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| Ben Murray-Bruce |
Dear Senator Ben
Murray-Bruce,
Greetings from the Village
Town Crier. I must confess I admire your person so much. Your achievements in
life are motivating. At times, you could be so articulate in addressing issues
of public affairs. I loved you as a technocrat sir and I wish you never
ventured into politics as it sacrificed your high repute statue.
I have followed your common
sense trend for a while via social media and I must admit I have found most of
your views more comical rather than relevant. I am by no means a cynic but a
conk realist. I have a profound feeling you must have excelled in 'beer parlour'
arguments when you were much younger sir. Well, most people use social media to
unwind while others use it for serious business and I wish you could boldly
tell us where you stand. My idea of your common sense concept gives me the
orientation that common sense is not actually common in the real sense. Your
views smell of stark hypocrisy sir. In fact, if hypocrisy was a school, your
academic records would have been ahead of time like Albert Einstein’s prediction
on gravitational waves which was detected by other scientists 100 years after his
revelation.
Dear 'Twitter Senator', my
words may sound offensive but I want you to open your church heart and let them
sink in to make you a better person to serve your people of Bayelsa East
senatorial district as you covertly labour for a return in 2019 not out of your
passion to serve but because power is 'sweet and lucrative'.
Benjamin Disraeli said: “mediocrity can talk but it’s for genius to
observe” My long observation of your views has prompted me to come out of
my shell to address some cogent issues.
Leaders like you can only
strive in societies where the individuals flaunt their mediocrity with pride.
Societies where sex articles sell more that political or social economic
issues. A society where the youths have failed to use the internet to acquire
knowledge about the polity, a society where the internet which is an avenue for
achievers like Mark Zuckerberg, Linda Ikeji, Seun Osewa and others to make a
life has been substitute for a viable dating ground and a goldmine for
financial crimes, a society where some youths don't even know their own history
not to talk of that of other societies.
I find it awkward for a
senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to act as a 'fashion model' helping
to maintain the seats of the red chambers from dust during the plenary with
rare incidents of contributions, I mean the 'Siddon Look' style as the Minister
of Transport Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi accused you of; but on Twitter you are the
vocal activist whose voice must be heard. Is that not an act of doing the right
thing at the wrong place? You seem to have a mastery of the art of window
dressing. That's a powerful skill that will sustain your survival in Nigerian
politics where deceit is paramount.
Because of time factor, I
will like to objectively take you up on certain issues of 'common sense' which
you have raised.
Firstly, I must admit I was
impressed with your advocacy for agriculture as a means of solving the problem
of unemployment in the country and improving the state of the economy. Your
ideas are perfectly accurate but a vivid investigation has revealed you have NO
FARM sir. That defies the principle of charity beginning at home as well as
leaders practicing what they preach. What happened to the act of leading by
example?
Secondly, you deserve a
national award for your contributions to the #BuyNaijaToGrowNaira campaign on
Twitter. In fact, I can't wait to read your Common Sense Revolution book not
for the knowledge but for the sole purpose of seeing the back page to confirm
that you printed it in the United States of America. What happened to the local
market you are advocating for? What happened to local publishers of excellence
like the University Press Plc, Literamed Publication, Kachifo Limited, Evans
Publishers Limited, Cassava Republic Press and others? I guess you underrated
the vigilance and intelligence of Nigerians by printing the book abroad.
Sir, I made out time to watch
a video clip of your advocacy during a plenary for a palliative concerning the
adverse effects of fuel subsidy removal on the masses with the introduction of
a mass transit system like we have in developed countries. You also applauded
President Muhammadu Buhari's controversial 2016 national budget which intends
to borrow approximately N2 trillion for capital projects. I was quite impressed
until you advised the government to go as far as borrowing up N50 trillion once
to industrialize Nigeria overnight. Who does that? Is that not suicidal for a
country with a history of corruption and public officials who gallantly seek
refuge under the law? That's a subtle way of selling the country to the financier.
Sir, I also read your tweets
on the age structure of Ministers in the United Arab Emirates which is
dominated by youths with the 29-man cabinet having an average age of 38. According
to you, the Minister of State for Youths and Sports Chair of the National UAE
Youth Council, Shamma Almazrui is 22 while ours in Nigeria, Solomon Dalung is
51. For your information senator, UAE didn't achieve greatness with the influx
of youths in government. It’s a new initiative that we all applauded and wish
our country to emulate. I personally wish the youths could be given a chance in
Buhari's administration as promised but I find it odd hearing it from a senator
who is 60 years old. I would have appreciated it if you sacrificed your
ambition to sponsor a Bayelsa youth to represent your senatorial district. That
gesture could have gone viral with a contagious effect of emulation across the
country. Remember change starts from me and you. If we can't change ourselves,
then we can't change the world.
Furthermore sir, I applaud
your perceived passion for the Nigerian youths. I love the way you engage us on
social media with stringent issues affecting the country but sir, an act of
yours baffles me till tomorrow. How come you kept mute about the anti-social
media bill sponsored by Kebbi South Senator, Ibn Bala Na'allah? It passed the
first reading at the senate under your nose knowing fully well it’s a medium
you conveniently use to express your harsh views about the current administration.
