2013; THE LAST LETTER

28

  GEJDecember 31, 2013

 

Dr. Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan GCFR

President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Aso Villa

FCT, Abuja

 

Your Excellency Sir,

 

2013: THE LAST LETTER

 

May I begin by wishing you the very best compliments of this season of peace, salvation and renewal for mankind. May your exalted position in the Nigerian Brand further exalt our collective Brand Essence and Brand Value in year 2014.

 

This will not be an 18-page epistle, indeed it will be a 1-pager. I do not, however, wish to let this year pass by without letting you know that I was not happy with your response to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s letter. You were too gentle on him but worse still you were too gentle on the issues (real and imagined) that he raised. I would rather have hearkened to Elbert Hubbard’s admonition that “When a man sends you an impudent letter, sit right down and give it back to him with interest ten times compounded…”

 

I would also have ignored the Chinese Proverb that says “Never write a letter while you are angry”. Even I, as a loyal Nigerian citizen, was very angry at Chief Obasanjo’s letter. The accusations were weighty and legion: that you are promoting corruption, fuelling ethnic balkanization, killing the economy, raising a killer squad and displaying ineptitude in virtually every facet of national endeavour. Everyone knows Obasanjo will have run any letter writer who wrote such about him while in office (even if done privately) out of town. You see, Mr. President, I would have been angry because I would have known that Chief Obasanjo’s claims were false!

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Mr. President Sir, if I was privileged to respond on your behalf, I would have firstly addressed your response to fellow Nigerians not to Chief Obasanjo, I would have responded clinically and professionally to each of the points raised by Chief Obasanjo with facts and figures of your achievements on each issue. In the areas where the challenges appeared humungous I would have provided your Marshal Plan to Repair, Rebuild and Reposition each key sector. I would have explained how ordinary Nigerians have been celebrating the small victories that we have daily been recording in real terms, not some Brentonwood-inspired press releases our celebrated Diaspora Ministers.

 

You see Mr. President, I would have had so much to say and prove that OBJ will have dried his pen and converted his wasted ink into an object for libation in his Owu village meeting. I would have proven that results, not actions, speak louder than words and I would have proven Lao Tzu right when he said “An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox.” This would have inspired Nigerians that though the journey to paradise is long, we are making, sure and steady progress to the promised land.

 

Your Excellency Sir, my wish for you in 2014 is that the results of your actions, policies and programmes will put all letter-writers permanently out of business in Nigeria. Amen

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God Bless You. God bless Nigeria

 

NNANKE HARRY WILLIE

Editor-in-Chief

BRANDPOWER Magazine