When friends turn on one another, a deft look, or even a cursory one for that matter, invariably reveals an inescapable truth. The truth thus uncovered has a knack of adorning different colours, depending on the perspective of the peruser; but no matter the twists and turns visited upon it, the truth remains sacrosanct. What springs to mind is the tale of the 'open letter' season gifted to Nigerians by Obasanjo and his erstwhile political 'son', with Iyabo Obasanjo and Edwin Clarke, among others, entering the fray. The flurry of 'open letters' in the past few weeks is the stuff of black comedy and has attained a level of sonorousness that the instigator couldn't ever have predicted.
As to be reasonably expected, especially in a politically, ethnically, religiously and socially fractured nation, opinions wildly vary, some bordering on the absolutely nonsensical. This writer has no, and has never exhibited any, affection for any of the actors in this black comedy, but from where I'm standing I can assert without equivocation that Nigeria is now even in deeper trouble than I had previously imagined. Political intrigues are no concern of mine, but when such intrigues are impacting hugely and negatively on my country and people, then my voice I will raise and my fists I will clench.
I do not wish to refer to the contents of those idiotic open letters as such, but one point needs raising. Feuds are part and parcel of life, not least in the political sphere. The nature of the feud is the most important; if feuds are obdurately personal then they do our country no good. Isn't it depressing that in these days of economic and social hardships our politics should be reduced to an amateurish ping-pong of accusations and insults? No matter how low the esteem I hold Obasanjo in, isn't he entitled to voice his concerns about the issues he raised (even if he is as guilty, if not more so, of many of the charges he laid at Jonathan's doorstep)? Has the issue of the missing NNPC's $50bn (revised down to $12bn, now down to $10.8bn! Can you imagine the way our public finances are being handled?) been definitively resolved? Why has Jonathan tried to force Sanusi to vacate his position as CBN governor instead of hunting down the missing funds, and bringing the pilferers to book? Why trying to kill the messenger and ignore the message? What has come out of Oduah's corrupt purchase of the two BMW bullet-proof cars? What about the Pension Funds scandal?
Yes, there was massive corruption in Obasanjo's lamentable time in office, but even those implacably sympathetic to Jonathan's tenuous claim to be heading a better government than Obasanjo's would attest to the fact that corruption has now reached a level unseen and unheard of in the history of an independent Nigeria. Corruption is now a far worse enemy to our social cohesion and economic advancement than terrorism could ever be. The litany of recent cases of economic mismanagement and downright personal aggrandizement is a case in point. The culprits have been shielded and protected from justice. The pension thieves have got away with their stolen largesse while pensioners wallow in abject poverty and hopelessness. It's never been this bad, and it's going to get even worse under this pathetic Jonathan.
To further compound this most unsavoury of plots, the notoriously senile geriatric Edwin Clarke entered the fray, purportedly fighting the corner of Jonathan and the Ijaw 'nation'. When did we start having a nation within a nation? This dimwit and snippet of a man accused Obasanjo of divisiveness, and he's banging on about the 'Ijaw' nation! What could be more divisive than promoting the notion of a nation within a nation? Why can't people like this just rot away and let Nigeria have a chance to fulfill its potential? Why must every effort at making this country a success be broken down into ethnic and religious considerations each and every time by petty-minded people like him who partook in driving Nigeria into this perilous state?
Now, Iyabo thought she had the perfect opportunity to barrack her father in public. What a muppet! She did more to bring scorn upon herself than she intended bringing upon her father. Without her surname could she ever have had such an easy ride becoming a Senator? Why didn't she change her surname and test herself in the public domain? She even had the uncouthness to slag Nigerians off. Who gives a rat's arse if she never returns to Nigeria? She thought washing her dirty linen in public would do her a world of good. How ignorant!
Now that the tide of open letters has abated somewhat, isn't it refreshing to see the fabric of fake unity in the PDP being shredded to pieces? Verbal bullets crisscrossing the political landscape at blistering rates and most casualties are a result of blue on blue. When sanity is about to descend, insanity reigns. May the tide of blue on blue continue to sanitize our putrid political ambience.
As to be reasonably expected, especially in a politically, ethnically, religiously and socially fractured nation, opinions wildly vary, some bordering on the absolutely nonsensical. This writer has no, and has never exhibited any, affection for any of the actors in this black comedy, but from where I'm standing I can assert without equivocation that Nigeria is now even in deeper trouble than I had previously imagined. Political intrigues are no concern of mine, but when such intrigues are impacting hugely and negatively on my country and people, then my voice I will raise and my fists I will clench.
I do not wish to refer to the contents of those idiotic open letters as such, but one point needs raising. Feuds are part and parcel of life, not least in the political sphere. The nature of the feud is the most important; if feuds are obdurately personal then they do our country no good. Isn't it depressing that in these days of economic and social hardships our politics should be reduced to an amateurish ping-pong of accusations and insults? No matter how low the esteem I hold Obasanjo in, isn't he entitled to voice his concerns about the issues he raised (even if he is as guilty, if not more so, of many of the charges he laid at Jonathan's doorstep)? Has the issue of the missing NNPC's $50bn (revised down to $12bn, now down to $10.8bn! Can you imagine the way our public finances are being handled?) been definitively resolved? Why has Jonathan tried to force Sanusi to vacate his position as CBN governor instead of hunting down the missing funds, and bringing the pilferers to book? Why trying to kill the messenger and ignore the message? What has come out of Oduah's corrupt purchase of the two BMW bullet-proof cars? What about the Pension Funds scandal?
Yes, there was massive corruption in Obasanjo's lamentable time in office, but even those implacably sympathetic to Jonathan's tenuous claim to be heading a better government than Obasanjo's would attest to the fact that corruption has now reached a level unseen and unheard of in the history of an independent Nigeria. Corruption is now a far worse enemy to our social cohesion and economic advancement than terrorism could ever be. The litany of recent cases of economic mismanagement and downright personal aggrandizement is a case in point. The culprits have been shielded and protected from justice. The pension thieves have got away with their stolen largesse while pensioners wallow in abject poverty and hopelessness. It's never been this bad, and it's going to get even worse under this pathetic Jonathan.
To further compound this most unsavoury of plots, the notoriously senile geriatric Edwin Clarke entered the fray, purportedly fighting the corner of Jonathan and the Ijaw 'nation'. When did we start having a nation within a nation? This dimwit and snippet of a man accused Obasanjo of divisiveness, and he's banging on about the 'Ijaw' nation! What could be more divisive than promoting the notion of a nation within a nation? Why can't people like this just rot away and let Nigeria have a chance to fulfill its potential? Why must every effort at making this country a success be broken down into ethnic and religious considerations each and every time by petty-minded people like him who partook in driving Nigeria into this perilous state?
Now, Iyabo thought she had the perfect opportunity to barrack her father in public. What a muppet! She did more to bring scorn upon herself than she intended bringing upon her father. Without her surname could she ever have had such an easy ride becoming a Senator? Why didn't she change her surname and test herself in the public domain? She even had the uncouthness to slag Nigerians off. Who gives a rat's arse if she never returns to Nigeria? She thought washing her dirty linen in public would do her a world of good. How ignorant!
Now that the tide of open letters has abated somewhat, isn't it refreshing to see the fabric of fake unity in the PDP being shredded to pieces? Verbal bullets crisscrossing the political landscape at blistering rates and most casualties are a result of blue on blue. When sanity is about to descend, insanity reigns. May the tide of blue on blue continue to sanitize our putrid political ambience.
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