October 2, 2007
BY Enobong Umohette
Nigerian Born amateur boxer residing in USA
[email protected]
The fourth estate of the realm is a parlance that evokes many sentiments across board. For some, it is the watchdog of society. For some, it is a tool for political leverage and control. For some, it is the voice of conscience and yet for others, it symbolizes a commercial enterprise where intellectualism, oratory and loquacity are deployed for propaganda and NEWS- at a price.
Whatever the outlook, personal conviction and perception we may all have about the press; like government; it is the practitioners that exemplify its beauty or espouse its shortcomings.
Mr Olusegun Adeniyi is one amongst the numerous of such fine gentlemen of the press, men who have over the years, exemplified the beauty of journalism: Diligent and adept with radically intelligent views about public and government affairs. Today he is the Chief Image maker to President Umaru Yar’adua and by extension, the presidency. I am happy that he has been honored recently with his participation in a U.S State Dept program hosted here in the U.S.A.The epoch making event could not have taken place at a better venue than the U.S.A: which is the bastion for press freedom, freedom of speech and all other fundamental human rights and liberties.
Maybe the influx of quite a number of journalists/ members of the press in this new administration accounts for the present government’s responsiveness to public opinion. Who better can feel the pulse of public opinion faster than a seasoned media person/journalist. Maybe the acrobatic style of policy thrust and direction by the present Yar’adua government is an indication that the Yar’adua administration is not like a rudderless ship as some critics would suggest.
Life is such a mystery indeed. So many things happen and we wonder why. Many at times, we are faced with surprises, changes and CO-INCIDENCES, that make our journey through this mortal plane akin to a work of inexplicable fiction.
I am just another regular fellow, unlettered in tertiary education, finding my way around our world of today and yet passionate about many topical issues affecting our Nigerian society. I recall my attempt to tell a story on THISDAY NEWSPAPER and the interesting reception I got. Maybe being an illiterate boxer is not enough profile to elicit the attention of media agencies; to scramble at my doorstep asking for interviews or wanting to make headline news of the darnedest things I did the night before as irrelevant and as nonsensical as it may be or maybe alas; I do not have a vault full of cash where-in I can dispense bundles of wad as “P.R TOKEN for the press boys” as I have countless heard many Nigerian Government officials say after a media covered event.
Everybody needs to do his or her own bit; after all, those so called “Press boys” are offering service in a noble capacity. The same way the government and people do in every facet of life. This brings me to issue of service. Service to one’s country and humanity is the greatest endeavor in life; the latter being an eternal calling. I drive by and see motorists with stickers on their vehicles saying “My son is a marine and is fighting for freedom in Iraq, so your son can party in college” I feel nothing but absolute respect and pride for the men and women whose endeavors involve risking their lives for the sake of freedom and the fight against tyranny all over the world. As a child I was fascinated about Regimented life and the Military and once tried to enroll in the Nigerian Defense Academy. I was driven by a burning thirst for national service and adventure. That attempt passed me by however and the opportunity would resurface again in 2000 when I jumped through the hoops and satisfied that lifelong yearning for national service and became a member of Nigeria’s State Security Services S.S.S. I had my shot at national service in that capacity and did the best I could and as I traversed the path of law enforcement, public life and civil service, I carried with me life changing experiences, adventure, horrors, scars, and unforgettable encounters. Yet I acquired a different level of skill, enlightenment and education. This journey was a drama of life for me. In that journey, there were two classes of actors that remained in my sub consciousness after my long awaited exit from the S.S.S in April 2004. The first is THE OPPRESOR and the other; THE OPPRESSED.
For the OPPRESSOR(s) the title (late) or (deceased) should be ascribed beside my name in parenthesis. For the OPPRESSED; it has been months and years of hiding with scars and pain in the dark, urging and waiting and praying for the day, I shall openly tell their stories of affliction, to the world. Thanks to events, thanks to Internet and technology, access to information and the media now operates in a boundless horizon. Of the many posts or assignments I undertook as a young S.S.S operative, I was a protective security detail, a security operative, a field intelligence operative, coordinator of a joint petroleum monitoring team and last but not the least a Chief Security Officer (C.S.O) to one Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode from April 2003 to November 2003. This is where divine providence showed me that it was time to end that S.S.S career and this is where another story would soon begin.
