Memo To The First Lady By Dele Momodu

Dele Momodu in his yesterday's Thisday column
dedicated the entire writeup addressing Dame
Patience,the wife of Nigeria's sitting President
Goodluck Jonathan. The former presidential
candidate called out three recent utterances by the
First Lady which he insists crossed the line from
politicking to insult and outright defamation. He
asks that Patience Jonathan speaks more words of
peace and apologize to those she has insulted with
her insensitivty.... Read below...

''Your Excellency please let me start by
emphasising the fact that this is my very first letter
to you since destiny elevated you and your
husband to the highest
positions in Nigeria. It may be the last before your
tenure expires on May 29, 2015, and another
begins with you or someone else in the saddle.
Despite all the controversies engulfing you and
your husband, I had resisted the temptation of
writing you in the past for several, if not many,
reasons. Kindly permit me to expatiate a bit.
I’m a great admirer of strong, confident and
energetic women who cannot be bullied by the
galaxy of male chauvinists that litter the political
landscape of Africa. As someone who was brought
up by my amazing mum, Omo Arotiwebiojo, an
unlettered woman and petty trader, I knew what it
took to survive in a particularly difficult terrain.
Indeed, whilst some have impugned you for your
so-called lack of command of the English
language, I have remained partial to you because,
like most of us, English is not your first language,
and your contributions have enriched our home-
grown lexicon!
I can therefore imagine what you and our dear
beloved President must have gone through
together, in thunder, lightning, rain and sunshine.
The hurly-burly of life must have thrown you hither
and thither when there was no one else around to
share in your secret pain and anguish. But it must
have pleased God in His infinite mercy to raise you
and your husband up, like Jesus did to a dead
Lazarus, as original examples of uncommon
transformation.
I must say, Ma, that I have a soft spot for you for
other reasons. I was told on good authority that
you were a more formidable politician and
mobiliser of people and resources than your
husband. A few of your friends often regale how
you have been a solid pillar and a rock of Gibraltar
behind the love of your life, Dr Goodluck Ebele
Azikiwe Jonathan. It is said that you’re willing to
sacrifice your all for his sake and he has also
reciprocated by according you humongous respect
and granting you such vast powers that make
onlookers see you as a de facto President in your
own right. To God be the glory.
I vividly recollect your relationship with the former
First Lady, Hajia Turai Yar’Adua. You gave her
tremendous respect and your taciturnity was
legendary. Not much was heard from you at that
time and not many, except probably Bayelsans,
ever suspected that you had so much buried
inside your heart and that you were only waiting
for the opportune time to vomit them.
Even in the days of tribulations when the cabal
held sway and grabbed our nation by the jugular,
you and your husband handled the volatile
situation with maturity and remarkable equanimity.
Some of us were ready to fight your battle, and
risked our lives, because we saw you as the
underdogs who must be rescued from the fangs of
the political hyenas. We were further emboldened
by the facts of your husband’s man-in-the-street
story, a fairy-tale of sorts about a man from the
Otuoke manger who had no shoes. We were not
just titillated but fascinated by such flashes of
inspiration.
Against all odds, your husband became the
substantive President and Commander-in-Chief of
the Armed Forces of Nigeria after the demise of
President Yar’Adua. Nigerians were happy about
the smooth transition of power and they even
boasted that for the first time we had not just
another graduate but a PhD holder as President.
Sooner than later, as time sped by, it was time for
your husband to run his own race. Nigerians from
all walks of life queued behind him and he won
without much ado. The goodwill he garnered was
awesomely massive and the people were very
expectant about the “fresh air” promised by him.
Of course, to whom much is given, much is
expected.
It is nearly four years since that momentous
occasion and it is time for a re-examination and
re-election. But what should have been a simple
walk-over for your sweetheart seems to have
developed k-leg. While your husband and those
close to him would want us to believe he is
Nigeria’s best President ever, many Nigerians feel
he has under-performed and would want to try
someone else. I have seen you and your husband
waka up and down this nation campaigning like no
man’s business. Many have likened the exercise to
a student engaging in last minute agberu
(memorising) after failing to do so all along. This
is the crux of my epistle to you today.
I have read and heard so much about you as a
very powerful First Lady. I know that when you are
at that level, not many people can tell you the
gospel truth. No one wants to offend those in
power. But I have decided to tell you the bitter
reality once and for all. I’m not writing out of any
malice, since none can exist between us. But for
the sake of posterity, which I know beckons as
always; the fact must be told to you. The summary
of what I’m about to say is that you and your
husband have frittered away most of your goodwill.
Had you retained your humility in power, may be
you could have avoided this commotion and
conundrum of trying to achieve in two months
what you couldn’t in about five years. You would
probably have avoided the tragedy of trying to
manipulate the electoral process, buying more time
and doing a catch-up on lost grounds.
If the actuality must be told Ma, the whole trouble
started the day you publicly ridiculed the Governor
of your home state. It was reported that you
yanked a microphone out of his hands and
lambasted him like a recalcitrant school boy. In
order not to cause mayhem right there, the
Governor was said to have left you to your
tantrums and went home quietly like a penitent
student. That day, you sowed the seed of discord
that would later germinate and snowball into a
consuming fire. Though the Governor and your
husband like true gentlemen chose to carry on
their damaged relationship as if all was well, but
the worst was on the way.