Remember this prompted Sahara Reporters to take you up on your silence. This
stained your credentials as a leader worthy of being followed by youths who
dominate the social media. Under your watch, their promising voices were almost
killed by the 'unquestionable leaders'.
Concerning the act of buying
locally-made products to grow the stunted naira, you suggested Nigerians should
stop buying £60 worth of jerseys of European football club-sides and support local
clubs like Enyimba, 3SC, Kano Pillars and the rest. Sir, to whom much is given,
much is expected. The United Kingdom government created an avenue for the
development of an attractive football league that thrills the world. This has
prompted Nigerians to put their monies where their heart is. The Nigerian
league lacks beauty, adequate publicity, sponsorship and attractiveness. The
stadia in Nigeria have become a safe haven for hoodlums thereby discouraging
fans from watching live matches. The Nigerian government can't rip from an
aspect it neglected. Such a suggestion by you will definitely fall on deaf
ears. I am sure you just uttered those words to fill space on your book.
Sir, I can also see you have
fast become an unofficial ambassador of Innoson motors. You have led by example
with the purchase you have made and their vehicles litter your Twitter account.
Many Nigerians believe it’s the usual act of hypocrisy but since I can't prove
it, I leave judgement to posterity. I wish you could advise the Chief Executive
Officer, Dr Innocent Chukwuma Innoson to make cheap vehicles that will attract the
patronage of the average Nigerians. Remember Tecno mobile broke into the
Nigerian market with this strategy before the company made a breakthrough with
the Android operating system.
Sir, please pardon me if I am
taking so much off your time with this piece. I sincerely apologize if it seems
I am probing into your personal life. There is a saying that ''he who comes into
equity, must come with clean hands''.
Your advocacy for Nigerian
products was dead on arrival due to some major decisions you have taken before
the Common Sense trend. I read you have a son named Jared who schooled in
Loyola Marymount University in the United States of America where he bagged a
B.A in Communications. I wish he strengthened
the naira by studying in top Nigerian universities like the University of
Ibadan, University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Benin
and others.
When you criticized the
appointment of Nigerian international Journalist, Tolu Ogunlesi as Buhari's
media aide, people applauded you as an intelligent leader. You made common
sense sincerely. According to you, Buhari has appointed 4 media aides in the
face of economic downturn with no Economic Adviser which has boosted propaganda.
Little do your Twitter followers know that you have fire burning at your
backyard in Abuja which you ignored and rushed to Aso Rock Villa to assist
Buhari to put out his own inferno. I wish you could explain your stand about
the appointment of alleged Boko Haram sponsor, Ali Modu Sheriff as the Acting
Chairman of your party. You have simply turned a blind eye to the issue out of
fear of not jeopardizing your political ambition in the PDP. Femi Fani Kayode
won the hearts of many including mine with his stand against Sheriff which he
has defended fearless like a soldier at his duty post.
Sir, I want to assume you
must have seen a viral social media joke about the high cost of popcorn at your
Silverbird cinemas across Nigeria. According to the joke, it costs a whooping
sum of N800 per sachet. I have a feeling the popcorn is imported too for it to
go for that amount.
Here is a breakdown of how
N800 can be spent on a good treat at Yenagoa, Bayelsa state. At Hospital
junction, you can purchase a big piece of Fish for N100, Yam N100, Plantain
N100, (all roasted) and then a cold soft drink (big) N70 to complement the
digestion process with some remaining change.
Sir, permit me to bring to
your notice a well-publicized act of inefficiency displayed by your Silverbird
Cinema in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state. I am citing this to help you soft-pedal when
attacking Buhari on Twitter. The 10th of January, 2016 is a day Nollywood
producer, Okechukwu Oku who was scheduled to premiere his new movie, 'The Boss
Is Mine’ at your cinemas in the South-south part of Nigeria will never forget
in a hurry. There was a power outage during the movie premiere with eminent
attendees thrown into darkness. It lasted for virtually 5 hours and
investigations revealed all the 4 stand-by generators of your company were
dead. This led to the exit of disgruntled VIP guests.
In saner climes, your company
would have never recovered from a heavy lawsuit slammed on it by legal
representatives of the filmmaker.
Being the president of
Nigeria is a herculean task, even the students of the University of Lagos who
you invited to your 60th birthday party of a small circle were mismanaged and
left with experiences to forget not to talk of dealing with a population of
over 170 million people who have just been freed from the 16-year captivity of
the opposition party.
Lastly, I remember your
response to a Twitter follower who inquired about your take on the indictment
of the former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in the returned Sani
Abacha loots handed over questionably to the embattled Sambo Dasuki. From your pictorial
expression, you applauded her. Personally, I feel it doesn't speak well of your
loyalty to your party, PDP rather than to Nigeria. Note that corruption is the
major reason why 110 million Nigerians are poor today.
Dear Sir, I am full of
respect for you and that accounts for the reason why I have taken the pains of
compiling my views in this open letter. I hope adjustments could be made to
drive home your Common Sense messages.
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