A REJOINDER TO THISDAY ARTICLE TITLED “THEIR SON, OUR PRESIDENT” by OLUSEGUN ADENIYI

I must begin with a confession. I am not a fan of Olusegun Adeniyi. I am a fan of Simon Kolawole, his fellow Editor at Thisday newspaper. Simon Kolawole’s analyses, candour, objectivity and humble, self-effacing style is more my thing.

I am yet to appreciate Olusegun Adeniyi’s style of writing. He enjoys telling his readers how Aliko Dangote phoned him; how former President Olusegun Obasanjo, having read his latest book, has invited him for a meeting to discuss his book; how Atedo Peterside sent him a text. I always wonder: Does Segun Adeniyi actually believe that the influence and “power” he wields by virtue of his employment and role as Chairman of the Editorial Board of Thisday are a true indication of his social and political clout?

I used to think the name-dropping would stop after he was made the Special Adviser on Media by late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua. But, since returning to his column in Thisday, his style remains the same. In fact, if anything, having been close to the Presidency, he now has more names to drop. Even the title of his latest book confirms this. The book has the rather audacious and pompous title of “Power, Politics and Death: A FRONT-ROW ACCOUNT OF NIGERIA UNDER THE LATE PRESIDENT YAR’ADUA”. Pray, what will Dr. Abba Ruma, Dr. Tanimu Yakubu or even Mrs. Turai Umaru Musa Yar’adua call their own memoirs when/if they write them? SMH! (For the non-Facebookers and Twitterers, SMH means “Shaking My Head”).

The readers of Thisday were treated to another classic Segun Adeniyi serving on Thursday, 19^th January, 2012. His piece was titled, “Their Son, Our President”. I did not read it initially. A friend drew my attention to the article. As I read it, but for the characteristic name-dropping and the disclosure of the otherwise private correspondence between him and Atedo Peterside, I actually thought I was reading something written by Femi Fani-Kayode. The language was irreverent, impolite, rude and insulting to say the least. The bitterness was obvious. His tone was condescending. He was angry. Segun did not hide his eagerness to throw all professional restraints to the wind by using his privileged position on the Thisday Editorial Board to get his pound of flesh from the highly respected Atedo Peterside, whom I consider a national icon in terms of his statesmanship, candour, integrity, intelligence and entrepreneurial accomplishments. Few Nigerians today command the respect which Atedo Peterside has rightly earned. What a shame that Segun Adeniyi could not pass across his message (?) without going the very low road of denigrating Mr. Peterside and questioning his motivation.  Does the fact that Atedo Peterside is an Ijaw man and a supporter of President Goodluck Jonathan make him a tribalist or ethnic champion?! This is a grave injustice to the person of this great Nigerian whose personal and business relationships over his lifetime, especially from his days as a school-boy in King’s College, Lagos, till date bear testimony to the fact that he truly is a NON-TRIBAL Nigerian (as distinct from a “de-tribalised”, with apologies to Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi whom I first heard use that term). What a shame!

But what was really intriguing for me was when I now read this in Segun’s article:

“Unfortunately, anybody who has been following the public intervention of the otherwise respected Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor (also from Niger Delta) cannot but also notice such unnecessarily provocative and clearly insensitive “it-is-our-turn” slant in his utterances.”

The CAN President? Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor? “Otherwise respected”?! When did the CAN President lose his respect? Or maybe I should rephrase the question: When did Olusegun Adeniyi lose his respect for the CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor? How could someone who just got to the other side of 40 so flippantly and glibly dishonor a man of God, especially since, from past disclosures from his column, he is a Christian and worships at the Redeemed Christian Church of God where Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor frequently ministers at the monthly Holy Ghost Night? Even if Pastor Oritsejafor were not the Leader of the Christian Community in Nigeria, is his age and position as a spiritual leader not enough for Segun to accord him some respect? Who is “pushing” Segun? What has happened to Segun? As a Christian, I know that Spiritual Authority is not taken lightly by Believers. Even when Moses erred by marrying a Midianite woman, a non-Jew, as a second wife, God placed leprosy on his sister, Miriam, who merely complained about it. Aaron, his brother, who equally grumbled against Moses, was spared the leprosy only because God Himself honours the men He has anointed for ministry. Aaron was the High Priest. I am aghast that Segun sees no reason to respect Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor!

Even Segun’s accusation that Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor had taken up a tribal chorus of “it-is-our-turn” is false. The “public intervention” of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor which Segun alleges has taken an “unnecessarily provocative and clearly insensitive slant” has essentially been about two main issues since May, 2011: Islamic Banking and Boko Haram. How do the well-reported statements by Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor on these issues reflect “it-is-our-turn” slant? How have his statements on those issues been “provocative” or “insensitive”? Who is Segun Adeniyi trying so hard to impress?

After insulting Atedo Peterside, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, Chief Edwin Clark and several other Niger Deltans whom he mentioned by name, Segun continues his write-up with this threat to President Goodluck Jonathan:

“Drafting military troops to Lagos when there was no violence in all the protests in the state was bad judgment [Segun was obviously unaware that there were armed robberies along Lekki-Epe Expressway and on Third Mainland Bridge during the protest period]. Contemporary history ought to teach that nobody tries that sort of nonsense with Yoruba people [as far as Segun knows, Lagos residents are all apparently “Yoruba people”!] and get away with it. I MAKE BOLD TO SAY THAT IT IS THE HEIGHT OF NEEDLESS PROVOCATION FOR WHICH THERE WILL BE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES.” [Capital letters for emphasis mine].

What has come over Segun Adeniyi? Is he now the Spokesman for the militant faction of the Odua’s People’s Congress?

Segun ends his article with this warning in Yoruba without translating: “Oba t’o je ti ilu toro, oruko re ko ni pare. Oba t’oje ti ilu tuka, oruko re na ko ni pare”.

He closed the piece with this paragraph: “I am sure the Yoruba wife of Mr. Peterside can always do the translation for the President and his Ijaw handlers”.

After living in Lagos since 1974 when I was just seven years old, I understand Yoruba quite well. But to be certain I got the correct meaning of the proverb, I asked my wife, who is Urhobo but was born and raised in Lagos, to help me translate it. This is the literal meaning: “The king who allows peace to reign in his town during his tenure would not have his name come to an end. And the king who allows things to go wrong in the town during his tenure would also not have his name come to an end”.

Hmmmm…..The Publisher of Thisday, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, who ironically is a Niger Deltan himself, should be seriously worried about the editorial integrity of his newspaper with Olusegun Adeniyi at its helm.

By the way, I am Esan not Ijaw. And I do not speak for Mr. Atedo Peterside or Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor. I am just a concerned avid Thisday reader and a Nigerian.