By Churchill Okonkwo,
Mr. Femi Adesina, I am very disappointed by your birthday sermon on Mr. President titled “Buhari At 75: Why God Kept Him Alive.” You pissed many Nigerians off by only bragging about the impeccable credentials of Mr. President, unmoved by the atrocities being committed by Mr. President’s aides on his behalf. Brother Femi, save your sermon of pomposity for yourself and let Mr. President know that even though Abba Kyari is subtle, he is devastatingly corrupt.
Brother Femi, you claimed that President Buhari “admonished [you] to tell [him] the truth.” Here is a good one to start with: tell Mr. President that Nigerians see Abba Kyari, his Chief of Staff as the operational President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, pulling all the strings that keep corruption circulating in the veins of this administration.
Mr. Femi, if truly you accepted the challenge to tell Mr. President the truth and argue with him, then stop feeding him with fables in a futile attempt to make him and yourself look good. Every day, Nigerians are confronted with Abba Kyari’s secretive acts riddled with corruption, crime, dirty tricks, and political collusions. We have long concluded that his entire thought is rotten to the core. So Mr. Femi, why have you not told President Buhari that it is a poorly thought-through political decision to entrust his integrity in Abba Kyari’s hands?
There is an ongoing conscious and intelligent manipulation of every key organ of the executive branch of the Nigerian government by Abba Kyari. Brother Femi, you made us understand that you have a “blank cheque,” please inform President Buhari that in Abba Kyari, a power has risen up in his Presidency that is greater than the people themselves. Raise that as an alarm Mr. Femi when next you are allowed to see Mr. President in private.
Mr. Femi, you are in a privileged position, so, remind Mr. President that democracy is a funny thing. Tell him that Nigerians are watching, in slow motion, his integrity being battered by Abba Kyari. Remind my President that he campaigned on the promise of rooting out corruption, but that he has surrendered to the reality that no politician in Nigeria is immune to corruption of power.
Mr. Femi, you don’t have to be an investigative reporter to see corruption all over the maneuvering of Abba Kyari. All you need is to observe his body language with your eyes closed and report the facts to President Buhari. So Mr. Femi, remind Mr. President that if one neglects a small pot, it boils over and extinguishes the fire. Present evidence to him, argue with him convince him that his neglect of the devastatingly corrupt Abba Kyari is his biggest political mistake.
Brother Femi, tell Mr. President that from the nepotism in recruitments especially the lopsided affair at DSS to the Daura impunity at NNPC; the embarrassing Minagate and now the withholding of N50 billion from TSA, Nigerians could see Abba Kyari’s ugly handwriting. His ugly hand is giving all Nigerians the “waka” sign and saying; yes, I am corrupt, what are you gonna do about that?
Mr. Femi, you will soon receive an Igbo chieftaincy title from Igwe Omeluenyi of Aguneese, of the Nmaku Kingdom in Enugu State. In Igbo land, authentic titled men are known for standing by the truth and not sitting idly while the she-goat suffers the pain of childbirth tied to a post. Let Mr. President know that Abba Kyari has tied his hands with chains of corruption.
Brother Femi, tell Mr. President the truth that Abba Kyari is a real menace, corruption-wise and should be watched. He operates like a giant octopus, sprawling its slimy legs over our major parastatals of revenue generation. Tell Mr. President that his ruthless power-seeking Chief of Staff is a disease of our time no different than Dasuki and Diezani in Jonathan’s administration.
Mr. Femi, I know you know that the Nigerian government is run by a clique different from what is imagined by Mr. President. Because you were an editor, I know you know that Abba Kyari is running a shadowy government with its own security operatives, its own fundraising mechanism, and the ability to pursue its own ideas free from all checks and balances, and free from the law itself. You also know that that is troubling and you have to let Mr. President know that as well.
Operating secretly, silently, but continuously, the ultimate goal of Abba Kyari and his well-organized groups working separately but in tandem is to transform our political landscape and destroy the opposition. As a journalist Mr. Femi, that should be troubling to you, except like Reuben Abati you have metamorphosed to a hypocrite only interested in shining your Oga’s shoes.
Mr. Femi, know it that you are not the only one following President Buhari. As a matter of fact, so many of us have been following him since 1999 long before you switched ships. So, if you are blindfolded in your service and followership, some of us are not. By your admission, you owe Mr. President the responsibility of being blunt with the truth. It is he who owns the corpse that carries it at the head. Carry Mr. President on the head Femi by telling him nothing but the truth.
The only thing I agree with in your Birthday sermon on Mr. President is that God kept him alive today for a purpose. For those of us that are happy to see him back, God’s purpose is to see him fulfill the promise he made to Nigerian which is to fight corruption. Mr. Femi, God did not show mercy to President Buhari to allow Abba Kyari continue with his corruption with impunity.
I watched my President as he boarded his jet for the trip to France recently. He did something that made me believe that all hope is not lost and that the zeal is still in him. On getting to the last step of his jet, he turned, waved and then, with a clenched fist, he displayed an uncommon symbol of strength, and struggle. That defiance sign confirmed to me that he is still convinced that he is doing a good job. Unknowingly to my President, Abba Kyari has gradually diminished his reputation.
Femi, why do you think Mr. President admonished you to “always tell [him] the truth” on the first day you resumed work? Think about it brother Femi. It is because you are one of the few good men in this administration. Mr. President trusted you, he believed in you and that was why he charged you with that responsibility. You owe him and Nigerians the responsibility to be their voice and not to sugarcoat the truth. So Femi, please don’t betray my President.
The only way President Buhari can regain my trust and that of millions of his followers is by cutting the fuel of corruption in the veins of Abba Kyari. Please Mr. Femi, pass that message across to him as a Christmas gift and the good God you invoked in that your Birthday sermon will be at peace with you. If you don’t, Mr. Femi, one day, we will take stock of the few good men that betrayed Nigerians and place you and Reuben Abati in the same place, the dustbin of history.
Happy New Year in advance, brother Femi.
From Churchill, with love.
You can email Churchill at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @churchillnnobi.
