let alone make a better life after
office.
Little wonder why Nigerians who venture into politics do everything to
clinch unto power even when their exit was long overdue; because of the
enormous uncertainties lying behind the exit door, they seldom cede power
peacefully, willingly, wholeheartedly, and totally. When it comes to Nigerian
political players clinching to power, or hanging around its corridors, nothing
surprises us anymore - they can stoop as low as six feet.
Barely
thirty months after former President Goodluck Jonathan was butted out of office
by Nigerians, his erstwhile spokesman, Mr. Reuben Abati has turned out to be a
quintessence of a typical Nigerian politician illustrated above. By his
appointment, Abati was fully dressed in a political regalia. Before his trip to
Aso Rock, Abati was every reader's delight on the Guardian Newspaper. Back
then, the ability to dissect the most intricate issues to the understanding of
both the highly intellectual and the half-witted was almost Abati's reserved
right.
In the words of Chris Obiekwe, "A typical Reuben Abati’s article
was worth billions of Naira in its unquestionable and flawless integrity".
To his dedicated readers, who were mostly the Nigerian masses, Abati was an
icon, but to the political class, he was a deadly plague that was seriously
avoided. His reputation was built around intelligence and credibility. He was
fearless, ruthless and brutal on the government. That is an abridged profile of
the Reuben Abati we knew before Aso Rock came calling.
Enter
Reuben Abati, the presidential spokesman; he had barely settled in his new
office when a chameleonic character suddenly emerged from our once highly
revered 'no nonsense' celebral journalist. From then on, he took up the task of
defending what has become the most corrupt government in Nigeria since the
return of the current democratic dispensation. He spent his days in the
presidency offending the sensibilities of common Nigerians through his constant
rise to the defence of the government and vicious attacks on critics of the
government.
However, as it is the nature of everything else in life, the
Goodluck Jonathan administration came to an end and it was time for Abati to
pack his bags and hit the road once again. The second coming of Reuben Abati
has not given the Nigerian public much to desire, and this must really be
killing him inside. Instead of tendering an unreserved apology which he clearly
owes Nigerians, since his return, Abati has been engaging in series of
lamentations and petty writing in an uncanny attempt to redeem his severely
battered image.
His
first major attempt at seeking redemption (to the best of my knowledge) came in
his piece, "My phones no longer ring". Of course, Nigerians are not
so lame not to have seen his dubiousness between the lines and Chris Obiekwe
gave him a befitting response. Last Tuesday, he made another attempt in his
article, "Akwa Ibom Churches as Parastatals", where he lashed out at
churches in the state for having a cordial relationship with the government.
Before I proceed, let me categorically state that this is not a direct response
to Reuben Abati's article. I'm neither a spokesman for the state government nor
an image maker for Akwa Ibom churches. But as an Akwa Ibomite, I am duty-bound
to make clarifications whenever, in my considered opinion, there is a
misrepresentation about the state, regardless of the personality involved.
Recent events have proven that even the best can be wrong: a case for instance,
is the recent blunder on NTA, where they referred to Calabar as the host of the
match between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Indomitable Lions of
Cameroun, instead of Uyo.
Basing
his judgment on the disgraceful action of a certain Rev. Richard Peter of The
African Church, who wrote a purported letter of suspension of Barr. Inibehe
Effiong from the church for leading a protest against the state government,
Reuben Abati concluded that churches in Akwa Ibom are government apron strings.
“Akwa Ibom pastors and religious leaders have learnt to defer to the state
government and they are well-patronized in return for their loyalty.
Our
investigation, inspired by a recent scandalous incident, further shows that we
are not generalizing when we say that in Akwa Ibom state, the biggest business
is church business and sycophancy. The church in that state is distancing
itself from the poor and lending itself to the state as an instrument. In some of
the churches, sermons are delivered and dedicated specially to the state
Governor. When pastors begin to behave like praise-singers, the Church would
need to take a second look at its men.”
Interestingly,
Abati conspicuously missed the part where Rev Peter's letter was widely
condemned by Akwa Ibom people including those in government. If I should
summarize his lamentations on "My phones no longer ring", it means
Abati spent most of his time at the presidency on phone. As a presidential
spokesman, Abati was apparently too busy attending to his ringing phones that
he failed to notice when the Almighty Ayo Oritsejafor led CAN annexed Aso Rock.
