By Charles Azubuike
My paths and Sam Omatseye crossed when I was privileged be on the entourage of former Governor of Anambra State, Dr (Senator) Chris Nwabueze Ngige in 2009, preparatory for his second term bid tagged, “Meet the peoples tour” in Lagos State.
After paying a brief homage to Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, in his Bourdillion residence Ikoyi, we drove straight to the Nation Newspaper, for a media-chat and interactive session. Sam Omatseye (Editorial Board Chairman) acted as the moderator.
In fact, his oratoral prowess, gift of the garb, sense of humour instantly magnetized me, hence regarding him as my role models with the likes of Ikechukwu Amaechi and Femi Adesina who of late has derailed. They have one way or the other imparted positively to my passion for writing. No doubt, after that encounter, I became more enriched and was his ardent admirer.
But my high regards for him waned considerably when I discovered to my chagrin that in the course and in a desperate bid to please his pay-masters he often times threw caution and decorum to the wind. Anyway, I assumed and summarized that maybe out of overzealousness he is protecting his source of livelihood. For that singular reason, I paid less attention to his column. But, his recent, acerbic highly provocative and evil-laden article against the man of the moment, Peter Obi, with the above caption (Omatseye’s Obituary) will not go unchallenged.
By the way, why should Omatseye descend annoyingly low and always be a willing tool to denigrate and cast aspersions to anyone perceived to be his boss’ enemies or stumbling block for his vaunting ambition? Ikechukwu Amaechi column (Totally Real, Still on Sam Omatseye’s Obituary, Vanguard, Thursday August. 4, 2022) went memory lane and painstakingly dissected Omatseye’s legendary, impolitic and inglorious trajectory, which has done more harm than good to his image.
Pitiably, at this advanced age, Omatseye, according to a common Igbo parlance, is still calling meat, a meat. Like his boss, Omatseye’s Igbo-phobia has never been in doubt. Little wonder in his usual show of perfidy, he unabashedly used unpalatable tantrums and also pilloried the Igbo race in a bad light. May I ask Omatseye, one simple question: if Tinubu loves him sincerely, since all these while, why has he not elevated him to more dignifying and higher positions rather than confining him on this miserly role of an attack dog? Simply put, he is just using him for a mere purpose. But, matter-of-factly, who is afraid of Peter Obi? Why are they scared about this divine movement? Instead of admitting the imminent and eruptional earthquake (defeat) starring them in their faces, they are deluding themselves, calling Peter Obi a mere paper-weight (facebook) politician and without structure? The incontestable truth is that “Obi-dient Movement was divinely inspired, whose time, has come and no mortal can stop it. Instead of the self-acclaimed “Messiahs’ (Tinubu, Atiku and Kwankwaso) telling Nigerians the template (issues-based) on how they would tackle the multi-faceted monsters holding this nation hostage, they are busy adopting subterfuge and mischief to hoodwink the unwary. In corroboration for their hidden, pre-medicated and determined resolve to whittle down the chances of Peter Obi, by disenfranchising his strong base, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recently came up with their characteristic “conquerors game” (apologies to Ralph Egbu) with their dubious and published results of its voter registrations, portraying the Southeast zone on the last rung, despite the massive video evidence of voter registration, mostly the youths and the aged in the Southeast zone of the country.
That conqueror mentality-cum-orchestrated plans by the enemies of Ndigbo (for no justifiable reasons) have made them to regard them as second class citizens, hence they are hell-bent to stop Peter Obi at all costs.
At this auspicious time, let them be reminded that, unlike them, Peter Obi is not desperate for power, but on a rescue-mission (by the wishes and prodding of the majority of Nigerians), irrespective of tribe or religion to come and salvage this highly sinking ship occasioned by the so-called callous, selfish, nepotic, kleptomaniac and unpatriotic forays in our body polity. Lastly, the ball is, therefore, in the court of the electorate by using their votes and empirically and wisely to tell them that enough is enough. Or be cajoled again and lament later. The choice is, therefore, theirs because according to a popular Igbo maxim, “a war foretold, doesn’t consume a cripple”.
• Charles Azubuike writes from Onitsha