Pendulum by Dele Momodu, published on
today's Thisday Newspaper. Read below...
Your Excellency please let me start by
emphasising the fact that this is my very
first letter to you since destiny elevated
you and your husband to the highest
positions in Nigeria. It may be the last
before your tenure expires on May 29,
2015, and another begins with you or
someone else in the saddle. Despite all
the controversies engulfing you and your
husband, I had resisted the temptation of
writing you in the past for several, if not
many, reasons. Kindly permit me to
expatiate a bit.
I’m a great admirer of strong, confident
and energetic women who cannot be
bullied by the galaxy of male chauvinists
that litter the political landscape of Africa.
As someone who was brought up by my
amazing mum, Omo Arotiwebiojo, an
unlettered woman and petty trader, I
knew what it took to survive in a
particularly difficult terrain. Indeed, whilst
some have impugned you for your so-
called lack of command of the English
language, I have remained partial to you
because, like most of us, English is not
your first language, and your
contributions have enriched our home-
grown lexicon! I can therefore imagine
what you and our dear beloved President
must have gone through together, in
thunder, lightning, rain and sunshine.
The hurly-burly of life must have thrown
you hither and thither when there was no
one else around to share in your secret
pain and anguish. But it must have
pleased God in His infinite mercy to raise
you and your husband up, like Jesus did
to a dead Lazarus, as original examples
of uncommon transformation.
I must say, Ma, that I have a soft spot for
you for other reasons. I was told on good
authority that you were a more
formidable politician and mobiliser of
people and resources than your
husband. A few of your friends often
regale how you have been a solid pillar
and a rock of Gibraltar behind the love of
your life, Dr Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe
Jonathan. It is said that you’re willing to
sacrifice your all for his sake and he has
also reciprocated by according you
humongous respect and granting you
such vast powers that make onlookers
see you as a de facto President in your
own right. To God be the glory.
I vividly recollect your relationship with
the former First Lady, Hajia Turai
Yar’Adua. You gave her tremendous
respect and your taciturnity was
legendary. Not much was heard from you
at that time and not many, except
probably Bayelsans, ever suspected that
you had so much buried inside your heart
and that you were only waiting for the
opportune time to vomit them. Even in
the days of tribulations when the cabal
held sway and grabbed our nation by the
jugular, you and your husband handled
the volatile situation with maturity and
remarkable equanimity. Some of us were
ready to fight your battle, and risked our
lives, because we saw you as the
underdogs who must be rescued from
the fangs of the political hyenas. We
were further emboldened by the facts of
your husband’s man-in-the-street story,
a fairy-tale of sorts about a man from
the Otuoke manger who had no shoes.
We were not just titillated but fascinated
by such flashes of inspiration.
Against all odds, your husband became
the substantive President and
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
of Nigeria after the demise of President
Yar’Adua. Nigerians were happy about
the smooth transition of power and they
even boasted that for the first time we
had not just another graduate but a PhD
holder as President. Sooner than later, as
time sped by, it was time for your
husband to run his own race. Nigerians
from all walks of life queued behind him
and he won without much ado. The
goodwill he garnered was awesomely
massive and the people were very
expectant about the “fresh air” promised
by him. Of course, to whom much is
given, much is expected.
It is nearly four years since that
momentous occasion and it is time for a
re-examination and re-election. But what
should have been a simple walk-over for
your sweetheart seems to have
developed k-leg. While your husband and
those close to him would want us to
believe he is Nigeria’s best President
ever, many Nigerians feel he has under-
performed and would want to try
someone else. I have seen you and your
husband waka up and down this nation
campaigning like no man’s business.
Many have likened the exercise to a
student engaging in last minute agberu
(memorising) after failing to do so all
along. This is the crux of my epistle to
you today.
I have read and heard so much about
you as a very powerful First Lady. I know
that when you are at that level, not many
people can tell you the gospel truth. No
one wants to offend those in power. But I
have decided to tell you the bitter reality
once and for all. I’m not writing out of
any malice, since none can exist between
us. But for the sake of posterity, which I
know beckons as always; the fact must
be told to you. The summary of what I’m
about to say is that you and your
husband have frittered away most of your
goodwill. Had you retained your humility
in power, may be you could have avoided
this commotion and conundrum of trying
to achieve in two months what you
couldn’t in about five years. You would
probably have avoided the tragedy of
trying to manipulate the electoral
process, buying more time and doing a
catch-up on lost grounds.
If the actuality must be told Ma, the
whole trouble started the day you publicly
ridiculed the Governor of your home
state. It was reported that you yanked a
microphone out of his hands and
lambasted him like a recalcitrant school
boy. In order not to cause mayhem right
there, the Governor was said to have left
you to your tantrums and went home
quietly like a penitent student. That day,
you sowed the seed of discord that
would later germinate and snowball into
a consuming fire. Though the Governor
and your husband like true gentlemen
chose to carry on their damaged
relationship as if all was well, but the
worst was on the way.
The battle for the soul and control of your
state would later spread to Abuja where
your husband began to see the Governor
as an enemy who must be cut down to
size. In the process of trying to achieve
that dream, more Governors joined the
fray and in a jiffy, the centre could no
longer hold. I do not want to go into
some obvious details as I’m sure you
know about the intrigues of power more
than me. But I must give one more
example of how you laid the foundation
for today’s grand alliance against your
husband.