On November 20th 2006, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode the then Minister of Aviation announces to the media of an averted airport BOMB ATTACK. To me, this was laughable, because I had known Chief Fani-Kayode too well in the past as someone who would awaken from the exiguity of a libidinous dispute to declare that he is under a ‘security threat’ from perceived enemies and provoke the agencies of law enforcement into a pandemonium of investigations, arrest, interrogation, detention et al, albeit in a bid to settle the most ridiculous of personal scores. In a public media forum of thirty three (33) commentary participants reacting to the announcement by Femi Fani-Kayode; 32 of them sang the praises of Femi Fani-Kayode , the government, security agencies and God, while only one of them bluntly called the whole episode a ruse or a stage managed publicity stunt.
I was irked that these infantile pranks of my former principal Femi Fani-Kayode could now be brazenly exalted to a magnitude of national import; such as to send a nauseating shock wave across the nation and to the world at large. I and a few other public commentators treated this ‘revelation’ with utter suspicion. It is absolutely worthless to ask pertinent questions as to the status of that investigation, and the prosecution of the so-called ‘suspect’. The last I heard was that the S..S.S arraigned five individuals charged with the alleged offence before a Federal High Court in Lagos and gave the most ridiculous prosecution evidence and the case was adjourned till June as reported by THISDAY. I have witnessed firsthand were street urchins and convicts are railroaded into signing confessional statements and making public confessions in stage managed ‘parades’ in front of the media and some being charged to court, with the most nonsensical evidence. You know the popular saying “in Nigeria anything goes”? We were not too far from it in exactitude before May 29th, 2007. Unless the situation has changed in recent times or is changing for the better or to some extent is still BUSINESS AS USUAL. Something has been alleged; someone must be arrested, detained, interrogated and prosecuted as they say, “END OF STORY”. However long he will languish in prison custody and suffer unimaginable hardship through our legal system is not his accusers business. The Public wants to know what is being done about this and that incident, this and that murder? There! That is update for you. “NO further comment please…investigation is still ongoing. The matter is in court” I now felt it was time to come out in the open and heed the clarion called of the many ‘OPPRESSED’ even though there were two cardinal figures that were still wielding the agencies of state; Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, President and Commander in Chief who appointed Femi Fani-Kayode into government and Col. Kayode Areh (rtd) the then Director General of the S.S.S who directed that Femi Fani-Kayode be given S.S.S protection even when he was nothing more than a political jobber (without any government port-folio) for then President Obasanjo .
Just a few weeks ago, Mr Femi Fani-Kayode on learning of my continued existence threatened to spend the rest of his life hunting me and my Caucasian wife down and to ensure that I am killed. How interesting that of all the endeavors that decorate his resume, he has found a place to add “HUNTER OF ENOBONG UMOHETTE AND HIS CAUCASIAN WIFE” Exactly five (5) minutes after his final telephone tirade, full of unprintable invectives, I received a call from an Old S.S.S colleague who had not been in touch with me since 2004 and who co-incidentally chose for the first time in about three years to call just 5mins after Femi Fani-Kayode ends his worthless verbal onslaught. Co-incidence right?
Good luck to him in his new ‘hunting’ career. However, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who was President and Commander in Chief when he held sway in public office and Col Kayode Areh (rtd) who was the then D.G. S.S.S when I was assigned to him as security Detail ARE NO LONGER WIELDING POWER AT ANY AGENCIES OF THE NIGERIAN STATE at their leisure and at his (Femi Fani-Kayode’s) psycho-erratic whims. I can only worry about death if I don’t have the means and opportunity to tell the sordid tale of oppression I witnessed and advocate for the protection of the sanctity of human rights which people like he Femi Fani-Kayode wantonly desecrated with impunity. At this stage, my killing is heavily belated and the media to speak is limitless.
