By: Iloegbunam (iloegbunam@hotmail.com) a student of the CHANGE dynamic.

I HAVE watched carefully, with high expectation, but also with a tinge of regret, certain national developments since you were sworn-in as the democratically elected President of Nigeria on May 29, 2015. People have accused your government of lethargy.

Critics have pointed to a streak of favouritism, if not nepotism, in the precious few appointments you have so far managed. Some, even of your own political party – the All Progressives Congress (APC) – have openly expressed doubts as to whether the change promised to dawn with the inception of your administration is in any way remotely resembled to what is so far self-evident.

None of these is of immediate concern to me here. My interest, Mr. President, is more fundamental since it touches on the very soul of Nigerian democracy, which you solemnly promised to nurture and enhance.

In my view, our nation’s fight against the cankerworm of corruption should, first and foremost, be a patriotic national service, not a schedule for partisan dogfights. Unfortunately, the indiscriminate and groundless invectives currently being spewed by your political apostles are in dissonance with the democratic ethos you promised Nigeria. They boil down to hysteria. And they are guaranteed to be counter-productive because they promote the fallacy that to be of service to one’s fatherland is mutually exclusive with malfeasance.

To quote a famous mantra of yours: “If Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.” The fight against corruption is many-pronged. But it does not include the demonisation of the innocent. Unfortunately, some of your teammates have been on the rampage, levelling unsubstantiated charges against top functionaries of the administration you succeeded.

For instance, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has been vitriolic in his attacks against a minister in the Jonathan administration whose offence, so far, appears to be her agreement to serve her country of birth. Does Oshiomhole not appreciate the possibility of the truly guilty escaping justice via the highway of distraction he is busily generating by his wild apportionment of guilt with neither concrete evidence nor trial in a court of competent jurisdiction?

I crave your indulgence to briefly examine a religious aspect of the dreadful thing that is going on because, it is not at all certain that Governor Oshiomhole and his coterie have looked at all sides of everything. I am not a Muslim. I am a Christian (Catholic). But Islam is a religion I hold in high esteem.

I understand that the basic principle of Sharia is that one’s testimony must be based on knowledge, clarity and trust. The Noble Quran [43:86] says “…But only those who testify to the truth [can benefit], and they know.” The Ninth Commandment of the Christian faith is a compelling injunction: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor!”
Governor Oshiomhole’s smear campaign against the government of former President Jonathan may be down to personal grudge against some functionaries of that administration.


His tenancy of the Edo State Government House expires in a year. When he vacates office, would the Comrade-Governor rather prefer a kind of treatment whereby, instead of examining his legacy with a sense of duty and balance, a band of critics would rise and drown out every other sound with incessant and mordant attacks on his name and person?

The way things are going, it seems safe to suppose that the profession of faith is rampant among politicians who, nonetheless, consider the upholding of their religious tenets as the tiniest of concerns.

The penchant to heap every imaginable sin in the world on the immediate past Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala does not wash. Many Nigerians see this as unwarranted persecution. In so far as definitions go, Coordinating Minister does not mean Supervisory Minister.

Ministers in the Jonathan administration did not report to Dr. Okonjo-Iweala. Why, then, is she being asked to account for all the ministries in the last dispensation when all others who held down ministerial portfolios are alive and available? Anti-corruption fights often fail because people distract themselves chasing shadows. Mr. President, you should please prevent yourself from falling into this trap. The focus should be on priorities.

Now, Mr. President, you will not inhabit Aso Rock forever, even if you served multiple terms. The day will eventually come when you will become former President Muhammadu Buhari. How would it feel, if after you have done your bit and passed the baton, a rabble rises and scripts the lyrics of a scathing swansong for you that is antithetical to your presidential pedigree?

We pray, Mr. President, that commentators will not, in the ultimate, have cause to pronounce anathema on your administration. I am one of those persuaded that you mean well for Nigeria. For this, I recall again that the central platform of your campaign for the presidency is the fight against corruption.

Is this fight now being prosecuted by the virulent attacks on the personality and integrity of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, by Oshiomhole and company? Oshiomhole has, among many other indiscriminate charges, accused Dr. Okonjo-Iweala of spending $2.1 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) without authorisation! How can it be said that there was expenditure without authorisation, when the evidence is there that authorisation is undeniable?

How are we sure that the attacks on this woman are not down to the fact that she published details of the Excess Crude monies paid to the governors most of whom cannot now pay salaries of their civil servants, or show to what useful purpose they put the funds they readily collected? Isn’t it obvious that there are high costs to pay for shadow chasing – like when wild allegations are concentrated on the innocent, while an expressway is paved for the escape of those who may have some explaining to do?

Mr. President, the fight against corruption, which you are leading, can do with one imperative, namely, the putting of an immediate end to unwarranted and unsubstantiated accusations that can only divert attention from the real culprits of corruption, if any.


