By Denrele Animasaun

The strongest of all warriors are these two – Time and Patience.” —Leo Tolstoy

It is good to talk and also, talk can often be cheap. So what can we do to ensure that words are transmuted into action? I mentioned in the last couple of weeks that Nigerians have to have a conversation about tribalism in particular, the hostilities between tribes and long held views that affects the way we see each other and how it stops us from moving forward as one people. In all together forward on April 12, 2015, I made mention of the South South, East and North divide and in particular, what the Oba of Lagos said, as well as Rochas Okorocha to the gathering of Igbo heads in Owerri.

I do believe as Nigerians, we need to have that conversation about why  we don’t get along and why we continue to rehash old grounds. I was expecting some reactions and that is exactly what I got. Permit me to share one of numerous reactions with you. This is from Erwin:

“It seems you agree with all the rubbish Rochas Okorocha said. What he should tell you is what he has done to improve Imo State. It is because of useless governors like him that Igbo people migrate out of the East to other unfriendly parts of Nigeria. His rule has been about one controversy or another. And his fight against Peter Obi for political influence even saw him fighting over seating positions at an event. His rascality has done much to damage South East and South South regional and economic cooperation. He made a public show over giving a toy computer to students instead of real computers.

The South East doesn’t need people like Okorocha and certainly doesn’t need the APC. We don’t need to produce the President of the country or the Senate to advance. People who still think like that don’t belong to a modern society”.

I replied:

Dear Erwin,

Thank you for your email. Your open gambit is very much combative, never the less, I take it that you are passionate about the subject matter but you cannot better an argument this way. I did not say that I agree with Okorocha, but what I said is that there is need for a conversation. That is the conversation we are having now. Actually, I wrote about the melee he had with Obi, on who is the senior and who sits where at an event and who should sit where. What I also said, that people should not follow their leaders slavishly and people have the right to vote for whoever they want.

It is a shame you cherry- pick on one aspect you disagreed with, albeit inaccurately, so you can better your conviction. This is not a fight, this is about having a dialogue so that we can bury the hatchet and our children’s generation do not get drawn into this push and pull debacle.  I disagree with you when you say that Igbo have to migrate out of the East to other unfriendly parts of the country. You cannot emigrate in a country where you are a citizen. Nigeria is for all Nigerians and the last time I looked, Igbo are all over. We have got to stop this mind-set; that we belong to a place and then make ourselves foreigners in another place.   You have your opinion and I have mine and you do not have to agree with me. Thank you for writing to me.

Kind Regards,

Denrele Animasaun

Erwin’s response:

“Well, you started off your article doffing your hat to Mr. Okorocha. And several parts of that article sounds like you agree with his statements. I did not cherry-pick. If I sounded combative towards you, I apologize. You are well within your rights to support APC. But I contend that not supporting or voting for APC doesn’t make anyone “tribally partisan”. Buhari is better than Jonathan in terms of his attitude towards corruption, but I don’t think he is a suitable democratic president of a religiously plural country. He has made divisive statements before.

And while the conversation should be continued, Okorocha is the wrong person to lead it. He had corruption cases to answer. And migration also applies within country. We hear of Chinese migrants within China, migrating from the rural parts of China to the urban parts. You misinterpreted my statement. Many other parts that Igbo people migrate to in Nigeria ARE unfriendly. That is a fact.

Thanks for your reply. And I do enjoy your articles.

Like I said, it is good to talk.

Spin doctors and the organ grinders

The country suddenly went quiet immediately after the results of the elections, the spin doctors were nowhere to be found and we sought them here and everywhere and all went aground. Well, until now. The  dust have settled and the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Nigeria’s President, Goodluck Jonathan, Abati is out to defend  the allegations that the  big honcho and his office spent 2 trillion Naira on the 2015 general elections.

Holding court  with  journalists, he  described the alleged two trillion Naira spent running the last election and that a Committee of Five had been set up by the President to conduct an audit of how the funds were disbursed by party members and state officials as “mischievous, false and embarrassing”.

He would say that, won’t he? He is paid to do exactly that. But the fact is, do the nation believe him? Try as he may deny that the President had not set up any committee, nor that the Presidency (true be told, who exactly is the presidency?) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) used state funds, or spent two trillion Naira during the campaigns. So what is he really saying that the president and his wise men used the said amount or they did not? As far as the court crier is concerned, it is spurious to suggest that the annual federal budget of four Trillion Naira, was spent on electioneering alone. Methinks the man protests too much.

So he argued that: “With FAAC having to do everything possible every month to ensure disbursements and with the Federal Government heavily committed to the war against terror in the North East, where is the alleged two trillion Naira from the Federal purse?  So has the war on terror been a success?

And he said further: “President Jonathan and the People’s Democratic Party conducted the 2015 elections in strict accordance with the rule of law. The suggestion of any unlawful conduct cannot be sustained under any circumstances” somehow, this Pinocchio’s nose is getting longer by the spin and it is difficult to believe what this man drivel and eventually the truth will out.