Does anyone remember terminologies like ‘sedition’, ‘coup plotting’ ‘treasonable felony’ ‘high treason’ ‘conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism’ ‘security breach’ ‘espionage’ ‘possession, access and distribution of classified information’ etc . These were terminologies, nay criminal charges that virtually gave the two aforementioned individuals between 1999 and 2007 the impetus if they so chose to ensure incarcerations without trial that mirror back to the days of the abrogated Decree 2 of 1984, even under a democracy! Trust me; it’s not a comfortable spot to be in. Respite would come only through the courts. (That is if your whereabouts are known and you can afford or have access to legal representation and services)
November 21st, 2006, Godwin Agbroko (late) enters the scene. This Indefatigable, Icon of journalism and outspoken public commentator dismisses a rejoinder from the office of The Minster of Aviation (Femi Fani-Kayode) where he raised intelligent and well-articulated queries about aviation security and the sincerity of the Aviation Ministry in a foot note. This emanated from late Godwin Agbroko’s brilliant piece in his popular column ‘This Nation’ TITLED “AVIATION HYSTERIA”.
Determined to set the ball rolling with tales that would liberate the many “OPPRESSED”, I picked my phone on 1st December 2006 and called one of the numbers of THISDAY NEWSPAPER. One Funke Oyekanmi answered the phone and spoke to me. I gave her my name and where I was calling from and stated that I had a problem locating an article written by their Editor Mr Olusegun Adeniyi in 2004 titled “ASO ROCK...ANONYMOUS CALLER” in the THISDAY ONLINE ARCHIVE and also stated that I needed it as one of my references to tell a story about some events involving a previous THISDAY NEWSPAPER publication and Mr Femi Fani-Kayode and asked if I could be given a scanned HARD COPY from their library ARCHIVE. Those underlined words HARD COPY, ARCHIVE are to resurface in this tale as a recurring decimal. She was pleasant and gave her email address as [email protected] and asked me to send a detailed request by email and that I would be sent the article within a day of that request.
In retrospect, I would have questioned my naivety but thankfully, this entire episode has provided me with a co-incidentally connected JIG SAW PUZZLE, worthy at least to be called A TALE. Particularly in the context of my very detailed and elaborate email to Funke Oyekanmi which contained very damning and explosive insinuations and allegations and in the Nigerian Press and in the media parlance the world over for that matter, funny things do happen; Like stories being suppressed, sources being leaked, documentary evidence of impropriety becoming tools of blackmail and profiteering and so on and so forth. In any case I was still only asking for an article copy and giving the reasons why I wanted it and providing nothing more than ‘tales’ and ‘allegations’. And was not giving away any names or documents alike. Still safe I presumed, I sent an email to Funke Oyekanmi and called the same number 30mins later to confirm if she received it. I now spoke with one Ikani Ochidi who asked me to send the email to his email, which he gave as [email protected] and he assured that I would be sent a copy of the article as soon as possible. I now sent the same email to Funke Oyekanmi and copied Ikani Ochidi on that same 1st December; 2006.I hastily typed out the email and sent it to the two recipients. The transcript of that email read thus:
Hello Thisday group,
Great job on your site, constantly updating people like us who have our dear country's interest at heart even from faraway lands.
I had indicated interest in revealing certain topical issues that our worth critical media interest on your dailies. I will ultimately make these revelations also in the international media but first must respect the adage that 'charity begins at home' and for the special reason of the fact that THISDAY was the first media, through its extensive investigative journalism to capture some of the incidents that involve the person I will be making expositions about.
INTRODUCTION:
My name is Enobong R. Umohette, I was the premier "C.S.O" assigned from the State Security Services (SSS) to 'deacon'? Femi Fani-Kaoyde from 4th April, 2003 to 21st November 2003. As you would recall, the afforestated period preceded even his first appointment as Special Assistant to the President on Media and Public Affairs.
