“Mr. Omatseye has no excuse for his intemperate and uncouth language. And as an Itsekiri man, he ought to know better, and he also ought to have done better.
Or does he not know who and what the great and immortal Awo means to us?"
Itsekiri Leaders of Thought, through its chairman, Pa Jos Ayomike, has condemned the article in which Mr. Sam Omatseye, an Itsekiri young man, insulted Chief (Mrs.) HID Awolowo and the entire family.
“We are disturbed by the young man’s tirade. As a journalist, he has the right and freedom to write and comment on issues as he pleases, but he must do so with discretion and decency, which, unfortunately, happens not to be the case in the current circumstances.
“Mr. Omatseye has no excuse for his intemperate and uncouth language. And as an Itsekiri man, he ought to know better, and he also ought to have done better. Or does he not know who and what the great and immortal Awo means to us? We are in perfect agreement with the thoughts and views of Chief Falae, Ayo Adebanjo and Oyegun on this matter,” Ayomike said.
Will a sane person, decent journalist address the family of the sage as “so-called”? It depicts the level to which most writers on the pages of newspapers can descend in promoting their benefactors or employers, who are only out to build empires for themselves though they have no iota of leadership qualities except coercive forces of area boys.
It is embarrassing that an Omatseye can christen a despot in the mould of his mentor and sponsor as the chief inheritor of Chief Obafemi Awolowo ideologically. What ideaoly of Chief Awolowo does the writer’s sponsor exhibit?
Would Chief Awolowo, against better contestants, put forward his wife to contest a senatorial seat?
Would Chief Awolowo impose his son-in-law as a candidate as against well-bred, better and well-accepted contestants?
Chief Awolowo would not, for the sake of building an empire for himself and for self aggrandizement, want to debar a performing governor from having a second shot at the governorship seat. Chief Olurunnimbe Mamora was a shining star of the South-West in the fifth and sixth Senates, a great representative of what Chief Awolowo stood for. Let us ask the Omatseyes of this world: Why is Mamora not in the Senate today? Is this the spirit of an Awoist, as being projected in the write-up of Omatseye? Omatseye and his co-travellers need to be well educated that Awoism is an ideology, intrinsic in the imbiber. It is exhibited in good performance in governance. Thanks to the people, who know who an Awoist is; not people the like of Omatseye’s mentor, who would want to build an empire around themselves for personal gains. Let such people go and answer the call of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and clear themselves or face the music. I appeal to our dear Mama, Chief (Mrs.) HID Awolowo, to take solace in the fact that the good deed of Baba lives after him, and that we true followers of Baba’s ideals, ideas and ideology will continue to appreciate the great family of the sage, Chief Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo. Mama, you will live the rest of your life in peace and joy and you will not shed tear over any of your children anymore. A million Omatseye and his cohorts and mentor cannot rubbish the legacies of the great sage.
Samson S. Olalere, Old Ife Road, Ibadan.
Egbe Omoluabi, in a statement signed by its Vice Chairman, Chief Tunde Odanye, said it had been following the storm generated by the controversial article written by Mr. Sam Omatseye of the editorial board of The Nation Newspapers.
The statement read: “Egbe Omoluabi, as a group set up to see to morality and decency in politics in Yorubaland in particular and Nigeria in general, cannot but wonder at what could have motivated the said article and its purpose. Indeed, try as much as we did (and we did try very hard), we could not see the public interest that might have warranted the article or the fairness in the article that might have qualified it for fair comment.
“It was not only full of fallacies, its logic was warped with many conclusions arrived at from wrong premises. Indeed, there was nothing redeeming about the article, it was as tactless as it was tasteless, and as un-informed as it was ill-advised.
“Picking on hapless and helpless old men and women when they are at their weakest does not connote strength and courage but cowardice and the lowest form of bullying.
“Whilst contemporary thinking seems to point in the direction of a conspiracy theory (possibly justifiable in the light of the authors of past attacks on the Tribune Newspaper), we would, in the absence of further proof at this time, rather err on the side of caution and ascribe it to the writer’s egotism and ignorance.To that extent, maybe what Mr. Omatseye needs at this time is to be educated and not castigated even as to his choice of language.
It would appear that Mr. Omatseye in doing his critique forgot that Chief Obafemi Awolowo was not just a politician, but a man of many parts. He was a successful lawyer, a politician, a community leader, a leader in his church as well as a great thinker and family man.
“It is therefore fallacious for him (Omatseye) to believe that for his family to be considered worthy of him (Chief Awolowo), they have to be as successful as him in politics or emulate him in politics.
“Indeed, it is obvious from Mr Omatseye’s article that his idea of success is not in tandem with the Yoruba (indeed, most civilised cultures) definition or idea of success.
“Whilst some persons (especially those who grew up in want) see success as accumulating as much money as possible or attaining high office, some see success as living a simple, good and reputable life, helping others and generally trying to make the world a better place than they met it.
“We would have thought the fact that he is an employee of a newspaper whilst the victim of his scorn is the publisher of one of the nation’s foremost newspapers should have counted for something even in his own estimation.
“The Awolowo family’s philanthropy, their support for the church and good causes cannot be faulted. It is to the credit of the Awolowo children that the Obafemi Awolowo Chambers is still up and running almost three decades after his demise. Maybe Mr. Omatseye would want to find out how many of such chambers exist today.
“The Awolowo children have held high offices — ambassador, special adviser etc — and we are yet to hear of any of them removed in controversial circumstances.
“The fact that the Awolowo home at Ikenne has remained the Mecca of Nigeria Politics is to the credit of Mrs. Awolowo and her children as buildings alone do not constitute a home or shrine.
