Rebranding Nigeria, Vanguard and Adelaja’s Tribulation
By Oladimeji Abitogun
The present poise by officials of the Nigerian administration to rebrand our beloved country in a positive light is a step in the right direction. And from what one has been able to gather so far, the very amiable and articulate Television journalist, Ms. Abike Dabiri has been given the oversight of reaching out to foreign media on understandable cooperation to make the goal a reality.
Ms. Dabiri is one savvy individual that should be able to pull off this project, but one has this strong foreboding that the conduct of some of our institutions and individuals in the country may clog whatever success could come as a result of the work of the committee.
The media, one must quickly point out, has no control over what image any country has. It is the national temperance, truth, transparent and incorruptible conduct of government and private officials, as well as adherence to constitutionality and the rule of law, are the usual determinants of the kind of image a nation projects. It is what we project, not what we want.
If everyone with stakes in the future greatness and development of Nigeria, would agree to do what is right, very little money or time would be necessary for pushing out the message. Our neighbors like Ghana, Benin and Liberia do not have to set aside huge budgetary votes for international image laundry, yet they are loved and they attract huge investments. We must look inwards, talk to ourselves and know what is wrong with us, in Nigeria, and our systemic dysfunctionality.
Moreover, the unguarded and loose talks of some of our leaders, like the Attorney- General and Minister of Justice can be inimical to what the committee hopes to achieve by reaching out to the international media.
The removal of the Attorney-General would almost immediately buy up a positive image for the nation. His recent reference and description of online media organizations as “low level ones” was very irresponsible, it was reckless and unpatriotic as well. That kind of mis-speak could only come from an economic saboteur, a fifth columnist in government.
How many Nigerian professionals and college graduates has the Minister accommodated, in terms of employment since coming into office? How many jobs can he create that would give him the boldness to disparage other people’s genuine creative initiatives like that?
So if elements like the Attorney-General can be stopped from unguarded talks and protecting corrupt individuals, the task of the committee would be easier.
Exercising the right judgment on expanding the productive base of the economy is always as important as the survival of the nation itself. When pointblanknews.com started it was simply to tell the story of Nigeria as a country and people with zero tolerance for corruption and fraud. But in the process of putting faces and identifying the individuals who commit the crimes, we have been called every existing negative name.
The decision we took and the recent surge and steady embrace of online publishing by newspaper organizations that have existed for close to one hundred and fifty years reinforces our belief that we were right. Some elements still play the ostrich in Nigeria; we need more online publications. The more the merrier.
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Vanguards Blackmail and 419 Tactics Against Pointblanknews.com
Still on the subject of proper positive branding for our country, Nigeria, what can the management and publisher of the Vanguard newspaper hope to possibly achieve by repeating the falsehood that Mr. Steve Ogwu-Chinuwa, the freelance investigative reporter is a 419er?
They also reported on Tuesday that he is an agent of Pointblanknews.com. Vanguard’s mission is to reinforce that falsehood, over and over, until in their wrong assumption, the public would begin to take that lie as the truth. Looks to me like a script from Adolf Hitler’s man, Joseph Goebbel. It is a shame for journalist to practice propaganda, elevated falsehood, instead of disseminating the truth.
By trying this line against pointblanknews.com, did these disgraceful elements at Vanguard think of the extended ramifications for the image of Nigerian journalists?
The only crime that we could be accused of is our principled ethical stand that we would not kow-tow with Mr. Samuel Pemu–Amuka to black out a news worthy development in the alleged involvement of his wife, Mrs. Oyindamola Amuka in beheading a yet nameless boy for silly rituals. That cannot constitute a criminal or professional breach.
Journalism is not a cult; it is not a cabal for furthering criminality. As a professional corps, we cannot report the ills of others and refuse to mention our own frailties.
And by the way, pointblanknews.com, has never categorically reported that Mrs. Amuka killed anyone, we only reported the fact of an allegation, so why all the threats, blackmail, and marking of territories by the hack-writers pretending to be reporters at Vanguard?
No one likes to behave like an “Omo alaileko”, that is a child not properly bred, by disrespecting or dishonoring an elderly man like Baba Amuka. But it seems that the old man does not get it, that he has repeatedly ordered his men to treat us without any modicum of honor and respect. So what is this talk of 419 and all worth not being peddled around? It is emanating from the empty assurance served on Aso Rock that we would be taken down, that will not happen, because the God of truth is the pillar of our support.
The question that Mrs. Amuka should answer, not to us, the matter is now beyond us, she should address the court, who collected four million naira bribe from her and her husband? Of course it was the police. What did she pay the police to do? Of course it was for the purpose of hiding the truth, possibly. But since everyone cannot be bought, and pocketed at the same time, they have to result to the present tactics of blackmailing, name-calling and mischaracterization. What a shame!
