What will we not hear in these perilous times? Absolutely nothing. They are now feigning to be reformists. Yes, they are surely reformists like never before.
Uncanny reformists they are. You believe them, you believe anything. Worst still, to your own peril. We wished we never came across this brand of reformists. Our lives would have been better reformed. Sadly, we did.
Lai Mohammed is the face of our own reformists. He cannot be easily exhausted. Give it to him, you cannot simply wear him out. Perhaps, that is the reason he remains “relevant” in government.
He holds sway as Minister of Information and Culture. You cannot talk too much about him. He keeps on popping up now and then. Never say die, he is not tired either. He will always have something in stock. He is never in want of what to tell us. It is a strange delight listening to him at all.
He has capacity for the uncommon. He takes pride in stirring the hornet’s nest, almost always for the wrong reason. Why he delights in doing that? That is best known to his open conscience.
He is forever on board. Last week, he came calling again. It was as if, fed up with his job, he was going to give himself up until he applied caution. The job was becoming daunting and discouraging for him.
From the blues, a relief came. The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had assembled its government information managers. So, they gathered promptly in Lagos. Mohammed was convinced that was the best space to let out his frustrations:
“Perhaps, the most daunting task anyone can take on in this age and time is that of information and communication management.”
Trust the real Lai in him. That was not exactly where he was going. He aimed further than that: “It is even more daunting when you are engaged in information and communication management for a reformist government like ours.” Really?
Ours are reformists you dare not trust. We are indeed feeling the impacts of a reformist government. They are all over us. They are overwhelming. We are struggling to come to reasonable terms with these unbearable impacts.
Lai did not perceive it in that light. He has a queer way of doing things differently. And this couldn’t have been an exception. He sincerely thought we were ingrates; impossible to please. He tried hard to explain himself in his peculiar manner: “As you all know, ‘change’ is the mantra of our party, the APC, and change, as we all know, does not come easy.”
It was not lost on him to apportion blame. That is the tradition. And Lai would not carelessly throw away such a golden opportunity. It’s rare for him to do that. He put the blame at the doorstep of digital technology.
He wished Twitter never happened: “Twitter is the platform of choice for separatist campaigners, especially those of them residing outside the country.”
His allegation is laughable. A kettle calling a pot black: “They use it to issue directives to their followers in Nigeria to attack our security forces as well as to burn police stations and INEC offices.”
The same way the APC in opposition used to issue directives to its followers. And it got what it wanted. The Twitter ban is haunting and hurting him. His honest confession is quite revealing. He could not hold it back any longer.
You would be tempted to pity him: “It was a tough decision to take, considering that many of our youths also use the platform (Twitter) for business. Such is the challenge posed by the social media.”
Lai used every platform, traditional and social media, to throw stones then. It never occurred to him there could be a turn of events. He never envisaged the same arsenal could be unleashed on him.
See how warped these cruel Nigerian politicians reason. That is why these “reformist” should not to be believed or trusted. They are eternally evil.
TALK BACK
Brilliant mind
You are a brilliant mind your write-up is apt! God bless your analytical mind. – 08036080813
Water bill obnoxious
Kudos, Mr. Adeoti, for your piece on the obnoxious Water Resources Bill. A certain Yusuf known for his silly outbursts said opponents to the bill are talking nonsense, that their views are nonsensical.
Please, the Yoruba Nation should call MURIC to order. Thanks, – Ekanem, 08028549854
Rivers from desert
Nigeria, where rivers flow from the desert and they said the oil in the Niger Delta flows from the North. Thanks. – 08066602552
Sahara dust
Read your piece, “Who’s Afraid of Northern Lawyers?” Truly, nobody should be.
Was it not in 2008 that Prof. Maurice Iwu of INEC then was invited and was disinvited by the same Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)? Did heaven fall? Were there no Igbo, Eastern or Southern lawyers?
They can kick the Sahara dust, if they like. I think the beat should go on, bros.
– Eze Michael, 08035375409
Pat on the back
Hello, Femi Adeoti. God be with you and your family. I am expressing my best wishes to you based on your teachings and write-ups in The Sun. I give you a pat on the back with respect to that.
Thanks; take care.
– Goodluck, 07032425620
Patriotic, beautiful
Sir, your article at page 20, of Daily Sun of Thursday, July 9, 2020, was patriotically beautiful.
– 08066518754
God bless you
Thanks for your article, “Arise, Let’s Destroy These Monsters.” DSTV in particular has been on our neck. Some stations were removed from the bouquet I paid for without any notice, especially EPL, recently. We need to unite and call off their shenanigans.
God bless you. – 08036000456
Hate speech
The hate speech order and Decree 4 and Buhari, what is there to differentiate? And Lai (Mohammed) is a lawyer saying; “we remain unperturbed.” In a democratic government!
Would the North ever tolerate any President of southern decent without qualms appointing only southerners to every important office? If they fail to impeach that President, then… – 07035390254
Speak out
Thanks, Femi Adeoti. Speak out now before unity is bastardised. Warn Jagaba of Borgu.
– 08066602552