Date Published: 08/31/09
Mr President's War Against My Family
By Hakeem Babalola
Why is Presi Oloye bend on arresting my family? And why did he leave me out? I am a family member of those he had listed to be arrested. Which kind partial be this? Mr. Presi oloye, you dey hear me? I prefer to be arrested to being a toady
When he was selected to rule Nigeria, Mr Presi Oloye vowed to respect the law of our land and that of freedom of expressions, thought, association and other exemption. That time the immunity from an obligation or duty he promised was pleasing to the ear. The cynic had a second thought at what had become a boring ritual in which subsequent Aso Rock tenants only promised and promised. Even the deaf rejoiced at what would become another empty and loud and confused talk.
His message was like the melodious song of a meadowlark. How I wish you have heard this North American yellow-breasted songbird which a former Nigerian president had brought from Yankee during one of his visits. You can listen to this angelica creature by making your way to a farm in Ota. By the time you listen to this songbird, your will have forgotten your sufferings - be it poverty or richness. And that is the irony of it all. Poverty or richness is a symptom of agony in a land full of honey and milk and wara.
Perhaps Presi Oloye can't keep his seven-point agenda due to the nature of his ever demanding people, especially my family of "Internet Warriors" who in their distinct method do not recognise lazy or un-progressive thoughts. They expect a leader to lead not rule; they demand for election not selection; they prefer equity and accountability to nepotism that pervades the corridor of power; they opt for sincerity than the usual rhetoric; they want a nation not kingdom or empire where one man can steal a horse while another must not even look at its halter.
Above all, it is my family's responsibility to inform the public the lie being told by those who had sworn to protect them. If this is a crime, then Presi Oloye should also include my name in the wanted list of Nigerians this government wants to arrest. I prefer arrest to being a toady. So, please arrest me too. After all, history will judge every one of us. No be so?
Meanwhile news filtered around that Presi Oloye has given a whooping sum of five millions dollars to certain apple polishers who often behave as if they have no self-respect. Their assignment, according to several reports, is to counter the anti-government on-line news by disseminating government approved "disinformation" to the public.
For me, the reckless way of spending our money to stop unfavourable reports is admission of guilt of non performance. I believe Presi Oloye does not need to buy efficiency. The best reaction from any right thinking administration would have been performance and nothing but performance. That five millions dollars being spent on crawlers should have been diverted to education or health care or electricity or water or road. We have been saying this particular thing since I was a toddler.
According to further reports, those that have been marked for arrest are Jackson Ude, Publisher/ Editor-In-Chief of pointblanknews.com, Sowore Omoyele, Publisher of Saharareporters.com, Okey Ndibe, a die-hard critic and columnist, Churchill Umoren, Editor, Pointblanknews.com, Oladimeji Abitogun, Managing Editor, Pointblanknews.com. Their offence? Because the government thinks they are too critical of this administration, hence they are labelled "enemy of the state". The list of these Nigerians are said to have been circulated to major airports in Nigeria. It should be recalled that Jonathan Elendu of Elendureports.com and Emeke Asiwe of Huhuonline.com were recently released by the Nigerian Government after spending almost three months in detention while on a visit to Nigeria from the United States.
If I were in Presi Oloye's shoe, I would listen to my "friends" as well as my "enemies", I would listen to my critics both sparing and unsparing; inferential and illogical reasoning but never sycophants whose main goal is to please influential people in order to gain a personal advantage. Ha, I would avoid these vultures that surround me, waiting for my corpse. These are the marauders I would declare war against and not genuine freedom fighters, or those brave Nigerian Internet Warriors who are doing their jobs as citizens by providing vital and accurate information to the public.
Methink Presi Oloye should be concerned with how to correct the bad situations in the country rather than waging war against my family who is yearning for a nation - without favour and without fear. In anyway only the prodigal daughter in my family will share the five million dollars to misinform the public. But I tell you this: the days of Ajegudu jera oni royin is numbered. If they ask una who talk am, tell them say na me talk am.