Pa Amuka and the people in his generation were given every good thing by Nigeria unfortunately; they have not always been very kind in reciprocating Nigeria’s love. Otherwise why would they want to make the whole world think that Nigerian journalists are dishonest professionals? This man is already facing the West of his life and he has the illusion that he would take Nigeria down with him. Another matter of shame!
The malicious and false standards that Mr. Amuka and his employees at the Vanguard have adopted since this issue of ritual killing began, amount to a huge disservice to the profession of journalism and the Nigerian nation.
Mr. Ogwu-Chinuwa, who said he witnessed the killing of the victim, has said that the Moslem clerics who said they were doing rituals for Mrs. Amuka said that he believed that she was conned into the crime. But that does not change the fact of an alleged murder. They, however have employed every trick to distract every one’s focus from the fact of murder.
Amuka enjoys protection from the police and a section of the media, but that also does not change what may be the truth, that there could have been murder.
We do no know only the court would reveal if the crime was actually committed.
All we know is that it is sad that one man would be conducting himself as if an entire nation is his personal possession.
It is laughable and childish for an elder like Baba Amuka to be bragging that we must be picked up anytime we are in Nigeria. The last time we checked, Amuka was not Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police.
This type of bravado makes one to wonder whether Amuka is a newsman or a security goon.
His empty boasts makes me think he actually wants to hire a contract killer, which he should not be ambiguous about. Amuka’s attitude, his belief that truthful journalist can be arbitrarily put to jail the kind of behavior that led to the snapping of Akin Orimolade of National Life newspaper from the street of Abuja.
People like Amuka wrongly advise government to kidnap and make defenseless journalists disappear. And when government has not preferred charges against him already, stories are all over town that “he is a 419, he wrote to extort money” and all kinds of stupid things. And these lies are often peddled by journalists in Nigeria. They are denigrating us cheapening and excusing abuses against journalists. Already every wrongful thing is being said about Akin Orimolade. This kind of travesty would only happen just because people are allowing it to happen to pointblanknews.com.
Now it is difficult to practice time journalism in Nigeria, without somebody wanting to lie that “ah it is for the purpose of extortion” they do that at the Vanguard, because they have always pretended to be part of the mainstream media, but obviously, they are part of the Nigerian drive-bye media. And when Abike Dabiri wants to work honestly for the branding committee, she must avoid such idiots.
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Pastor Sunday Adelaja’s Tribulation and Nigeria’s Image
Most people must have heard about the extremely successful christian ministry of Pastor Sunday Adelaja in Ukraine Commonwealth of Independence Soviet States.
In his own words, Pastor Adelaja went to study in the defunct Union of Soviet Socialist Republics U.S.S.R and was “captured” by Jesus Christ for his destined purpose of preaching the Good news. This was in the late 80s. Adelaja took the word to a Godless, atheist place.
Adelaja said that he was always the butt of ridicule and cruel jokes from the extreme racial bigots in Kiev, where he started.
His target of the elites and urbane led to initial failure, until in his word the Holy Spirit told him to take the message to “real people”
And his ministry prospered at the height of his fame, he was pasturing a flock of twenty-five thousand people that is a tremendous fit even in an open society like Western Europe and the United States.
When Adelaja started, he was greeted with racial skepticism. Eastern Europe, especially Russia and Ukraine is a xenophobic place. They do not hide their disdain for the black person and there have been occasions when there were mysterious fires in which black international student got burnt.
The only time they show kindness towards Africans is when they bring practical ideologies to divide, deceive and dupe us. They would sell us deadly weapons to kill ourselves on the continent. They are extremely hateful.
So it is not a matter of surprise that Sunday Adelaja is being indicted at this point in time, the details of the investigation against him are still sketchy but what one has heard now is that some jealous and vicious white native christians may have set Adelaja up.
Where local indigenous churches had failed, Adelaja succeeded. He was one of Nigeria’s reorganisable international figures. When I first came to the U.S, I met a certain clergyman, Pastor Allen Parker of Cornerstone Family Church, Pittsburg, Kansas who told me that he has personally met with Adelaja in Poland and that because of him, he (Parker) was always comfortable being around Nigerians. This is the shinning star that they now want to take down.
Even if Adelaja did something unlawful, it must be a mistake of the heart, a gamine error; it may not be with the intent to commit fraud as his adversaries would want the world to believe. His creative christianity has therefore changed the status quo in Eastern Europe.
Pastor Cal Lawanson of Wisdom Assembly, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Kansas, said during the week that what Adelaja needs would be prayers and restoration. I completely agree. Nobody should gloat. If Adelaja committed a crime, I believe, he would not allow for the investigation that led to his indictment.
There should be an unbiased inquiry as to the possible involvement of the remnants of the defunct KGB in orchestrating the indictment of Pastor Sunday Adelaja. After all they were never happy with his involvement and cooperation with the underground church to bring about the fall of communism.
Too much, so often, the international community thinks that successful Nigerians are crooks. This is wrong.
