By now, I am
sure my readers have read the very disparaging comments against former
President Goodluck Jonathan which were credited to the leader of the
Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
So
pedestrian are those comments that I will not repeat them here. You can
Google them on your own if you have not read them but I will not stain
my writing space by republishing them.
Ndi'Igbo needs friends and support. No one can win in life if they walks solo. Ecclesiastes 4:11 says 'if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?'
It was for
lack of friends that Ndi'Igbo were defeated between 1967-1970. Is
history about to repeat itself? You do not alienate the few friends you
have and expect to attract more friends.
This is the
advantage the North has over Ndi'Igbo. They know their friends. If with
all Jonathan did for Ndi'Igbo someone can dismiss him with the wave of
the hand so casually and accuse him of doing nothing for Ndi'Igbo and
Ndi'Igbo would applaud such a person instead of calling him to order,
then do not expect those who are watching Ndi'Igbo acquiesce to this
mistreatment of Jonathan to do anything for Ndi'Igbo when or if they get
into power.
If Jonathan can be so treated, then who is sacrosanct?
There are
those who have said Jonathan lost the 2015 elections because his
fondness for Ndi'Igbo alienated him from other sections of Nigeria.
Today, people who hold such opinions are laughing at Jonathan.
The fact
that not even one prominent leader amongst Ndi'Igbo has stood up to
condemn the hate speech against Jonathan is telling.
This is a
man who was the first person since the end of the civil war to make
Ndi'Igbo Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chief of Army
Staff. For 41 years before Jonathan, not one Ndi'Igbo came near such
position.
Alas, none
of the many Ndi'Igbo who benefited from appointments under Jonathan
could stand up to defend him against those very mean words from Nnamdi
Kanu.
What a lesson to anyone who may be planning to toe the path of Jonathan! What a lesson.
My advice to
you and the Igbo race, go and learn diplomacy. It will help you more
than physical strength and academic intelligence.
Only a month ago, In my widely published article 'Hegemony: What the Igbo can learn from Yoruba and Fulani about power', I advised Ndi'Igbo, saying that the Igbo often mistake discretion for weakness.
Nnamdi Kanu proves my point! Calling Dr. Goodluck Jonathan weak is just a manifestation of what I wrote about.
Nnamdi Kanu
needs to understand something about leadership. Leadership is a platform
that gives you the opportunity to increase your influence or reduce it
until it is eliminated.
Upon his
release, public sympathy for him increased his influence. The successful
sit at home further increased it. However, his utterances since then
have been steadily reducing his influence.
I know Chief
Femi Fani-Kayode very well. He will soon hear the things Nnamdi Kanu
said about the Yorubas. He has already heard about the things Nnamdi
Kanu said about Jonathan. It will not be very long before Nnamdi Kanu
loses one of his most valiant non Igbo supporter. Apparently, what the
Nigerian government couldn't do to Nnamdi Kanu, Nnamdi Kanu is using his
own mouth to do to himself!
Why does
this keep reoccurring? Anytime I read or hear about Madiba Nelson
Mandela, I have bittersweet memories. Why? Because we could have had our
own Mandela in another Nnamdi!
Nnamdi
Azikiwe was at one time known all over Africa as Zik of Africa. It was a
thing of pride and joy to pre-independent Nigeria. Everyone was proud
of Zik including Northerners. This is a fact.
But the
story ended tragically. No matter what may have happened to him through
his political choices and alliances, it was a very great disappointment
that a man who reached the peak of his political career as Zik of Africa
ended up allowing himself to be known as the Owelle of Onitsha, not
even of Nigeria, or Igboland or even Anambra, but of Onitsha.
The new
Nnamdi ought to learn from this tragedy. When he was released, believe
it or not, he was hailed and celebrated far beyond the borders of
Igboland.
On social media, every Wale, Dakolo and Nosa sang his praises. He was Nnamdi Kanu, the hero of the oppressed.
