Last weekend the newsstands were filled with pictures of Ateke Tom, Tompolo and Co accepting the amnesty offer of the illegal Yar Adua Government. Some Nigerians have endorsed the charade and many others are skeptical about the result of the event. To me, I strongly perceive backdoor settlement of these criminals cum civil right militants.
Since I began to hear about the duo of Ateke Tom and Tompolo, all I have heard have been the atrocities they constantly commit in Rivers state and the Niger delta environs. First of all, it was cultism, then it was election thuggery, followed by murder then prison breaks. However, today they are celebrities at Aso Rock where they display their wretched patriotism and nationalism for the Niger Delta. I simply ask can a leopard change its spots.
How can a notorious criminal become a militant hero the next day, when in essence they should be serving jail terms in the most highly fortified prisons in the country? This situation does not surprise me because the granters of the amnesty should also be in Dungeons because of their many years of neglect and persecution of the Nigerian people through their obsessive greed for money and power. But now the granters of amnesty and criminal militants have come to a settlement— Cash for guns. Guns— that will return to the criminals again by 2010, when the race for the 2011 elections heat up.
I do not support writers like Okey Ndibe, Levi Obijiofor, Olumhense Sola and company because for the over twenty years or more they have been writing, they have failed to realize the worthlessness of their effort. I say this not because I dislike them or have a grudge against them, but because they have failed to act and embrace the truth. The truth is that writing from foreign land will not change anything. Sola might be excepted because he is in Nigeria, but I see the duo of Levi and Okey as lazy, backyard opinionist who are not better than the newspaper free readers club members at Oshodi isale and Yaba. And I don’t blame them because their residence overseas gives them the chance to release venom from all sides of their mouth. This their worthless activity(which I believe they totally agree with me) massages their ego as nationalist and civil rights seekers—That they really are not. But I dare tell them as a well read person, that they are losers. Martin luther king wrote and led marches against the white supremacist, Pious Okigbo a Nigerian of Ibo extraction, wrote and fought for the freedom of the marginalized Igbo masses. Cyprian Ekwensi did the same too. Cyprian and Pious are men, who with their connections and exposure would have escaped to Europe and America at that time. But yet they chose to stand by their people.
My displeasure with these guys like Okey Ndibe and Levi obijiofor heightened this weekend after I read Okey Ndibe’s “Anambra for sale.” The article was full of venom against men who have contributed immensely to the development of Anambra. I even thought that Okey will spare Peter Obi, but he went ahead to smear peter obi with greed for money. I have no relationship with Peter Obi, but I must speak the truth where the truth needs to be spoken. I must do that instead of allowing second-class citizens from the U.S to write rubbish to massage their personal ego. I must confess that the Okey Ndibe and Levi obijiofor are not better than the politicians back home, in terms of my own description of Nigerian politicians. All of them want unwarranted recognition and respect, and that is what Levi and Okey ndibe are good at doing by releasing their venomous articles every week in the name of patriotism. I repeat what a commentator on Saharareporter wrote,at the end of okey’s article “Anambra for sale”. “ Come back home and contribute your own quota.” I laughed when I read it, but it was really what needed to be said. Okey should come back home. Levi should leave Australia and stop complaining about his maltreatment at the Australian airport.
If Wole Soyinka really loves Nigeria, I bet his heart should be bleeding everyday. In as much as he has not revealed that to the public yet, I bet he should stop all his nostalgic ranting about Nigeria of old. His speech at the occasion over the weekend was rather long and lacked any solution direction. Wole Soyinka should step up in his fight against the impostors in government. I must stop here in hitting hard against these writers. But one thing I want to ask is this. Are their write ups changing anything?
My answer which I believe will be the same as theirs is –No. The kind of political criminals we have in Nigeria are the kind that deserve to be eliminated by the gun. Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Okey ndibe and Levi can attest to this. They are versatile readers and intellectuals and I very much respect them in that aspect. However, they should be truthful to themselves and the public by telling the masses that the gun is the solution to Nigeria’s problems.
Kaduna nzeogwu knew it, Cyprian Ekwensi knew this and Pious Okigbo of blessed memory knew the same. Revolutionaries all over the world that caused the kind of change we need in their respective countries were writers. I see no reason why Okey and Levi should continue to reel their venom, saddening us at the end with their talk from the comfort of their two bedroom condo overseas. They should replace their pens with guns and lead a military force that can match the cabal force of the Nigerian oligarchic establishment.
I write and I strongly believe that Nigeria is due for a revolution. I have started networking like minds that truly seek change happen in Nigeria. After change happens we can write true writings. Not one filled with venom and one complaining of disfunctionality in Nigeria—this is what oils Okey and Levi’s pen, but writings filled with the true workings of the democracy and true federalism of the Nigerian state.
After the revolution, better things about Nigeria will be written and I will see where Okey and Levi will oil their pen from. Maybe they will complain harder about Australia and the U.S. However, I extend my hand of comarade to them. They can join in the armed struggle to reclaim Nigeria. We have left that to thugs and criminals like Ateke Tom, Tompolo and co to do for so long. We need true patriots to use the guns to cause liberation of the Nigerian people. Email [email protected] to enlist.
Marshal Ogechi Igbokwe
Commander Media Relations unit
Shock Them Movement(STHEM)
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