By Chike Obalum
It is becoming evident that part of the problems of Mr Governor of Anambra State, Prof Charles Soludo is his Media Team.
Like the Governor, members of his media team lack discretion and are not media savvy. They write nonsense where sound judgment should prevail.
In an election year when advocacy for re-election of their principal should be their concern, these jumped-up hacks and doomed conformists are trying hard to undo their principal. They seem to have renewed their effort at poking fingers into every eye in the state that sees differently from their principal’s point of view even if the eye has a better vision.
They are always prodigal in abuse, but exiguous in projecting the image of the government they serve. But it appears that the supposed refined Professor of Economics is enjoying the whole drama, apparently out of sheer ignorance. He visibly cares less how low, and to what ridicule, the artillery of abuse has reduced the rating of his administration. He possibly has a seamy side which the mindless abuse greatly appeals to.
Very few stakeholders in the state have been spared the vitriol of Soludo’s attack goons. Those who did – and they are few in number- were spared either because they are silent in the face of gross abuse of the process of governance or they are considered less of a threat to Nwamgbafor’s re-election project and his future presidential ambition. No one who is perceived rightly or wrongly to be in either of the two categories above is spared the venomous drip of the pen of these crude assemblage.
The list of those who have come under the scathing attack of this unwieldy goons either because they tried to needle the government to positive action or were seen as a threat to Soludo’s future political ambition is legion. Among them are Peter Obi, Rev Fr Ebube Muonso, Willie Obiano, Victor Umeh, Obi of Onitsha, Innoson, Ibeto, etc. Every one of these people has at one time or the other been a subject of media abuse by the unthinking goons, lemming off a cliff.
But there appears a method to their madness. While their principal is making surreptitious move to mend broken fences they go on the attack perhaps to create the impression that Soludo is on a sure ground – unfazed by the prospect of the uncertain election.
Out of the unthinking media aides who have done more harm to the state than Soludo’s impolitic actions, three stood out. The one is the gaunt-looking stripling boy from Imo state. Said to be a knight of the church, but he has written more than anybody in dishonoring the church. He also dishonors those who brought him up by hand. Few months back, he took on his town’s man, Sam Amadi of the Centre for Public Policy & Research and insulted him heavily. The other is the dirty-looking, awfully-reeking stumpy hack writer who knows nothing except abuse. He is so thoughtless and has a totally warped idea of what the media is. He only insults and it is believed Soludo hired him for that singular job. But the unfortunate thing is that he is also insulting those who were instrumental in making his principal governor. The last, but not the least on the team of Soludo’s hack writers, is the hair brained, photo ops addict. He too has no claim to media craft and like the others – only grandstands and insults. All three are always at the ready to malign the “enemy”. They have inadvertently widened Soludo’s circle of adversary by throwing abuse on people like confetti instead of abridging it.
At a time like this when real politicians are mending fences and shoring up their image before a consequential election, Soludo and his goons are busy attacking imaginary enemies. If they are not accusing Peter Obi of impoverishing ndi Anambra during his time as Governor, they are busy maligning Fr. Ebube Muonso and his brother, Charles Obimma. He said of Obi: “Poverty more than doubled under Peter Obi with over 50% of ndi Anambra living in poverty. Go and verify”. This attack like the one of 2023, when Obi was contesting for the presidency, was unprovoked. That Governor Sanwo-Olu of Lagos was running himself ragged, defending his master Tinubu, has nothing to do with Soludo who is not an APC Governor. If it is not bad blood and a cowardly attempt at endearing himself to the President (who is a sworn political adversary of Obi), it is difficult to figure out what it is.
Pissed by the unwarranted attack, a blogger writing in defense of Obi said: “A governor whose aide was kidnapped along Abuja road because he couldn’t afford flight is accusing Obi of spreading poverty. This Soludo sef & Anya ufu! Tufia kwa”. As if that was not enough his gaunt-looking aide went overboard in slandering Rev Fr Ebube Muonso thus: “In all honesty, I have gone from anger to empathy and now to very sincere prayers for Fr. Emmanuel Obimma of the Onitsha Archdiocese. His recent rants against Governor Soludo shows a man in need of mental health care.” Ebube Muonso’s crime was asking that Innoson Vehicle Showroom, part of which was demolished to give way for road expansion, should not be done while people are inside the building lest there be casualties. “You cannot demolish with people inside the building. As a father you ask people to leave.” While his brother Charles Obimma’s offence for which he was also attacked was for supporting the candidate of his party to win the November governorship election.
The Governor and his aides must be unusual set of people to be provoking war on all fronts in an election year. If the attack dog who accused Charles Obimma of doing what Soludo is covertly doing to elicit the support of the President and undermine Obimma’s candidate in the coming election is not a psychopath, what is he?
But these aides are not alone in plumbing the depth of defamation. The unwarranted attack on Obi from their principal has no better definition than manifest ill will. Soludo and his team are becoming a handful for ndi Anambra and this is not advised. His government must learn to purge itself of the patronizing attitude it displays and get down to politics and governance. Both are interwoven and has to be schlepped together to be able to make the difference.
Chike Obalum
Writes from Ogbakuba
