To be honest, I do not remember Tony Eluemunor very well. Only that I used to read him in the press about 20 years ago or so, and fairly recently in The Guardian and the Independent newspaper.
I have tried to look at his work on the Internet, but at that time, the Internet did not exist, at least in today’s form, so there is not much. What I find interesting is that he signs his name in the respected colours of the University of Harvard: “Eluemunor, a 1991 Fellow of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.”
Eluemunor is right to attach himself to the coat-tails of Harvard University, one of the world’s best-known, and the Nieman, one of journalism’s oldest foundations. Both institutions have a name, history and a record. They have integrity.
Looking at the website of the Nieman Foundation, its Curator, Bob Giles, says that the mission of the Nieman Foundation since 1938 has been “to promote and elevate the standards of journalism and educate persons deemed specially qualified for journalism.”
Among other things, he writes that it aims at encouraging reporters and editors “to monitor and hold accountable those who exert power in all aspects of public life.”
By simple deduction, when Mr. Eluemunor left his fatherland in 1990 to go to Havard, he went there as a journalist to empower himself about holding politicians to accountability. He seems to have learnt a lot while he was there, so much that today, he wants people to remember not that he has ever worked for a Nigerian journal, but that he was nurtured by Harvard.
There is nothing wrong with that. After all, he is not practicing journalism any more, or at least at the moment. What I am in wonder about is that he does not seem to see any contradiction between his claim to Nieman (and by implication, its high principles), and his new job as defender-in-chief of Nigeria’s most corrupt former governor, James Ibori.
I mean, if Mr. Eluemunor did not sign his articles with the Nieman brand name, I am sure I would merely have thought it was another person with an identical name. But the man who proudly reminds himself he is “Media Aide to James Ibori” has not declared he has abandoned journalism’s finer objectives. On the contrary, his Nieman claims are evidence he still covets and wants to be identified with journalism.
Who, therefore, is Tony Eluemunor? Better still, which is the real Tony Eluemunor, the one that swears by his Nieman (journalism) ancestry, or the one that swears James Ibori is a saint? Why would an otherwise fine Nigerian professional choose to exchange his bright prospects and good name for that of a man who, first convicted in England of stealing, crowned his life by becoming the most infamous looter since they made the mistake of letting Obasanjo out of jail?
On Ibori’s website, which I had the bad judgment of browsing, Ibori predictably does everything to launder his image just as every Nigerian knows he stole and sought to launder the funds of the poor people of Delta State for eight long years. On that website (which I beg you not to make my mistake and visit) Ibori refers to himself in huge letters as the “Odidigborigbo of Africa.”
What in hell is an odidigborigbo—a Mascot or a Tree Stump?
I cannot tell. In any event, who awards African chieftaincy titles? Nobody, and yet, this pugnacious pretender awards to himself, and writes whatever fiction he cares in an effort to make himself look of some relevance. Looking at his picture with former US President Bill Clinton, I said to myself: “Now I understand why Barak Obama did not want to come to Nigeria!” The poor man would have had no control over what criminals were allowed to hands with him; mascots that would eventually try to sell his pictures or use them to launder their image!
But the biggest regret on Ibori’s website is neither Ibori nor his claims to ascendancy. It is Mr. Eluemunor, to whom I will return presently.
Mr. Eluemunor is not a thief. Ibori has been indicted for his assault on the budget of Delta State for eight years. He is on trial in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom for various crimes. But for his friendship with the President of Nigeria, he would have been in jail long ago.
It would seem that Ibori’s mission was to be the richest Nigerian alive, not by virtue of his hard work, but by dint of limitless looting. If the trials—current and to come—are anything to go by, he sought to use everyone to achieve his aim: his commissioners, his lawyers, his casual associates, his family, his wife, even his girlfriends.
This is a man so ruthless he tried to buy a jet, allegedly for ₤20 million. And all that money came not from the sweat of the Tree Stump, but from the empty stomachs and schools of the children of Delta State. All that money came not from the strain of the muscles of The Mascot, but from impoverishing the men and women of Delta State. As leader of a government, he stole from himself. I do not care if he built four moons; if he did not steal so ruthlessly he could have built the sun and the stars as well.
Is Ibori a thief? Of course. He was a convicted one before he ever became a governor, where he excelled among those that were indicted. He has not done one day’s job since leaving office, except have his hidden secrets exposed to the world, and embarrass his father’s name. He has made Ibori a brand name for stealing.
Is Ibori being persecuted, and Eluemunor—being one before whom nobody should ever suffer persecution—decided to step forward and absorb the bullets instead? No, Ibori’s cases have emerged through existing legal systems and investigations. And he has been a standout performer in every clime and climate.
This is why Tony Eluemunor emerges as a sad enigma and even sadder story. On Ibori’s website, he stands out more prominently than The Tree Stump and his teams of lawyers on either side of the equator because it is obvious that he has surrendered himself to rot along with the vermin to whom he says he is an aide.
Over 1300 journalists from 88 countries, writes Nieman Foundation’s Mr. Giles, have passed through the Nieman Foundation in the past 70 years. One of them is Mr. Eluemunor, who is certainly proud of the fact. What is unclear is whether, should there be a gathering of former Fellows, he will proudly stand up and declare his betrayal of the principles of the hopes and dreams of their common professional heritage.
“Nieman Fellows continue to arrive at Harvard with an untarnished commitment to the guiding principles of journalism,” the institution says. It evidently also hopes they also leave with those commitments and represent the Fellowship well.
By continuing to sign his association with the revered institution in his articles, Tony Eluemunor seems to suggest he does. The question then is: how much did James Ibori pay for his heart?
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