Orubebe and His Many Demons

At the twilight of the last administration, some ministers, particularly of the Niger Delta extraction, were competing among themselves to outdo one another in demonstrating their fraternal relationship with and loyalty to then President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
The competition was so intense that each one of them took advertorials on one or two national dailies, not only to abuse the daylight out of Mohammadu Buhari, his opponent and presidential candidateof the All Progressive Congress, APC. In the hope that they would return to their exalted offices alongside their anointed “Ijaw brother”, they questioned the academic and democratic qualifications of Buhari while forgetting the moral standing of those who dared to support the retired army general against their fellow kinsman. Of course, they lost against their settled belief that the Otuoke born former president would win a return ticket for his second term inoffice.
Unfortunately, rather than accept the loss in good faith, or even accept that the loss was the result of Jonathan’s six years ofmisadventure, they held on to the rather childish assumption that hewas wrongfully schemed out of a fiefdom which providence gave to him and those who made him an Ijaw president. Since then, they never ceased to lap on any opportunity to rile those they perceive as their enemies even where or when there is no justification.
Arguably, this scenario explains why Chief Gosday Orubebe, former minister for Niger Delta Affairs, could not resist turning into a media war, the commentsby Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Edo state governor, that the Jonathan administration being the citadel of corruption. For daring to air personal opinion on what has become an open secret, the Burutu born Orubebe lampooned the governor, insisting that for being a sycophant, he is not a man to be trusted by Buhari. He has made a promise that in due course, he will make known the details of his allegation in a bookhe is still working on. Hmmm! Orubebe is not seeing demons in other people for the first time.
As indicated earlier, he saw legions in individuals like Chief TimipreSilva and Rotimi Amaechi, former governors of Bayelsa and Rivers states just as he wanted to exorcise the ones he identified during the collation process of the last presidential election result. But for divine intervention, his bitter and hate filled outbursts against Professor Attahiru Jega, then Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, almost tipped the country over the precipice. It did not come as news that he also spewed the same degree of venomous hatred in casting Oshiomhole out as a Brutus. But in taking on Oshiomhole and stirring the hornet’s nest for the umpteenth time, Orubebe simply missed the point.
As far as commonsense is concerned, the governor’s action for seeking the face of the president cannot be assumed by any right thinking individual or groupas abnormal. This is so because as elected representatives of the people, both are under obligation to meet and discuss issues bordering on the wellbeing of those they represent. That is the sole reason bothare in office in the first instance.
Frankly speaking, it would appear that the former minister is still battling with the humiliating disaffection arising from the loss of a job he held so reverently tha the cannot distinguish necessity from sycophancy. He needs to realize that the time has come for him to let go his bitterness against those he holds responsible for not retaining his plum job.
Indeed, he must realize that verbal assaults will not bring back the job.If Orubebe must be reminded, he should know that by declaring himself as “…a man of integrity”, he brought his reputation for integrity farlower than that which his opprobrious conducts already established. Otherwise, nothing stopped him from remembering the fact that Nigerians remember him more for attempting to ignobly short-circuittheir collective aspiration for a nation founded on truth and fairplay. It would make more sense if he was able to reconcile his integrity claim with the fact that he is the spoil sport that almost threw the nation over the precipice for acting the brigand even as the nation prayed for a peaceful outcome of the entire presidential election held earlier in the year. Or was he speaking in tongue whenhe talked about integrity?
More interestingly, many have not stopped wondering about what Orubebe will divulge in his yet-to-be-published book if, as he has already done, he let out the “Koko” by labeling Oshiomhole a sycophant and‘garage boy’. If indeed, he has the capacity to disgrace Oshiomhole ashe claims, so much so that Nigerians will stone him if seen on thestreets I am of the opinion that now is the right time to do so. Otherwise, he will simply compound his already soiled image of being one of those who without any modicum of honour, having allegedly presided over the corruption-ridden Niger Delta ministry.
Orubebe almost made Nigeria history while trying to ensure that Buhari never emerge president against the wish of other Nigerians. Now he is advising the president to be wary of Oshiomhole, one of those who madethe victory possible. If he is thinking right, he show realize that his call puts in the same stead as the man who claims to hate dog somuch that he would prefer the use of his teeth for sharing its meat instead of giving out his knife for same. He needs to exorcise the demons in him if he is to be taken more seriously than he is currently being seen-a man whose relevance does not extend beyond his bowler hat fraternity with the former president.
Honestly, even at the expense of doing an over kill on the Burutu-born Orubebe, I find it difficult dispelling the feeling that he is no more than a pot calling kettle black. Unless of course, he is able to convince me that as a minister, he had an office in Aso Rock where he had time to monitor how regular certain governors visited the place and what they discussed with the president, I will not see him in less capacity as a bigger sycophant than the man he is struggling to paint as one.
As a matter of fact, he ought to have realized that it is very scandalous to admonish Buhari of the need to be wary of Oshiomhole when he is the same man who wanted the head of Professor Attahiru Jega for allegedly working behind the scene for the emergency of, in his words, “an unqualified Buhari”.I
n any case, Orubebe has a more urgent demon to exorcise. He should be more concerned about how to convince Nigerians that he is not as dubious as allegations of impropriety over the manner he administered affairs of the Niger Delta ministry puts him. That is enough preoccupation for a man of real integrity