Here Reuben Abati was signing the condolence
register of one of their “many” colleagues who died
in Aso Rock, Daniel, the former Chairman of State
House Press Corps.
Written by Igboeli Arinze
I read with wonderful bewilderment Reuben Abati’s
recent article titled “The Spiritual Side Of Aso Rock
Villa” which was supposedly an expose on the
influence of rituals, spirits and ghosts on Nigeria’s
seat of power and it’s occupants.
Times without number I chuckled to myself as line
after line Abati whom I regard as a trailblazer in the
media world perhaps running short on reasons why
the Jonathan administration failed decided to use
this as a trump card to quieten a number of us who
blame Jonathan for failing the nation.
If Abati thought so, then he is largely mistaken as
such talk may only expose him further to immense
ridicule. I cannot imagine a man like Abati, whose
faculties largely impressed me as a student could
descend so low and apportion blame of our country’s
failings to ghouls and demons!
Abati makes me laugh when he hints at spirits
naturally causing fires in the various homes in Aso
Rock, wonderful! Just as some persons would scream
“ Blood of Jesus!” when they see a cockroach, wall
gakor or cat and immediately brand them as witches
and wizards or instruments of an attack from the
village. I would be sure to inquire what spirit led to a
fire in a friend’s apartment or a big government
office, where funds have been tampered with! Ah,
remember the Nigerian External Telecommunication
building that was engulfed with fire in 1983, lets
blame it too on the spirits!
Then Abati extends his theories to the third legs of a
number of the occupants of Aso Rock, which he said
had cease to work in “the other room” forcing their
wives to resort to the Love Machine. Haba, this
forced me to ask whether Abati had taken a census
of all the men in Aso Rock to determine whether their
third legs were functional or not? Perhaps he
organised SinParties or was invited to these
SinParties where all the men became shy of the
daughters of eve because they could not “perform”
and reorganised these trysts after they lost out in the
last elections only to see the spirits release their
vigour. I mean such talk remains bizarre and
nauseating! But let’s not be offended, just blame it
on some spirit!
Abati painted the picture of Aso Rock as a hospital
with agonising victims, as well suffering from all
kinds of cancers! Ok, I get it only Aso Rock
occupants suffer from these cancers, then I guess the
issue of people suffering from them in other hospitals
were also occupants of Aso Rock! Yeye de smell o!
Even the talk of convoys having accidents, near
helicopter crashes or the refusal of air planes to start
on a number of occasions was also blamed on
spirits by Abati, despite the fact that he had alluded
one of the challenges to the miscalculation of the
pilot!
Abati alleges that there is also a spirit that made
President Jonathan to take wrong decisions!
Wonderful! So the decision to loot and steal the
country blind under Jonathan was the handiwork of a
number of ghouls, he is saying don’t blame Jonathan
nor his cabinet for failing to save for the rainy day
and the squandermania that occurred under his
watch, for they were all victims of such ghouls.
For crying out loud, if the people don’t take a well
prepared statement well or if a policy failed then the
trouble is with the policy itself, the trouble is with the
trust level the government has with the people and
not some ghouls or the devil as Abati will want us to
believe! Maybe it was the spirits that were behind
Patience Jonathan’s “waka come” theatrics too and
the kidnap of the Chibok girls!
Abati’s thesis on the witchcraft dimension in Aso
Rock is a testament to why we Africans have failed
to develop our society. We believe more in ghouls,
charms, the power of the blood of a ram than the
innate powers God has given to us. We have so
sedated ourselves to these stupid beliefs that we
have failed to develop our society.
Abati believes that Aso Rock is possessed with
demons, inflicting death and pain on the occupants,
yet he relentlessly campaigned for his principal and
himself to return to power. He says that should he be
president that he will that will build a new Aso Rock
( waste of funds) and dedicate it to the all-
conquering Almighty, he also says that this is a
country in need of prayers But come to think of it,
was it not the same Jonathan who uncountably
visited Jerusalem and church conventions of notable
men of God? Was it not the same Jonathan who
organised prayer retreats with men of God thundering
forth in Aso Rock, how come these prayers did not
chase out these ghouls?
When men like Abati begin to reason like this, then it
is no wonder how our society remains in the
backwaters!
– by Igboeli Arinze
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