It will be very disrespectful for me to lash out canal words
against the person and office of Dr Reuben Abati but it will be a grave
suicide for my generation and future offspring if I keep mute.
Reading through the revealing, interesting and well over publicized
article of the senior special adviser and one time senior advocate of
the masses, I was stunned.
Truly, Abati was right. Our current trends of activists are nothing but
yesterday’s men. Some who have contributed to the downfall of our nation
while in power. Some have been the architect of our present
predicament. After all, some of these individuals danced and blew the
trumpet for Jonathan’s election. Some have questionable performance in
office on fund diversification, fulfilling personal interest and above
all causing pains to thousands of Nigerians. They truly deserve to be
questioned and even give account of how they discharged their duties
while in office.
However, I expected Dr. Reuben to be very familiar with the bible,
having been brought up from a Christian background. I need him to tell
Nigerians which is better, a repentant sin or a backslidden one. Lets
believe for sake of clarification, that these yesterday’s men have done
evil in the past, lets believe they have contributed to this nations
downfall, lets believe they have caused so many pains to Nigerians but
just like the biblical Paul who was a great antagonist of Jesus Christ
but later turned out to be the best disciple who even saw the great
revelation.
This makes me wonder who Dr Abati really is. Is he the yesterday’s men
who will still stand up for the citizens? Or the today’s man who have so
much enjoyed the company of the house of the Gentiles and backslide in
the fight for the Jews?
In my university days, I remember how I save up my weekly allowance to
buy the guardian newspapers just to read the sensational write up of the
almighty Reuben Abati. I could have sworn he has no price, I could have
laid down my life that this man can never diss Nigerians. He seems to
understand the masses so much; he understands the deception of every
government. Well articulated facts, well structured criticism without
fear of who is hurt or not.
I could still remember in one of his articles ‘Hurry up Jonathan’ where
he described the president performance as ‘…Hit the ground dancing’
rather than running. He even went further to ask the president
‘…when will the president start working? He should read the mood of the
Nigerians people more carefully, the ordinary people, I mean. They are
impatient’.
Then Reuben could read the common man’s mood, he knew what an average
Nigerian go through every day to survive, why wouldn’t he? For a man
that has two wives and children to cater for with his mirage salary, he
was an ordinary Nigerian. But then he looked contented and very hopeful
that our country will soon have its Nkuruma, Lincoln among others.
Yes I remember in a New Year article in 2005, Abati wrote something on
the administration of the then president olusegun obasanjo where he
opined that the government claim to be planning for the future
‘…President Olusegun Obasanjo and his aides kept telling the people that
they mean well, and that the fruits of their efforts belong to the
future, Nigerians should not accept such excuses in 2005. We want to
start seeing the concrete changes that the president promised the
electorate’.
Disappoint enough Dr. Reuben is now the advocate of a presidential agenda that would materialized in the future.
Just like Reuben I was raised from a Christian background but with the
right bible, a bible that tells me that every sinner who has confessed
his or her sin before the lord and join the fold to preach the gospel
shall gain eternal life, a bible that says woe is it for a believer who
backslide in faith and join immorality (today’s men) for hell is their
eternal place.
I would have expected Dr Reuben to consider the teeming youths who
looked up to him as mentor and role model before accepting the role of a
devil’s advocate. He should have considered the stress and pain he put
in, to build an international name for himself before throwing it down
in the mud. Above all he should have consider the future of his children
and how they would view their father when they grow up as either a man
who stood by his country or one who betrayed his people for 30 pieces of
silver.
Indeed posterity will judge us all; in fact after this life we all are
answerable to a supreme being who neither accepts a billion dollar or
private jet as gifts. As Reuben has said before
“… There is one resolution that never fails, and that is however one to
respect and obey the eternal laws of nature; every input into nature
brings a similar reaction in equal measure. What a man sows, he reaps’
Adekoya Boladale is a political scientist and wrote via adekoyaboladale@gmail.com
DailyPost
Ever
since the road traffic law was passed by the governor, Opeifa had
bluntly told Lagosians that no one could purchase the 200cc machine
without first getting approval from his office, saying that anyone who
purchased the machine without seeking approval did so at his own risk.
Some individuals and corporate bodies that purchased the 200cc
motorcycles wrote to Opeifa seeking approval but he never granted the
approval because they did not seek approval first before buying the
motorcycles.