I have a history with the SSS and have tremendous respect for my former employer and despite the fact that my exit from the service was cloaked in a huge controversial garb; particularly on backbone of the fact that I carried such damning secrets about Femi Fani-Kayode who was then S.A to the President on Media and Public Affairs, I have no beefs with the SSS. However, I am 100% certain that in a hasty response/ counter attack to my revelation in the media, the SSS would no doubt join issues with me on the assumption that I can de discredited (as they assumed, when the decision to end my stint in the service was hatched) Well, when/if the time comes, I will surprise even the loquacious Femi Fani-Kayode with documentary proof to support every fact I shall reveal.
FIRST REQUEST.
I have a registered log-in name ( boxer) on your on-line daily and make regular contributions by way of comments on your website. I have sought for a particular Article published by your editor (Mr Segun Adeniyi) in 2004; it was a backpage story titled ASO ROCK ANONYMOUS CALLER. I would be glad if that very article is retrieved from your archive in hard copy, scanned and sent to me via email. I respectfully believe that it should not too much of a trouble to undertake for 'a source' as you may have me called.
THE REVELATION IN PERSPECTIVE.
1. The widely reported Assassination attempt on Femi Fani-Kayode of March 2003; Fact or Fiction?
2. The personal security concerns /fears of Femi Fani-Kayode: Is it founded or is it paranoia?
3. What is the personality of Femi Fani-Kayode within his environs where his constant fear of insecurity has severally emanated from?
4. The infamous incident reported in your Thursday 10th November , 2003 (page 56) edition which was a story about Femi Fani-Kayode on 'ABUSE OF POWER': WHAT IS THE TRUTH BEHIND THAT INCIDENT?
5. Ironically, I was physically present at the Presidential Villa Aso Rock on the same day that article was published while accompanying Femi Fani-Kayode to a meeting between The Board of THISDAY and the President. In the course of my revelations, I will pertinently answer this poser; WHAT ASSIGNMENT/ MISSION was I to undertake for my then principal Femi Fani-Kayode on that particular trip to the Presidential Villa? WAS IT ONLY TO PROVIDE PROTECTIVE SECURITY?
6. Femi Fani-Kayode's response by letter dated 11th November, 2003, signed by one T. Oladimeji. (was there any such T. Oladimeji in the office of the Special Assistant to the President on Media and Public affairs?) WHAT ARE THE FACTS BEHIND THE STATEMENTS MADE IN THAT RESPONSE?
7. What were the circumstances surrounding and compelling the LETTER OF APOLOGY/UNDERTAKING written by Mr Nnamdi Uyanna (the victim in that saga) as attached in that response?
8. Are there any isolated incidences where Femi Fani-Kayode has lied to security agencies and law enforcement to achieve sinister aims or to mislead?
9. Has Femi Fani-Kayode directly or indirectly caused for threat to the lives of citizens in the country?
10. If (9) above is in the affirmative, to what extent have these threats been and to what magnitude had/has he Femi Fani-Kayode gone to actualise them?
11. WHO WAS THE FAMOUS ASO ROCK ANONYMOUS CALLER with GSM No. 08034091519? (Probably now defunct or since rested)
12. What was/is her connection and relationship to Femi Fani-Kayode?
13. Can she be identified even through the now rested number? or by other means?
14. Are there any isolated incidences that can establish that the female character in that episode has been involved in several acts of threatening citizens or promoting and inflicting persecution on citizens?
15. THE AIRPORT IMBROGLIO INVLOVING FEMI FANI KAYODE AS MINISTER OF CULTURE AND TOURISM A FEW MONTHS AGO ON AN ABUJA BOUND VIRGIN NIGERIA FLIGHT: what was the probable cause of that conflict which led to the 45 min delay of that flight, which involved Femi Fani-Kayode and his security envoy.
16. What was my experience with Femi Fani-Kayode on the issue of AIRPORT SECURITY SCREENING?
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });