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| Vice President Oluyemi Osinbajo |
Sadly
many who are unschooled in the art of writing especially journalism have in the
name of social media marketing taken up the pen. Many who lack foresight have taken
up career as opticians only to masquerade themselves as optometrists. A man may
use dusting powder to disguise in order to attend the dance of elders but when
the rain comes down, the grayness from wisdom will not become invisible.
I
read your piece titled Ariyo-Dare
Atoye: Osinbajo, A Pawn in the Latest Complex Power Game and concluded
that it is impossible for you to be a Public Affairs Analyst as you quoted in
some of your equally inciting stories online.
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| Ariyo-Dare Atoye |
Let
me educate you… The duty of a Public Affairs Analyst is to provide the raw and
processed data to assist decision makers about where to put resources in order to
create business opportunities for the people. They are to work with leaders, economists
and social analysts in a number of social, financial, investment, securities and think
tank roles to provide socio-economic and political stable situations especially
in their community or country. Expectedly they can be quite busy during
election periods to provide data to the electorate on their options in electing
the right political figures.
You
wrote as one who desired to be taken seriously but your words lack candour, caution,
communication ethics and the depth of analytical skills adequate to agree that
you are indeed a public affairs analyst. I’m one. We are expected to write and
speak from a point of knowledge and experience with sense to sensitise and
sanitise the populace, not vitiate progressive development. I tried very hard
to accord some respect to your voice but the more I read, the more it dawned on
me that your personality lacks merit. You really should consider signing up for
“what being a public affairs analyst entails”, “how to write public journals”
or “how to make logical sense” so you can begin to write and speak as an analyst.
When
you use the appellation ‘Aristotle’, you must expect that people will hold you
to the highest standard especially when you crawl into the areas of ethics,
politics and government upon which Aristotle established the first
comprehensive system of Western Philosophy. Even among medieval Muslim
intellectuals, Aristotle was revered as “The First Teacher.”
Truth
is, if you are unsure of your identity and even your name – Ariyo-Dare Raphael
Atoye has become a jig-saw puzzle, one cannot but question what prompted the
audacious query of the prestige of a world class lawyer, a distinguished one
for that matter!
From 1979–1980, Osinbajo served as a corps member in Bendel State.
Suffice to say even at that level, when many like you redeploy under spurious
claims, he went to contribute service outside his comfort zone. By the age of
30, he was already an Adviser to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. He
was a Professor of Law by 40. Despite being the Attorney General for Lagos
State from 1999 to 2007, Osinbajo returned to the classroom to lecture
thereafter and rose to become a Partner at Simmons Cooper Partners. How many of
our leaders have been able to return to normalcy after such public roles. This
erudite lawyer was a member of the United Nations Operations in Somalia,
Justice Division II and a member of the United Nations Secretary General’s
Committee of Experts on Conduct and Discipline of UN, Peacekeeping Personnel
around the globe.
Before
Osinbajo’s name came to ring a bell nationally, he held roles internationally.
Politically he was a revered legal brain behind the construction of the APC
Manifesto. It was diligence and decency that saw him becoming the VP elect. He
earned it.
So
when you mindlessly use words like naivety (more rightly naïveté) which
means lack of experience, wisdom, or judgment, I begin to wonder if you even
understand the ABC of analysis not to talk of addressing yourself as or trying
to play the role of an analyst.
Your writing sounds like a disjointed essay. How can you in one
breath sound like you truly care, “The daunting question is, has he,
reasonably, learnt how to navigate the dangerous bend of power politics which
is trapped with deadly potholes? This road destroys if; you do not know how to
maneuver it with the right speed and sense…” And in another sound so definite
about looming disaster, “This assignment is deceptive and is laced with some
elements of conspiracy on all sides.” And while still on that wave length hurry
to assume that the VP lacks the political temerity to survive the whims and
caprices of those who may wish to turn this assignment in his comfort area into
a war zone. Even Nollywood manage series better.
Your writing would make better sense if you at least share why
you are positive that “He is presiding over a committee in which the remaining
two other members have some level of interests and involvements in the matters
under investigation.”
You talk about nasty days ahead? Perhaps DSS should be speaking
to you. You threw words “vociferous”, “divisive religious card”, “fall cabal” around, like a
child throwing tantrum, yet your piece lacks merit. It would have made some sense
if you at least researched well the pros and cons of some of your assertions
and assumptions.
I would not have voted for Trump if I was an American citizen
but in residing there, I contribute my quota to the safety and security of the
country.
Caution, is something you should employ when writing for public
consumption. The right to protest is a
perceived human right under a democratic government but sedition is not. Whatever your public support for GEJ was should
have ended with his loss at the polls. Writing the kinds of messages below credited
to you can be acted upon by those who do not realise that your tantrum is just
because your messiah is no longer the toast of our Galilee:
“I'm
requesting for an emergency meeting of young Nigerians on the State of the
Nation. The ship of our country has been hijacked by influence peddlers and a
few notorious cabals, holding our President hostage. It would be a disservice
to rely on the praetorian guards, the gerontocrats and the ultra-conservatives
to give us direction. We should be able to meet by Wednesday, hopefully we can
secure a venue, in Abuja and also interface with others nationwide. Note: some
believe Monday evening being a public holiday is better or Tuesday, let's
reflect. Final date tomorrow afternoon. But equally prepare yourself for Monday
evening. We must not wait for a single soul to die before we take action. We're
sitting on a keg of atomic gun powder. Aside this, a movement is also coming to
set agenda for 2019. Let's get involved. #FreeNigeriaCoalition”
You also wrote:
“Our
constitution did not provide for a Residential President. This ridiculous power
game must stop and we must prevail on the cabals to free the President and
allow him to seek a proper medical attention and a well deserved rest. If they
badly manage him and anything untoward happens to our President this time, we
must ensure all those involved are diligently prosecuted. The Yar'Adua saga
must never repeat it self again, when some persons trampled on our collective
sense without consequences.”
You said as a matter of certainty that “your” President is
indisposed; you must be a medical doctor or a native doctor! But it makes sense
to wait till you are called upon to examine Mr. President. When you quote Babachir
Lawal who is presently being probed and Bukola Saraki whose assent to the Presidency
of Senate is shrouded in conspiracy, I wonder who your sponsors are and who put
you up to such irresponsible story.
Many young people lament that they are not given the chance to
lead. They make reference to Murtala Mohammed becoming General Officer
Commanding a military division at 29. But they do not remember that the youths
then spent years at the feet of teachers and quietly learned instead of being
distracted by social media, iPhones and high-definition techs!
You
acknowledged that the “VP doubles as the most senior legal mind of the
administration” yet you question his motive for accepting what in your opinion
is “the headship of a needless committee in order not to be misconstrued” and
state equivocally that “there was no justifiable reason in accepting the membership
of the AGF on that panel.” It is laughable that you affirm strongly that solution
may be sort if “Senate decides to investigate the matter thoroughly through a
bipartisan committee.” When many believe that we should #SellSenateSaveSouls
#ScrapSenateSaveSouls as a result of all the drama series therefrom! You
watched the dino-dance-menia didn’t
you?
By the way, the image used with your article immediately lit up a bulb
in my head; I have come to associate it with those who for the love of GEJ
paint PYO outside of who he really is – a distinguished attorney, an excellent
professor, a pastor who has passion for souls, a Vice President who is
committed to the vision of real change and indeed a world class leader!
It is interesting that despite the fact that your use of the
word “pawn” is devoid of understanding especially within the scope of your
frame, one can let you see that indeed there is wisdom in selfless service even when
it makes others refer to you as “pawn” or “gbewudani” as my Yoruba folks will
call it.
In serving as unofficial “aide” to a Provincial Pastor, I had
the singular honour of being taken directly unscheduled into Pastor EA
Adeboye’s office; world leaders had to schedule appointment through their
trusted “aides”. When Prof. Ajibola was heading to the Hagues, he looked around
and took a trusted “aide”, find out who. When Tinubu was jetting out of the
country, he found a trusted “aide” in Fashola. Upon return from Congo where he
served with the United Nations Peacekeeping Force, Murtala was
appointed “aide” to the Administrator of the Western Region.
Pawn as a verb means to leave a possession with
someone in order
to borrow
money
from that person,
with the understanding
that if you do not pay
it back within the agreed
time,
the person
can keep your possession
or sell
it. Let me tell you something about Pawns…
Pawns are very important fighting units in the game of Chess.
While having limited mobility and being labeled as the least valuable piece, a
pawn has a large potential and, together with other pawns, defines the course
of the game. Pawns form the landscape of the battleground, and can be strong. Passed
pawns have no enemy pawns on the adjacent files. Naturally, passed pawns are
often a valuable asset, especially in the end game. Connected pawns are harder
to stop since they don’t need protection from other pieces and are quite
self-sufficient on the way to becoming queen.
So Pawns in the game of Chess are very interesting. They appear
as weak links in our army but are able to promote into the strongest.
Pawn only move in one direction (sharp shooters, trust worthy). It
is this limitation that makes it important to understand when to advance a pawn
to the next rank because there is no going back. The pawns in front of your
king when you are castled are very important to your defense. It is
almost always a bad idea to push these pawns. Be very wary of messing with this Pawn (pun intended).
Dr. Omolola Omoteso is a Public Affairs Analyst and Media
Consultant, she writes from her desk.
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