State Of The Nation: Letter To Professor Pius Adesanmi By Charles

Dear Prof, 

It is beyond argument that you are one of the many voices still holding this disaster we have as govt accountable. With your near perfect appreciation of the Queen's Language and a very cordial rapport with the letters of the alphabet, you've been able to 'bless' us with your writing whlle keeping the political terrorists masquerading as our leaders on their toes. For these, I am glad beyond words and grateful beyond reason.

But,

There is something I find very troubling about your person, my dear Prof. It is something that has been bothering almost all your friends for so long even if they won't tell you, for fear of being unfriended or blocked. I have no such fears because it is my belief that a man like yourself who has spent long years holding public servants to account will not take offense for being held to the same standard he held others.

This is about your alliance with governor Nasir El-rufai of Kaduna state.

It is no secret that the governor is your very good friend. Just as it equally goes without saying that you've never criticised any action of the governor.

Governor El-rufai has commited every moral crime known to man against his employers, the people of kaduna state, specifically the southern kaduna people, the Shiites, journalists etc.

This governor not only admitted failing to protect the people of southern kaduna from murderous fulani terrorists, he equally announced to all and sundry that he had been able to trace the terrorists but rather than prosecuting them, he chose to pay them off.

While Nigerians were expressing outrage at such an immoral decision , you my dear Prof lost your tongue.

This governor has not just continued to supervise ethnic cleansing against the Southern Kaduna people, he has continued to use the instrumentalities of the state (the same state powers he refuse to deploy towards arresting the fulani killers) to arrest those victims for daring to defend  themselves.

Yet, you have remained silent! Why?

Under this your good friend, El-rufai, the Shiites did not just have their right to life forcefully taken away, their right to decent burial was equally violated when not less than 347 of them killed by the army were buried in a mass grave on the orders of governor El-rufai. Their places of worship have been destroyed, their members are being treated like terrorists. Matter of fact, they have been completely banned from practicing their religion in kaduna state.

All these despicable evils are being supervised by this your friend, governor Nasir El-rufai.

Yet, you've continued to feign deaf, dumb and blind to all these grave injustices.

Tell me something, my dear Prof., if it was somebody like Governor Ayodele Fayose or Nyesom Wike or even FFK that was carrying out all these moral tragedies, would you have kept quite ???

Today, in kaduna state, the spaces for civic engagement almost no longer exist as journalists are being threatened, harrassed and even arrested, simply for doing their legitimate duty.

All these are happening while you were busy conveniently looking the other way just so you don't ruin your relationship with your friend, El-rufai

Quite frankly, Prof, your silence on this El-rufai's issue is becoming increasingly unconscionable. This does not paint you in good light.

Your reputation as a social Critic who speaks truth to power is in grave jeopardy here, my dear Prof.

I beseech you in the name of all you hold dear, redeem yourself by lending your voice in calling on your friend, governor El-rufai to stop financing the genocide in Southern kaduna, allow the Shiites practice their faith like their Sunni counterparts and let journalists do their legal, legitimate and constitutional duty without molestation.

Intellectuals like yourself are supposed to be the conscience of the society. You shouldn't place your friendship with governor El-rufai over and above your duty of defending the right of the common man and calling out the governor when he is seen to be oppressing the same people he is supposed to be protecting as is the case now.

A man who only condemns evil when it is done by his enemies but condones far worse evil when it is done by his friends, is an evil man himself.