He must have been responding to calls from journalists that he did not see when
his boss, Goodluck Jonathan spent about N2.2billion on prayers to fight Boko
Haram. Now that his phones no longer ring, he has the time to attend to petty
issues like conducting skewed investigations on Akwa Ibom churches and arrive
at the conclusion that they operate as government parastatals. For someone who
played a key role in a government that was in a hot romance with the church, it
is most unfair for Abati to lash out at Akwa Ibom churches for associating with
government. In his piece, he rightly admitted that Akwa Ibom is predominantly a
Christian state, then one is compelled to wonder if Abati expected churches in
the state to allow pagans or Muslims run the government.
Reuben
Abati's claim that the closed ranks between Akwa Ibom churches and the state is
to the disadvantage of the people is very cynical, preposterous and another low
in Abati's descending intellectuality. For avoidance of doubt, over the years,
the church have been the commonest ground for government and the people to
interact. Common sense alone will tell anyone that as a Christian state, almost
every official of the state government belongs to a church. Majority of them
even belong to church hierarchies, which is why most of them bear titles like
Elder, Evangelist, Deacon, Apostle and so on. It is the mark of Christianity
which they proudly carry from the church to the government. As far as Akwa Ibom
is concerned, the government and the church are inseparable. The church serves
as a moral compass to the state by which the government exerts her powers. Yes,
Akwa Ibom is a Christian state so the biggest business in Akwa Ibom is church
business and not drug business.
On
the issue of the proposed Governor’s Lodge in Lagos, my opinion is not quite
different from that of the majority of Akwa Ibom people. However, I disagree with
Abati on certain grounds. First, a line in his article reads; "The
decision by the Akwa Ibom State Government to build a new Governor’s Lodge in
Lagos, worth N9. 1 billion or N2.1 billion..." The uncertainty in his
piece as regards the amount budgeted for the lodge clearly shows how much Abati
has derailed from the path of the noble profession. He failed to prove his
worth by not making an extra effort to achieve precision. Apparently, Abati has
resorted to armchair journalism. Secondly, his claim that Nigerian governors
spend most of their lives in Lagos and consequently take the Lagos ideas to
their states, is very laughable. It's so because it is coming from a man who
served in a government that practically turned Aso Rock to the private
residence of Nigerian governors. Between a governor with the Lagos industrial
ideas and a governor with Aso Rock power play ideas, Akwa Ibom will fair much
better with the former.
Thirdly,
joining the Governor's Lodge conversation at the surface is very unlike the
firebrand Reuben Abati of yesteryears. One would have expected a journalist of
his calibre to dig deeper into the issue and unearth more stunning facts before
coming to the public. I am personally disappointed that Abati failed to
introduce new and deeper perspectives into the conversation; what used to be
his trademark back in the days. For instance, only few people are aware that a
very large expanse of land was acquired in Lagos by a past administration for
the same purpose of building a Lodge. However, the land has remained
undeveloped and as provided in the Land Use Act of Nigeria (2004), the Akwa
Ibom State Government is at the verge of loosing parts of the land to the Lagos
State Government. For avoidance of doubt, Section 6 subsection 5 of the Land
Use Act of Nigeria (2004) states;
“Where on the commencement of this Act the land is undeveloped, then
(a) one plot or portion of the land not exceeding half hectare in area shall
subject to subsection (6) below, continue to be held by the person in whom the
land was so vested as if the holder of the land was the holder of a statutory
right of occupancy granted by the Governor in respect of the plot or portion as
aforesaid under this Act; and
(b) all the rights formerly vested in the holder in respect of the excess of
the land shall in the commencement of this Act be extinguished and the excess
of the land shall be taken over by the Governor and administered as provided in
this Act.”
Our
once cerebral journalistic icon woefully failed to bring this and other relatively
unknown issues about the lodge to the reading public. He failed to present the
Akwa Ibom people with a more informed opinion and all the available options
considering what is at stake.
Reuben
Abati's hands are too filthy for him to point an accusing finger at Akwa Ibom;
a state that did not only midwife the Goodluck Jonathan administration, but
breastfed, nurtured and laboured for the administration till the end. Abati was
part of an administration that completely neglected Akwa Ibom after all the sacrifices
the state made, so he lacks the moral right to criticise the state. He must
remind himself of the golden rule that he who goes to equity must go with clean
hands. Abati must understand that it's no fault of ours that he is now living
the after 'the presidency' life, but if he's finding it difficult to cope with
the new realities, then there are two options open to him; to apply for a job
in Buhari's Presidency and hoping his "application is favourably
considered". Alternatively, he can go to Segun Adeniyi for counsel on how
to live the 'after the presidency' life. Akwa Ibom people have moved past the
Goodluck Jonathan locust years orchestrated by Reuben Abati and his gang of
mindless criminals. If anyone should be preaching holiness to us, it definitely
must not be a villain like Reuben Abati.
Udobiaedidiong@gmail.com
07034716158
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