A fiction, written as online news (Saharareporters, Monday, 4 December 2006), refers. In an apparent display of partisanship, I was put down not just as a Reporter with a non-existent Daily PUNCH, my current assignment was derided as “beer parlor” political communication. For the avoidance of doubt, I resigned from The PUNCH newspaper as an Assistant Editor (Politics). And in this current assignment, quick rebuttal is an established pattern in political communication, especially when elections are approaching. I owe this to Cardiff University, Wales, where this “beer parlor” professional was trained. There is no apology about that. The writers of the fiction in question were bent on a PhD (pull him down), which was easily discernible in the article.
Now, to the issues: There is no big deal about operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) being around here. As I write, the EFCC are also in Lagos State, but for obvious reasons, this will not draw the attention of these fiction writers. In a normal situation, what should concern anti-corruption crusaders is the question of due process in a young democracy like ours. Without due process, any attempt at correcting societal wrongs can and will always backfire. Why was the opposition not content with photocopies of government documents? Why do they have to steal original documents leaving the state treasury bare? Nobody has denied that these documents are not in the possession of the opposition. Can you do that in the United States or United Kingdom?
Why do you have to drag Mr. Tunji Alapinni into this, if there is no ulterior motive? The man’s name was never mentioned and he has nothing to do with what is going on. Why? And why do you think Daniel is drowning? This Daniel is not drowning. He is waxing stronger. He has not faced up to 10 per cent of what was done to destroy the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. We expect more of the ongoing chicanery being passed off as opposition. In reality, what you are doing, which your camp believe is bad, is to water the tree of development in Ogun State and indeed Yorubaland, because those who come to make this place great always face one form of destructive minds or another.
It is sad that a fiction about why the Accountant General, Mr. Salau, was invited by the EFCC is being fed the public. The man addressed a press conference the following day, where journalists asked him questions. The reason for inviting him was to explain alleged deductions from local government accounts. This he explained. The EFCC then offered to assist our investigations into how the stolen vouchers developed wings. We are the complainants here! The same applies to the stakeholders meeting called by the Governor on Monday. We have no apology about that. That has been our style since a major section of the media has become partisan. It is our responsibility to face the people of Ogun State directly and let them ask questions instead of relying on rumours. You may want to know that the event was broadcast live on African Independent Television (AIT) and Gateway Television for the benefit of millions of our people at home.
Mr. Fola Adeola never picked up the nomination form of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for any office for that matter. Of course, the rumour mill has been agog with salacious details about his plans for the Senate. But one would have expected a credible investigative outfit to check this fact before writing its fiction. Contrary to your claims, we supported the move to amend Nigeria’s constitution. This can be confirmed from those who authored The Yoruba Agenda and delegates to the conference. Our position in Ogun State was firmly in support of a restructured polity where each component unit of the Nigerian Federation would develop at its own pace. We have no regret about that.
It is my belief that Nigeria has never had it so bad with this formalisation of rumour mongering. How can Daniel unilaterally seize N400 million of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s money? Was it cash that was donated or cheques written? If it was cheque, how could Daniel pay Obasanjo’s money into his personal account? Or is it that the Governor went to a bank to cash the said cheques written in the name of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? This is petty and sad! This is definitely standing logic on its head. Among pepper sellers, this could work, but not on a system peopled by the intelligent. In reality, it appears as if there is an underhand attempt to ensure there is friction in the relationship between Obasanjo and Daniel. You have descended too low!!
Billions have been written as accruing to Daniel since he became Governor. What is the size of Ogun State allocation and its internally generated revenue? Even if there has been no project on the ground since 2003, where would all these billions have come from? For God’s sake, there should still be some sense even in fiction writing. Afterall, Spiderman is being made real in films today, despite its fictional status! In the same vein, you guys wrote as if Daniel was living in Ogun State prior to being Governor. “Bola Tinubu traveled to Ogun State to meet him a lot during this period (1999 – 2003),” how sad! Why should we throw decency to the winds simply because you want to do a PhD on a state Governor? Daniel was living in his palatial Kresta Laurel building before May 2003. This was also the campaign and transition headquarters of Tinubu before he also became Governor in 1999. You can check the records. How could he have short changed Tinubu when it was clear that it was the other way round?
Till date, there has been no proof of stealing against Daniel. Yet, this medium, which wants people to take it seriously already believe that the Governor has looted Ogun State treasury. Good luck to you. In this part of the world, it is an established fact that no mercenary can kill the truth. In fact, the truth has a way of recompensing all those who want to destroy it. This fiction in the name of investigative journalism cannot hurt Daniel a bit. We shall overcome the forces of falsehood!
Adedayo is a Consultant to the Governor on Communications and also Director of Organisation, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ogun State.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });
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