“Truth has a resonance to it that fills the cracks where falsehoods lie.” —Rick DeStefanis
By Cosmas Omegoh
Former Minster of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, recently added to the avalanche of anomie becoming a part of the country.
Fani-Kayode popularly called FFK had hauled a bomb into the political space. And what followed was convulsion and revulsion.
Fani-Kayode, the spokesman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, rattled the nation with his twitter message, which some people now call a shot that went wild.
It was one of those FFK’s characteristic outbursts. He launched a blistering accusation against the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, suggesting that Atiku was planning a coup d’état with some unnamed army generals at an undisclosed location. Their alleged action, he further suggested, was to disrupt the forthcoming elections and destabilise the country.
Here is Fani-Kayode’s tweet: “Is this meeting, part of the wider agenda to disrupt the elections, destabilise the country, set us on fire, incite chaos and violence, provoke a coup d’etat and establish a new and unconstitutional order in our beloved country under the auspices of an ING?”
Having gone viral, the Fani-Kayode tweet began to provoke reactions from various quarters: the Directorate of State Service (DSS), army, the police, among others.
The Waziri Adamawa – the man at the centre of the accusation – startled, expressed strong angst at FFK’s outburst. He knows what goes for treason and the same with his party, the PDP. No one was surprised, therefore, when they instantly called for Fani-Kayode’s arrest.
Later, a commentator had to describe the Fani-Kayode’s chase as “big and bogus, wild and weird.”
Some persons added that Fani-Kayode’s action buttressed the growing belief that Nigeria and Nigerians are in unusual times, with anomie at sphere, spread out like frost in unbelievable plenitude.
The Nigerian Army through its Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Jimmy Akpor, described Fani-Kayode’s alleged secret meeting with Atiku as wild and unsubstantiated, insisting it was a “wicked and very malicious propaganda.
“It is pertinent to state that the Armed Forces have toiled to sustain and nurture our democracy, hence the same military cannot contemplate a coup d`etat, as alluded to by Fani-Kayode.
“It is not time for attention-seeking individuals to cause needless distractions,” and urged the public “to ignore Fani-Kayode and remain vigilant and report suspicious activities promptly to law enforcement agencies.”
The DSS had to take the Fani-Kayode expression very seriously by issuing him a 48-hour invitation to appear before it since his claim had implication for national security.
It reasoned that Fani-Kayode probably had very credible intelligence, which it never had.
DSS spokesman, Dr Peter Afunanya, who confirmed the Fani-Kayode invitation and questioning, revealed that he was released last week and asked to routinely report to the agency from Wednesday, February 15, 2023.
“Department of State Services (DSS) hereby informs the public that it invited Chief Femi Fani-Kayode to its national headquarters, Abuja, on 13th February, 2023.
“The invitation was in respect of an investigation of some of his allegations and insinuations relating to issues relevant to national security.
“Chief Fani-Kayode faced a panel which interviewed him on the subject matter. Afterwards, the Service granted him administrative bail and directed that he makes routine returns to the office with effect from Wednesday, 15th February, 2023 till otherwise. The investigation, however, continues.”
Fani-Kayode had admitted that after a six-hour grilling by operatives of the DSS, he had to recant his earlier claim.
While addressing a press conference after his release, Fani-Kayode had to regret his act, revealing: “I spent about 5 hours. I was subjected to thorough grilling; they were very thorough and highly professional in their interrogation. And I was asked to go back on Wednesday for further interrogation.
“The place anybody wouldn’t want to go, I think is the DSS. If I were to do it a second time, I won’t tweet this same way.”
But the spokesman of the Atiku media office, Phrank Shaibu, maintained that Fani-Kayode’s veiled regret was not enough; only a public apology to Atiku and the military was acceptable.
“Fani-Kayode’s regret is a step in the right direction, but this is not sufficient. Who exactly is he apologising to? He needs to be specific.
“He needs to apologise to Abubakar for trying to impugn his character. He also needs to apologise to the military for denigrating that revered institution.
“Fani-Kayode is a former minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with over two million followers across social media platforms.
“He is a lawyer and ought to understand the implication of libel. Apart from the criminal aspect of his tweets, he has also committed defamation and thus must be made to apologise for his inane insinuations.”
Shuaibu was insistent that if Fani-Kayode failed to apologise publicly for criminally defaming Atiku, he might be sued to court.
“There should be a fine line between political propaganda and crime. When a person in the calibre of a former minister is unable to differentiate between the two, it becomes worrisome.
“His allegation of a planned coup should not be taken lightly. Such juvenile drivel must not be tolerated, not even in the name of politics.”
Sensing that some political parties might be willing to make a meal of the unfolding debacle, Dr Afunanya said that “political parties and their media managers are advised to apply restraint in their utterances and public communication engagements prior to and after the general elections.
“This is to avoid heating up the polity and evoking tendencies that could lead to violent reactions as well as undermine peace and order.”
However, the Director Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, was out there puffing, declaring that his party would have challenged the DSS if the agency had not released Fani-Kayode when it did.
He allegedly boasted that his party’s lawyers had already lined up to square off with the DSS in court. But since the agency handled the matter professionally, APC would stay action.
A close watcher who lamented Fani-Kayode’s gaffe likened it to a “misfire,” calling it FFK’s contribution to the torrent of putrid water smearing the country.
To an analyst, Fani-Kayode’s act was a sad reminder of the desperation of a politician eager to smear an opponent for cheap political goals. He took a swipe at FFK, warning that he might never be taken seriously again in the days ahead.
Fani-Kayode is a politician, lawyer, and writer, born in Lagos on October 16, 1960. He is the son of Chief Remi Fani-Kayode, erstwhile deputy premier of the defunct Western Region of Nigeria in 1963.
When he joined the PDP, Fani-Kayode was made Special Assistant (Public Affairs) to President Olusegun Obasanjo (July 2003 -June 2006). He was appointed Minister of Culture and Tourism by the Obasanjo administration (June 22- November 7, 2006) and later Minister of Aviation (November 7, 2006 -May 29, 2007).
A former critic of the APC, he joined the ruling party on September 16, 2021, and was presented to President Muhammadu Buhari by the then chairman, Caretaker Committee of the APC, and Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Fani Kayode had declared on the occasion that he was led by the spirit of God to join his new party and to help it unify the country.