POLITICS AND THE ACTIONS OF ADAMU’S ADVERSARIES
POLITICS AND THE ACTIONS OF ADAMU'S ADVERSARIES
POLITICS AND THE ACTIONS OF ADAMU’S ADVERSARIES
By Bala Ibrahim
When you are in politics, you should expect a lot of dirty things, especially if you are practicing politics in the third world, where dirt is the diet of the game. There is a popular saying that goes thus: Those who enter politics should expect criticism, negativity, or even abuse. In Nigeria, Africa’s capital of dirty politics, the trio of criticism, negativity and abuse, have been given a permanent residency in the country’s body politics. And opportunists are always quick to exploit them, with reckless abandon.
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For those that are conversant with Nigerian politics, the name Abdullahi Adamu is almost as familiar as coca cola, because, he has been everything but the President of Nigeria. He was a Senator. He was a Minister. He was a Governor twice, before he became the National Chairman of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, APC. By profession, Abdullahi Adamu is a lawyer and by passion, a farmer. He is always a patriot to the core, on matters that have to do with his country, Nigeria.
It is in the pursuit of such patriotism, and the love of his party, the APC, that he ventured to answer the call of the party, which is upgrading its data base, through the electronic registration of its members at every ward. Out of respect, as a senior party member, the officials of the party visited him at home, where he was so registered, alongside the entire members of his family, in the open. But for reasons of mischief, in line with that doctrine of the trio of criticism, negativity and abuse, in Nigerian politics, his adversaries passed a different narrative to the press, which sent same viral on the social media, to the effect that, he had registered in the opposition All African Congress, ADC. This is not only blatantly false, but maliciously wicked, I think. The Abdullahi Adamu that I know, would not hesitate to give his reasons for defection, if he so wishes to defect. And he woulld not do it with hanky panky.
It was Suzy Kassem, the American writer, poet and philosopher that said, “Most of the time, we see only what we want to see, or what others tell us to see, instead of really investigate to see what is really there. We embrace illusions only because we are presented with the illusion that they are embraced by the majority. When in truth, they only become popular because they are pounded at us by the media with such an intensity and high level of repetition that its mere force disguises lies as truths. And like obedient schoolchildren, we do not question their validity and swallow everything up like medicine. Why? Because since the earliest days of our youth, we have been conditioned to accept that the direction of the herd, and authority anywhere — is always righ”
My understanding of Suzy’s submission is that sometimes the press is also a culprit in the promotion of dirty politics, because, it helps, by failing to carry out the due diligence that is prescribed by the profession. Yes, before publishing, the job enjoins us to verify the authenticity of the story, in order to avoid the miscarriage of facts. Since the coming of the social media, journalism has fallen victim of being discredited, contrary to its teaching of “don’t be the first to get it wrong”. Everyone with a phone now has turned into a journalist that publishes doctored stories on the social media, without verification. Accuracy is a core ethical principle in journalism that is more important than speed. But no one cares, and people are allowed to compromise the factual integrity of the information with alacrity.
As the former national chairman of the APC, the damage the misinformation of Abdullahi Adamu’s defection to the opposition ADC would do to the ruling party is better imagined. So, until people start slamming libellous charges on such reckless publishers, the future consequences of Nigeria’s political misguidance would be more disastrous. This is not the first time such a mischief is done on him. But in the past, the issues have to do with him alone. And he always say, leave them, the matter would die a natural death. But now, the aim is to set him against the party he helped to nurture. I’ve worked with him, so I know him. Hence my resolve, to talk on the issue of politics and the actions of Adamu’s adversaries.
POLITICS AND THE ACTIONS OF ADAMU’S ADVERSARIES
