Urhobo Historical Society
Jesus Christ has come to
dwell in Calvary Dome, beside the gates of light, like a thief in the
deep
night of the world�s ignorance...
Epistle to the Vice President
Let the kite perch and let the
egret
perch too,
and if one says
no to the other, let his wings break.
� Chinua Achebe
By His Majesty Nengi
Josef Ilagha
Mingi XII, Amanyanabo
of Nembe
Bayelsa State, Nigeria
DEAR DR GOODLUCK
Jonathan, how
are you today? How is your family? How is your faith in God? I will not
bother
to ask you how things are with your office, because I have a fair idea.
I am
proudly Nigerian, and a royal father at that. My concern about our
beloved
nation will just not let me sleep. The internet tells me everything I
need to
know, and so too the television, the newspaper and the radio,
especially BBC. That
is how I got to know, against all speculation, that our President is
alive
after all. If nothing else, that came as a relief.
My regard for Mr President has remained high since he summoned
you to be
his right hand man. What is more, he ranks as the first Nigerian leader
to have
given priority to resolving the Niger Delta problem, reforming the
inadequate
power sector, redressing the flaws in our electoral system, besides
bringing
the demon of corruption underfoot. There is no doubt that he is a
well-meaning
helmsman, but by failing to confide in you at such a critical point in
our
national life, he may well have done a great deal of harm to his
presidential
image.
I dare say so. Why
has he
been so reluctant to hand over to you as required by the Constitution
he swore
to protect? If he could enter into a conversation with a reporter for
as long as
51 seconds, during which he had the presence of mind to wish our players well in the on-going African Cup of
Nations, why did
he decide to keep mum on his hospital bed for 51 odd days?
From one fisherman
to
another, don�t you think there�s something fishy in all this? Isn�t
there
something calculated in the fact that he has failed so far to hand over
properly to you, his foremost friend from the south, before embarking
on an
indefinite trip outside the country? If he trusted you sufficiently as
to
invite you to be his running mate, why did he run off without letting
you know
where he is running to? Does he really love Nigeria, or is it possible
that
members of his kitchen cabinet hate our beloved nation more?
I believe you can
take more
questions. Is it possible that his advisers thought it far more
worthwhile to
keep the entire nation in suspense through all this
hullabaloo? If so, to what end? Was that really the President�s voice
on my
radio? It sounded really weak and very unlike him. Did he really sign
the
supplementary budget as some gangsters want us to believe? How many
times has
he spoken to you since he left the shores of Nigeria?
I ask the last
question in
particular because, not so long ago, when your former boss Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha
was held
up in London, you were in constant touch with him, weren�t you? And,
quite
naturally, as his trusted deputy, you stepped into his shoes afterward
as
Governor of Bayelsa State, did your able
best and
moved on to higher office like a typical gentleman. So,
why
the suspicion now? Please tell your detractors to learn from
history. It
is a shame to think that all this is happening in this cardinal year,
2010,
when our dear Motherland marks her golden jubilee as one nation
apparently
bound in unity and love, though tribe and tongue obviously differ from
south to
north, east to west. It is a great pity. It is terrible what Nigeria
has become
in this day and age, don�t you think?
Frankly, it was
good to see
you take the New Year message on national television, standing in for
the
President. How I wish you could do that more often, even if in an
acting
capacity. I wonder who wrote your speech. You sounded prophetic when
you said
Nigeria was �sailing to greatness,� in spite of the current storm on
the high
sea. Even so, there were too many grand sentiments not fully expressed,
too
many dreams in suspension, too many ideas not broken down for common
men like
me to understand, but at least it filled a gap for the time being. How
did it
feel when you were rehearsing the speech? Did you feel something was
missing? Did
you remember your days as Governor?
I believe I speak
for your
people in Otuoke, Ogbia,
Bayelsa and the Niger Delta as a whole when
I say this, and
I say this with all sense of responsibility and good breeding. Please
come back
home. Return forthwith to the land that bred you. We do not count any
longer as
Nigerians, and the power brokers in the north have done well to spell
this out
in their recent actions. We have been insulted enough as a people. We
have
suffered enough ridicule at the hands of our neighbours.
They do not deserve us. Come back to Ijaw
country. We
need you, and you need us. And if anyone, from any part of this
country, dares
prevent you from coming home, let his wings break.
Chinua Achebe is my
witness.
Even Wole Soyinka is my witness.
We all know that
you did not
apply for this job. You did not lobby to become Vice President of the
Federal
Republic of Nigeria. You did not even print a poster declaring your
intention
one way or the other. All you wanted was to be voted into office in a
substantive capacity as Governor of Bayelsa
State,
and indeed we were all for you. We are living witnesses to the goodwill
that
you brought to your gubernatorial office. We testify to the remarkable
promise
of your short tenure. You are a good man indeed. Good luck to you.
In eighteen months,
you left
your people in no doubt that you were grateful for the mandate that God
gave
you when you succeeded Alamieyeseigha,
without any
effort on your part. There is no doubt that you brought good luck to Bayelsa in the intervening period. Verily,
verily, I say if
our fellow citizens do not want you to bring good luck to Nigeria,
please come
back home. We need you here, and you need us.
We are fully aware
that,
since you became Vice President, you have been sleeping in a guest
house. Do
you deserve to be treated like a stranger in your own country? It was
but a few
weeks ago that news broke to the effect that government had voted all
of Seven
Billion Naira to build your official quarters. What does that mean? If
I know
you well, you must be scandalized. What kind of bricks are they using
to build
that house? How much is a vice presidential bed in the open market? We
know
just how far that staggering amount of money can go to assuage the
agony of the
Ogoni, for instance. We know how many
villages that
amount can upgrade, if the face-lift to Otuoke
is
anything to go by.