But the more he talked, the more the Wales had a rethink and shrunk away from him, leaving only the Dakolos and Nosas.
Then he talked some more and both the Dakolos and the Nosas felt unwelcome and beat a hasty retreat.
Today, it is only Chukwuma and Ikechukwu that are singing his praises.
Nnamdi Kanu
was created by President Muhammadu Buhari because before he was
arrested, I had heard nothing about him. Absolutely nothing.
But just
like President Buhari has squandered whatever goodwill he had left by
choosing to give his national Sallah message to Nigerians in a sectional
language, so too has Nnamdi Kanu wasted away the considerable adulation
he had outside Igboland by his Igbo supremacy tendencies.
I hope with
Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB does not end up with a case of me and Ndi'Igbo against
Nigeria, me and Abia state against Ndi'Igbo, me and Isiama Afara
against Abia state and finally, me and my father's house against Isiama
Afara. From what we are seeing, the omens are not encouraging at all!
Shaka
Momodu, an editor with ThisDay newspapers, taught me a lesson 26 years
ago. We both had a mutual friend who turned out to be something of a
nasty piece of work.
When I
discovered this, I quite naturally withdrew from this person and
although almost all our other friends badmouthed this individual, Shaka
would not.
One day, I
asked Shaka why he refrained from talking down this man. Shaka's
response was telling and has stuck with me for decades
He said
Reno, one day I had nowhere to sleep and ........allowed me sleep in his
room for that day. I cannot find it in me to fight someone who
accommodated me even if it was for just one day.
From that
day till the day I die, and even when I am in God's kingdom after death,
I will respect Shaka Momodu for having such sterling principles. I can
only wish that Nnamdi Kanu had such high principles.
Ndi'Igbo should remember the proverb: If you want to walk fast, walk alone.
But if you want to walk far, walk with friends.
And now let me address the issue of President Muhammadu Buhari's unwise decision to address the nation in a sectional language.
In a country
whose official language is English, President Muhammadu Buhari
broadcasts his Sallah message in Hausa! Would Trump (whose origin is
German) address America in German?
So what
about all those Nigerians who can't speak Hausa? Ideally, the President
should have spoken in English first, then if he feels like it, he may
also speak in Hausa.
The way he
has now spoken only in Hausa makes it seem as if he is only concerned
with those who gave him 97% of the votes while those who have him 5% can
take a hike!
How would
the rest of the country have felt if President Olusegun Obasanjo had
released a Christmas broadcast to Nigerians in Yoruba of if President
Goodluck Jonathan has done so in Ogbia?
How can a
NATIONAL leader address Nigerians in a SECTIONAL language? Nigeria has
never had a leader as divisive as Buhari! There is no difference between
President Buhari and Nnamdi Kanu.
President
Buhari is the President of all Nigeria. He is not the President of only
those who can speak Hausa! This is an outrage! President Yar'adua also
spoke to the BBC News by phone. He is Fulani, like President Buhari. Yet
he spoke in English because he was President of all of us!
At this stage, permit time to digress and say something about a loss I suffered.
Eight years
ago I cried as if I had lost my own brother. You gave me so much joy
from my childhood to now. I thank God for giving the world the
opportunity to benefit from your creative genius, Michael Jackson! You
were the most consistently brilliant music star the world ever knew.
Your dedication to your craft was matchless. You outshone Elvis, The
Beatles, and even in death you continue to outshine contemporary stars. I
love you Michael. Rest in the bosom of The Lord!
Reno's Nuggets:
If you knew
how quickly your boss will replace you if you die, you will pay more
attention to your family rather than your job. How many burials have you
been to? Do you ever see the dead man's boss there? Yet most men slave
away at their work and prioritize it over their family who will be the
one to bury them, mourn over them and carry on their legacies. Remember,
your company has its own name, but your children bear your own name
forever. Be wise. You are replaceable at work. You are irreplaceable to
your family. Don't work for your salary. Work for your family
#RenosNuggets
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