ALI BABA, BABA IYABO TAKE YOUR TIME O
By Farouk Martins, Omo Aresa faroukomartins@aim.com
It is one of many characters to be known as stubborn, good or bad. Obasanjo has attributed it to his Owu heritage, fine. When this hard headedness crossed the path of the law, we are in a different ball game altogether. I have been wrongly accused of supporting Baba Iyabo against the Forty Thieves.
All I have done is count Ali Baba as the least of all the evils among the Forty Thieves for daring to come out and expose them. The governor of Lagos State, Tinubu has never enjoyed my support, nor does he need it from grassroots like me. I have always been uncomfortable about Tinubu’s character, even before the latest revelation by my dear friend, Nuhu Ribadu.
Our honorable former Chief Justice, Uwais, courageously came out and condemned Obasanjo’s Government for disobeying the law of the land by cunningly misinterpreting the judgment of the highest Court on withholding Lagos State allocation. One would think that after that reprimand from someone no less that the head of the Court that interpreted that law, Ali Baba would find a way out to pay Lagos State in our nonmilitary government experiment. He has now denied over 16b naira to local government?
Seriously, how many local governments in the Country can afford to loose that much money without undue hardship to the common man? Even in Lagos, I know people who complained of hunger at home because they were not paid for some months. It is a case of elephants fighting while the grass suffers. Millions or billions of anything means nothing to these politicians.
If we support Ali Baba’s tactics against corruption, because it takes a cunning man to catch a thief, what role does denial of allocation got to do with corruption or violation of the rule of law? Is he keeping the money because Tinubu will embezzle it? This man is shooting himself in the foot, knowing that you do not light a match if you are covered with gasoline. As much as we need him to stand against his cohort, he never fails to aggrandize himself to a fault.
No! Obasanjo can not still see straight as a result of a lingering effect from Abacha’s dungeon. Both of them have something in common anyway: it is this disdain for the people of Lagos. In spite of Marwa’s invitation in their military days, Abacha rightly refused to visit Lagos. Obasanjo has shortchanged Lagos before by allocating Lagos’s share of appointments to Awolowo’s son. In spite of Lagosians unquestionable love for Awo, fair is fair. You do not rub Peteru to pay Suberu.
The days some people claimed that there are no qualified candidates from Lagos are long gone. We work hard these days. We are venturing into politics more than ever. Yes, I sometimes wonder about that too, especially after Funso Williams. But the good people of Nigeria have come to our defense against Ali Baba withholding our share. He still continues to do so in spite of the law and people of “timber and caliber” all over Nigeria on our side. Ali Baba, did we send you to Military School with the Vulture Class?
After all, Akhigbe has come out in the defense of his colleagues that your trainings are too valuable to deny your cohorts the opportunity to rule Nigeria. Is that what you are trained for, to be hard headed, plan a coup, steal money and use the money to perpetuate your selves as the rulers of Nigeria?
I am calling on the good people of Nigeria to send Obasanjo to the house of Baba Monkelegbe in Lagos for cure. Please reserve your energy to fight the Forty Thieves. There is no reason for side show to prove that your are very tough on Lagos State. We have never been subdued; Obasanjo will not be the first to do so.
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Idris Abubakar Houston Texas, United States Of America October 19, 2006
I personally dont care what ever your name is F. Mratins. Look if you can do better why dont you contest in the elections and lets see how well you can govern. I personally doff my hat to Obasanjo. Has has done a wonderful job. to rule a country as diverse as Nigeria require a man with highlly gifted intellect. I personnaly wish if were possible for him to continue on for a third term. Cos and the big question is Who are we going to entrust the bouyant foreign reserve to. Who? the likes of Babangida, Abdulsalam, Ojukwu, Nzeribe, Atiku, Igbinedion, just to mention a few. of course not. Please Mallam Nuhu Ribadu Seperate the wheat from the chaff. so that we have a genuine leader who will lead us in this millenium to a vibrant and utopiaic society where we see regular supply of electricity, ban the smoke choking generators, supply good clean pure water, and last but not the least, excellent motorable roads and the presicution of officials who enrich themselves with funds ment to better the lot of the people.By the way my choice after Baba OBJ. is The Duke, Donald duke.
thanks.
femi babalola lagos, Nigeria October 18, 2006
Thanks to farouk but he should be more decent in his presentation, it doesn't speak well of a good Nigerian to rubbish our president on the web this way, no matter what he might have done wrong. i was born and grew up in lagos, all that happened as regard Baba witholding the local government fund we all know is political and things are gradually taking shape.
we should be corteous about our utterance because it's how you present youself that people outside will take you..
Jide Ogun Lagos, Nigeria October 18, 2006
i am really surprised that Femi thinks politics as usual is greater than the needs of those denied. Even when Tinubu finds ways to pay them, some still went without for many months. There are those who could not send money to the villages outside Lagos and those men who snecked out of home early in the morning because they had no money to give their families. Our President my foot.
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