The battle for the soul and control of your state
would later spread to Abuja where your husband
began to see the Governor as an enemy who must
be cut down to size. In the process of trying to
achieve that dream, more Governors joined the
fray and in a jiffy, the centre could no longer hold. I
do not want to go into some obvious details as
I’m sure you know about the intrigues of power
more than me. But I must give one more example
of how you laid the foundation for today’s grand
alliance against your husband.
Let me put it this way. Never in the history of
Nigeria have I read of a First Lady responding to
criticisms in the frontal manner you attacked
Professor Wole Soyinka over an issue that you
could easily have ignored. That singular act of
unrestrained combativeness was one of your worst
public relations gaffes. Wole Soyinka is one of
those global icons that you can’t take on and win.
If for nothing, here was a man who at about 76
years of age trekked under the scorching sun of
Abuja to defend the rights of your husband when
many of the acolytes around you today were
nowhere to be found. You were not supposed to
repay such selfless gestures with verbal blows.
That was when you finally lost me and I’m sure
many others.
Let me remind you that virtually all Nigerian
leaders have been disparaged at one time or the
other. It is one of the heavy prices to pay in
compensation for the privileges of leadership. Just
imagine how much some of us attacked President
Ibrahim Babangida, Chief Ernest Shonekan, General
Sani Abacha and others over the June 12 crisis.
None of their wives ever hit back at the critics no
matter the degree of provocation. In fact, they
acted perfectly normal and even tried to build
bridges of friendship instead of bombing the castle.
I remember with fond memories, Dr (Mrs) Maryam
Ndidi Babangida, who remained graceful to the
very end. Mrs Maryam Abacha endured the most
blistering attacks against her husband in life and
death. She has since reconciled with many of her
husband’s vociferous enemies. Hajia Turai
Yar’Adua was subjected to virulent criticism by
many, and I confess I was one of her knockers in
the dying throes of the cabal, but she wisely kept
her own counsel and declined to join issues with
anyone. When it dawn on her that the battle was
lost and won, she packed her baggage out of Aso
Rock without as much as a whimper.
If Justice Fati Abubakar was a selfish woman and a
poor adviser to her husband, General Abdulsalami
Abubakar, she would have insisted that they
should not quit power within the one year he
promised to hand over to a democratically-elected
President. That government had more than enough
resources to buy the ubiquitous array of
mercenaries but General Abubakar chose to go in
peace and not in pieces. It was such a rarity in
Africa and till this day the General is still enjoying
a standing ovation for his vision.
I must also mention specifically Mrs Stella
Obasanjo, whose husband has always had a
running battle with the media and yet she
maintained steady media frenzy in her own
kingdom. She was everyone’s friend and continues
to be fondly remembered even in death. I recollect
one occasion when we travelled to Beverley Hills,
USA, with her, and her simplicity just wowed
everyone. She made sure we jumped in the cars
and buses and headed out to a night club owned
by Don Cornelius. She was so down to earth. On
her last trip to Ghana before her unfortunate death,
I had gone to pay her a visit at M-Plaza hotel
where she and President Obasanjo stayed.
Despite my frosty relationship with her husband,
we sat in one corner chatting away as the
President attended to his own visitors. She never
got involved in our endless battles with Baba. I
have cited these examples to show that you and
your husband are not alone in the barrage of
criticisms and attacks. You must rise up way
above such pedestal. But sadly, you have not been
able to allow any comment pass you by, no matter
how mundane.
I decided to write this open letter after the spate of
vocal terror you deployed in the last few days
against your husband’s opponents. In case some
praise-singers told you lies that what you did was
right, I wish to assure you that you’ve done almost
irreparable damage to your husband’s presidential
campaign. I will now proceed to paraphrase about
three of those satanic verses that escaped from
your tongue this week alone, but not in any
particular order.
The first shocker was when you said before a
crowd that those shouting the mantra of Change
are not serious and that as a matter of fact they
should be stoned anywhere they shout Change! I
thought it was a joke until the video went viral.
The next one was when you spoke dispassionately
about how your husband should be praised and
thanked for improving the welfare of the menacing
Almajiri kids in Northern Nigeria but you then went
astray by insensitively and inconsiderately saying
that the Northerners are fond of bearing children
with reckless abandon and throwing them on the
streets to fend for themselves. You went further to
say such things don’t happen in the part of Nigeria
you come from. I think that wasn’t very nice or
tactful.
The last straw for me was when you declared
matter-of-factly that your husband’s main
challenger, Major General Muhammadu Buhari
should not be voted in because he is “brain dead”,
according to you. That was extremely malevolent
and sinister, to say the least. It is not an elegant
language to be used by any lady not to mention
the First Lady and certainly not about a former
Head of State of the same country that you are
governing and from whose citizens you are seeking
a second term in office. However, I believe that this
may have been an innocent quip.
Whilst some may be willing to forgive such
naivety, it is essential for you to quickly assure
Nigerians that you meant no harm and that despite
the ill-feeling and bitterness that politics and
electioneering may engender you wish no evil to
any man least of all your husband’s leading rival
and contender. There is nothing wrong in
admitting your mistake of commission or
omission. It is actually a sign of strength.
May God continue to bless you and yours.
Dele darling WOW...This is deep.