Rivers AC, Not Suage Badey Against Odili, Sekibo
Our attention has been drawn to the publication in a Port Harcourt based newspaper, National Network, Vol 6 NO 29 July 27th - August 2nd , 2009, titled, Re: 'Odili Cannot Hijack Rivers AC'...Suage Badey Is Unconsciously Digging His Own Political Grave – By Our Political Reporter .As a matter of fact, we would have ignored the said publication but because the story was lacking in facts and was bent to misleading the general public and to malign the age long repute of the persona dramatis, we had no other thought than to put pen on paper to put the facts straight. The story was without a byline. And it becomes imperatively a mindsore that the reporter was bent to insulting and debasing Suage Badey's integrity fighting to defend his or her principals, Dr. Peter Odili and Dr. Abiye Sekibo. In that story, one can easily notice the voice of a rented writer or a hack one at that because the story lacks both in professionalism and buttresses an act of downsizing journalism.
The reporter started the story thus: “And having looked to government for bread, on the very first scarcity they will turn and bite the hand that fed them” - Edmund Burke. After reading the above quote what comes in mind was what was necessary using the quote in that article. The reporter perhaps was among the many Nigerians who live in the past and does not want a change because of the crumbs they got from the past which due to their lack of acumen and the fear of the future they want those who helped them to the detriment of others to continue in the saddle without any future for the future generation.
From the above quote, one can easily fraction among Badey and the reporter who is begging for bread even while having a handful of bread. Badey is above playing politics of vendetta and his political network is not organized to hound anybody as far as politics of the Rivers State was concerned. And Badey, as the Rivers State chapter of the Action Congress (AC), with the power bestowed on him by the constitution of the party, has every right to defend his party from any internal or external aggression when such was perceived. So, Badey cannot as an individual cast any venom or vituperation on any body in the state political-wise, but can talk to anybody as far as his party was concerned.
We think this reporter was bent to making his principals believe so much in him or her by the misleading rejoinder he or she published which if publishers vet every article well before publishing, that article would have been best for the trash-can.
The reporter went as far as insulting Badey as if there were any qualms between both of them before. Though we don't know the reporter as he or she was afraid to pen name down. “There could not be a better description of the so-called Suage Badey, a political nymph and controversial factional chairman of the Action Congress in Rivers State ,” reportedly said the reporter. “Not even in the smallest of the small States in the sub-Saharan Africa let alone Rivers State can a political neophyte feel so free as to seek relevance by picking on a man of honour, one of the names and figures that gives meaning to our State in the comity of nations under the pretext of impressing his paymasters”.
While that may sound very interesting to the audience the reporter wanted to attract their bravo, to us it is the sheerest of rubbish any observer of our politics may have read in the civilized 21st century. We wish those who don't know Badey in person can see him and make suggestions themselves among Badey and the faceless reporter who is a nymph or and amoebae. Hogwash!
The reporter went further to exhibit his or foolery for people to laugh at thinking that he or she was bringing Badey to the cleaners. Hear rubbish by the reporter again: “Thank God, the State Governor, Rt. Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is not the kind that is easily impressed and, or deceived by such antics, moreso when the malice is centred on his political master, Sir Dr Peter Odili”.
Does the tone above not sound praising Governor Amaechi whom the reporter was saying doesn't listen to charlatans like him or her? And no wonder the Governor, according to the reporter, waves sycophancy like the one we have read about the reporter with the left of his back hand anytime any day.
It was due to the anger by such highest level of thinker wastefulness like that of a political commentator, Hon Dominic Saata, vice chairman, Rivers Democratic Working Group (RDWG) and Chief James Korobia Banyonwa, PDP chieftain of Bodo city in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, that Governor Amaechi doesn't allow gone-off people around him because people of such don't have any future for our state but for their selfish aggrandizement.
These men, according to the reporter, said, “Suage Badey is unconsciously digging his own political grave in a bid to satisfy his inordinate ambition of becoming force to be reckoned with by government”. And after reading the hogwash we wondered what these men were doing if not becoming noticeable through maliciousness and selling story of hoodwinking to the general public in a bid to be high paid by those they were trying to be yesmen to.
We advise that these men and every other fellow should channel their energy to good works on how to take the state to the next level and not how to take Odili and Seki to the next level. We are not saying that Odili and Sekibo are not good, but anyone can go round our state and see for himself or herself how the duos are being regarded. Except for the Old Israelites who would continue to see Moses as their leader, time and events have taken the centre stage, and we have to move forward as a state, not as an individual or as Odili or Sekibo or Amaechi
Badey has not indulged in any self delusion and is not into politics to impress the State government; Badey has even been a most critic of the Amaechi-led government of Rivers State . A research both in the national and local papers would attest to our claim. Badey is not an ignorant and visionless as the Odili and Sekibo sycophants want the public to believe.
Badey can be remembered anytime the history of our state would be re-written, at least he is cheering our people through the AC that he is a democrat worthy of emulation without siding evils and ineptitude. Badey, as a person, respects Odili and Sekibo so much and had always encouraged the likes of Saata and Banyonwa to eschew political jobbing and praise-singing, so that they wouldn't lose their voice because tomorrow is great .
We are not antagozing that Dr. Peter Odili, Dr. Abiye Sekibo and a few others notwithstanding the seeming political gridlock in the State cannot be wished away in the political history of Rivers State, but mediocres like Saata and Banyonwa to cast vituperation on the person of Badey is the worst misleading of all the political observations in our great state. It amounts to a greater grievance and rudeness on the individuality of Rivers people for the likes of Saata and Banyonwa to carry such seditious and malevolent utterances against Badey. In a nutshell, we are not disappointed that political jobbers like Saata and Banyonwa are still on the prowl because those whose fathers have elephantiasis of the scrotum don't fear big objects anymore.
Odimegwu Onwumere is the Founder of Poet Against Child Abuse (PACA), and a Media Consultant based in Rivers State . [email protected]