Nduka Obaigbena: When a Man Loses Touch With Reality

Charlatans and hypocritical elements operating thesocio political landscape of Nigeria have long taken the people for jaundiced fools who are functionally illiterate and lack sensitive discernment. That is why at any given time or interval these morally depraved and sick minds amongst so many other gimmicks, seek to trump up their anti Abacha or third term credentials to pull a wool over our collective sights to prevent us from sticking to the latest realities on ground.

An anti Abacha credential doesn’t canonise or make an individual a saint if not the Gani Fawehinmi’s, Wole Soyinka’s and Femi Falana’s would have become Popes respectively, but empty barrels make the most irritating noise hence these arm chair so called crusaders. Does the good act of a man in the past, justify support for him when he decides to go the way of villainy? I scoff at bankrupt minds like Nduka Obaigbena and Bola Tinubu when despite their present day failures they seek to teleport into the anti Abacha past to gain some form of love and admiration from the people. Even Obasanjo was anti Abacha but he created a devil called third term.

Briefly, Bola Tinubu was elected after been voted for overwhelmingly by Nigerians who were mesmerized by his June 12 struggle credentials. After eight years, he left Lagos ten times worse than he met it and as a legacy left behind failed socio economic infrastructures and an army of criminals comprising touts, thugs and certified goons who are currently responsible for the insecurity in the state. His lackey, Joe Igbokwe once boasted during the climaxing battle between the AC and PDP that with an Internally Generated Revenue of 8.5 billion naira monthly accruing to the state government, the FG can go to blazes with its allocation. But critical healthy minds were not carried away by such war time rhetoric but instead wondered aloud why the state remained crippled despite such amount coming in monthly in addition to Federal subventions. It was a testimony to maladministration, irresponsibility and a confirmation of the fact an activist might not make a good administrator.

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Nduka Obaigbena is a man who has been blessed with resources and the goodwill to influence his environment positively. Despite the fact his Thisday Organization almost fell like a pack of cards during the 1995 violent upheavals attributed to a careless publication by a columnist, a power divine still held them up and Thisday came out bigger and stronger. Today he sits a top as one of the foremost publishers in the country. His outfit enjoys much readership amongst Nigerians round the globe though a good percentage of them are yet to see its (Thisday) current path of ignominy.

It is therefore so very sad that rather than use this platform to touch lives positively especially the majority of suffering masses in the country through more meaningful programs like poverty alleviation packages, graduate employment schemes, semi skilled labour enhancement portfolios, national orientation educating and creating truthful awareness on the ills bedeviling this country for which hundreds of millions remain unsure and ignorant, Thisday has rather chosen to indulge in irresponsible fashion jamborees, squander manias in the name of see through awards and most painfully, inviting already made billionaire artists into the country and further enriching them at the expense of the promising local artists and Nigerians in extension. Who told Nduka that his awards and parades will enjoy dignity and respect from internationals when everyone in his right senses knows the country he operates from is sick and begging for patriotic attention from its affluent citizens? On which basis then is he given awards? Is it as philanthropists, role models or rare achievers in a chosen field of endeavour? An award from a rich but corruptly poor country can never be recognized. Forbes, Times and even the Anyiam Osigwes run successful, recognized and reputable award platforms because they adhere to and operate transparent, principled and meaningful ideologies. They stand for something positive, rewarding sincerity and hard work while incorporating charity works dedicated to human right preservation as a core goal.

How many people in Nigeria know the publishers of The Vanguard or Punch? Not much, these are men who understand how the publishing business is done, they know that a publishers personal dispositions should not and never interfere with that of the fourth estate of the realm. The Guardian publisher is known because of his famous family background but he has never influenced the reportage of his outfit even when it was going to cost him his life. But Thisday is run like a personal blog out to promote one mans insatiable appetite for fame and wealth, he shamelessly prefers to be pictured with the Jay Z’s and Snoops of these world at his age. His outfit is used to fight personal battles like the current one with the Lagos state government. This shamelessness has affected everything about Thisday, their editorials and reports are currently compromised to favour and see no evil in the currently failed government of Umar Yar’adua.

Thisday can now be rated as mercenaries who do the yeo mans job for the highest bidder; it is a business concern out for the sole purpose of making profit not keeping governance in check. They have transformed into a full fledged department under the Federal Ministry of Information and Communication.

 

By Norris Benedict

fsixteens@googlemail.com

London