•By: Iloegbunam (iloegbunam@hotmail.com) is a student of the CHANGE dynamic.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/07/mr-president-stop-this-smear-campaign/

People have accused your government of lethargy.

Critics have pointed to a streak of favouritism, if not nepotism, in the precious few appointments you have so far managed.

And you don't think this is smearing the person of the president of FRN?

Who in your opinion are the 'real' culprits of corruption?

When PDP was in power what stopped them from going after the real culprits of corruption?

Let's be realistic for once Nigerians.

IMO,forensic auditors are needed to examine those deals to the last detail cus if I tell u say I trust NOI then am not saying the truth.

im just gonna book a space and go back to sleep

So saying it the way it should is now term "smear campaign"? Most of you are saying this cause this is the first time an opposition will take over government. Same thing must have happened during GEJ tenure but it was treated as a PDP affair.

Did you hear Ambode talking about Fash government? that is because it is being treated as a family affair. I bet same thing happening at the federal would have been happening in Lagos if PDP had won. See the case of Wike vs Rotimi 2015.

So while I am not gonna support any smear campaign, I will advise we remove sentiment and try to analyse whatever information being given us about pass government so we can have a little insight on how past Leaders run us aground.

Btw: The poster below is so confuse. Posting a thread in a thread. smh.. He is geting me angry

I chose Yar’Adua because others were corrupt –Obasanjo JULY 16, 2015 : RAMON OLADIMEJI 193 Comments Former President Olusegun Obasanjo FOrmer President Olusegun Obasanjo said on Wednesday that he chose the late former President Umaru Yar’ Adua as his successor because the others who wanted the post were corrupt. Obasanjo said one of the people who wanted to succeed him in 2007 was “stinkingly corrupt” and that the only way he (Obasanjo) could justify himself before man and God was to go for Yar’Adua, who, he said, was the only one among the contenders then who was not corrupt. The former President, who spoke in an interview with a private television station, Channels Television, in Abeokuta, did not mention the ‘corrupt’ Yar’Adua rivals. Among the prominent presidential hopefuls in the Peoples Democratic Party in 2007 were Obasanjo’s deputy, Abubakar Atiku; and ex- Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili. Atiku later abandoned the PDP to contest the presidential election on the platform of the defunct Action Congress while Odili’s ambition fizzled out with the nomination of Yar’Adua. The AC later metamorphosed into the Action Congress of Nigeria, which later merged with the Congress for Progressive Change and the All Nigeria Peoples Party to form the now ruling All Progressives Congress. Obasanjo’s choice of successor died on May 5, 2010 from heart-related ailments. Many condemned Obasanjo for choosing a man who was manifestly sick to lead the country. But in the Channels interview, Obasanjo said he only acted based on the information made available to him. He said, “Even if you take your son as your successor, you are not sure of what he will do when he gets there. Don’t ever kid yourself. “What do I know about any successor? What he presents. When he gets there, he presents it differently. “We did our best, but if you say our best is not good enough, I will say, when it comes to your turn, do better. “With all the people that are available for successor, what we came up with was about the best that we could think of at that time. “One of those who wanted to do the job came to me and said, ‘Sir, I like your job, but I cannot do it the way you are doing it.’ Now, if he had told me that, should I then come and say, ‘okay, come, let me give you the job?’ He had told me that, ‘I like your job, but look, the way you are doing it, I haven’t got the stamina to do it that way.’ Then, what do you expect me to do? “Or the one that I know that, oh!, this one, before he gets the job, he’s stinkingly corrupt. Now will I be able to defend myself before God and man if with what I know I give this job or I encourage the man to have this job?” Copyright PUNCH. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH. Contact: editor@punchng.com Facebook 362 Twitter 34 Google+

Well, get ready for attack. APC has been whipping out figures from the air since 25BC

If Okonjo (& evr oda public & private office holder) is suspected 2 hav 'theifed' money blonging 2 us all,pls investigate,prosecute & jail...datz'all.if otherwise,den ppl (Oshio) shld shut d hell up! Afterall,shey Amaechi & oda APC starlwarts don de free,abi? free me abegi!

everybodi knws Gov oshiomole hav been acting foofy sinx she married dt gal,pus*y in action

Ok

Itulah:

I HAVE watched carefully, with high expectation, but also with a tinge of regret, certain national developments since you were sworn-in as the democratically elected President of Nigeria on May 29, 2015. People have accused your government of lethargy.
Critics have pointed to a streak of favouritism, if not nepotism, in the precious few appointments you have so far managed. Some, even of your own political party – the All Progressives Congress (APC) – have openly expressed doubts as to whether the change promised to dawn with the inception of your administration is in any way remotely resembled to what is so far self-evident.
None of these is of immediate concern to me here. My interest, Mr. President, is more fundamental since it touches on the very soul of Nigerian democracy, which you solemnly promised to nurture and enhance.
In my view, our nation’s fight against the cankerworm of corruption should, first and foremost, be a patriotic national service, not a schedule for partisan dogfights. Unfortunately, the indiscriminate and groundless invectives currently being spewed by your political apostles are in dissonance with the democratic ethos you promised Nigeria. They boil down to hysteria. And they are guaranteed to be counter-productive because they promote the fallacy that to be of service to one’s fatherland is mutually exclusive with malfeasance.
To quote a famous mantra of yours: “If Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.” The fight against corruption is many-pronged. But it does not include the demonisation of the innocent. Unfortunately, some of your teammates have been on the rampage, levelling unsubstantiated charges against top functionaries of the administration you succeeded.
For instance, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has been vitriolic in his attacks against a minister in the Jonathan administration whose offence, so far, appears to be her agreement to serve her country of birth. Does Oshiomhole not appreciate the possibility of the truly guilty escaping justice via the highway of distraction he is busily generating by his wild apportionment of guilt with neither concrete evidence nor trial in a court of competent jurisdiction?
I crave your indulgence to briefly examine a religious aspect of the dreadful thing that is going on because, it is not at all certain that Governor Oshiomhole and his coterie have looked at all sides of everything. I am not a Muslim. I am a Christian (Catholic). But Islam is a religion I hold in high esteem.
I understand that the basic principle of Sharia is that one’s testimony must be based on knowledge, clarity and trust. The Noble Quran [43:86] says “…But only those who testify to the truth [can benefit], and they know.” The Ninth Commandment of the Christian faith is a compelling injunction: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbour!”
Governor Oshiomhole’s smear campaign against the government of former President Jonathan may be down to personal grudge against some functionaries of that administration.
His tenancy of the Edo State Government House expires in a year. When he vacates office, would the Comrade-Governor rather prefer a kind of treatment whereby, instead of examining his legacy with a sense of duty and balance, a band of critics would rise and drown out every other sound with incessant and mordant attacks on his name and person?
The way things are going, it seems safe to suppose that the profession of faith is rampant among politicians who, nonetheless, consider the upholding of their religious tenets as the tiniest of concerns.
The penchant to heap every imaginable sin in the world on the immediate past Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala does not wash. Many Nigerians see this as unwarranted persecution. In so far as definitions go, Coordinating Minister does not mean Supervisory Minister.
Ministers in the Jonathan administration did not report to Dr. Okonjo-Iweala. Why, then, is she being asked to account for all the ministries in the last dispensation when all others who held down ministerial portfolios are alive and available? Anti-corruption fights often fail because people distract themselves chasing shadows. Mr. President, you should please prevent yourself from falling into this trap. The focus should be on priorities.
Now, Mr. President, you will not inhabit Aso Rock forever, even if you served multiple terms. The day will eventually come when you will become former President Muhammadu Buhari. How would it feel, if after you have done your bit and passed the baton, a rabble rises and scripts the lyrics of a scathing swansong for you that is antithetical to your presidential pedigree?
We pray, Mr. President, that commentators will not, in the ultimate, have cause to pronounce anathema on your administration. I am one of those persuaded that you mean well for Nigeria. For this, I recall again that the central platform of your campaign for the presidency is the fight against corruption.
Is this fight now being prosecuted by the virulent attacks on the personality and integrity of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, by Oshiomhole and company? Oshiomhole has, among many other indiscriminate charges, accused Dr. Okonjo-Iweala of spending $2.1 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) without authorisation! How can it be said that there was expenditure without authorisation, when the evidence is there that authorisation is undeniable?
How are we sure that the attacks on this woman are not down to the fact that she published details of the Excess Crude monies paid to the governors most of whom cannot now pay salaries of their civil servants, or show to what useful purpose they put the funds they readily collected? Isn’t it obvious that there are high costs to pay for shadow chasing – like when wild allegations are concentrated on the innocent, while an expressway is paved for the escape of those who may have some explaining to do?
Mr. President, the fight against corruption, which you are leading, can do with one imperative, namely, the putting of an immediate end to unwarranted and unsubstantiated accusations that can only divert attention from the real culprits of corruption, if any.
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/07/mr-president-stop-this-smear-campaign/

nonsense!. mr president's first and immediate responsibility is to probe the particular regime that handed over directly to him. after that he could then stretch it to other places. it is one step at a time, it's not a smear campaign of any sort!

What has Oshiomole's attack on NOI got to do with PMB?

How is he responsible directly on indirectly?

Is Oshiomole the spoke person of PMB?

Some people just like to confuse theirselves at times.

Oshiomlo is an ugly bastard.

ddippset:
nonsense!. mr president's first and immediate responsibility is to probe the particular regime that handed over directly to him. after that he could then stretch it to other places. it is one step at a time, it's not a smear campaign of any sort!

Your comment indicates that either you didn't read the article or you didn't understand after reading. What the writer is saying is that Edo Gov. should stop accusing someone of embezzlement when he didn't have enough evidence to back up his claims. And if he had sufficient evidence, then the matter should be taken to court for trial. It is only court of competent jurisdiction that can pronounce one as a thief or corrupt.