I refer, of course,
to those
historic first two months of 2008 when the Federal Government
condescended to
do something down south, by way of mending our roads and constructing
befitting
chalets to accommodate the unprecedented entourage from Abuja, which
throng was
coming to express sympathy over the demise of your venerable father, Pa
Jonathan. Clearly, the so-called leaders of this nation do know what is
good
for us in the Niger Delta, but they cannot bring themselves to do it.
So, why
should we remain neighbours with a greedy
lot, and
expect to be happy? Please come home. The Lord is your shepherd. You
shall not
want.
Can you imagine
that some
people are whispering in dark corners, unable to sit in one place for
fear that
someone might overhear what they are plotting in their wicked hearts,
as if we
have recovered fully from the horrors of past coups? Can you imagine
some idle
minds talking of a full-scale war over this matter, as if we have
recovered
fully from the 30-month blast of bombs and bullets occasioned by the
selfish
eggheads in our midst. Gowon is still with
us. Ask
him. Ojukwu is still with us. Ask him.
Frankly, if
they really want to go to Heaven, these two gentlemen will tell you
that we are
tired of bloodshed. Enough is enough.
Let the whispers
between Ota
and Minna die down right now. Even a zoo
does not
survive on the mentality of bloodhounds. You are a zoologist. You know
what I
mean. I say there is a certain farmer who believes he has not given his
best
yet to Nigeria after eight years, to say nothing of the previous tenure
in
khaki. May his wings break if he dares to mastermind a coup plot under
cover of
a condolence visit to our friendly general who recently came to grips
with what
it means to suffer pain at a personal level.
I
sympathize with Babangida because his wife
promised
to bring some better life to the home front, but if he means to extend
his
private pain to the rest of the nation, O, let the sail go out of his babanriga!
Enough is enough,
Your
Excellency. Come home to Fisherman Country. We miss Melford
Okilo. We don�t want to miss you so soon.
Come home
to the Niger Delta, even if for a brief consultation. After all, Barack
Obama
has denied Nigeria flat. He came close to our borders, left us with
hard words,
and passed a condolence message through Hillary. Did he behave like a
brother
from Kenya? Now, they are calling us terrorists. But God knows that
your name
is not Abdulmutallab. We do not know how
to terrorize
anybody in the Niger Delta. We even laid down our guns when Yar�Adua
told us to demonstrate just how patriotic we are. We are content with
being
militant, because we have a right to be so. We have a right to seek
parity with
our fellow countrymen for the proceeds from the oil and gas resources
mined in
our territory. What is wrong with that?
This nation has
shown its
underhand. Why shouldn�t one of us be allowed to act as President in a
nation
full of actors in Nollywood? There is too
much
wickedness in the air, too much gambling with our corporate future.
Nigeria has
demonstrated just how lopsided it can get. Now we know what will happen
to us
when the oil wells dry up finally. Now we know what might have happened
if oil
and gas were to be found in commercial quantity in Lake Chad. All of us
will be
forsaken in our individual hamlets the way Oloibiri
has been forsaken for the better part of 50 years. Let us go our way
while we
can, no bad blood spilled. Let us remain peaceful in the eyes of God.
Let us be
law-abiding so that more oil wells can be discovered in our territory.
I shudder to think
that some
people want you to step into the shoes of your boss by force, as if you
are a
coup maker. But I know you well. You trust in the Constitution of the
Federal
Republic of Nigeria, 1999. You believe in the rule of law, and I know
you will
demonstrate this, if only Nigeria will allow you to hold brief for Yar�Adua. You have been biding your time. I
enjoin you to
continue to do so. No matter what name they call you, don�t mind them.
You may
have your faults, but I have no reason to blame. We all have our
faults.
I blame those
before you who
had a golden chance to set things aright before your advent, and failed
to do
so. I blame those who sold out to the north, sold out to the west, and
sold out
to the east. I blame Maduabebe, for one. I
blame
those who knew the worth of the economic wealth in our shores in
professional
geological terms, and yet did nothing to secure respect for us. I blame
the
first Chief Geologist to emerge in this nation. I blame Maduabebe.
Verily, verily, I
say it is
terrible what Nigeria has become in this day and age. It is a great
shame
indeed that the 160-page document that we call the Constitution of the
Federal
Republic of Nigeria amounts to just another book written on white
paper, bound
in green cover. Our legislators see it that way, and so do our
governors. Worse
still, some of our leading lights in the judiciary have become adept at
misinterpreting the sacred laws and statutes that should define our
existence
as a nation, to say nothing of our unassailable sovereignty.
Come home, Your
Excellency.
Come with the modest experience you have gained so far in the course of
your
tenure as Vice President of Nigeria. Come with everything new you have
learnt
in governance, and bring it to bear upon life in the Niger Delta. Come
and
stand upon the Star of David, beside Ekoli
Bridge.
Come and teach Sylva a thing or two about keeping electoral promises.
Come and envision
new dreams
for our people. Come and complete the good work you started. We want to
see
your face again, at close quarters. Come home, our dear son. Come back
to Swamp
Country. It is too late in the day for you to change your name to Atiku Abubakar.
Just come home to
Bayelsa. Come to Yenagoa.
Come
to the chosen parcel of land. Come to the New Jerusalem.
Jesus Christ, after
all, has
come to dwell in Calvary Dome, beside the gates of light, like a thief
in the
deep night of the world�s ignorance...
I remain your
humble friend,
King
Nengi Josef Ilagha,
JP
Mingi XII,
Amanyanabo of Nembe