Let me put it this way. Never in the
history of Nigeria have I read of a First
Lady responding to criticisms in the
frontal manner you attacked Professor
Wole Soyinka over an issue that you
could easily have ignored. That singular
act of unrestrained combativeness was
one of your worst public relations gaffes.
Wole Soyinka is one of those global icons
that you can’t take on and win. If for
nothing, here was a man who at about
76 years of age trekked under the
scorching sun of Abuja to defend the
rights of your husband when many of the
acolytes around you today were nowhere
to be found. You were not supposed to
repay such selfless gestures with verbal
blows. That was when you finally lost me
and I’m sure many others.
Let me remind you that virtually all
Nigerian leaders have been disparaged
at one time or the other. It is one of the
heavy prices to pay in compensation for
the privileges of leadership. Just imagine
how much some of us attacked President
Ibrahim Babangida, Chief Ernest
Shonekan, General Sani Abacha and
others over the June 12 crisis. None of
their wives ever hit back at the critics no
matter the degree of provocation. In fact,
they acted perfectly normal and even
tried to build bridges of friendship instead
of bombing the castle. I remember with
fond memories, Dr (Mrs) Maryam Ndidi
Babangida, who remained graceful to the
very end. Mrs Maryam Abacha endured
the most blistering attacks against her
husband in life and death. She has since
reconciled with many of her husband’s
vociferous enemies. Hajia Turai Yar’Adua
was subjected to virulent criticism by
many, and I confess I was one of her
knockers in the dying throes of the cabal,
but she wisely kept her own counsel and
declined to join issues with anyone.
When it dawn on her that the battle was
lost and won, she packed her baggage
out of Aso Rock without as much as a
whimper.
If Justice Fati Abubakar was a selfish
woman and a poor adviser to her
husband, General Abdulsalami Abubakar,
she would have insisted that they should
not quit power within the one year he
promised to hand over to a
democratically-elected President. That
government had more than enough
resources to buy the ubiquitous array of
mercenaries but General Abubakar chose
to go in peace and not in pieces. It was
such a rarity in Africa and till this day the
General is still enjoying a standing
ovation for his vision.
I must also mention specifically Mrs
Stella Obasanjo, whose husband has
always had a running battle with the
media and yet she maintained steady
media frenzy in her own kingdom. She
was everyone’s friend and continues to
be fondly remembered even in death. I
recollect one occasion when we travelled
to Beverley Hills, USA, with her, and her
simplicity just wowed everyone. She
made sure we jumped in the cars and
buses and headed out to a night club
owned by Don Cornelius. She was so
down to earth. On her last trip to Ghana
before her unfortunate death, I had gone
to pay her a visit at M-Plaza hotel where
she and President Obasanjo stayed.
Despite my frosty relationship with her
husband, we sat in one corner chatting
away as the President attended to his
own visitors. She never got involved in
our endless battles with Baba. I have
cited these examples to show that you
and your husband are not alone in the
barrage of criticisms and attacks. You
must rise up way above such pedestal.
But sadly, you have not been able to
allow any comment pass you by, no
matter how mundane.
I decided to write this open letter after
the spate of vocal terror you deployed in
the last few days against your husband’s
opponents. In case some praise-singers
told you lies that what you did was right,
I wish to assure you that you’ve done
almost irreparable damage to your
husband’s presidential campaign. I will
now proceed to paraphrase about three
of those satanic verses that escaped
from your tongue this week alone, but not
in any particular order.
The first shocker was when you said
before a crowd that those shouting the
mantra of Change are not serious and
that as a matter of fact they should be
stoned anywhere they shout Change! I
thought it was a joke until the video went
viral. The next one was when you spoke
dispassionately about how your husband
should be praised and thanked for
improving the welfare of the menacing
Almajiri kids in Northern Nigeria but you
then went astray by insensitively and
inconsiderately saying that the
Northerners are fond of bearing children
with reckless abandon and throwing
them on the streets to fend for
themselves. You went further to say such
things don’t happen in the part of Nigeria
you come from. I think that wasn’t very
nice or tactful.
The last straw for me was when you
declared matter-of-factly that your
husband’s main challenger, Major
General Muhammadu Buhari should not
be voted in because he is “brain dead”,
according to you. That was extremely
malevolent and sinister, to say the least.
It is not an elegant language to be used
by any lady not to mention the First Lady
and certainly not about a former Head of
State of the same country that you are
governing and from whose citizens you
are seeking a second term in office.
However, I believe that this may have
been an innocent quip. Whilst some may
be willing to forgive such naivety, it is
essential for you to quickly assure
Nigerians that you meant no harm and
that despite the ill-feeling and bitterness
that politics and electioneering may
engender you wish no evil to any man
least of all your husband’s leading rival
and contender. There is nothing wrong in
admitting your mistake of commission or
omission. It is actually a sign of strength.
In conclusion, I think you need to offer
urgent apologies for those unguarded,
unbecoming statements and try to be
more circumspect in the future. One of
your best appellations that I love most
sincerely is that of Mama Peace. Please,
don’t change it to Mama War …!
May God continue to bless you and
yours.
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