“Furthermore the Awolowo generation has not only done very well for itself to the third generation (Mr Segun Awolowo Jnr, Mrs Osibajo etc are third generation Awolowos) its fourth generation is well on its way to a stable and successful living.
By Mr. Omatseye’s definition, Maria Shriver (a member of the Kennedy clan) must be a traitor, a heretic and a failure for marrying Arnold Schwarzenegger — a Republican and two-term governor of California in spite of her personal achievements. Likewise, Sir Olanihun Ajayi and Chief Ayo Adebanjo must be failures because none of their children went into active politics in spite of their personal achievements in their chosen professions.
“By the same token, Chief Obafemi Awolowo himself would not have qualified as a success as nothing shows us his father was a lawyer and politician of the welfarist mould. Chief Obafemi Awolowo was a welfarist. Nothing shows us that his family believes otherwise.
“All the political pilgrims who go on pilgrimage to Ikenne espouse the same welfarist belief, irrespective of their party affiliation and it is rather presumptuous and hypocritical for anyone to pretend this belief is limited to or reposes in a particular political party in Nigeria.
“Lastly, assuming for purposes of argument that the Awolowo family do not believe in welfarism as their late patriarch did nothing precludes them from so doing as they, like everyone else, are entitled to their personal convictions, as nobody knows for certain what policy is most beneficial to mankind.
“The United States of America, the United Kingdom and most of the world’s most advanced democracies still oscillate between the capitalists and the socialists/welfarists
“In, conclusion we believe Mr. Sam Omatseye has erred and if he is, indeed, half the man he wants us to believe he is, he should simply apologise at this time and put the matter to rest.”
...A Bizarre Commentary - Ebenezer Babatope, Dipo Jimilehin
We are forced by the writings of Mr. Sam Omatseye at the back page of The Nation newspaper to issue the following to the Nigerian people.
On Monday, June 6, 2011, Mr. Sam Omatseye, a journalist and a public commentator, wrote a back page column entitled: “AWO FAMllY WITHOUT AN AWO” and subjected the Awolowo biological family to such a serious and absurd political commentary.
It was a bizarre commentary that cannot but arouse a detailed and objective reply if only to debunk the ideas of a young Nigerian journalist who apparently from his writings do not know who the Awolowos are.
Mr Sam Omatseye had opened his salvoes on the Awolowo family on the following note:
The Awolowo rebirth in the South-West has inspired gongs, songs and rhetoric of sorts. But they have missed one pooint.
It ocured to me in Abeokuta last week amidst the big crowds and euphoria of the swearing in of Senator lbikunle Amosun as Govemor. In all the states, from Lagos to Edo whereAwo has witnessed ideological resurgence, hardly a single family member has played a role. So we have an Awo Family without an Awo.”
Mr. Sam Omatseye from the above went to draw other conclusions that are not only illogical and absurd but that are clearly offensive to the ears.
For example, Mr Omatseye went on to say because he (Omatseye) could not find an Awolowo biological member in the swearng in ceremonies of the ACN Governors on May 29, 2011, that “The so called real Awolowos who bear his surname cannot come up for mention. They are Awolowos but not Awoists. They stabbed their father in the back. They have committed ideological patricide.”
Let us say clearly from the onset that Mr. Sam Omatseye is free as a public commentator, operating in a democratic society to write on any topic of his choice and to have opinions of his own on issues of public interest. He or any other public commentator in doing this must however strive at all times to present facts as they are and never to write with the sole aim of destroying innocent people whose only crime is to have been blood members of the sage, Papa Obafemi Awolowo.
No political party in Nigeria today can claim to have an Awolowo as a registered member of its rank and file. No one can come out with pictures of an Awolowo attending the swearing in ceremonies of PDP or any party’s swearing in ceremonies at any particular time in Nigeria’s history since 1999 when Nigana returned to normal democratic rule.
This particular stance has come from Mama HID Awolowo’s belief in making the Ikenne home of the Awolowos very neutral in Nigeria’s political matters since the death of Papa Obafemi Awolowo on 9 May 1987.
After the death of the sage in 1987, when some of the then Awo young turks were clamouring for a Mama leadership of her husband’s political movement, the old woman had shunned any kind of political partisanship, had refused blatantly such calls and had canvassed for unity of all groups inside and outside her dear husband’s political movement.
At 50, although he looks every inch like a 65 year old man, Sam Omatseye, we are told, does not have a wife, no child of his own. He is therefore not a responsible man. Somebody who is not married cannot be talking about divorce. He does not know what it means. I am not sure he comes from a descent family background. His gutter language against the family of our great Awo is not a surprise.
Oloriburuku, ikeegbe san san – John Oluboro .
Tope Edun: Se afojudi ni, abi aini eko ile ni, abi aini agba n’ile, abi igberaga ni ka pe yi ni.... When Ahmed Tinubu and Omatseye hurl insults at Awolowo family in public..... insult the Yoruba nationhood... Bope boya, omo ale afi oju han.
Sma Gbadamosi: I wonder how many Yoruba monarchs would have cursed Mr. Omotseye this morning... Hmmm, Omode bu iroko oluwere, o n b’oju weyin...
Jagunmolu Oluwadare Lasisi: Writers and journalists are guilty if they see the truth and fail to report it. But they are also culpable if they spread falsehood through their pens. Sam Omatseye is a popular journalist and seasoned columnist, but his recent article that ‘X-rayed’ the Awolowo political dynasty has stirred hornet’s nest.
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